Location/Conditions: Sunset medium high tide, winds nw 4mph + toward the evening.
Gear: Yakuza: 12.0 Libre Spirit: 12.5 Buggy: KBSS Monster Truck Lines: Jellis, what were those awesome lines? Harness: Top Secret Jellis KBSS experiment.


Very nice test with my 12m this weekend. Conditions were a total flop, 2-4mph wind from NW and choppy beach, tons of ruts, and tide pools, very soft sand.

I wasn't going to fly, but Jellis came down with these crazy new lines, new Kite Harness concept, and a 12.5m Libre Spirit.

Everything Brand New, everything untested. Crazy opportunity to surprise myself in NO wind.

Even sunset-Jim stopped by, basically to tell me there wasn't any wind;-)

this is about the Yakuza Gt:
started off with a 20m set on medium pulley handles, in 4mph winds max,

flew it around static: it's very fast for a 12m, and makes very quick power, but the top of the window it was flying fast enough to over shoot the window (4mph) , so be prepared to check it, it'll need a tap on the breaks to slow it down in light winds.

Although I could recover just about any collapse. It held it's shape and faded back into the window, and only briefly tucked the wing tips.

I noticed how incredibly thin the cross section of the kite is, wing tips look like razor blades.

The fabric is super stealthy, it never surprises me that an Ozone has come up with a perfect balance of performance and durability, as in the past, it's super smooth and fast feeling fabric.

On the buggy, in light air, the 12m needs 30m lines. The kite is too fast in light winds to generate any speed on the buggy. And I think this is primarily for the beach conditions. Desert Playa on the other hand would warrant 20m Lines as smoother easier rolling and the added space, would be the proper test for 20 m lines and 12m kites.

On the 30m + set and pulley handles of KBSS, the kite came alive, long fast sweeps of power allowed for speed. Shackled to the buggy, the extra weight, and added throw of the pulley handles, made the kite feel 4meterish. Very fast, torque then speed like I never imagined in 4mph winds.

There are many pieces of the puzzle to be explained, the kites,
buggy, Shackle system, custom lines.

As I'm just putting all this together, without pics, if you have any questions feel free to shoot, Jellis and I will try to keep up.

I'm reviewing my experience with the 12.5m Spirit next.

i know just enuf to know you're pushing the boundaries of what's possible with a buggy in 4 mph winds....

razor-edge tips? 4-meterish feel? torque and speed in 4 mph?

sounds sweet...

Quote:

Originally posted by USA_Eli_A The kite is too fast in light winds to generate any speed on the buggy. And I think this is primarily for the beach conditions.

Help me understand what you mean here. Are you saying you need the longer lines to get a long power stroke so the kite doesn't just have a burst of speed and you are already turning the kite for another pass through the power zone?

I take that as the kite shoots to the edge of the window so quickly that with the resistance of the terrain, the buggy has a hard time getting up to the speed of the kite before the kite needs to be turned and redirected again. The longer lines would keep the kite in the power zone longer which would help direct the power into the buggy before you would have to redirect. On tarmac or on the playa, this problem wouldn't be nearly as critical because the buggy can get up to speed much quicker.

Correct me if I am wrong here Eli.

Kent you always say it the best! I have a 14m Yakuza I thought about bringing out, but the 12m has always been a good size for me. Next time it's 14m wind, I'll fly the 14m, not the 12m

well, i think, the light winds + rough terrain + short lines = made it tough to accelerate, the kite flew amazingly fast on 20 m lines.

If I worked and worked, it would lock in and go. And it helped to pump the kite on a down wind reach, once I had some speed I could the the Yakuza work, I could see in 10mph winds on 20m, but not any less than that.

In deep sand, or hilly terrain, go for 30m or longer.

The beach was 200 yds wide, but the KBSS Monster Truck with suspension and super huge extra wide ribbed tires!

But static jumping was pretty awesome with 20m lines. :bouncy: and the kite was attached to a custom harness Jellis made for the buggy. So I really didn't have much feel. All the pull went directly to the ground. I could steer with ease and barely feel any pressure as the lines were not connected to me.

as soon as I switched to 30m lines, the kite was perfect. drop it and go. The kite was very easy bring way out to the edge for Jibing and tacking.

Quote:

Originally posted by USA_Eli_A But static jumping was pretty awesome with 20m lines.

I thought buggy race kites weren't much good for jumping???

they aren't, I jump with them, the landings are the trick. Imagine jumping with buggy, 120lb buggy and a 12m...sound fun to me!

Quote:

Originally posted by USA_Eli_A they aren't, I jump with them, the landings are the trick. Imagine jumping with buggy, 120lb buggy and a 12m...sound fun to me!

not sure i can yet actually, just learning to jump static.

i guess things must happen a bit more quickly with all that extra weight and added velocity going into the jump...

i had thought you were talking about static jumping on 20m lines...;-)

20m lines make the kite accelerate and generate power like an F-1 car hitting 3rd shifting 4th pedal to the floor.

I had to remember to hit the breaks soon after I took flight, but all around a kite anyone can own, no messing with adjustments, it's tuned perfectly. I recommend a few line sets, I'd refer to Jellis for these lines!

Crazy thin strong cable like substance I can't get out of my mind!

Were they Q-Powerline lines?

Jellis Help me here, they were not q-power-lines. Bob I'll see if I can find out and follow up. It sure did make a difference....