question from a 'wanna do it all' fella.
i have a season of buggying but only have gone +50 "kilometers" per hour. that's all a 1/4 acre section will allow for me which is probably good thing for now:P
-slowing from 50 K/ph speeds isn't a problem-
****thinking about next year NABX (i hope/wish)******
probably good idea to plant some knowledge and/or work on this stuff in before the big show.
when thinking about other hobbies that include high speeds things change as speeds increase.
so, i have to assume slowing from +50-60 "miles" per hour is a different story than 35 mp/h. don't imagine you speedballs just let go of your kites
don't imagine Arjen simply starts sliding the rear end around or turns wheel hard over to full it's stops, to scrub speed from 77 mp/h
of course i may be wrong, i haven't a clue.

*what i do in my typical "tight quarters" conditions*
whilst still travelling across wind i apply brakes (thumbs down) to drop the kite to about ten feet (or less) off ground. leading edge faceing up/kite parallel with ground. seems kite is generally slightly behind me/buggy until i slow right down. kinda like a 'chute'.
i side slide kite, keeping it parallel with me/buggy, until i feel it's safe to scrub off more speed using buggy.

-so, is this 'technique' good or a bad habit i should break before it's too late??:megan:
Paul

I was doing 40+ mph last weekend, and I just put the kite up high, slowing me down a bit, then did a power slide turn. I have no idea how it would change after 50+...

i use that technique too when started buggying and when i have more "time/room" to slow. seems that dropping/sliding the kite slows me down quicker. i could be wrong.
how much runway do you have left when your ready to slow/turn around?

I also have a small area to buggy on so slowing down fast is important! (about one km long) I run the kite high as well but will steer left and right sliding the back end out in both directions (The beach isn't very wide...) Depending on where you are try to locate areas of higher rolling resistance (I have water on one side and soft deep sand on the other) steering into them helps a huge amount. If you have something deep grass works too. 70 Kph to 20 Kph in less that 20m.

The Dutch riders were certainly scrubbing off speed with slides, just like us mortals- not full-to-the-stops turns, but enough to break the tires loose and scrub. Of course they went through a lot of tires, since the playa is like 60-grit sandpaper. I saw tires coming into the pits with the inner tubes poking through the tire plys like hernias. Many tires did not make it to the pits and just blew.

But you do not have to slide, necessarily. There is enough room on Ivanpah that if you are going faster than you like, or just need to slow down, you have time to think about it. You can gently bring the kite up, turn upwind just a few degrees and gradually slow, without wearing your tires too much. I can do the same thing here on Jekyll Island with a four mile run, unless boxed in by pedestrians or sunbathers.

I think you just send the kite HARD up and over back the other way - eventually you'll slow to the point of changing directions :singing:

Kidding. You've certainly got me in the speed department....'course, riding three buggies is gonna slow you down this summer ; )

As Angus has stated, the dry lake bed is miles wide and long so slowing down is not a problem at all, you rarely if ever need to come to a sudden stop and you wouldn't want to do any high speed runs like what they were doing at Ivanpah with any obstacles in front of you.

Most of the time you can just slowly bring the kite up overhead and turn upwind, coasting to a slow enough speed to side slide or even just coast in to a stop. The playa is huge and if you did underestimate your speed coming in then you could just turn back out on the playa again and coast around until you were slow enough to stop.

In the winds that we had most of the week, you would most likely be ejected out of your buggy if you put the kite behind you at any decent speeds.

All of this of course will depend on the flying skills of the rider, the current conditions and the kite used. If you were underpowered for the conditions your technique for stopping may be totally different from if you were somewhat overpowered for the conditions.

Hope that helps.

OK. i'm golden now and have one less thing to concern myself with.
*it's a 'No' on the "use kite like a dragster's brake chute to slow down" technique :P:singing::singing:;-)
i will stick with the tried and true technique(s). if that's how the "record setters" do it then that's how i'll do it:karate:
also the tried and true technique works with de-power too.
thanks everyone.
Paul
mac-i got to get a few good rides on the new buggy before i decide which one goes to DZps. no room in garage for three buggies.

You will be amazed at how much speed you can scrub off with the buggy alone.

Quote:

Originally posted by WolfWolfee You will be amazed at how much speed you can scrub off with the buggy alone.

i here ya.
i was just thinking about NABX next year and thought to myself...i'd like to try for 60 "miles" p/h.
then i thought, how in heck would i slow down at those speeds then i thought, how do those guys slow down at those speeds.
and then, voila! a thread on "how best to 'safely' slow down at really high speeds" for noobs:piggy::moon::yawn:
see you soon (i hope) nothing looking good until sunday afternoon.

I think our beloved lake might be toast after this week. Time for a buggy slush-cup race. Interested in getting soaked? I can't wait to toss the buggy back onto the roof of the car.

Sorry for the hijack. To stop, I will hit the "Post Reply" button.

Even when you are out on the Playa it is hard to grasp the concept of how much room you actaully have at 1st.
I came staight from Geen Lake snowkiting to Ivanpah. Even with the room Green Lake affords I constantly find myself thinking I should turn around after a short 2 mile run. Then I realize I could go 7 more :wee:
TONS of room to slow down for a turn but distances shrink at speed ?

Next year is the 20th anniversery and I would Love to see a few of the Alberta crew out !

Quote:

Originally posted by macboy I think our beloved lake might be toast after this week. Time for a buggy slush-cup race. Interested in getting soaked? I can't wait to toss the buggy back onto the roof of the car. Sorry for the hijack. To stop, I will hit the "Post Reply" button.

i'm game for fly'n. a buggy ride would be smoke'n cool.
lot's of foils on the bay right now, FSs and PLs. 15m Phanny (real cool colors.. black with gold skull).
Paul

Rumor has it the wife will be on maternity leave during NABX next year. I've already planted the seed ; )

I wanna play in a wide open space like that......but what do the "significant others" do? Do they hang around or hit Vegas or what?

they'd def stay in Vegas.
we'd need two vehicles though. one for them to go touring with and one for us to day trip down to playa.
Paul