Randy and Riff, you guys make me insanley jelous of your talents!!

That said, did a lil static flying with my NS3 today on full lines in some 4-12 mph wind and got to try its depower bar out as a depower setup for the first time. Flew it unhooked with the saftey connected to a d ring on a web strap from my bowflex that i ran my belt through. Worked great once i had my stop on the 3rd line adjusted correctly for full flag out.

As a strictly inland flyer (the beaches near my part of Lake Erie are pathetically small so i avoid them at all costs) i still prefer my fixed bridles to my depowers... oddly enough i feel safer with FB than i do with depower...

"Finished"* my kite today and decided to try to fly it. Drove to the launch and it started raining on the way. But the rain was pretty light and my kite is pretty much waterproof anyway, so I went the rest of the way. Got it up in the air and suddenly heard thunder. So it looks like it will fly, and the bridles looked ok. Since the sky was still fairly bright I packed it up and went to a store to kill some time hoping to come back and try again. By the time I was leaving there was a full blown thunderstorm so I headed home.....Well, there is always tomorrow. I will post a picture or something once I get a real chance to fly it.



* (Got it ready to fly, but there is always some bridle trimming, etc after its test flights.)

Just had to get a set of tires blasted with the Cheetah myself. The tire guy was cussing. He got the third one seated on the first shot.

I had the tires stretched for 4 days with wood blocks. Tried a ratchet strap and bicycle inner tube. No luck. Off the wheel the tire would sit at rest 5 inches wide. Once on the wheel; the beads would want to go back together. Almost like they took a cold set straight from the factory.

In the summer I sometimes spend time building single line kites. This one, the Peter Lynn Pilot kite flew right out of the box. As usual, I am a few days behind the actual event, but I did edit the picture today at least. This thing is more than 4M^2. Once there is enough wind to fly it, it has a lot of pull.

Was not really hard to build, though 8 foot long seams are a bit of challenge. This thing is really designed to lift big inflatables for kite festivals and the like. I should think of something to lift with it now.

Finally got enough wind from a good direction to make some runs with my PL Monohull Kiteboat.

I spent most of my morning re-building the AQR that was basically torn apart last WBB. No fault of the AQR: Jeff showed me where the weak points were designed/stitched into it so that there were "sequential safeties" (my word not his). The good news is that they worked and my butt stayed exactly where it was supposed to. Unfortunately, I had to re-stitch a new strap and throw in a new 'biner. I also decided to put a stiffer brace under the seat since the original was getting a little too flexible.

Then for good measure, I threw the barrows back on the buggy in hope that I'll have a decent day or two during what's left of the summer.

Then the wind picked up :-) Much like Adam last month, I finally got my new-to-me 13m Venom (thanks Scott) into the air yesterday and, in 5 gusting to 20, got in a couple of buggy miles.

Things learned:
- launching an arc is a bitc#
- 13m is a lot of ripstop to keep in the air with only 5mph breezes
- testing the safety results in a mess of inverted/twisted line that's easiest to sort out by disconnecting the lines
- bring a ground screw to anchor the kite to - the buggy isn't heavy enough
- ground handling an arc takes practice
- only pull the safety at the end of the day
- landing an arc is a bitc#

I can't wait to get out there again! :wee:

i'd write what i've been up to, but don't want to depress Howard any further

I unpacked my 3.5M Flexifoil Blurr from the Amazon Box.. :D

Quote: Originally posted by Randy

Finally got enough wind from a good direction to make some runs with my PL Monohull Kiteboat.

That's cool randy. have you thought about hooking the kite to the boat. or harness and lei maybe. That looks like a fun set up. I would be too lazy to hold the power with my arms.

Thanks Sean. I am hooked into the kite in this case, and it is not very tiring. I've used some bigger NPW's w/o being hooked in and it didn't seem particularly tiring, though I was a little worried at times about OBE's (Out of Boat Experiences). Water OBE <Land OBE on the pain scale.

Didnt do any today, but got some runs in on my ATB with my ns3 on full lines yesterday. Could only go downwind with the space i had. Did have some fun though, put my ns3 on the street bar and got in my friends canoe and cruzed across her pond a few times, was quite fun!

Flew static yesterday and did a lot of sewing yesterday and today.

So a day behind as usual - rode kite boat yesterday and worked on my latest X kite

Got about an hour static fly under my HQ 4.8M NPW5 in flukey (0-10mph) wind. First time since May or so. I had fun.

More kiteboating (Friday, that is - I'm always behind schedule......)

Watched it get trashed by a dog

Tried to get an ATB session in with my NS3 but the wind just straight DIED as soon as i stepped on my board, lol. Such is late summer life in Ohio, lol.

Got my latest design to fly.

Nice! Video? or not quite ready to be shown to the world?

Thanks for asking - it is real early in the game on this project. May have more before long.

Orderd the last bits i needed to finally have a complete kite buggy!

I haven't been able to buggy in quite a while, but at long last this morning I took the time to put my second set of wheels on my ride. These are my wheels for Ivanpah, some 6-ply trailer tire beasts that should be able to withstand nuclear attack.


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Below is an older picture of my ride with my BigFoots, my preferred setup for the "beach" of the Great Salt Lake. Both sets of wheels have the exact same rims so I can use the same hardware for both and swapping between them is easy. Now I just need to find the time to actually ride!


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Wow - impressive bug you have there Steve.

Been doing a lot lately. Flew static and kiteboat yesterday. Today, static.

Quote: Originally posted by Randy

Wow - impressive bug you have there Steve.

Thanks Randy! Love the new Avatar pic BTW; instant classic!

As for my bug, it started as a lowly PL BigFoot+ bought on eBay out of Las Vegas for $500. Only original parts left on it are the front end, goose neck, and rear axle. Largest and best upgrade was a VTT seat and rail kit (thanks Van!); truly transformative. The Sysmic rims and tires take it a step farther (thanks Tami and Paul!), and the foot peg ends/heel straps take it the rest of the way (thanks John for the inspiration!). Harder to see in the photos but oh so important is a BigKid AQR (thanks Jeff!), a must in my post kite skating crash world. Oh yeah, must not forget the mounts for the water bottle, GPS, and phone (Thanks Paul!). Whupp! :karate:

Quote: Originally posted by Windstruck

Oh yeah, must not forget the mounts for the water bottle, GPS, and phone (Thanks Paul!). Whupp! :karate:

Thanks. Just don't text and drive.

Got my sweet new 4" Sysmic wheels, new seat (Thanks, Van!) tires mounted - by hand, what a beating. Heat gun and clamps widened the minibike fender to 10" width, attached mudflap to bottom.

Friday afternoon on JI, 12 kt E wind, steady, low tide 6 pm. Pulled three nine-mile round trips flying the 5.5 Reactor, averaged 20 mph. 38 mph max in the that run to the tower heading south. Man, I love dropping the hammer heading south towards the tower.

A total of six turns in 27 miles - ya gotta love it...Beach was wide open, clouding up. SO FEW PEOPLE - well, it did rain delay for thirty minutes. No real access point crowds to slow down for - a few walkers grinnin' and cheerin' and videoin'. Always rolling slow thru even the minimal access point clumpage, so to average 20 mph tells you how thin the crowds.

There's a new 'no dogs south of here sign' about 1/4 mile north of the tower. I'm guessing that's the real 'plover/turtle zone' line, so I'll start using THAT as the southern terminus. Park at the tower, and tow the bug up to the sign, why not. Only thing that would have improved the day would have been to have some of you maniacs along for the ride. Miss you guys!

More kiteboating today. I'm getting better - having a lot wind doesn't hurt either. Still a long ways to go but I'm having fun.

Went to lake Powell for the long weekend. Got up for almost a two hr session two evenings ago on my 15:D. It was magical with the lake Powell backgrounds. Still having problems figuring out up winds though. Using a 149 in light winds. At 225 lbs I think a bigger board would help any recommendations??

Flew my outlaw for a lil bit today, at least until i stepped on my board and the just DIED, lol. Now that im home grillin brats, guess what, WIND!! I think its time to add a gnat fart catcher tothe quiver for the low wind summer months, lol.

Quote: Originally posted by adambweird

I think its time to add a gnat fart catcher tothe quiver for the low wind summer months, lol.

12.5m Born LongStar2. Nuff said. :saint: