Thats kinda what i was thinking... or maybe a larger NS3... im waaay more comfy with fixed bridle, lol.

I've wondered if the super-sized NPW kites would help much. By the time there is enough wind to fly do they become overpowered? Or become overpowered in the first small gust? What have others experienced?

Did fly static some today.

Quote: Originally posted by Randy

I've wondered if the super-sized NPW kites would help much. By the time there is enough wind to fly do they become overpowered? Or become overpowered in the first small gust? What have others experienced? Did fly static some today.

I've owned, sold, or given away as gifts all of my former larger NS3. In janky winds the 10 and 12m NS3s can be a real challenge. As Randy speculated about, these kites have a fairly narrow band of winds where they are effective and safe. I've got a fair number of videos posted in the Born worship thread from the last couple of years that the truly interested could go back and take a look at. The 10 and 12m NS3s would be great choices for clean wind on the beach or playa but they stall and back fly a lot as they experience dips in wind strength below their optimum ranges. Above their optimum range? You've got a whole lot of ripstop up in the air with a fixed bridle system. Things can get a little bit, err, out of hand.

Bottom line, for a clean wind knat fart catcher the 10 or 12m NS3 will be completely serviceable, but for janky inland winds I for one would steer towards a 12.5m LS2 or a 12m Peak. That said I've watched Paul (Slapbasswoody) do wonderful work with a large cronos so clearly twin-skins are go-to as well.

I took the 3mtr buster out for a trial fly after the repairs on it.
Fly's the same as previously so i'm one happy flyer :D

i had a change to fly my buddy peter lynn charger 2 10m2 recently at my local field . it under size for our average wind of the year .
but it could be few month high wind to fly it .
have to say it kind a bad purchase , but he snatch it for USD140 RTF for a super fresh kite and line , then i am really broke to be mine .
it were reluctant force sale by one australian kiter urgent return home .

i fly it back to back with Ozone manta 12m2 and LF elite 15m2 on landboard .
it bad comparison but we don't have other 10m foil size .

being in-land , it were shifty, gusty and on-ff . my guess more or less 3 to10 knt gust .
beside those ground handling , it really nice kite , a nice bar pressure and fast turning to make down loop . suprisingly the kite can fill-up in 6-7 knot wind and lift the ground and it light enough to pumping mid air when the wind drop .
Have to say it under power and need to working it to get going .
Eat gust just like that , when i have to deal overfly , stalling and bow tie for 12m and 15m kite .


there is video of it , can't go up-wind .
just cant wait to fly it in more stronger wind .

https://youtu.be/7Kvwt-CFDOc

Today I flew my red white and blue 252 flow form single line for 9-11
Never forget

No flying as theres zero wind, but i did complete my buggy and made a few runs down the sledding hill at our local park to kinda dial in my seat, lol. Got some weird looks from people eating lunch and was asked by one if i was doing some next gen gravity racing, lol.

Not enough time lately to kite, so I took the dawn patrol opportunity today to get some buggy time in. Low tide, right wind and direct onshore, gray cooler foggy weather to drive most everyone else off the beach. Oh ya and it was my first opportunity to get out with my "New to me" Venom 10m I got from BlitzHound back in June! It has been a couple years since i flew a depower and first time with one in a buggy. The Venom is awesome! A couple of good hours on the beach!!!
Also I need to get/make a splash guard for the front wheel.

Ordered new clothes for my bug. I buy off the rack and on sale. My bug has a 250 quid tailor in Wales. No addiction here.

Hey Ed, good to hear from you. Maybe the cooling season is about over?

Working on templates for my next kitexperiment.

Hey Randy, I can't speak about the 12.5 NASA, but when you stopped by with your 5m, I was flying the 10. It moves the bug when the 5 won't . Also, yes you slide when the wind puffs a little.
I'm comfortable enough with the 10 now to try a bigger one for summer next. Maybe I'll find one used , if not, I do like the DFO 7m I bought. Maybe I'll try the Dutch Flying Object. They will make you a thirty meter if you want it. I think they call it the Kevorkian. :P Not really, but I would have done.

Went for my very first buggy ride today!!! Wind was fairly light, not sure of exact speed as the battery died in my meter... could only go downwind while sining the daylights outta my Crossfire, but i did it! Got 3 600ft runs in before the wind said no more. Small victory and a step into a larger world!

Cleaned the sand out of my ears, both Friday and Saturday night. Hurricane Irma report: SSI is improved, the dunes leveled, hard-pack (for now) from water to grass. About two feet higher sand level - the blue walkway mat is buried two feet. Gould's Inlet has some extra tidal pools and run off on the river side - makes the West->East runs, uh, interesting. JI is clean, some additional tide pools (for now), beach access points largely destroyed - so that's thinning the crowds nicely, especially from South Water Tower to Kite Beach, beach slightly wider (migration?). The north run, from Kite to Driftwood Beach is largely unchanged - two things: additional tidal pools and runoff channels (for now) - you will get wet. Second, the erosion up at Driftwood is noticeable - trees have moved, beach has narrowed significantly, again, migration. With JIBE still a few months away, not sure what y'all will see. I'll keep you posted.

Thanks for the update. Could have been far, far worse.

Rode the kiteboat again today. Sketchy wind, but tried to make the most of it.

Got out for a bug session today after the Browns game... 10mph wind but all i had was my Apex, was running late earlier and didnt have time to grab the Crossfire or Star (the ones i probably needed to have, lol). Did ok, i have problems keeping the kite in the sweet spots, but ill get there.

As usual I'm way behind. Yesterday, I finished up a new 3.2 M kite, which I hope I can fly soon and at least put up some pictures.

We had several days with wind in a row a week ago which I took advantage of with my kite boat. I finally got a few videos done. Here's one. Others on my you tube page.

That kiteboating looks really fun, Randy.

Had my 1st snowkiting of the season today! A storm rolled through that put down just enough snow to make things do-able at the local soccer field. And my son snow-kited for the 1st time today, so it was a good day.

Supposed to be 65 degrees again by Wednesday - oh well, enjoy it while you can.

Thanks nate76. It is fun but I've got a lot to learn.

Snow already! I'm amazed, but then I guess Colorado is a bit colder than Georgia.

Finally had a few puffs of wind today, but enough to give my latest project a try. It flew, but until I get some real wind, can't say much more than that. But that is actually pretty important. This one is 3.2 M and is a modification on another design (the Maeko on 2e5.com) which is a 4 line kite with limited bridles. I've built several versions of the Maeko, and I'm hoping this will be the best one. I've used the 2.25 M version I built to power my buggy and kite boat. This version should be more useful, given its great size and hopefully a bigger window. This type of kite is pretty unique being a high performance sled kite with some depower capability.

Another dawn day at the beach today. I had to wait a bit for the tide give me some more room but got a good hour or so in the buggy seat before i had to go to work.(too bad i had to leave, still had 1.5hrs till low tide and wind was dead onshore 15-22.) Almost 10 miles done today. I'll take it.

Some wind today - good enough to finally give my latest project a good look. I came up with the Crown nickname because it looks like a crown when you are flying it. 3.2 M - hope to use it with buggy and boat.

That's a cool looking little kite! Good job. How's it pull?

Thanks. The original version didn't pull as good as an NPW of the same size because the projected area is less. However, I changed the design to increase pull. I think the window is a little better than NPWs and it is very responsive to input so it can be "worked" harder. Another nice feature is it has some depower capability. Works great handles or bar. I used the 2.25 M version of the original design to pull my buggy and kite boat in high winds, so I'm hoping the 3.2 will be a lot better. If this works well enough I may build a 5 meter.

A couple of vids where I used the 2.25 M for traction.

Nice. I looked at the 2e5 page, very interesting! I like the way that bridle is attached, very minimal. Also great straight downwind performance on the boat.
I wish I had picked up that sewing skill. Again, great job!

Thanks Bob. Today I tried the new kite on the kite boat. Winds were erratic so a lot of time I was struggling to keep the kite in the air. But I did long enough to catch some good gusts including a pretty good downwinder at the end. The geometry of this lake seems to produce a funnel effect that produces very strong winds in this segment of the lake which I am now calling the "Wind Tunnel."

BTW - sewing your own kites is an interesting hobby, but often I can't even buy the materials for what I can buy kites used, or even some new ones. So it is mainly useful for trying designs not readily available commercially or experimenting with your own designs.

First time in the buggy since JIBE. The temp today was 40 (way too cold for the water) and reported winds 20-30 so it was a pretty obvious choice. Fun day, and I don't think I had forgot too much. Used my smallest kites. And never had to get wet.

What did I do with my kites today?

Sadly, but wisely, left them in their bags as I pioneered a new remote playa, solo, in central Oregon.
Instead, I rigged my Blokart for the gust factor 6 (5-30 mph) winds = Last Blast of Summer.
So hyped to find such a sweet buggy riding spot close to our new home in Bend.

Speeds in mid 30s on perfect surface. Begging for kite buggies.
If you are in the area, let's meet up for a session.

Looks fun. What are the dimensions of your new playground that you found?

Quote: Originally posted by Wind_dog

What did I do with my kites today? Sadly, but wisely, left them in their bags as I pioneered a new remote playa, solo, in central Oregon. Instead, I rigged my Blokart for the gust factor 6 (5-30 mph) winds = Last Blast of Summer. So hyped to find such a sweet buggy riding spot close to our new home in Bend. Speeds in mid 30s on perfect surface. Begging for kite buggies. If you are in the area, let's meet up for a session.

Got to be exciting to find a new playa! Can you please drop a pin in Google Maps, post the coordinates, or in some way indicate where this hidden gem lies? Enquirering minds want to know!