No problems with lulls, it’s the puffs that do it. Get moving... puff comes on hard...boost of power...puff passes, kite luffs. It does not happen all the time, but it’s got to be a combination of things I'm doing wrong. I'll pay more attention to it next time and if I don't figure it out I’ll post a new topic.

Ya, looking for a depower too...just not sure what to get, so many options and I don't know the land conditions very well. I like the new Frenzy, but then there is LEI's and twinskins and being on the water. Have to consider that I will be crashing still, so a good second hand kite for the first one might be a smarter investment. Think I’m going to go to Delaware next spring for a lesson on the water.

Ya I'd like to get a depower kite that would work on the water; I think I might be moving there someday. As for a harness that was one of the things that I was factoring into the equation. Is buying used a good idea in general for kites or not so much? I know I could save a lot of money, I just want to make sure the money will be well spent.

Yea your best bet is used, its best to buy local so you can inspect it first. Also most on here seem pretty cool so would consider buying from those on here. New will cost you 3 times as much.
Thing about buying a kite for water is it going to be big, id say 12m LEI bow or 14/16 m twinskin. For you on land this will be a bit much. If you go foil kite youll want closed cell. Flysurfer is the kites of choice but are a bit more expensive.
Really your best bet would be to get together with sum of us and try some kites out. Other then getting a harness i would save your cash. Go for your lessons in the spring or whatever and then decide exactly what you want to do land water ect. Most likely your going to end up with a few kites anyway for different conditions. Take your time and decide what u want.

Quote:

Originally posted by snobdr Yea your best bet is used, its best to buy local so you can inspect it first. Also most on here seem pretty cool so would consider buying from those on here. New will cost you 3 times as much. Thing about buying a kite for water is it going to be big, id say 12m LEI bow or 14/16 m twinskin. For you on land this will be a bit much. If you go foil kite youll want closed cell. Flysurfer is the kites of choice but are a bit more expensive. Really your best bet would be to get together with sum of us and try some kites out. Other then getting a harness i would save your cash. Go for your lessons in the spring or whatever and then decide exactly what you want to do land water ect. Most likely your going to end up with a few kites anyway for different conditions. Take your time and decide what u want.

I agree with snobdr 100%. A water quiver tends to run larger than a land quiver because of the amount of pull you need to get going. If you plan to ride in both places, you will end up with a larger range of kites. Cheap, used LEI kites is probably your best route to achieve the quiver you need spending the least amount of money. However, there are certain risks involved with flying LEI kites, and you will need to be aware of them. I will be more than happy to educate you and show you what you can do with them.

Hopefully we can get together this weekend and go over some of the basics, and get you flying/riding something. The question, as always, is how much wind will there be in DC...

Ya, winters here are interesting...it's either nothing or blowing its socks off or at least that is how it is on the bay. Not sure how it is around the Potomac on the nearby land?

Necessarily I don’t need one to fit my needs on both water and land at the moment, as I am mainly just looking at the land for now…do have to say kites are still much cheaper than sails. Look forward to getting a session in with you guys.

Current wind predictions for this weekend (24 & 25 October) look... odd. Looks like winds will be good on the coast, but crap in the DC metro area. Wildwood could be fun both days, but tides are NOT in our favor. Looks like low tide is at 0800 & 2000hrs. Not optimal. Wind direction is also WNW which is not great either. Strong enough that it could be fun at Wildwood, but with those tides... Ugh.

Might be good days to do some kitesurfing in the Dewey area though... Not much beach to play with though... We'll see how the forecast pans out. If the winds get stronger in the DC area, I might considering riding at Anacostia to play with some of you good land riding folks. However, last time I looked, wind predictions were in the 0-6mph range.

Rag let me know if your heading to dewey

Sunday forecast for D.C. has changed for the better, supposed to be 15 gusting to 30. Anyone available for west potomac? Saturday's not supposed to be bad, 14 gusting 24, and the direction is supposed to be out of the SW which is perfect for west potomac.

Ragden and I are not going to be available on Saturday, the wind direction on Sunday is supposed to be NW last I checked. Which would be lousy at Potomac.

I know. Are there any other good places to fly around west potomac park?

Depends on your definition of good. There aren't really any good places to fly in DC, which you'll understand when you get a chance to fly somewhere nice. Anacostia is usable. But that's not close by foot.

Looking over the forecasts for Sunday, I think your best bet within the DC Metro area will be Anacostia park. If you have transportation, the Bowl also looks like a viable option. I am debating whether I want to hit the water before it gets too cold, or if I want to rip up the Bowl in my buggy... Hard call as both look viable with the current forecast...

Gonna keep checking this to see if one starts to look better than the other as time progresses. I'll probably make a final decision either Friday or Saturday night.

Where is the bowl?

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Originally posted by power Where is the bowl?

As previously mentioned, its in Baltimore.
If we wind up going there, I would be willing to pick you up along the way...

I might be able to on Sunday. Could you post a google map satellite image of it? Just curious how big it is.

Ugh, my really nice write-up with map included got destroyed by some kind of database error...

Here goes again:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=was...

The park does not look very big, but it is a lot of fun to ride. What you cannot see from the map is that the terrain is shaped like an ampitheatre facing the water. When the wind comes in at the right angle, it fills the entire "bowl" allowing you to zip down one side, and up the other and back again. This makes for some very entertaining trips across the location.

You can park in the parking lot just to the west of the park.

The only catch with this location is wind direction. Due to the tree line, and the shape of the land, the wind direction has to be perfect. Too much west and it gets really gusty and dangerous. Too much north, and you cannot make the tack up the north east side. You really want a good NW - NNW wind for this spot. You also have to be very mindful of the trees. There are lots of them, and they will eat your kites.

This is not the greatest spot for a beginner, but if you are careful, it can be a really entertaining location to ride.

Of course I have Firday off and it looks like there's going to be nothing for wind.

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Originally posted by dtoast Of course I have Firday off and it looks like there's going to be nothing for wind.

Of course. Hate it when that happens...

Ragden, guess it's just as well we'll be gaming Saturday, they're calling for thunderstorms.

Yeah, and the bottom fell out of the local forecast for Sunday.
I'll be heading to Dewey if there is still wind. That forecast is looking decent. You are welcome to join us if you want.

I didn't think Dewey had anything usable in the way of land.

Quote:

Originally posted by Maven454 I didn't think Dewey had anything usable in the way of land.

I've never looked at the beach. I'm always on the bay side kitesurfing...

I'd be in if there was room on the beach to do some land boarding.

Does your outlaw do well in the gusty air around here? Really looking at the Flysurfers (Pulse, Psycho and the open cell Outlaw) for a depower, what do you guys think? Snobdr recommended going with a closed cell foil in his earlier post, any particular reason why besides being able to be on the water with a closed cell?

I dont know about room on the beach, as stated earlier. However, I do know that RDavis does some buggy riding out in that area on the beach from time to time. I've never looked at it so I cannot speak to how much room is available. Sorry. I also think the tides are not in favor this weekend, but I could be wrong...

The Outlaws do alright in gusty winds. As long as the direction is steady, I dont mind the gusts so much. The occasional yanks arent bad and can be mitigated by letting the bar out (if you had it pulled in at all in the first place). I tend to ride with the bar pulled in about halfway, so if a gust hits, I just let go of the bar.

The only reason, I can think of, to recommend the Pulse/Psycho/Speed over the Outlaw is the performance on water. The Outlaw is basically an open-cell Pulse. It doesnt get nearly the same pull as the Speed, nor the lift and depoer of the Psycho, but for land use, it works very well. You can fly it in water, just dont crash it. Did this once, it sank like a rock. :wow:

If you are even considering heading into the water at a later date, and want to fly a Flysurfer, I'd recommend either the Pusle, Psycho, or Speed. The most forgiving of those three being the Pulse. I love my Outlaws, and will not be giving them up anytime soon, but they dont fly very well on water...

will the Bowl be dry and windy enough for Sun.?

Doubt it. Forecast is looking real bad for tomorow.