OMG, I doubt he can go upwind on it....

i doubt he can go cross wind

Nice find Bloah !
I love all that odd old stuff

Hey Sailors,
Thanks for reminding me how old I've become.
I barely remember the 70's and the Up-Ski.
I was living in the Denver CO area and met a guy (the inventor, he said) of a remarkable modified controllable canopy chute he called the Up-Ski.
Mostly for going up the slopes in preparation of coming down.
Correct in lack of up-wind ability, but that really wasn't the point at that time.
In the mid-70's, in the High Rockies, above timber-line, the opportunity to traverse vast open slopes, powered by the wind... That was pretty exciting.

This seems to be a copy of that technology.
If the guy I met was truly the inventor.
I have a video of him and the Up-Ski somewhere.
Remember video?


"Often wrong... Never in doubt"

the coreylama

YES !

The UP SKI

I KNEW I remembered seeing somthing like this in the 70's but I don't always trust my memories from that period ;-)

I also remember seeing people using paragliders like the speed skiers just shortly after they came out :ticking:

So, that's how the NPW was born....interesting. LOL

Hey Sailors,
The NPW was developed by Francis Rogallo in the late 1940's.
This stuff happened in the mid to late 70's.

Funny how no-one thought to put the NPW together with skis.
Kites are for kids and skis are for going downhill.
I was using Flexifoil Power Kites in the late 70's and 80's.
Not many people thought about traction back then.
Most were just finding out about sport kites and what they could do.
Power kiting, in the marketplace, was still a ways off.

In 1977, while living in Europe, I learned to paraglide.
The crew I flew with was from a new (at the time) paraglider maker- Nova.
During the weekend, I witnessed some of the more skilled pilots do something very similar to what you describe.
Descending the mountain, they would shoot up over a small ridge and ride along the spine, maybe a foot or so off the ground, missing all the flags placed there.
Ground speed of maybe 25-35 mph (I'm sure it seems MUCH faster to the pilots) along a ridge that ran maybe 1500 feet. Only a couple of them could do more than 200'-300'.
Very impressive.


"Often wrong... Never in doubt"

the coreylama

Quote:

Originally posted by coreykite Hey Sailors, The NPW was developed by Francis Rogallo in the late 1940's. This stuff happened in the mid to late 70's. Funny how no-one thought to put the NPW together with skis. Kites are for kids and skis are for going downhill. I was using Flexifoil Power Kites in the late 70's and 80's. Not many people thought about traction back then. Most were just finding out about sport kites and what they could do. Power kiting, in the marketplace, was still a ways off. In 1977, while living in Europe, I learned to paraglide. The crew I flew with was from a new (at the time) paraglider maker- Nova. During the weekend, I witnessed some of the more skilled pilots do something very similar to what you describe. Descending the mountain, they would shoot up over a small ridge and ride along the spine, maybe a foot or so off the ground, missing all the flags placed there. Ground speed of maybe 25-35 mph (I'm sure it seems MUCH faster to the pilots) along a ridge that ran maybe 1500 feet. Only a couple of them could do more than 200'-300'. Very impressive. "Often wrong... Never in doubt" the coreylama

............but we all know that NPW will not go upwind or very fast.............aj

who won ALL 3 npw races at nabx a few years ago???
OH YEA!!! IT WAS ME!!!!!!

But do you remember who came in second?

Susan (npw goddess)

One day I am going to learn how to go upwind and also how to go fast.

Susan (npw goddess)