thanks abkayak

got to have another brief go today in the buggy (until i got kicked out by a farmer!) got to use the 4m beamer today but that felt under powered the second i sat in the buggy!

managed to go down the field at 90 degrees to the wind but then when i turned i ended up with kite slightly over my shoulder behind me.need to learn some more me thinks.

hey all,

going to go to coast again tomorrow and have another go with the buggy.going to the place where lessons are held but try and self learn first!

the other day on the beach before sinking into sand! i found that wind was about 45 deg to beach so i could go one way along the beach but when i turned i found kite was slightly over my shoulder and i could not get back the way i had come from (walk of shame) is there a way around this or a name for it that i can read up on?

i have my 3m back now so hope i can make some progress tomorrow

Downwinder day or you gotta tack back and forth about a million times . Give it your best shot sailor !:P

will do thanks,spot i am going to is known for buggys so i hope other people will be there so i can watch and learn.

Having a nice wide beach is a real advantage for working your way back upwind. You will have to work it back and forth gaining little bits of ground with each tack.

You can often spend 15 - 20 minutes working your way upwind then turn around and be back home in 2.

As mentioned be willing to give over to the down winder as you work on your upwind skills. It is far better to enjoy the ride and pay for it with a few " walks of shame " than to get all frustrated because you can't get upwind. ESPECIALLY if you suspect you are under powered! You need to be powered at the edge of the window to gain upwind ground so need to be comfortable well powered. That comes with seat time. Just like it did with fly time to this point.

You go where you look. A big part of riding , turning and getting upwind is to look where you want to go.

The other trick is try and generate as much speed as possible before hitting the upwind line. If you try and turn straight into it, you'll just come to a stop. The higher aspect the kite, the better it's upwind ability will be. As Bladerunner said, the wider the beach, the more room to tack, the easier it will be. And you'll need plenty of power for the upwind leg too.

thanks all for your help and tips,was going to go away today,got up early and checked weather forecast to find it had changed and was due to be heavy rain from lunch on so i have stayed home,gutted!

really beginning to think uk is really not set up for buggy riding but going to stick with it.

Quote: Originally posted by m00ms

really beginning to think uk is really not set up for buggy riding but going to stick with it.

We all get those discouraged feelings! One good day and you completely forget about the B.S. before.

Believe it or not you live in one of the best places for buggy. Here in Vancouver we have a big honkin' island blocking our surf. Without it our sand isn't hard packed enough. We must drive 6 hours to the U.S.A. to ride decent beaches.

On downwinders ,my wife drives a truck downwind to a predetermined pick up spot,then takes us back to start point.

Lining up wind and time is the frustrating part of what we do. It also makes it special and more rewarding when it works out.

Quote: Originally posted by ssayre

Lining up wind and time is the frustrating part of what we do. It also makes it special and more rewarding when it works out.

Don't forget tide, just to complicate things even more.

Quote: Originally posted by WELDNGOD

Don't forget tide, just to complicate things even more.

Can I get an Amen!!!

thanks again guys for help and encouragement,going to try again saturday and possibly sunday so keep fingers crossed it works out this time!

hey all went to coast today to a buggy beach where lessons are held,did little static flying as tide was coming in then waited for tide to go back out to buggy.

while waiting i got chatting to one of the instructors who suggested doing an hour to hour and half lesson....what a joke! hardly got moving and even instructor gave me a "demo" and couldnt move much and when i ignored him i got moving! he also slackened by brake lines off so much that you couldnt reverse launch as too slack.surely thats not right ?

then to add insult they charged me extra as because usual prices are done as a group but because it was only me it was classed as a one on one lesson!

But that's how they make a living...so should be expected.
You gotta pay to play one way or another

I have had unfortunate experiences with poor wind and lessons ( on water ) also. It's part of the gamble when limited on time. In both cases the company was good to me. Continuing the lesson the next day in one case. Allowing me to use the gear on my own for the afternoon in another.

I can understand your being miffed but try and get over it. You WILL meet a lot of great people but they won't be influenced to help you if you go back with an attitude.

Just curious? What would you guess the wind speeds were? Is it just possible that you requested to use your own kites? I have a feeling that they could have gotten you going with a bigger kite than in your quiver?

thanks guys,i have cooled down little now.i am fully up for company making a living but way they went about it felt cheeky and i sure wont do more through or recommend them to others.

i wanted to pay before hand for couple of hours and just go from there but they wouldnt have it.my wrong for not insisting more.i stopped the lesson as felt we were not getting anywhere otherwise sure he would of carried on longer.

wind was about 8mph and i did ask if i could use my buggy and kites if suitable and guy was sure my 4m beamer would be fine,soon as i launched it i could tell it was not pulling hard enough but he carried on with it until i suggested using my 5.5 bullet which was loads better.

sadly have to chalk it down as bad choice and move on.next time i am going to not worry about up wind and just do some down winds with walk of shames just to get some interest which is very lacking at moment.

what was his thinking on super slack brake lines ? any ideas ?

I think the guy was prolly trying to keep you from stalling the kite. I don't teach that way. I believe ya need to learn the way it is supposed to be set up.To make your downwinders last longer you can tack the buggy from the water to the edge of the soft stuff and then back to the water like in this video https://vimeo.com/145024222 . You can also tack back upwind the same way. You just edge upwind just a little bit each tack. Just takes a lot of tacks.

Ideally you want a perfect low tide 15mph onshore 3m day 1st time out IMO....but that's not how it tends to work....so you go when you can...I'm sure you learned plenty from them and will carry it forward...anybody can bug when theirs wind, learning how to bug when's theirs not a proper blow is a real trick you wanna have down

Do you have some soccer fields at home you can practice in? For inland grass riding, my most successful days were 15ish gusting 20 and a 4 meter kite. For succesul inland riding and fixed bridle kites I found I needed to size for the lulls and ride unhooked. Contrary to the popular belief of sizing for gusts. That doesn't work on thick turf because you stop dead on the lulls. The downside to sizing for lulls is you have to let go of the kite once in awhile but the thrills between were worth it to me.

Obviously good wind and tide conditions at the beach will be easier than inland but it's good to try and take advantage of every learning opportunity at home so when you get to a beach you will be able to make the most of it. Here is a video I made in my described inland conditions using a 4m fixed bridle. This was one of my first few times in the buggy but I had been flying static for over a year prior.

Quote: Originally posted by ssayre

Obviously good wind and tide conditions at the beach will be easier than inland but it's good to try and take advantage of every learning opportunity at home so when you get to a beach you will be able to make the most of it. Here is a video I made in my described inland conditions using a 4m fixed bridle. This was one of my first few times in the buggy but I had been flying static for over a year prior.

Sean - I was watching this on my phone and glanced away just before the end. Something caught my eye and I rewound the ending seconds. Nice work at the end! Been there.... done that! So many bumps and bruises along the way.

hi guys and thanks again.

thanks for your videos and weldngod loved the way you hopped out in your video and amazing control you have.

ssayre that was the first OBE that i have seen and crazy how quick it flicked you out and that a 4m did that!

not looking like much much wind this week but i will try work out my next step with buggy as too if i go coast again or find a field local.

i can see it being coast again really as place i went was perfect and my local fields are always really busy with dog walkers etc so probably get kicked off!

Quote: Originally posted by 3shot

Quote: Originally posted by WELDNGOD   Don't forget tide, just to complicate things even more. Can I get an Amen!!!

Jason I just saw your new avatar. Awesome!

I have a strong feeling that if you went back to the beach and go it alone the folks that gave you the lesson would give you pointers?
Really most pilots are free with advice. Especially if you tell them you took a lesson. It gets you respect.

Still, finding a good spot near home would be good.

hi all and sorry ive not been on here in a while,summer was busy for me and not much static flying or buggy practice happening sadly.

i do hope everyone here that has either helped me or are just part of the forum have had great flying times in which ever format they do.

i have flown through summer static when time would allow and have re tried buggy twice i think it was sadly but in really janky winds.i have just changed my van so have brought big enough van so i can sleep in it and will start going to coastal point i did a buggy lesson at for weekends away starting in next couple of weeks.

i cant wait as even in janky winds i have made some progress so sure with clean coast wind and plenty of time i will make great steps forward.

thanks again to all in the past that have helped me with questions and tips.

hey all just thought i would give a buggy update as i went to coast friday so i could buggy first thing saturday morning.

with daylight and tide times i had about 3 & 1/2 hours on an empty beach,sadly wind to start with was very weak but came on good and strong for about the last 1 &1/2 hours.wind was about 13 mph and going out to sea at about a 45 degree angle.

i was using my hq beamer 4m and i mananged to zig zag the width of the beach making turns which need tiding up but happy i managed them! i could not work out how to get back to my start point so i walked back and started again.towards the end my 4m was water logged from crashes and my 3m beamer did not have enough power and i sure did not have enough balls to use my 5.5 bullet!

glad i have made some progress if only in very small quantity and look forward to next time

Way to go!

Sounds like you got some tricky winds to work things out. Off shore is usually dirty wind. Working your way back upwind with a 45' wind is a long struggle. Good for you just accepting the down winder and walking back. Struggling to get back would not have been fun.

To get back up the beach against a side wind you must take a whole lot of small attempts. If the beach isn't very wide the issue is even worse.
Some kites are better than others for upwind. Beamers aren't the best in that aspect but they will do the job. When you get comfortable with it your 5.5m Bullet will be an excellent engine! Try and get friendly with it. It's a great kite for everything but jumping.

One tip. You go where you look. If you want to go upwind look at something slightly upwind in that direction more and your kite less. When you are comfortable doing so.

hi bladerunner and i am so glad you said youve said that off shore wind is dirty as i did think that while flying static but i just tried with what i had! with the time that i had i did just want to get buggy movement in to get some enjoyment going so little walks i didnt mind.sure is a lot to learn with buggying!


the beach i was on is fairly wide but stayed very wet and boggy near the water but it gave me a nice dry packed large area away from water to play with but sadly i crashed kite into wet area few times! static flying i am very at ease with the bullet 5.5 but while learning buggy i am cautious of it.

thanks for the look where going tip which i will bear in mind next time,at the moment i must look well clumsy but sure il look more natural soon.

beach ive been going it has only been me in a buggy so far which is great so no one to trip over or to laugh at my wrongs but it would be great to watch and learn off others.