I don't know if any of you out there live in the western US but last night there was a rapid sprawl storm running through Texas at a rapid 70mph. Winds were in excess of 60mph in some areas, down power lines and trees, some tornado like action as well...anyway today I decided my new Profoil might fly well in these(by 4pm diminished but slowly increasing winds) and on my 6th time out with a powerkite. This was the first day I'd had that necessitated kite killers(and damn glad I had them). Winds started around 10 mph gusting to 16 or so and eventually hit 30 in the strongest gusts increasing to steady 14-18mph. In fact look at this weather graph for the station and comepare when we were out (4-6pm) vs last night during one of the most intense thunderstorms this year here(3-4am).

Launching was pretty nerve racking but I did so on the outside of the window and got it up pretty well, lot of pull and lots of scudding on a neatly maintained community college soccer field. I got a few good lifts in without much effort hovering around the low power zone. Then my most extreme kiting experience to date happened. It was up high and gave it some brake and it dropped some and then at that moment a strong gust appeared, the kite popped into lift and BOOM perfect 8 vertical foot(feet to ground) by probably 25-30 longitudinal lift occurred. This was entirely unplanned and elated, surprised, and scared the hell out of me all in one fell swoop(highest previous intentional jump before maybe 3ft). Glad to say I kept my feet flat and had a pretty soft even landing before tumbling to the ground in sheer surprise. My way unexperienced friend had a crack at it after me (how could I refuse him after I did that sweet loft with him wanting to feel even just a little of that). He did pretty well staying on the edge of the powerzone but the day ended in him clipping a small tree, climbing the tree to free the bridle, and the rest of the afternoon spend untangling the lines. I have to tell you this event has got me hooked but I also have a great newfound respect for these things. I'm sure glad it all ended well with no damage or injuries but as for now I'm gonna pack it up when it hits 20mph.

I also would like to again thank PKF and its member's for all the advice that has gotten me here and will get me even further in the future.

I had on of those last weekend. Nice powerful 5-10 MPH winds then boom.... 20 to 30 on a 4m Beamer III. In the picture top is a weather station 4 miles up wind, the bottom is the weather station at my home less than 1/8 of a mile away. No warning to speak of. My wife split a gut laughing while I flew 12 ft high by about 30 yards forward, lofted the landing and put it all away. No way I would dump the kite from 12 ft high :frog:

All ended well, could have......
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Holy crap that graph is insane...I think I may invest in a anemometer as I was judging these winds today to be about 8-12 when really they were 10-18. Plus its good to know the actual speed when your n00b friends are trying to learn how to do it(not that I'm not a n00b but w/e)

It's things like this that show me I am really alive!

This is a pretty good price....
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName...

Not that you can fly and watch at the same time.... I have a weather station that reports to wunderground.com within 1/8 of a mile whre I fly, now I have to get it setup so it broadcasts the wind speed 4 miles up wind into my head while flying :wow:

I had a similar experience w/ my blade. Loved it, but packed up shortly after. I live in Austin, TX, and last night at about 10pm, was flyin my 2m (was craving a good session, didnt care if it was short, and at night) and there was plenty of action.

I am glad I didnt get caught in any crazy gusts! I was still in my work clothes.

I always use kite killers, no matter the size or conditions. I learned that one the hard way.

Happy Kiting

I took my HQ Crossfire 6.3 out last Friday. Winds were steady around 10mph gusting to 20. Got some decent 8-10 ft. lofts, and then I got a small static lift, expecting to come down. Evidently the wind gust hit another "gear" and I was lofted immediately 20 feet vertically. Not expecting this, I sorta froze, then when I realized that I was being carried in the air at almost 30 feet, I tried to redirect the kite. I looked up and the kite collapsed... maybe no wind, or my mistake. Anyway, a 20 foot fall on my right side left me with a mustard/soy sauce colored bruised ankle, sore hip, and a stressed fracture in my ribs. Went to the ER and nothing was broken... sigh. Pain pills and and RICE(rest,ice,compress, and elevate) is the rehab. Hoping to get back out in the next week or so.

Skydiving, I never had a foil collapse. Kiting seems to be a whole bunch different. Glad you are OK.

Jerry

I'm sticking to the sandy soft beaches with this kite whenever the winds are 20mph or more. Sand soaks up landings much more than dead grass. We have a nice place to kite here in NC... Jockey's Ridge if you've heard of it.

I have not, tis quite haul from Texas haha. I've taken to the local community college where they have very nicely maintained soccer fields designed with alot of cushioning with very healthy green grass. I keep fearing someone's going to come tell me I can't kite their due to access issues or liability but I've flown there every day last week and no one said a word...the weekend gets a bit crowded though with soccer games and such....as for now its a great spot and my little 9 foot soar didn't hurt a bit

Back in the "day" (1985-1986) when I was working for a local kite shop. Yes I used to get paid to do what I love. We would use 6-pks of 6ft flexi stackers, and get 20-30 ft static lauches with 75-120ft down wind distance. Looking back on this I just shake my head, and wonder why I am still breathing.

Foil colapses tend to happen with kites more, because they overfly the zenith and then the wind pushes the LE down, and it folds, skydiving you have no wind window, so unless you make the AoA negative, it can't collapse.