looking for a kite-only nasa type kite in the 6 1/2 to 7 1/2 sqm size. if you think that something larger would be better, please chime in.
i have a very small school field across the street from my house. last night i tried to use randy's 4.2 nasa to get pulled in a sled. not quite enough wind or sail, so i put up a 5m toxic and FLEW through the field. (of course, the wind picked up considerably after i took the 4m home) using that, though, meant that i could only go a couple hundred feet at a whack before putting the kite down just before it went into the street. then i had to drag everything back upwind to do it again, and again, and again, etc.
i'm thinking that i could get in more sledding and less walking using short/no lines with a nasa wing instead of a normal foil.
i'm a bit less than 145 lbs. the sled is made for hauling stuff such as ice fishing equipment and looks like a 4 1/2 foot long johnboat. (jet sled 1) http://www.shappell.com/sleds.html
i do believe that with enough wind and kite, this thing will scoot along nicely on dry grass.
any advise is greatly appreciated.
tom
tomdiving@yahoo.com

Were you using long or short lines with the 4.2 and 5M? Going with shorter lines will reduce the power available because you will have a shorter power stroke, and be in more turbulent air. A NPW will generate its power without having to "work it" (figure 8's, sine waves, etc) as much as a foil, but a foil can generate more power with longer lines.

I think the answer is as you said - with enough wind an big enough kite you can do just about anything, though dragging a sled over dry grass seems like a tall order. It might be more feasible in the morning when there is dew on the ground, or when the ground is still wet from watering, etc.

You might take a look at what @Alf has been doing. If you go through his youtube channel you can see some similar things. You might be able to use the 5M or NPW on the ergo bar type thing, or try a bigger kite as he has.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLpQQUr8XAY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XllISdRnpFE

the 4 was right on the bridle. the toxic 5 was on its' normal 20m lines.
i think that if i had the wind with the 4m that i had with the toxic, i would have been ok. as soon as i put the toxic up, the snow went from fluttering around to driving horizontally. the treetops were moving well, but my little bowl of wind was hurting at ground level until it really kicked up.
tom

i like the setup that your links show. i am essentially sitting on the ground, though. not much room to maneuver a kite there.
but, since i have an old flexi bar with a fixed chickenloop on it, i suppose it's time to experiment.
thanks for the info.
tom

got in touch with susan, and she's making my wing.

You will be very pleased I think.

That size will be good power house in the lower winds..... and you'll soon find out it's wind range.

I've seen Susan's work. Superior.

Will work well on short lines..

Begin the Single Skin....

"I've seen Susan's work. Superior."

the many comments similar to this is what led me to seek her out.
i'm guessing that she'll be getting a lot of my cash.
tom

It's both the stitch work and choice of materials (especially the bridal lines) that stands out.



A compact quiver of 3 or 4 sizes that fits in one good size day(back) pack can aptly handle a pretty full wind range.



If you're making a short or very short fly line set(say, 2-8 meters), they don't weigh or sag as much, compared to a full length 20-25 m set, you can actually get away with using cheaper, heavier line( with proper rated strength), instead of Spectra. I did, anyways.


Know what color(s) you're getting... or a surprise?

Single Skins are in!

The great thing about NPW's is that you can really stretch the range of a single kite a lot by choice of line length. Going to really short lines or flying off the handle seems like making the kite a whole lot smaller compared to really long (say 80 ft) lines. Of course, none of us seem satisfied with only having a few kites. :D

randy - that's very good to know. i had not considered differences in line length for this use.
mr. ski - i told her that she could do whatever she liked. she came up with a gorgeous combo. hopefully i've added the pic properly.
tom

I have one w/ a cow on it...:puzzled:




Twas a high wind day topping 30+ mph..... and as you see.. flying off the bridal ...it's a 2.5m.

normally i like my cow on a plate, but i guess they're ok on a kite, too.

picked up 5.5 and 7m bullets. they showed up on tuesday and i actually had wind!
forecast was 18mph with 25mph gusts, not sure what it actually was.
grabbed the plastic sled and headed across the street to my school field with the 5.5 on 5 foot lines. not enough. got the 7 out. yep, that was definitely enough.
when the gusts hit, i was off! had a bunch of small trips, but also had some 100 foot runs, too.
i am sore as hell now.
can't wait for susan's 7.6 nasa to get here!
tom

Bullets are a nice kite.

Good job range stretching them with shortline flying...