Power Kite Forum - Anybody fly their arcs in the rain?

Cheddarhead

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posted on 17-3-2011 at 02:02 PM

Anybody fly their arcs in the rain?

Drove 1/2 hr to my favorite lake today to get some last bit of kite skiing in before the ice goes out. Forcast was for 13mph winds and some rain after 1 pm. Got there at 1130am, set up and then the winds completely died. You could drop a feather and it would fall straight down. Waited 2 1/2 hrs before the wind came, but so did the rain! Has anybody had any sessions with their arcs in the rain? I was sooo frustrated! I wanted to fly regardless of the rain but was afraid that my Venom would fill up with water on the inside and I would never get it dried out. I ended up packing my things and going home. It was a bad day.

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Pulsar

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posted on 17-3-2011 at 02:12 PM

A Venom is designd as surf kite, so even if the kite hits the waves of the sea, it would stay afloat. Water barely gets inthere, and the few drops that do, would drain right out again.

Arcs work fine in the rain. The only downside (as with any kite when wet) is that it gets heavier, so you lose a little low-end.

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geokite

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posted on 17-3-2011 at 02:26 PM

Once. Kite got really heavy, and I wanted to set up a tarp to land on, so as to keep the sand off. Yikes, what a mess.

Drying it out when living in an apartment was very difficult. Having a back yard now, I hope to set up a couple of poles to string a line across. This would be erected if I need to dry the kite off; either from flying in the rain, or if I need to rinse the kite off after crashing in the ocean (has happened once in the past 3 years).

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BeamerBob

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posted on 17-3-2011 at 03:08 PM

If you can't "fly it dry" then I would want to rinse and dry at home. I've even set up a fan to pressurize the kite with the opposite inflate zipper open to blow out the moist air to dry the inside. The moisture can cause the colors to run and mildew to grow. I know some just keep the kites in the back of the truck spars in and lines attached so its ready to ride, but I just can't do it.

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Cheddarhead

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posted on 17-3-2011 at 03:39 PM

Hard to find a place to dry my Venom. Draped it over my boat in the garage, but the garage is even too short to lay it end to end. Outside in the summer on a nice day would be the way to go but I don't have that luxury right now. It was 50 degrees F and rainy today, I think the ducks were extra happy.