Hi everyone,

I've moved to the prairies and it looks like kiting is going to replace sailing for me. Actually, it looks much more exciting than sailing due to the variety of vehicles you can use (buggy and snowboard are looking like the ones I'm most interested in)

Anyways, I built a 1m NPW9b parawing out of an old tent and have been having a good time flying it. It sure has a lot of guts for a 1m sail especially in high winds! Now it's time for something with enough power to drag me around... I did get dragged a bit down the beach once by it doing a big run up to apex from the bottom of the power zone! Fun stuff.

I am not interested in being picked off the ground by a kite, so I think the NPW kites may be a good call as they are more traction, less lift? If I do any jumping it would probably be off kickers on my snowboard, kite jumping just doesn't look that safe to me?

It looks like it's about the same price to buy a foil as it is to build, so no point in building a foil? I am a mechanic who prefers building my own gear wherever possible, so its not just about saving money.
NPW look like a good value for the beginner, and some of the exotics on http://2e5.com/ look pretty neat, but i'm unsure on performance, anyone build one?

Thanks for any input

well so far it looks unanimous.

A large NPW5 or NPW9 will be a wonderfully powerful engine for you and they are great at gust munching.

As to building experience I am sure that Susan will be along shortly , her tally of "NPWs built" is probably over 100 at this point and she is a wealth of knowledge.

Rag Flappers Unite

I would recommend a npw9. I know that they are great kites.

Susan (npw goddess)

Yep, much like I thought myself, the NPW9 is a design with proven performance. Foils look like too much work for the end result, too!

I was hoping someone might have experience with the more "tuned" NPW designs like the "teega" which I read good things about as well as build issues from others, and the uncommon NPW21 with the highest L/D and less bridle points.

Any NPW builders give the 21 a shot?

for the bigger NPW9. Great wing!

I have made a few teega's and did not like flying them. I am sticking with the npw9. I know it will fly well and it also has lots of power and can handle gusty winds.

Susan (npw goddess)

Quote:

Originally posted by rectifier Yep, much like I thought myself, the NPW9 is a design with proven performance. Foils look like too much work for the end result, too! I was hoping someone might have experience with the more "tuned" NPW designs like the "teega" which I read good things about as well as build issues from others, and the uncommon NPW21 with the highest L/D and less bridle points. Any NPW builders give the 21 a shot?

Susan, thanks for reassuring me as after a bit of reading it's obvious that you are pretty much the authority on NPW flying!

Now I have to pick your brain for your secrets :alien:
There are several NPW9 profiles, my first build was a NPW9b built from Kiteman's "Vulture" calculator. Then there are the "Buzzard" and the "Buzzard Vnose" NPW9b profiles on a different calculator. I was not able to find any "stock" NPW9 profile? What is the difference between the NPW9 and the 9b?

Actually a better question is, which do you build as obviously yours fly great and you have made a million of them!
And what size should I go to next, I'm thinking around 3m. I weigh 130lbs and the winds are usually pretty stiff around here, it's rare the wind drops below 10mph at all. Of course big gusts can come out of nowhere so I don't want to go too big and have a 2nd kite that I can never fly without coming home bruised...

A 3 meter is a good start. You can always make bigger kites and fly them on short lines or on handles. This makes you wind window very small and keeps you out of trouble.

Susan (npw goddess)

Thanks for the tips.

I shouldn't have opened my big mouth about the wind because I went flying at lunch today and there was none! 0-1bft, I could feel the gentle wind on my face but not even enough to blow the prairie grass around.

A real testament to the performance of NPW in low winds, I was still able to flare my 1m into the air and fly for 1 minute periods before the wind dropped to zero and it flopped to the ground. Without enough wind to inflate it on the ground though, the bridles get all tangled up in the long grass, and the odds of relaunching without tipping it back into the wind by hard were about 20%