Man the other day I was out in 20-30 mph. winds. I really needed to do that. Being fairly new to the sport I have gained new respect for power kites! they are serious! They are for fun but, they are not toys!!!

Just thinking, sittin here reading this topic, NO ONES ANSWERED YET???!!! They are a blast, & they give one a new respect & thoughts about wind... One cant ever look at a weather report the same EVER Again, waiting to see what the winds going to be the next day, & you notice so much more about the sky & trees & such, (must be from trying to figure the Beaufort scale) at the moment & how many other sports can you pack up in big pockets or bag or car trunk, & all you need is the wind to have fun even if its JUST the kite??? !!!

Just remember, the further you push the envelope, the higher the stakes get. Big kites in big winds usually ends in big problems. Could be big fun as well, but well, ya gotta know what you're doing and work your way up.

Thanks for the bump nebula! Yes you are right. I watch the weater daily more than once and cannot go anywhere without looking at the TREES.

My worst time out was with a 3m Blade III in big gusty winds. That little sucker got the best of me

Quote:

Originally posted by Pdxnebula One cant ever look at a weather report the same EVER Again...& you notice so much more about the sky & trees & such

Totally! My girlfriend gives me a hard time because we'll be sitting at a restaurant and I'll be staring out the window. She'll ask what I'm thinking about, and I've got to decide whether or not to tell her the truth that I'm actually lusting over the wind I see outside!!!

Lol... True Gulf, very true... I get the same thing from mine... But then shes the 1'st one to start smiling & laughing, Besides ME, when I start being pulled by a kite, & she loves watching me do butt scudds, almost as much as I like to sit there & have the kite pull me back to standing...

This is the first hobby I've had that my wife doesn't discourage me from participating in. She seems to understand that I have to go if the trees are waving around outside. She isn't quite so happy when she sees a new bag on my shelf in the garage. I think I'm good on kites for awhile but that buggy keeps nagging at me, and my 12 year old son is looking into land boards now. I guess it never ends.

Just got a lake wind advisory notice. I bet they didn't think about their notice encouraging me to get out in it this afternoon!

Heh heh heh, the spelll is cast.

Yeah, I've got weatherbug on the PC, look at NOAA several times a day and always have seven days worth of tide data printed out and on my desk. East wind and low tide, and I'm gone for PTE (prduct testing and evaluation).

I would like to scrape up the $2k needed to put a weather station on the Convention Center overlooking Jekyll Ilsand Beach. It comes with a wireless web server and it's own IP address. I'm pretty sure the Convention Center would let me plug in a passive wireless router into their network. Then all the locals could have real time feed from the beach.

Quote:

Originally posted by BeamerBob This is the first hobby I've had that my wife doesn't discourage me from participating in. She seems to understand that I have to go if the trees are waving around outside. She isn't quite so happy when she sees a new bag on my shelf in the garage. I think I'm good on kites for awhile but that buggy keeps nagging at me, and my 12 year old son is looking into land boards now. I guess it never ends.

Looking at your list of kites, all that's missing is a 7-9m, you'd be surprised how many more "low wind" days you can get in when you're flying something larger. Having flown a 13m Century and a 14m RM+, 4-6mph is starting to get nicely powered, by 8-10mph it's getting a little scary.

Yes! 7-9 meter!

Beamer Bob,

I found that when my biggest fixed bridle kite in the bag was the 7m bullet I was lacking on those low wind days . The 9m seems to be getting me out when the 7 wouldn't. I'm 140lbs.

9m Blade 2 What a beast that must be!

Right now living inland and flying on grass, I have a hard time enjoying the 5m kites. I have a jones for a buggy now that ACampbell "made" me try his out last weekend and I know that the power will be welcome with something to use it up. Until I get a buggy and find myself wishing that CF had more power to make me go faster ( I can't imagine that until I can manage a right turn), I would have little use for the next size up. In 12-15 mph winds last weekend on hard packed sand, I was scudding 75-100 feet without stopping (then I ran out of beach) with the CF so at the stage I'm in right now, that is about the max I can take advantage of. I can see how a 7-9m kite would be a natural progression though. The Montana 3 in 7 meter was winking at me that someday I would be ready for her. Angus was right in another thread when he said the spell was in place! :megan:
I appreciate you experienced guys taking me under your wings.

For large kites you have to consider one thing, are you getting it for huge power or low wind kiting.

If it's for low wind, then you want a fixed bridal kite on handles, if you're going for big lift and power, then for sure you want a depowerable kite. I like going out with my 16m Scorpion in 20-30mph winds, I'll fly with it sheeted pretty much all the way out (depowered) and still have more than enough power to get going, set up for a jump and pull the bar in. If I'm already moving good with 20% of the kite power, no force on earth will hold me down when 100% of the power kicks in. Big kites=big float as well.

It's very easy to underestimate the power and the speed of the wind. After some rough experiences (using big kites in big winds), I have invested in a windmeter for safe flyings. I'll use it to caliberate my internal windmeter as it underestimates the windspeeds.

Quote:

Originally posted by Sthrasher38 Man the other day I was out in 20-30 mph. winds. I really needed to do that. Being fairly new to the sport I have gained new respect for power kites! they are serious! They are for fun but, they are not toys!!!

Thats a good idea. I need to get one for those gusty days Because thats when it gets me!

Usually you just have a feeling, not a good feeling, when this happens, start with the smaller kites in your bag and work up. I've been fooled by windmeters before, they're a great place to start, but also look around for other clues, tree tops, flags etc. We had one day at SOBB where the wind was heading straight down the beach at ground level and average speed, but a flag on a nearby hill was pointing 90 deg to the wind at ground level and pinned straight out. As was expected, harsh wind sheer and some bumpy conditions. That was the day I got yanked out the back of a buggy doing an upwind tack. Should have known better, got #@%$#!y and tried to finish strong. Almost a week later and I've almost lost the limp.

Thanks for looking out Pablo.