Recently got into kite buggy as a paraplegic and am having a ball, have adapted a buggy similar to sean rose with a tiller steer. and used some old
snowboard bindings to created a foot rest.
Sweet! Always love to see and read about people like you. Here in Park City, UT we have a center you would really appreciate called The National
Ability Center ( www.discovernac.org ). Both adults and children with a whole array of physical and cognitive challenges have really stretched themselves in
amazing ways. I've often thought that wind powered sports would be a natural extension of their offerings.
Agreed with earlier comments, that is a fine looking beach! Welcome to PKF!
I'm just getting into kite buggying, I'm looking at 3 fat wheels as I type. Its funny 😁, my wife and I have been thinking about giving her a
go , designing my buggy for both able bodied and disabled body usage. And here is another new forum member doing just that, also based in NEW
ZEALAND. Awesome!
Any more pics of your buggy? I've got a good idea on my design, but the more input the better!
We're based in Levin, but will be down south Christmas time. Maybe we'll catch up on the beach.
There is a member of the Xtremekites forum (Based primarily in Australia) who has mobility issues as well, named Rob Lukin I believe he is even a team
rider for one of the big manufacturers.
thanks guys for the welcome. i have been fortunate to have some great help from the buggy master Gav Mulvay who has done some amazing buggy trips
and helped set the buggy up. dwalk i am having issues uploaded the photos but will work it out. but feel free to email me qksmith@gmail.com.
I ultimately want to get something going on the snow and maybe the water. There are some para folks OS getting into it. so its all possible but
having fun with the buggy at the moment
pretty simple tiller, foot rest independent of the forks. old snowboard bindings to hold feet
super easy to restore to normal with a spanner.
The elastic bands just help to self centre so i can release steering momentarily without issue.
Love that design! All three unique elements, viz., independent foot rests relative to the front end, elastic bands for centering, and the tiller, all
sweet. Does the tiller ever slide around in that bolt? I appreciate that it would be tightened but I'm not clear on how much torque the front end
would apply under load to try and go the opposite direction of your steering force out at the opposite end of the tiller. You would have an awful lot
of leverage over that tiny bolt head diameter. Slippage?
the front of the tiller is bent over the fork so it gives some passive bracing but i did end up putting a lock screw in to help stop it working loose.
but am sure it can be refined more. This was mark 2 so am sure there will be some more iterations but am really happy with how its running now.
Am flying a access 8m mostly but need to kite up, order a nasa wing for strong gusty stuff. and then need something for light winds now. or maybe a
few nasas. quite like the summit. as i mostly fly one handed on the bar i liked having a bit more turn than the access.
the front of the tiller is bent over the fork so it gives some passive bracing but i did end up putting a lock screw in to help stop it working loose.
but am sure it can be refined more. This was mark 2 so am sure there will be some more iterations but am really happy with how its running now.
Am flying a access 8m mostly but need to kite up, order a nasa wing for strong gusty stuff. and then need something for light winds now. or maybe a
few nasas. quite like the summit. as i mostly fly one handed on the bar i liked having a bit more turn than the access.
qman - took another look at your picture after this more detailed description and now notice the bit folded over the fork. Makes good sense.
I don't have experience with the 8m Access but I do own the 6m version. I really like it as a high wind snow kite. Steady as a rock when its howling
out. Real confidence booster. In other threads we've read some feedback on the 10m Access that also noted some sluggishness. Maybe the Access is
best suited for high winds for our purposes? The 6m is great and I've heard really good things about the 4m.
I own the 15 Summit and really like it, though I've only flown it twice so far. I have one flight in to date on the 9m Frenzy and can also vouch for
it. It appears to sit nicely between the spunk of the Summit and the steadiness of the Access, so I wouldn't overlook that one in your quest for
improving on your quiver. The most modern iterations of these Ozone kites have the "re-ride" system. In case you aren't familiar with it, the
re-ride is the 5th line attached to an INTERNAL line system that scrunches up the kite like an accordion. This can be fully actuated by pulling the
chicken loop release and letting the kite flag out on the fifth line, or you can simply pull the 5th line in through the chicken loop by hand and
scrunch the kite up that way without letting everything loose. For your application (riding as a disabled athlete) I would think the re-ride would be
particularly well suited. Once the kite is one the ground all scrunched up you can wind the lines seated in place and the bunched up kite will come
to you. Pretty sweet that.
I have a fair amount of experience with the Born-Kite NSWs, namely, the NS3s. I love them as buggy engines. You did mention gusty winds however.
While the NS3s have a "depower" feature of sorts in the 3rd central line, these are essentially FB kites with a safety line for flagging out once you
pull the chicken loop release. I've been yanked out of my buggy a few times with my NS3s and was smashed into a soccer goal post (before being
dragged down an embankment). Pilot error issues on all counts, but the FB nature of these kites flying off of two lines means that scrubbing power
isn't always an easy option. In your case the only way you'd be able to pull on the little yellow ball to pull in the 3rd line a bit to scrub some
power would be to let go of the tiller. This is a two hand job; one hand to control the bar and the second to pull in the 3rd line. The kite would
not stay controlled if you took your hand off the bar to pull the yellow ball, especially under a high stress situation which is exactly when you'd
want to pull it.
You are clearly an accomplished guy; I'm just trying to give you some feedback based off of direct experience. Super thrilled that you are out
getting some!
Nice pic qman, shows your design off nicely. The tiller, independant foot pegs and bungy are good ideas, my wifes handbike has an enclosed spring for
self centering, was thinking of sourcing one for the kite buggy project. Pic of intended wheels attached, front is a 125mm wide, reads are 80mm, so a
bit skinny, but will do for now. Framewise still thinking about best way forward, but will probably base fork on MTB fork to suit, and use a MTB
headset for bearings. We'll see what works out, might take some time for me to get it the final version together.
couple of things i notices that the very low COG/ centre of effort is the safest thing really. makes it hard to tip the buggy, we have a slightly
wider rear axel for stability.
i use a spare wheelchair cushion in the seat, which just affords a little protection.
I use a "hotwire" type attachment direct to the buggy rather than harness. i found the harness wanted to pull me out or shift me in the seat. And as
i have my feet attached also i would be pretty uncool to pull out. so i am committed to staying with the buggy, not that i want to get ripped out
anyway.
Amazing stuff. just shows the human mind can create a way around any problem. Great to see everyone getting a go at the sport no matter their
limitations.
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