has anyone ever attempted to fly a tarp? or like, a 20x25 piece of plastic or soemthing?

I expect it would be similar to flying a lobotomized NPW and be as squirrelly as a pomeranian on meth. Although with a bit of tweaking it could probably be made to act like a drogue.

I have inadvertantly ended up flying a tri-awning by the stake lines due to the wimpy stock stakes.


This was as a storm front was moving in, so I wasn't inclined to explore the possibilities. It was purely unintentional and I believe all photos have been successfully ashed. \

ATB,
Sam

seen a guy on the beach doing it one day and doing scudding. i thought i was brainless. what a beating. any kinda lines on the corners for instant dismemberment. novelty available to all. helps the medical industry as well as hardware guys.

caution advised

There is a video of a guy with a souped up umbrella. ( bridled from points to handle ) that had me rolling with laughter. He did a good job. Even trying to get upwind.

well. needless to say, me and my buddy tried it.

let me tell ya... it wasn't strong enough for us to jump that high, but we did a couple times.

however. my pants and shirt were full of grass stains, my clothes were soaked, i had uncontrollable laughter. and it was just FUN.

when it would catch the wind, we'd have to kind of hold our ground to keep it in place, and then when we'd catch the right moment, one of us would be tossed across the yard. i wish i had taken some video, it was 12AM, storm front moving in, and it was getting violent...

Youtube has a few videos of kids from around the world trying such a stunt - tarps, tents, garbage bags with skates, skimboards, high-winds, etc.

The results usually include such search-terms as "comedy" or "accident" or "stupid."

Speaking of umbrellas, I've seen one video kind'a beating that:
It was so windy on a UK beach that all the fellows had to do was hop on their ATBs and spread their parkas open!
Sort of a grounded, sensible wingsuit (no upwind, though!)

after doing it a bit more... one of the corners ripped off... and today... i'm sore all over. ONE HELLOVA WORKOUT!

It isn't as much about the material as it is about how it's made into a kite. A tarp set up as a crude downwind spinnaker will yank your butt downwind, maybe with dnagerous results (but you might have fun). Other's have used polytarp on the cheap to sew prototype kites that "sort of perform pretty OK," although if had a decent plan and could run a sewing machine OK, I'd spend the extra $100 to buy some decent material. Of course, that $100 could proibably buy you an old school kite that was proven to fly.

Horses for courses, though. Get a tarp, slick down the yard, wear a helmet and pads, and have fun. Risk is all yours, though - you might get hurt...badly (that's my legal disclaimer).

krumly

Two line, controllable powerkite made out of a tarpaulin:
http://youtu.be/KT77AikgSJg

Plans:
http://cerf-volant.ffvl.fr/node/112

Simple, low-cost, fun