Hi all
I purchased 3 NASA star 3 for land boarding on short lines due to the lack of room at the places I ride. I also purchased 2,3 and 5 metre lines the idea being I could fly on no lines or a combination of lengths.
I went out Sunday the wind wasn't great, most of the time very little but with big gusts. I started on the 2.5 on 2 metre lines and got some good runs down wind but was not able to get back up wind even when the wind was quite strong. Although the kite was flying it didn't seem to be generating any pull. I didn't seem to be able to keep it in the power, up wind.
I am pretty new to this and was thinking the problem was caused by the sort lines not allowing me to control the kite properly (I picked my line length and stuck with it maybe I should have chopped and changed?). My positioning on the board and the fact the wind was a bit volatile not blowing in one steady direction and wasn't that strong. Got the 4 metre and had the same problem. Kept trying until the wind gave up completely.
Anybody got any advice going up wind. Maybe my kites are not set up properly, I have one bar I use on all three kites.
Thanks
scifi

My advice would be to always use the longest lines possible for the space your riding. You'll get the cleanest wind possible and it will give a longer power stroke. I assume your riding grass? I would also get some 15 or 20 meter lines if you have a spot to use them. If wind is very inconsistent with lots of lulls, you will have more trouble. Longer lines will give the advantage of milking the most power you can. Short lines require more consistent wind. My advice would also be to try it on pavement with your landboard or get a longboard. Eliminating a high rolling resistance is half the battle. I very rarely have wind clean enough to use lines shorter than 5 meter

Thanks for reply, yes riding grass. I do have somewhere with a harder surface and I did find it a lot easier.
I will try longer lines next time. I live part of the year near the sea but sand to soft for boarding, thinking of getting a small Paddle board to use on the water with the ns3's
I have 2 foils but I find people keep getting in the way or are oblivious to what you are doing. Shorter lines eliminate that problem but disadvantage you need a good wind.
Thanks
scifi

Scifi buff, another thing worth considering is the upwind ability of the kite itself and your technique... I have 3 NS3's myself and while they have better upwind capability than the standard NASA wing, they are still a little lacking in that department (compared to some foils), so you have to make up for that with technique...

I don't board, but I do buggy and though it may not be exactly the same, I'm sure the concept is the same, so here goes. I have always called this the "sawtooth method" of upwind travel... not sure it's actually called that but thats what I call it... the trick is using the angle of the wind to the best of your ability to travel back and forth in your available area of travel to slowly work your way back upwind... it can be hard, but you can do it. It is something you will have to learn because very rarely is the wind absolutely perfect.

This is what I learned on the beach at Jekyll Island from Angus of Coastal Windsports:

Say the length of your available area is running east to west and you are traveling across it with the wind from the south-east.... you downwind tack would be from east to west and super fun and super fast, but you will have to use the southerly component of the wind to get back upwind... Travel as far as you can back the direction came from with the wind directly perpendicular to your travel (north-east), then turn around and use the kite's upwind capability to head as far south as you can, then turn around and head that north-easterly direction again, then south, then north-east, etc etc etc, slowly working your way back up wind,.... the reward is the downwind run :D... the combination of the 2 angles of travel makes a shape like a saw tooth... hence why I cal it that.

Here is an illustration of this method I did a little while back because its hard to explain:



Obviously as labeled, Grey is the direction of the wind, green is the downwind tack and red is upwind.