Time to get serious about my Nasa bars. The parts are mostly here.
This inconsistent mess works, somehow?
The little one started life with Jim SSI as a crossover.
The middle is a Windstruck Westing special.
The broomstick is questionable, I think Coleridge wrote about it.
Flying mostly single skins, with some orphans, the American flag, and a PL buggy. US01
I stared out my window for hours watching the wind blow through the trees, finished up my OT shift, got home just in time to have the wind die.....
again....
Hopeful for next week. Plus side, cash for kites now.
All praise to Ariel. I don't do commercial work anymore, but for some reason I took this little call. Turns out they make custom robot style wheel
chairs.
Can you make me a fender for my kite buggy?
After looking at it in my service van he said no problem, I can make whatever you want but I think diamond deck plate would be killer cool.... in
chrome?
Well, so do I.
Can't wait till he calls me for my final fit and attachment...
He's happy with the trade, hard to put a price on custom, but a midi fender costs one air conditioning repair. Happy Happy, Joy Joy.
Flying mostly single skins, with some orphans, the American flag, and a PL buggy. US01
All praise to Ariel. I don't do commercial work anymore, but for some reason I took this little call. Turns out they make custom robot style wheel
chairs.
Can you make me a fender for my kite buggy?
After looking at it in my service van he said no problem, I can make whatever you want but I think diamond deck plate would be killer cool.... in
chrome?
Well, so do I.
Can't wait till he calls me for my final fit and attachment...
He's happy with the trade, hard to put a price on custom, but a midi fender costs one air conditioning repair. Happy Happy, Joy Joy.
Outstanding Ed. The barter system at its best. I'd love a personal custom fender. And yes, your material and color choices are spot on. Wax on; wax
off.
Yeehaw.
Thanks to Erics initiative (and camp host!), a few of us descended on Roosevelt Gap between Ocean Shores and Pacific Beach, WA.
Two great days/
The beach was wide flat and firm and the sun was out!
Wind was light but smoooooth.
Perfect chance to try out my Gin Shaman2 12m.
All that I could ask for.
Always on the steep part of the learning curve.
Gin Shaman2 6m, 12m
Flysurfer Peak1 6m, Peak2 9m,Peak4, 3m
Misc. other kites, never getting out of their bags.
Riding a Libre Fullrace with an AQR on the beach
Riding a Blokart inland when gust factor > 4
And a couple Manta Singles for friends to ride.
I learned that (flying one right after the other) an 8m Toxic bridled aspect ratio 4.2 kite on an ozone turbo bar and 30m lines pulls a PL bigfoot
easier and faster thru wet semi-soft sand than a 19m Venom2 arc aspect ratio 5.0 kite
I learned that (flying one right after the other) an 8m Toxic bridled aspect ratio 4.2 kite on an ozone turbo bar and 30m lines pulls a PL bigfoot
easier and faster thru wet semi-soft sand than a 19m Venom2 arc aspect ratio 5.0 kite
Maybe the lower aspect of the 8m is sitting deeper in the window. This would give you more horse power at the cost of upwind ability.
I had a sunset session today in the dust devil bug, a serious off roader with a ton of ground clearance. Only its 4th outing since buying it new some
8-10 years ago.
The tide was on its way out and so the sand was wet and soft too. I learned not to downloop powerslide on soft sand. The short axle'd bug dug in,
momentarily lifting its rear upwind wheel giving me a near heart attack.
Also enjoyed racing a kiteboarder upwind. We were side by side all the way up the beach just yards apart. Should have filmed it.
The dust devil is now my primary bug as the dominator is in long term storage due to lack of space.
Here's a few seconds from last week, hitting 59mph. The fastest this bug has ever gone. I don't think I've ever done more than 30mph before.
4 day weekend here, all 10-12mph winds for the most part, 4 days out with the kites, last day was low wind, finally got to break out the 15.4m in 5-6
Mph winds. It's going to take me some time to get used to that beast.
Really wanting a good wind day to pick up some speed. Currently cruising in the 25-27mph range with the 10m RM+ in 10-12mph, not doing bad for the
kite and wind, just wanting more, can't wait for SOBB
What are we hitting now wind speed to MPH ratio for a good sail, still at the 2.5 to 3x wind speed ratio or are the new sails pushing that mark
higher?
So they may be a little closer in AR. The 19m is a park and ride, it is so slow to turn that sheeting in and bearing off is how to power out of the
soft stuff. I think the 8m gets the upper hand with efficiency (open cell, fixed bridle, thinner wing, use of projected area/less anhedral), lighter
weight, quicker turning.
Remember an old rule of thumb that the area/size of a FB is about half a DP for similar pull when riding. An Arc probably needs to be around two and
a half times the FB size.
Saturday was a great kiteboarding day followed by a nice Kite Cat session on sunday afternoon - Lake Huron, Southampton Ontario
a short video coming soon
Mark Groshens NAPKA KC 13
WindSpeed kites & design - Canada
Peter Lynn Arcs: Charger2 22.5 +18 + 15 + 6.5, Charger I 6, Scorpion 16 + 10, Phantom II 12 + 9, Orig Phantom 9 + 6, Synergy 10 + 8, F 1200, S 840
Ocean Rodeo: Flite 17 + 12, Rise 13 + 10 + 7, Razor 9 + 6
Foils: PL Leopards and Lynx, Airea Raptors, some PL Reactor IIs + IIIs, Libre Spirits, Cross Kite Sonics, Ozone Flow
Peter Lynn Kite Cat for cruising the lakes
buggies: PL XR+, Cameleon Pagona, custom bigfoot, PL Bigfoot, custom ice buggy
Boards: 2 custom directionals, O.R Surf series 6-3 and 5-11, Mako Duke, Mako Skinny, Mako 140 Wide, Mako 150 Wide, Mako King, Brunotti
lots of old school skis, snowboard
Saturday was a great kiteboarding day followed by a nice Kite Cat session on sunday afternoon - Lake Huron, Southampton Ontario
a short video coming soon
I really liked that video and in fact the whole Kite Cat vibe. We are contemplating a move back to California from Utah and will likely end up in San
Diego County. I've been giving thought to how I could take advantage of the ocean breezes while avoiding the possibility of another "freak gasoline
fight accident". The whole thing about kite boarding with LEIs or other super lifty kites spooks me and I don't want to get whipped up in the air
ever again. A Kite Cat like the one you show in this video could be equipped with an AQR just like a land buggy!
Is this Kite Cat (or something similar) actually commercially available? Enquiring minds want to know!
Love it! Really glad someone has finally done a proper kitecat video. Auto zenith and the lack of waves makes things easy yes ?
Hey Tom, the auto zenith is really good for carrying the cat into deeper water and getting into it. I rode it a bit the day before at a different bay
using an LEI - the launch area was difficult with rocks and scrub bushes and then the first 30 feet of the water had scattered rocks so I needed extra
hands to launch and mind the cat waiting for me in the water.
The location for the video was a better beach but it does have a quick drop in depth so it's not easy walk in and hop on, but not bad.
The arc is nice to use but I also find I need to work the bar a lot to try and keep some constant power on. And even in higher wind they can shoot
through the power zone a bit too far ahead so keeping a slow sine works good. The LEI sat in the window holding power without needing as much work but
it was also a higher wind day.
flatter water is nice for sure, once waves pick up then they are always slapping the bottom of the seat slowing me down.
I really liked that video and in fact the whole Kite Cat vibe. We are contemplating a move back to California from Utah and will likely end up in San
Diego County. I've been giving thought to how I could take advantage of the ocean breezes while avoiding the possibility of another "freak gasoline
fight accident". The whole thing about kite boarding with LEIs or other super lifty kites spooks me and I don't want to get whipped up in the air
ever again. A Kite Cat like the one you show in this video could be equipped with an AQR just like a land buggy!
Is this Kite Cat (or something similar) actually commercially available? Enquiring minds want to know!
Kite Cats haven't been made in many years but there is the odd one that comes up for sale. The one Aaron Saude was trying to sell located in
...Wisconsin (?) was an excellent deal and it was the last generation design on the kite cat so a very fun craft.
A buddy near Ottawa Canada has one that was an early generation, i think it was #2 of the cats built. Then one in the UK last year. I think the only
thing being manufactured is the kite tender http://www.kitetender.nl
I use both LEIs and arcs but haven't had any issue being lifted out of the cat or buggy...but there have been times in the buggy where yes it could
easily happen. I don't recall exactly the safety release but if i remember it has a cable that comes up through a grommet in the seat. The kite cat
seat is like a buggy seat hanging down from the frame so you would need to put a grommet to run the cable but not sure what happens below the seat.
i'll have to go back and look at Jeffs set up.
um, did I mess anything, i could ramble on with more info on the cat but let me know if there was anything else specific i can answer.
Mark
Mark Groshens NAPKA KC 13
WindSpeed kites & design - Canada
Peter Lynn Arcs: Charger2 22.5 +18 + 15 + 6.5, Charger I 6, Scorpion 16 + 10, Phantom II 12 + 9, Orig Phantom 9 + 6, Synergy 10 + 8, F 1200, S 840
Ocean Rodeo: Flite 17 + 12, Rise 13 + 10 + 7, Razor 9 + 6
Foils: PL Leopards and Lynx, Airea Raptors, some PL Reactor IIs + IIIs, Libre Spirits, Cross Kite Sonics, Ozone Flow
Peter Lynn Kite Cat for cruising the lakes
buggies: PL XR+, Cameleon Pagona, custom bigfoot, PL Bigfoot, custom ice buggy
Boards: 2 custom directionals, O.R Surf series 6-3 and 5-11, Mako Duke, Mako Skinny, Mako 140 Wide, Mako 150 Wide, Mako King, Brunotti
lots of old school skis, snowboard
Does anyone know if anyone has engineered or worked through converting a "small" "Hobie" or other cat boat for use with kites?
Having not seen either a KiteKat or a small "Hobie" up close to know what the differences are in terms of rudders or keels I don't know, but have
wondered, about the differences.
NASA wings -1 to 12m [mostly KM4]
Foils -2 -12m [mostly PL & Pansh]
VTT Stinger on Midi's
Another day in Paradise...
a typical catamaran has two rear rudders, The kite cat has 4; two forward and two rear. Foot steering linkage on the kite cat connects to the front
rudders and then a long linkage connects the front to the rear so they turn in opposite direction.
Mark Groshens NAPKA KC 13
WindSpeed kites & design - Canada
Peter Lynn Arcs: Charger2 22.5 +18 + 15 + 6.5, Charger I 6, Scorpion 16 + 10, Phantom II 12 + 9, Orig Phantom 9 + 6, Synergy 10 + 8, F 1200, S 840
Ocean Rodeo: Flite 17 + 12, Rise 13 + 10 + 7, Razor 9 + 6
Foils: PL Leopards and Lynx, Airea Raptors, some PL Reactor IIs + IIIs, Libre Spirits, Cross Kite Sonics, Ozone Flow
Peter Lynn Kite Cat for cruising the lakes
buggies: PL XR+, Cameleon Pagona, custom bigfoot, PL Bigfoot, custom ice buggy
Boards: 2 custom directionals, O.R Surf series 6-3 and 5-11, Mako Duke, Mako Skinny, Mako 140 Wide, Mako 150 Wide, Mako King, Brunotti
lots of old school skis, snowboard
Rack and Buggy fitted to the back of the family van. It looks like it'll work but I'm pretty sure I'll get some weird looks with it. S1 Sysmic with
beach racers hanging off the back of a Mazda 5 =P
Had a wonderful confluence of conditions and freedom and I was able to get in my buggy for the first time since IBX in April. Not the best wind but I
was able to get some nice laps in on a soccer field under my 11m RS. Even got up on two wheels for about 10-15 feet coming out of a corner! That was
fun.
I'm going to keep my gear in the car for a couple of days. There may be another window tomorrow. Whupp.
2 Days with a steady 10-12mph wind, couple things, I think we've finally bonded with the new kite, and well, rain and a wet mud bay, finally properly
motivated to put a longer mud flap on the buggy, no more wet sand crotch.
I finally got my Blade III 4.9 and 4.0 up in the air for the first time today. Ocean Beach in S.F., 10-14mph constant wind. Lots of butt-scudding
while I got used to the handling characteristics of each. Right now, I think the 4.0m is my new favorite kite to fly static (no jumping). It's light,
responsive, and reliably powerful. Also, it's purple, my favorite color.
Anyways, here are a few pics of the kites ready for launch. I was alone, so no action shots:
![[*]](images/perspective/default_icon.gif){kind=icon}
