With all of these discussions about kite parks on the board lately I thought that i'd post up some questions.

First, there's a possibility of a kitepark in southwest Missouri. A friend of mine and I have been scouting out some locations to fly on private land, and we are leaning towards creating a kitepark in our area so people from all over can come visit and ride with us. I don't want to release any of the details yet....

Second, if you were wanting to visit a kitepark, what would you want to see? obviously wind is an important factor, but that put aside, what obsticals or terrain would you like to use if you were able to visit a kite park in the midwest.

I already have plenty of ideas, but i want to know what the kite community is interested in. let me know what you think. Any idea is great, i'm just seeing what details are common amoung our forum users.

Some information that may be helpful: we are located in springfield missouri, and the bass proshop headqaurters are here in town for those of you who are outdoorsmen. Also, branson missouri is only a 35 minute drive from town for those who travel with family and want your family to enjoy something else while you are kiting. If you are interested in old timey shows and shops there plenty of those around.

there are two local airports for those who like to fly places.

Also there is no kite shop in the area........yet

give me your input on what you think or what you would like to see. hopefully there will be some good stuff to come in the future.

Room enough to get in a decent park and ride some racing and a few obstacles to hit once skills developed good campground and bathhouse

Take a slice of hard pack from Jekyll Island and transplant it...... a beginners area for scudding, buggy and board.... some mogul type areas that would hopefully get some snow in the winter......

This would finally give me a reason to take my folks up on their offer to use their time share in Branson.......

http://www.essexkitepark.co.uk

here is a link to a kite park in the UK. I am sure they could give you some good info.

I live up in Warrenton, Missouri Flyjump and would be stoked to drive to a kitepark in Springfield! I guess, as mentioned before, a camp ground would be nice to make a weekend out of the trip. One of those wind sensors (like on Ikite.com) would be great.

good info, keep it coming

wind data! past 3 years would give a nice picture of wind in the area.

weather data would HAVE to be the motivation factor for a KITE park.

tendencies and patterns and of course hazards like tornadoes and lightening.

objects? NO ramps and junk it will just sit and rot , then nails and crap.

dirt ramps, moguls and bowls would be much better.

cool idea.

Quote:

Originally posted by g00fba11 This would finally give me a reason to take my folks up on their offer to use their time share in Branson.......

goofball, next time your parents ask you about branson, you'd better come down here. skip out on all of the old people shows and come ride with me and my buddies

A soft sand pit or some similiar type area for crazy power slides. Hard pack is nice, but a little "softer sand" can be very forgiving and fun to slide through (long as you dont get a tire stuck mid-slide...). Or maybe a place with some sod or grass for the same effect.

Just a thought...

Flyjump great another holiday destination will keep watching
:P

Reliable clean wind is a must !

I would be less likely to invest in a vacation if the wind was a crap shoot.

SPACE would be nice ! Ramps and sliders?

A place for people to gather out of the wind. Hopefully not waiting for wind!

Lodging ?

Ok, i guess i'll give you guys a little info about what may be happening in the near future.
A good friend of mine and I are looking at starting a kitepark right outside the city limits of springfield Missouri. ultimately what i would like to do is have a location for the first middle america kiting event. Of course this is all still in the idea/ planning phase but we are looking at a spot that is just off the Interstate so that travelers can see the kites and pull off the road and stop in a watch, and meet up. We are wanting to try and build up the kiting community in the midwest. More importantly i want a location for all of the guys in the midwest to meet up at if they can't make it to the coast for the other large events.

I want this park to have places for people to BBQ, sit and eat, watch, and also fly their kites. I want the field to be split up into 4 areas.
1. Staging area-launching and landing kites
2. Beginner area for those who are getting lessons and are learning how to fly their power kites
3. Racing area that can be switched up to change the course according to different racing styles
4. Freestyle area with ramps, rails and obsticals to do tricks over

unfortunatly you'll never get clean wind in the midwest, it just doesn't happen. the main seasons out here are October through may. Yes that includes snow kiting as well. the summer months aren't kind out here so wind is low/dead mid June through mid September.
I would also like to have an area for camping which we could do since this is going to be on private property, but a connection for bath house and electricity might not be ideal. there are plenty of hotels in the area and other places to stay (some may be able to camp in my back yard if they like since i only live about 15minutes from the field) I need to research electronic wind systems to see if we could install a minute to minute meter that will show you the activity when you have internet access.

I'm not trying to create a kite park that is the best place in the country since winds out here aren't clean, but i want to have something different to offer then just a flat open space. I want to have ramps and other things that aren't at other fields and beaches. I just want to get something started that is no where else. I'm tired of people complainng about not having cool kite areas, so i'm trying to make one with one of my friends.

Any other ideas that you guys have would be great. I want to know what people are looking for if they travel to a place where they can kite

I was watching the vids advertising the carveboard in the for sale section, and the shots of the skate-park where the guys feet never left the board, kind of like the pump track for mountain bikes, and I thought "flyjump ought to have one of those at his park for when the wind isn't blowing. Def. go for for the camping area/bathhouse and maybe a couple acre pond, waist deep for learning kiteboarding, but have kayaks for rent when the wind isn't blowing. You would prolly get some folks in the summer just for the camping aspect, and when the wind is up you would have campers there watching you do your thing, and wanting to learn for themselves. TBH, I've also been thinking about coming up with a good business plan for a similar venture here in the Tug Hill area. Snowkiting in the winter, hayfields in summer. Access to L. Ontario for water/beach fun, largest wind farm east of the Mississippi, so wind is here! Major hangups would be insurance, and getting the bank to believe that such a venture can work. Hmmmm....worth thinking about! :eureka:

Need a no wind alternative!

Pump track, atb hill to bomb, winch... Something in case a pile of fliers show up, but the wind misses the memo....

The kite shop around here also deals in wake boards and boats.. So of you drive 6 hours, there's always something to do if the wind craps out

just as an fyi there is no budget for a kitepark as of now, and i'm just a public school teacher so not much money is going to flow into this. wench system etc...

i would like to have something else to do if there is no wind. I do like the idea of a camping area so people can stay for a weekend if they'd like. but i'd really like to focus on what people would like to see on there field while they are flying.

I like the idea of a good patch of ground that would be like an intro to powersliding zone. Also, i woould like a creek or small pond that wouuld be fun to jump over, or maybe something bigger for learning kitesurfing.

i like the idea of an area where i could teach lessons to new fliers, and lessons for advanced riders. the few areas that we are looking at are mostly hay fields on farmland of some of our friends. so its mostly going to be a flat area, and kiteable only in the fall, winter and spring. which we don't get wind here in the summer as i said before, or not much wind anyway

Not a cable park... A bomb winch can be made for a couple hundred bucks... Hit ramps, rails, etc... Good cheap fun when the wind dies...

Ive actually got a free motor coming for mine.... The guy just has to get back into town lol

...almost a veer there!

A strong focus on kites, and entertainment for the non kiters (like camping, tourism, all that) will help it grow.... If this thing is going to fly ( ) a good park had to be the foundation! the bigger the park is, the more kite disciplines will come!!

Quote:

Originally posted by flyjump Quote: Originally posted by g00fba11 This would finally give me a reason to take my folks up on their offer to use their time share in Branson....... goofball, next time your parents ask you about branson, you'd better come down here. skip out on all of the old people shows and come ride with me and my buddies

Count on it....... that's why I never went..... not into the show scene......

also gotta couple projects coming up near Witchita and the SE corner of Kansas.....

Sounds like a great plan Adam! Keep up the good fight, talk to you soon!

rich, always thankyou for the support

goofball, you are always more than welcome to come out here and ride, even in my local spot even if we dn't get the park started yet. i'm always happy to ride with other kiters. even if there is no wind, im always down to hang out

thanks much flyjump..... I have been making it a point to make sure I have kites with me when I travel......

Another idea during non windy days. Stand Up Paddle board rentals to take to Table Rock Lake 35 min away near Branson?

Lots of good ideas, but lets focus on a kitepark first

Great idea, would this be located near Bois D'Arc by any chance?

Just down the road a few minutes

Swale or moguls would be fun. The local field where I fly has some good swale in one corner. If you can top 20 MPH and hit it in the right spot you'll get air without trying even in a bug. :-) The only trick is regaining control fast enough to dump speed and avoid the slide into the cactus and raspberry vines where they don't mow it. ;-)

The field also has some small trees in it which I find quite fun. It's a blast to thread the needle between the trunk of the one upwind and the top of the one downwind. I like the challenge. Embrace the trees.

Philip

Quote:

Originally posted by pbc The field also has some small trees in it which I find quite fun. It's a blast to thread the needle between the trunk of the one upwind and the top of the one downwind. I like the challenge. Embrace the trees. Philip

Tree hugger!!!



ATB,
Sam

lol to the tree hugger. maybe some small puddles for some splashing in when it is a little hot. nothing like shooting through water at 30mph and cooling off.

Quote:

Originally posted by indigo_wolf Tree hugger!!! ATB, Sam

I'm not that cute but my hair is almost that gray.

Philip

:o WOW! I just googled your area, Adam, those must be some of the straightest roads I have ever seen! Is most of that ag area planted to corn? Corn stubble and kites are not a good match! Most of the land we get to use for our snowkite festival on Tug Hill is farmland, but we generally try to stay out of areas that were planted to corn, as the remaining stubble can be sharp and dangerous if you were to fall on it, as well as catchy on the lines/kite causing damage there as well. Hay/wheat/grain probably won't be as much of a problem as long as it is cut fairly closely. Those wide open spaces are sweet, though. Plenty of room for wind to develop!