I'm looking at getting a Kite for flying inland in 5-12mph winds gusting to 20 odd..

My Budget is around £150, I've had a quick look on ebay and at some new kites and there's a bunch of stuff out there.

My Question is, what kites are particularly good at coping with low gusty winds,

At the moment I'm favouring a 3.3m Sting (a new one)
I've heard several things about Beamers folding wing tips etc.

Are there any other kites I should consider.. ?

Cheers,
Tom

I used to love flying my beamers in inland/gusty winds. Handled a lot better than some other kites I've tried. I would imagine the Flexifoil Rage would handle similiarly (expensive though). Not sure about the Sting though...

If I see winds at 5-10 with gusts to 20, I tend to be very careful about what I fly. That kind of shift in wind can be very painful if you are flying a big kite. Just my two cents...

Nothing like a depower for gusty winds. Peter Lynn twinskins excell.

You might look at the 3m Buster, for the price and the stability, it's hard to beat.

I wish i could afford a dewpower but i've not seen any sub £200..

Rages are a bit pricey, i've seen a few bullets on eBay for the right sort of money, are they the same kind of thing?
As for the sting, they are supposed to be good in gusty conditions.

I was considering the 5.0M buster at one point - for only £10 more than the 3

I suspect it might be a bit too much for all but the not very windy days.

Then again, being inland,we dont get many "blow your hat off days"

EDIT: then again, i do like the idea of the sting because it looks to come with the nicest handles..:wee:

I dont know the FlexiFoil Bullet... sorry. The blurr is their race kite, but i've never flown one. Probably not what you are looking for...

Quote:

Originally posted by ragden I dont know the FlexiFoil Bullet... sorry.

I do believe the Rage replaced the Bullet in Flexi's lineup. Probably very similar in flight, just with the Rage have some improvements.

get a bullet, a buster, or a brooza

these are your best bets, the bullet is a good kite, the rage replaced it... i havent flown a buster, but i own a few pkd's, they are great kites...

dont get a sting when the same money can get you a better kite, the stings are a bit twitchy and inefficient.

Not sure if shipping to your location would make it impractical, but worth checking.

Brad Rexx has a Sting 3.3 as well as 2 Bullet 4.5s (different prices because is one is Brand New and the other was used once). Can be found here:
http://www.powerkiteforum.com/viewthread.php?tid=6587&pa...

I don't know if Dino ever sold the Rage 2.5 (Rasta color) he had up for sale. It can be found here:
http://www.powerkiteforum.com/viewthread.php?tid=9310&pa...

Both are very accurate in their descriptions of kites and top notch folks to deal with.

ATB,
Sam

From having a look at a few YouTube Vids, the Beamer seems to have more of the flying characteristics I'm after i.e.. it's slower

The sting seems to Bomb around the window with alarming speed..

BTW is this.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhE0FNrY22I a classic example of folding wing tips on the beamer.
And does anyone know what it's caused by?

I'll keep my eyes peeled for Bullets, there always seem to be a couple kicking around on E-Bay, although i think it would have to be a new Buster cause no one seems to be selling them (a good sign)

Same with Broozas - but they are a bit too expensive new - getting on for £170 for the size I'm looking for.
I'll maybe consider a brooza for a second kite once i've got a set of quad lines! the kite alone is a bit cheaper

Do the busters fly similar to the Beamers?

And what are the PKD handles like? I know the flexi ones look really nice :bouncy:

He is flying the kite like a Rev (click here for demo), IE backwards by using the breaks and doing a very nice job of it, however that is whats causing the wing to collapse. If you just fly the kite forwards like its meant to be flown you wouldn't have those problems.

Wolkensturmer Ventura is a good choice
or
Elliot Magma also very good for gusty winds.
If not available in the UK, I can send you them from Germany.
BTW I have both of the above mentioned kites for sale in diffrent sizes.
PN me if you are intrested

Chris

I have flown the busters and the beamers and they are very similar in all aspects. I would have to say the beamer is a bit slower and the buster is a little more forgiving in gusty winds. The PKD handles, IMHO are great because they are brake adjustable, they come in small, medium, and large. You just have to remember not to tie knots in the brake leader. If you know a bit about kites and take it easy at first, you would really enjoy the 5m buster. Great buggy kite, but so is the beamer.

If I was getting a 5M it would be the Buster - the 5m beamer is well out of my price range!

I might look to get into Landboarding at some point.. when i get more comfortable with the kite.
i've noticed on the beamer review that it's good as a buggy engine but no to good as a landboard engine.

Excuse my naivety, but what's the difference? what makes something a good buggy / board engine?

Or is that a whole new thread by itself ? :shocked2:

A buggy engine is about power not lift. A board engine is about lift not power. You can buggy and board with a Beamer or like kite, but you can't jump with this kite and that is the idea with a board. Not very elegant of an explanation but hopefully you get the idea.

lots of advice and opinions....

i recommend pkd, having flown pkd and hq, i think pkd makes better kites (i like flexifoil for handles and lines, though)...

i learned how to atb with a kite similar to the buster (flexifoil rage- not built for lift), and i had lots of fun doing fast runs without jumps... when you want to start jumping, i would recommend a depower kite, anyways, not a fixed bridle... i use fixed bridles for buggying only now

how about a 4m buster??? it will surely get used, and have more use than a 3m, and doesnt pose the threat of a 5m...

there are other models listed here that i have no experience with, so i wont comment on them, i think krohn knows what he is talking about, though

as far as pkd goes, the only one to have them in the usa that i know of is bigkid, and i have dealt with him.... nice guy, really fast shipping, i am headed to the beach to fly my century II right after i type this, as a matter of fact

Nasa wings are great in gusty inland wind. Thats what I fly all the time.

Susan (npw goddess)

not a big fan of Nasa wings, just looks like some one has tied some string to a bed sheet to me.. not a propper kite!

:Ange09:

Quote:

Originally posted by oOTomOo not a big fan of Nasa wings, just looks like some one has tied some string to a bed sheet to me.. not a propper kite! :Ange09:

Well, that'd be because (allowing for a really uncomfortable bed sheet) that's more or less the case, but they pull nice :wee:

Quote:

Originally posted by snobdr Nothing like a depower for gusty winds. Peter Lynn twinskins excell.

:shocked2::shocked2::o:o That must be the sound of a new leaf turning. Very objective snobdr!

I have an Ozone Little Devil 3m for sale in the "For Sale" section for $150 if your interested.

Quote:

Originally posted by snobdr Nothing like a depower for gusty winds. Peter Lynn twinskins excell.

Right on buddy!

Problem here is that it is for LOW gusty winds.
One of my only complaints about the twin skins is their lack of low go mo-jo.

Pkd's Broozas and such have a bit of an advantage due to the small inlets. They hold shape just a bit better in the junk.

remember to fly a kite suitable for the gusts NOT the prevailing wind so smaller may be better ?

For Gusty winds, I'd say get on a Depower Foil. It's like having 2 non depower kites in one... Cost more but fun factor is huge!

A good windy day vid on my 4m Ozone Access, smooths out a gusty day (Like a 4m and 2.5m in one) Tons of fun and quality built into the kite. Mylar Leading edge and slim stiff bridals prevents tangles also pre-tretched lines...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OB6zsUnxvJA

oOTomOo writes: "I'm looking at getting a Kite for flying inland in 5-12mph winds gusting to 20 odd."

I do not know of any kite that provides decent power in 5mph that is not going to be a problem in 12 mph, never mind handling 20mph gust. As wind speed doubles the available power cubes*. So a four fold increase in wind speed means 64 times the available power.
As to depower kites. There is no depower kite which when fully powered is the equivalent to a fixed bridle kite of the same size and aspect ratio; i.e. a 4m Access is not a like having a 4 and 2.5 in one. It is more a 4m depower is like having a 3m and 1.5m kite in one.
S

* Kinetic energy of a moving object is 1/2 mass x velocity x velocity. For wind this means a the doubling of wind speed increases the kenetic energy of every cubic meter of air hitting your kite by a factor of 4. Plus you are also getting twice as many cubic meters of air every second taking this up to 8 times the original power. This is a conservative calculation as it does not take into account the increased apparent wind speed the kite experiences as it moves through the air.

Scudley -

Physics nit pick: Your physics is correct, but it DOES take into account the increase in apparent wind. A kite flying in 5 mph true wind with a 6:1 max lift/drag can see 30 mph max apparent wind. Same kite in 10 mph true wind (2x greater windspeed) could see 60 mph max apparent wind. This has nothing to do with making 4x the lift and 8x the available power by doubling the windspeed a conservative calculation.

It does mean having a kite with a higher potential lift/drag is a big factor in how much power you can generate. A kite like an NPW or sluggish foil with a max L/D of maybe 3:1 can theoretically only attain 1/2 the apparent windspeeds of a race kite of the same that has a max 6:1 L/D.

Re. depower foils of same area as a fixed bridle not being able to pull as hard or genereate as much power: I've wondered why that is always the case. Seems like there should theoretically be no reason it must be true. Maybe it has more to do with the extra weight and windage of the bridling, pulleys, and mixers on depower kites, along with the inability to 'lock in' optimum profile and canopy shape over a range of angle of attck and camber changes - we're dealing with imprecise, flexible structures. A fixed bridle can be designed and set for one 'sweet spot' without having to consider a wide range of windspeeds.


Tom -

If you're going fixed bridle, look at PKD Brooza. You'd want a quiver, but if you've flown traction kites, a 4m would probably be a good bet for you're described conditions. You could tweak the AOA adjusters on a Brooza II or Brooza III to expand the wind range a bit. For depower, probably a 6m Access or the like.

krumly

bottom line, he needs a quiver...:shocked2:

but he needs to buy a kite first LOL.

wow, this got technical fast lol!

i'm scouting eBay at the moment - to see if i can "grab a bargain" for under about the £100 mark.. there was a nice 4.5m bullet that passed me by

Thanks all for your input, i'll let you know how i get on

yeah, the bullet would have been nice, just remember to try to keep the first kite a bit smaller if you can... anything more than 5m is taking on a lot of added risk.

good luck with the kitehunt!

I wont be getting anything bigger than 5m..dont worry lol

I have heard back from the Harrogate Power Kite Club (very local to me) now though and a couple of guys have offered to meet up and let me have a go on one of their kites - fixed bridle and a depower, so that should answer alot of questions for me

Might have an answer soon lol!!

Tom

getting together with locals is very excellent! enjoy!

:bigok:

:D