So...I've been a forum member for awhile now. I've been static flying for about 4 years now. I've even met a few of you at S.O.B.B. This fall. I
didn't have a buggy then. But a month later Jellies hooked me up with a sweet V-max. It's takin four months. But I finally had my first successful
buggy run today. 12-15 knot offshore wind and a 5m Beamer got the job done today! I was hooked before now I'm flat out addicted. I may need help!
Anyway. Thank you to everyone on this forum for all the great guidance you all give to us newbies. With out this forum and all of you that make it
what it is. Today would never have happened.
I'm definitely excited for a good clean onshore. The wind was doing all kinds of weird stuff. At one point I flew the kite in a full 360 circle! Crazy
right. I can't wait to try it with some of my other kites as well.
Great work! You got some nice kites there, wait until you try it with a depower. First decent run I had with my PL Venom I had to get the grin
surgically removed!!
Rev 1.5 SLE
PL Pepper 1.5m, Twister III 3m
Flysurfer Peak I 6m, Peak II 12m
Ozone Access V6 6m, 4m incoming!
Arcs Venom 13m, Synergy 15m
LEIs Slingshot Rally 7m, 9, 12m
Kheo Flyer Landboard
PTW SuperBug II
Nobile NHP Carbon Split
Great work! You got some nice kites there, wait until you try it with a depower. First decent run I had with my PL Venom I had to get the grin
surgically removed!!
Happy New Year Paul! Why on earth did you get the grin removed? Should have left it permanently in place. :P
BTW, your Avatar pic always reminds me of old pictures of Eric Idol of Monty Python's Flying Circus fame.
I'm already planning the food Windy! Gonna make up some pulled pork and some ribs. I'm even gonna bring you a jar of my homemade BBQ sauce! I'm also
planning on bringing the RV this time instead of the tent.
Mainekite2: I'm super stoked to get behind the venoms. I have never flown arcs before and I got the pair of them at a steal. I had the 10m in the air
for the first time the other day. But it was not a very successful flight. Not sure if it was me, the kite, or wind. But I couldn't keep the darn
thing in the air to save my life. Once I get them figured out. I live right on the Oregon Sand Dunes. Lots of potential riding. But I need Bigfoots on
my buggy. The sand is too loose for barrows.
So yesterday. We had a perfect 13mph onshore wind. The sun was shining and the smell of a buggy run was in the air. I broke out my 8m NEO and we made
several quarter mile passes. This was my first successful use of a depower. It was like a moment of clarity. I get all the mistakes I have been
making. Now that I look back. The first time was not nearly as successful as I had originally thought. The wind is supposed to be in my favor again
today and the sun is shining! This could become a worse addiction then it already is. Can't wait for S.O.B.B. To experience this with other buggiers.
Coming off of soccer fields, paddocks (a shout out to our Down Under friends), small dirt lots, etc., only to get a taste of the sugar, be it long low
tide beach runs with clean on shore winds or endless straight shots on the playa, is a life changing experience. Mine came last November with a couple
of wonderful days on the Ivanpah playa. Since then hardly a day has gone by without thinking about IBX, now NEXT MONTH!
Get a taste of the sugar and you will be sunk. Join the crowd. :D
This sport has givin me a lot of first in life. Here's another one. I have posted a nice short video of my buggy run on YouTube. I'm attempting to
attach the link below. I hope it works and people enjoy watching it as much as I enjoyed making
I learned a lot from this run. Like the next project I have is making a backrest. At 6' 8" I don't really fit the V-max well. After about an hour my
back and stomach muscles were exhausted. But it was Amazing!
Bastendorff Beach. Just outside Coos Bay, Oregon. Wonderful beach. It's a beautiful crescent beach which gives you a lot of directional wind range for
riding. But on a nice day it can be crowded. Thank you for all the kind words everyone. It means a lot.
When I first wrote this. I was sooooooo excited that I finally got moving in the buggy. I was officially in motion under kite power! Since then my
kite adventure has grown considerably. I got out a few more times after the first post and they were not as successful as the first. But it had
allowed me to build a little confidence. Enough so that I went out in wind I shouldn't have been in. I didn't know it at the time. But now I look back
and know that while I might have survived. I was an IDIOT! I now know that I was way overpowered. At least for my skill level. I put up a PL V10 I
was trimmed all the way in and sheeted all the way out and the Vmax I was on with barrows couldn't hold line. I walking sideways a lot. But I was too
stupid to be scared. I have since learned that while these big depowers might look intimidating they are in fact very docile. As stupid as I may have
been this kite took care of me so to speak. But then I got an even dumber idea. I need a smaller kite. While that wasn't a dumb idea. I didn't have a
smaller Depower. So I just went to a smaller FB. That was the dumb idea. Thinking that going from a DP to a FB was even close to being a good idea.
Well...I got spanked. I got spanked pretty hard. But I didn't have enough skill or experience to know why. I blamed the kite! My grandfather always
said "it's a poor craftsman that blames his tools." He was never so right. It wasn't the kite. It did exactly what it was made to do. I on the other
hand simply did not know what I was doing. I took a beating to to my pride, my confidence, my body, my mental state in the buggy, I didn't avoid
getting back in the seat but when I did I was scared. I flew scared. I rode scared. This is kinda a new thing for me. I'm still young. I still feel in
invincible. I have ridden almost everything that moves. Well...the buggy ends up put away for a few weeks as I head off for work. Then... It's time
for SOBB. It's all planned out. I'm going to be there for an entire week. I get out. I talk to fellow buggiers. I get some pointers. I get some seat
time. And I decide to learn the FB's better. I take it slow. I take all the advice given to me and I am having a blast. I'm riding almost daily, and
I'm getting better and better every time. Just yesterday I was out in 15 knot winds. With my 5m fully lit it was epic. I was doing full speed downturn
jibes and power sliding something fierce and lovin every minute of it. In fact I ended up drawing a small crowd of watchers. Until I decided to do the
same thing again but up in the soft sand on my little V-max with midi's. Haha. I thought for sure something was going to give out. Either a power line
or my poor little buggy. The little midi's dug into the soft sand in the middle of a full speed turn just as I was halfway through the downturn and
the buggy came to a screeching halt. WOW! There was some line creeking. I don't know if it was the flying lines or the strop line but holy #@%$#!
there was a ton of tension. That was some serious shock load. At no time was I scared. Just the opposite. I found myself whooping it up the whole
time. Anyway that's my story and I'm sticking to it. Just wanted to share my story of progression. I've been reading a lot newbies like myself do the
same stupid stuff. Trying to do to much too soon and getting hurt. You all are right to advise them to slow down. But you all know as well as I do
that that advice falls on deaf ears. Haha. Thank you to everyone at SOBB that helped me get to where I'm at today. We need to grow this sport and have
more events. I progressed more in one week at SOBB then I did the entire previous 6 months I had the buggy before.
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