NPWfever - 4-10-2007 at 09:31 PM
Yeah i know you wish you had mine...
complete with lawnmower wheels and trampoline springs
BeamerBob - 5-10-2007 at 04:43 AM
Man, I'm sure nothing is safe around your house. I'm glad my kids aren't quite so creative. I am impressed with your resourcefulness however. So
what all have you taken apart to get parts for something "more important"?
B-Roc - 5-10-2007 at 05:46 AM
You seem pretty handy and industrious - good on you.
Lawnmower wheels are going to be pretty hard and may not be grippy enough. Your springs may dampen the ride a bit and compensate for the hardness of
the wheels but from the picture it appears the trucks are able to turn quite a bit which is not good for speed wobble - so keep that in mind when you
go out and post back with your progress.
lee_m - 5-10-2007 at 10:18 AM
wow awesome!!!!
Pablo - 5-10-2007 at 02:37 PM
Hey NPWFever,
Man, I can't wait till you get out on some high end gear. Don't take it the wrong way, I'm thinking that as a new guy, you've got a fairly good grasp
of things and have proven very resourceful in your building ability. I see you as the type of guy that would ride high end stuff and figure a way to
improve it more.
I can't wait to see what you're making in another couple years.
NPWfever - 5-10-2007 at 02:54 PM
Well i actually didnt take anything i bought the springs and square tubing, and the wheels, axles, and bolts came off of an old go-cart i made that
fell apart. The only recycled thing is the deck which came off of a crapped out moped. The wheels ride okay on grass as far as traction which is where
i will be kiting most of the time (soccer field) I did ride home and experienced speed wobble probably at about 15mph so thats about as fast as i will
go without freaking out anyway, but i do need to weld on some stops to keep it from turning too far and a rubber washer (with graphite on it) between
the main support and the axle would help turning and dampen the ride. (the springs are just to help with speed wobble the dont provide any suspension)
Thanks pablo and lee! I also have a buggy:
http://www.powerkiteforum.com/viewthread.php?action=attachme...
bloah - 5-10-2007 at 02:58 PM
haha awesome man =] love the buggy
NPWfever - 5-10-2007 at 05:27 PM
thanx I just but some 21" bike wheels on but it doen't go that much faster and I skinned my elbows on the sidewalls because they sick up so far. do
you think 1.75 inches is wide enough?
B-Roc - 5-10-2007 at 05:54 PM
Dude, is there anything you can't build :?: You're a regular old McGuiver :o 
NPWfever - 5-10-2007 at 07:24 PM
Yeah i get that alot I've even tried to build 2 hang gliders! (yeah i got into kiting for jumping because its kinda like flying) but now I'm saving
up for a paraglider (and lessons of course) 
NPWfever - 5-10-2007 at 07:28 PM
Here is alot of the crap i've made
(pool table)
NPWfever - 5-10-2007 at 07:30 PM
My chopper
(has piant now though its red and black)
NPWfever - 5-10-2007 at 07:33 PM
I have also made a fully automatic pnematic airsoft shotgun
a sailboat
a huge 150 square foot "mini house" in my friends back yard
and a ton of pinhole cameras
NPWfever - 6-10-2007 at 09:36 PM
First ride (went fairly well) I tightned the trucks so there is no wobble and its hard to overturn
B-Roc - 7-10-2007 at 04:44 AM
You may want to google plans to build your own foils if you've built your NPW. I used to know a guy who built his own foils from plans on the web and
he even posted plans, but his wife passed away and he moved and I've since lost touch.
But I know his kites were nice and he used to say there was plenty of good information and available plans for perfomance foils on the web.
Just an idea as I think you could build a better jumping kite than an NPW.
archkiter - 7-10-2007 at 08:36 AM
There are a few links to sites with foil plans (to build your own) near the bottom of the page here:
http://www.squidoo.com/tractionkites/
BTW- I love all the stuff you've made- very resourceful!
NPWfever - 7-10-2007 at 12:02 PM
Thanks guys! i did make a paraglider for an old broken rc plane and even that small it was easy to sew just time consuming (i took all the measurments
of my 3 meter and i want to make it a 9 meter really bad)
NPWfever - 7-10-2007 at 12:14 PM
Should i get something with a high or a low AR? I want RAW POWER for jumping and buggying. About how much would it cost to make a 9 meter do you
think? 60 bucks fabric maybe (i need a cheaper source than $4 a yard.
B-Roc - 7-10-2007 at 06:53 PM
I have no idea about the cost of fabric to make your own kite but if you want to jump you want a high A/R kite (say 3.8 and above).
Power is not so much a matter of A/R as it is size and bridling. Lift can be generated by kite speed or wind power but generally, a higher aspect or
faster moving kite with a bridle suited for lift will be more lifty than a low aspect, slower moving kite.
By bridling I mean the angle of attack of the kite - meaning is the kite bridled so that the leading edge is facing up a bit and wants to drive the
kite in that direction (thus more lifty) or is the LE more neutral so that the kite just drives along but isn't always trying to pull away from you.
SecondWind - 8-10-2007 at 12:52 PM
Very cool NPWfever 
Some wheels you may consider for your next build:
12" Wheels for $9.99
As for mountainboard decks, I have been using Baltic Birch with the Toothless Method (Click Here).
Only other thing you need is a cheap set of Skate trucks and you'll be set!
Here is a pic of my home built deck rolling on 12"ers:
NPWfever - 8-10-2007 at 03:55 PM
dude that thing is SEXY! are those just regular trucks mounted upside down? and are those hard rubber or pnumatic? if so does the $10 include tubes?
SecondWind - 8-10-2007 at 07:17 PM
Yup, they are MBS Skate trucks (just have to turn them the opposite way). The wheels are pneumatic and the price includes the tire, rim and tube.
The bearings are nothing special, but they have not failed yet.
For the deck, just stay away from Home Depot Birch plywood. It is not the same as quality Baltic Birch – too many voids.
The deck above was from 3 layers of 1/4" with Titebond III glue in between. I added about 1 1/4" of camber using the Toothless method.
Its a tank 
NPWfever - 8-10-2007 at 09:45 PM
So you have to turn the board the oposite of what you would normaly do? Doesn't that throw off your balance? Why not mount them right side up (board
on top)? or what about turning them around?:frog:
NPWfever - 13-10-2007 at 05:45 AM
I put another set of springs on the back to stifffen up the turning and it was magic. Feels just like my skateboard now. Oh and i also put a rubber
washer in between the main support and the "trucks" (they arent actually trucks, its just an axle mounted at a 45degree angle so when you lean it
turns) Also i am looking at getting an 8 meter pansh ace. I have become obsessed with that kite.