That is true, but I prefer them powered up. I buffer the gusts by turning upwind or downwind or at worst case hitting safety. I converted my 4 meter to handles for awhile and liked it but I prefer the bar for ease of use and sitting in a comfortable position. I may return to handles at some point because they are fun to fly in 4 line mode. Do you use a z bridle? Do you use a standard hook or some sort of qr and pulley?

I do not use the z bridle. My harness has a roller.

Susan (npw goddess)

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From what I can gather the nasa star kites are powered up all the time. This concerns me flying in gusty winds.

Depends on how you rig them up. The 'pro depower' bar has a very easy to engage depower/safety function - you can dump the power in an instant. I find the NS2's power up much slower than a foil (I assume this is true with the general nasa design) and give you a realistic chance to hit the safety!

You can rig them up on standard 4 line handles. Or the std bar which allows you to release onto the third depower/nose line.

Thanks for the info.

Susan (npw goddess)

I've had a couple really wacky wind days where I could see active brake control coming in handy but most of the time I can manage very well at full power and like John says, the nasa's will give you enough time to hit the safety if need be. When I converted the 4 meter to handles I was not using the z bridle. I enjoyed balancing the breaks adding that extra dimension. Unfortunately, I'm lazy, so just give me the power straight up on the bar.

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Maybe my wind isn't as bad as I think it is

Don't sell yourself short Spencer. I've been to Atlanta and I think your wind is as janky as anywhere. My theory is gear is important but skill will trump gear nearly every time.

Edit: This was meant to be a compliment in that he is good at using his reactors in challenging conditions. Just wanted to clarify.

I used to live in Augusta GA and the wind there was not really so bad. Could Atlanta be that much worse?

I rode frequently at a public field behind a Kroger in Evans. OOBE field was a half hour away and while the wind wasn't perfect, we put some miles in for sure. And I had some good times at a soccer complex a few miles from home. At the time, was flying Blades and Reactors mainly. Eased into Montanas and a Phantom 15m.

I didn't mean to imply his Atlanta winds are worse than a lot of places but it just looks like his spots are accompanied by the usual downwind obstructions that are common inland. I have a few local spots where I live that on the same day, one spot is almost unusable and my premium spots work really well. Just to look at them you wouldn't necessarily think one spot would work significantly better.

BB, which kite did you like best when you were there?

Meh... It's all defendant on season.... Is it gusty? Yes... But more full of lulls than gusts... It's really mostly lulls and direction changes... It can be pretty shifty at times ESP with the down wind obstructions. And rarely do I get out my "high wind" kites.

I feel like I really do pretty well with the Reactor II's because I really find their stability is strong in spite of their higher AR...

And yes BB... It's very similar to the wind at OOBE

Edit: Oooopsy... I meant upwind obstructions contributing to the shiftiness!!

I got along fine with my Blade, Beamers, Reactors, and the depowers. Like Soliver said, the biggest battle was due to the lulls. It was always such a treat to get to the beach and enjoy some smooth onshore winds.

BTW, I don't think I've ever had trouble with downwind obstructions.

I was there everyday. Forecast was there everyday(the night before). The wind wasn't(didn't meet forecast).

Monday:


Tues, Wed, Thur were more of the same or even less.

Today though; the wind was enough:



Wind on the hand held meter reported wind drifting up and down from 2mph to 10mph.

Started out with the 5m Octane. Did fine downwind. Total struggle on the upwind return trip. Only road 1/2 mile and top speed of 12mph. Put that up and got out the 5.5 Reactor. Rode almost 3 more miles and top speed of 16 mph. Reactor never had wing tips folding in and never collapsed or bow tied. Plodded along at around 10mph most of the time.

Observations from the day:

Cloudy and light wind = No helmet and no sun glasses. Quite a change from the usual.

Light wind means easy conditions for packing up the kite. Unlike the usual.

Found light wind to be extremely exhausting. Could be the constant mental attention the kite constantly needs. I just find it to be very tiring and exhausting. I experience the same feeling on a 35-40mph wind day with a 1.7m kite.

A 20mph day is park and ride conditions. Ride around and ride anywhere just fine.

Now it's back to our usual and normal wind if we don't get rained out: