Hi,

I have a mountain board and I am looking at kites. I live North of Lubbock, Tx. Plenty of wind here. I am interested in land kiting on pavement and dirt roads. I tend to be cautious and weigh only 125 lbs, but I am fairly active. I've been land paddling lately while I look at kites. I have never flown a power kite, but I have sailed a Hobbie Cat 16' Cattamaran with 198 sq ft of sail.

I've read lots of good information and the consensus seems to be start with a 2-3m kite. I like the HQ Rush IV and the Scout.

Would a Rush IV Pro 250 be too small to get me moving with wind between 7 and 20mph?

If I need something in the 3M range, would I see that much difference between a Rush and a Scout? Should I start with the Rush? What are the odds of me tearing up my first kite?

What about Nasa Power Wings? I've only seen two people who sell them.

I'm also thinking that there may be times when I might benefit from shorter lines. There are infrequently traveled roads where I could go for miles if I was not worried about the occasional tree.

Thanks,

Scooter

Nasa wings are good for gusty inland wind. They can be flown with any lenght line set or handles.

Susan (npw goddess)

Susan,

I'm definitely inland and winds are typically gusty here. Do you still make NPWs for sale?

Would an NPW be a good starter kite, or do I need to get some experience on something else?


Thanks,

Scooter

NPW is probably a good way to go for poaching back roads.

You can run it on pretty sort lines , pull them in as you pass under power lines or pass trees and let it out again after you pass.

The thing to consider is the wind. Trees and things upwind can really mess up or eliminate the wind.

They are pretty easy to learn on. Kitemaker can make a kite for you but I am not sure She has handles + lines ?

If you decide to go the NPW route I have an NPW that I may be willing to let go .

Bladerunner,

I am interested in the NPW. I sent you a u2u msg.

Scooter

Susan,

I'm not sure if there is a U2U message indicator, but I sent you a private message as well.

Scooter

i learned on stropped nasa NPW5 with land board. balanced handles ! but then makes front line biased kite even easier!

ultra durable ! for learning you need it! easy out as well. definitely teaches "fly to idle" and speed control, much like c-kites , it really sets you up to fly fixed bridle and teaches tons about wind,window , power, speed and fluidity of foil flight, where as depower stuff omits considerable parts of that knowledge and experience base as far as HOW to use the window for power control instead relying on sheeting out....imho is vastly important.

point of sail--->crosswind then slowly add windward lines, even slight changes makes power! depower kinda muttles that at first while fixed bridle is all business and board pointing that gives drive (equilievent to cat with sails set and rudder control flies edge direction and power)

you are there man ! balance through hips and knees, head back---> off you go (helmet pads blah blahblah)

scooter you will enjoy a power kite. You've probably been watching videos on youtube and even though kiting looks fun on video, it doesn't do it justice. Video doesn't capture all the forces involved which makes it so much fun.

Scooter check your inbox.

By land paddling do you mean using a Kahuna Big Stick or similar and long board ? I really enjoy mine.

I was at my parent's farm this weekend with my sons and decided to test my mountain board at higher speeds. We did the redneck version of surfing. My sister towed us behind her John Deere Gator. We got it up to 10 MPH and slalomed a little on a farm to market road. I definitely got a feel for maintaining balance in relation to direction of pull. I could feel a point in my turns when I was on the verge of being overbalanced.


Bladerunner,

Yes, I have an adjustable Kahuna big stick and a home grown stick. I have been land paddling on my MBS Core 90. It is slow, but our streets are chip seal and they are rough! The texture is like someone dumped pea sized gravel out on the road. I went with a mountain board because I tried my son's nickel board and I thought it would shake the fillings in my teeth loose.

It is tough to get a mountain board up to speed with a paddle, but it is a great workout. I alternate left and right leg leads on the board for muscular balance. What sort of board are you using? What kind of stick? How smooth are your streets/ sidewalks? I find that the Kahuna big stick seems to grip well on smoother pavement or sidewalks, but on the rough stuff the rubber wears away fast. My home made stick works great for the chip seal. It is a medium sized Kong dog ball shoved onto a 60" broom handle with a tapered end.

Phreerider and Ssayre,

Thanks for the feedback! I am so excited about getting into this sport! I have complained for over a decade that we have incredible wind here and need to make good use of it. Based on my sailing experience, the feel when the wind snaps your sail and shoots you in motion is incredible.

Scooter

Hey, from my experience.. I bought 6m ozone fury at first and tried it out in 10 mph wind on my first try.. it do not end up pretty. Later I decided to buy HQ Beamer 3m and I LOVE it, I am able to ride my board upwind in average of 10-15 mph wind. If I were you, I'd find a good field with grass to start with instead of hard rocky road. The field I usually go have a rocky road in middle of the field, one day it was blowing 20-ish mph and I lose control on the rocky road and fell to my knee. That when I learned to wear pads more often.

I tend not to stropping on gusty wind so I am fine with holding the handles.

I have an original wooden Big Stick and Landy board . I use it on our seawall but haven't been out of it much lately.

Hey scooter,(welcome to the forum) IDK if you saw this short video of me flying a narrow beach with my 7M NPW9 made by our own kitemaker4, on 30 foot lines. It will give you an idea of what you can do in 10-13 mph wind. http://www.powerkiteforum.com/viewthread.php?tid=28646

Hellnferno,

I have a park located and I am accumulating pads.

Bobalooie57,

Nice video. We frequently have winds in that range here in Texas.

Scooter