Hey,
I started powerkiting about a year ago. Last week we started with a buggy and it's great fun.

I've got some questions anywayz.
I'm using an ozone Fury 4.5m. I have a maui Magic darkrider harness. At the moment i've been riding a friend's Peter Lynn comp buggy.

I haven't been using the harness cuz don't know how.
I assume the harness isn't great for buggying anywayz.
But if I was to use it,. how long would i take the rope that connects both handle bars ?
And do i attach them to the top side (steering) or downside (brakes) ?
What about the harness ?

Any comment would be great, my arms thank you.

Next up is riding. Whenever i feel I'm making good speed, it feels as if I can go faster by making faster S-turns with the kite, but then it just starts pulloing really hard and I can choose between either steering a bit sideways towards the kite or, try keeping it in control but then the backwheel at (at the side of the kite) starts pulling really hard which slows me down as well,.
Am i doing something wrong here, or is it part of the job ?

greetz

I haven’t been doing this much longer than yourself, but if I understand the dynamics evolved correctly, this is my perception (answer) to your query.

You need to experiment a bit with the length; my preference is 24 inches. You attach both ends to the top; that way the kite will pull you rather than stop when you relax your arms and let the harness do the work.

Yes, moving the kite up and down or side to side will give you more pull. Actually the kite is lifting, just as an airplane wing provides lift as it goes faster through the wind, so does the kite. The difference is the airplane wing is parallel to the ground (most of the time) thus pulling away (lifting) from the earth. The kite is generally parallel to you, thus pulling away (lifting) from you.

If the rear is skidding towards the kite you need to steer into the kite more. You will pickup speed as you do so, be careful you don’t steer directly into the kite for any length of time because you will match the speed and thus the kite will come down. If that happens you will likely run over your lines and quite possibly get them wrapped around your axle thus breaking them which is expensive.

It takes a while to figure out how to get around the whole working the kite/speed thing, while working the kite will give you more power, it won't be where you want it. You'll get pulled hard, but further downwind, this is great for getting moving, but once moving you want to start making the sine wave smaller, slower movements with the kite will allow it to fly farther to the edge of the window giving you more upwind ability, The fastest position for the kite will always be sitting parked at the edge of the window a couple feet off the ground. If you want a bit more pull, gently apply a hare of brake input, the kite will drop back in the window a little and catch more wind, giving you more pull, but again, a little bit more downwind. Good for getting up to speed though then the apparent wind should be enough to keep you blasting with the kite locked in.

All this is assuming that you're flying the right size kite for the conditions, If you find that you can't keep going with the kite parked at one side of the window then you're underpowered and will have to work the kite to keep going. When I'm flying, I usually have a kite that I only have to bring down one side of the window to about a 45deg angle and I'll be cruising, any lower and it's a matter of how fast do I want to go. I also use a harness in the bug all the time, without it I'm done in about 15 min, flying powered up is hard on the arms.

Before you start flying with a harness, you'll want really good kite control. I'd suggest learning to fly bling, that's flying without looking at the kite, try this in lower winds to start, you should be able to tell by feel where the kite is and what it's going to be doing. You also want to be able to control the kite with the brakes, have using them second nature, when harnessed in there's no letting go of the handles and being free of the kite, you have to think of using the brakes to kill the kite as second nature. Once you can do both of these things ok, time to harness in.

thanks guys.
I do feel confident enough to slap on a harness. Flying blind works quite well, And controlling the buggy was okay. except for the small drift.

What about the harness. i Have one with just the usual hoog on it that works fine for bars. I assume i'll need one of those rolling thingies,. (we call it a katrol, don't know the english word)

And a nicer question,. what are basic tricks,. I've been grinding often by steering hard away from the kite and making the buggy skid back towards the kite. or when turnig steering the kite and just at the last moment steering the buggy aswell,. but this ended with the buggy tumbling over once,. or a good drift in the turn but a complete standstill cuz' i met up with the kite and lost the pull..
(i hope this is clear,. )

anywayz thnx

There's a couple sites out there that deal specifically with how to for tricks, Things to work on are the 180 and 360 spins, 2 wheels and reverse. Once you have these nailed, then you can move on to more extreme things.