I just thought I would suggest this to others in other parts of the country....here in the Cali-central valley my friends and I fly at a nearby sod farm...so thats my suggestion...go the the yellow pages and look for a commercial sod company....get a hold of the owner some how and get permission to fly on the grass.....

there's acres of space,......

just an idea

We have some big sod farms around here. they would be great places to buggy. I think you would be tossed out on your ear the first time the farmer saw you do a 360.
S
No wind here, jonesing real bad.

Yes,

From the 1st time I heard you folks talking about the sod farm I wondered how in heck you got permision to fly there :?:
What's the story ? No Buggies ??

Scudley, It was cold yesterday but we had an east wind downtown. Did you try Gary Point ?

No I did not go out to GP. I did try Sunrise PK for a little static flying with the 10m. Enough wind to fly, but not enough to even scud.
You could walk very slowly with a cigarette and have the smoke go straight up: <2 km/hr?.
Jonesing bad, no wind in the forecast except when it is raining.
S

Sthrasher,

How did you get permission for the sod farm ?

We got permission from the owner

Actually its great because the buggies do zero damage.....you just slide over the top of the grass...plus being that its wind powered, it seems to be much less threataning to the owners...because really, the main amount of movement is in a long straight line with wheel barrow or like tires...those tractors they have for field maintenence are twenty times heavier and so there should be no question that buggies are ok.....but I suggest maybe writing a letter the the owners. That way you could show them the kite stuff and how harmless it is.....

Most all fields get soaked and soft over winter here. I think sod farms wouldn't like us as much. Take good care of that owner boys. Do something BIG for him ! He is a great one to have on our side!

Scudley, Do you see any value in approaching sod farmers around here ?

I got invited from Art Lessing and Dagon. We are also getting them something nice for Christmas. Dagons idea.

Seems to me you should be buying Dagon a Christmas present to ! Not everybody gets invited to go kiting in an exclusive spot and then comes home with a chipped tooth FIXED !!! A day like that is worth smiling. A friend like that....... priceless !!!

Quote:

Originally posted by snowbird Scudley, Do you see any value in approaching sod farmers around here ?

DirtSlide, being head grounds keeper at the golf course, would have a better idea about the damage we would do to the sod.
I suspect that we are so much wetter here than Sacramento that slides would just rip the grass out by the roots.
If you find a sod farm willing to let us try, I would be glad to join you.
A better bet would be a hay field or pasture. Fewer economic consequences if we muck it up.
S
Should probably make it clear to UK readers, before they get any ideas, that sod farms are places that grow ready made grass turf for your lawn.

what I noticed the other day when we went out there and it was utterly soaked, the buggies slide even easier.....especially because the kite is pulling on the sliding side usually, and its pulls sideways and upward a bit lightening that side of the buggy so it breaks free easily...I noticed the difference when ghost riding the buggy with no kite...then the turning inertia forces the outside of the buggy to dig in, and the front wheel to "plow" which is terrible for the grass. So , as long as the kite is pulling you along there is very little grass damage....so when the grass is wet its sometimes close to impossible to go in a straight line.....I was sliding free all over the place with those barrow tires....they are pretty smooth...I left no marks...

Those are ideal conditions to work on your 180 / 360' s. An important step in learning !

Yea! Being new I did a few of those without even trying.

One comment to add, BF tires are basically the exact same tires that their mowers run on, I've slid all over Garry Point Park on the grass without being able to leave a mark, same goes for fairly soft wet sandy beaches. I have seen some deep ruts and carved more than a couple myself using standard barrows.

Would it be unreasonable for people to get some wider tires if it meant being able to use a sod farm? BF lights are under $200 a set if you do them yourself. BF's will fit on the rear of any buggy out there, I believe Dirtslide fit a 6" wide tire on the front of his stock PL buggy in the stock forks as well, Even that would be a big improvement in lowering the impact on sod.

oh my god, don't let out the secret spot. LOL.

DirtSlide and I have some future plans and will be talking with the neighbour to use their land as well, since they dont have corn growing on it. Dont forget we're working with the Parks Board right now, and I keep bringing up the field access at Westminster and Garden City. Its Federal Land right now, but who knows what will happen.

We can change our tires from Std Barrow to Wide Barrow, and it will be fine, as long as we run with a smooth flat surface tire, we dont need to worry about leaving marks.

Scudley do you want to buggy in the rain this weekend? I need my fix.

Quote:

Originally posted by ripsessionkites Scudley do you want to buggy in the rain this weekend? I need my fix.

See my post on PKC

Yeah, the wide barrow style should be more than fine, I think it's mostly the grooved barrows and the treaded stuff. Even a slick standard barrow should be pretty low impact.

Would I be right to assume that GP is in full lake mode by now? Gotta get out and buggy somewhere, been almost a month since we had sun and wind on the same day.

PS, Scudly, does your new 10m happen to be a lime green belly with dark blueish details on the top side? If so I think I saw the monster flying a couple days ago high above the city somewhere around 6th and Rupert. I was working one hilltop over.

Gary point was fully flooded the weekend before last when I was there. Vanier is full of little puddles.

Quote:

Originally posted by snowbird Gary point was fully flooded the weekend before last when I was there. Vanier is full of little puddles.

Snowbird, very nasty of you not mention that it is slicker than hell, being a combination of goose grease, clay and 1" layer of water. To top it off, it is still lumpy from the trucks last spring.
You need to get a buggy that uses lawn rollers for wheels. Think of it, the 600lb buggy. Put you and Ricardo on it, that would make it about 650?
The situation at GP and Vanier is why I have been static flying the new 10m at Sunrise Pk: replacement therapy. Bugger all for wind except when it is raining. The kind of wind where you can amble with a cigarette and watch the smoke rise, ~.5m/s, barely able to feel it on your face. At least it's laminar. Kite flies still has some pull, not enough for the buggy. Got in some scuds though, 10 -15 ft. I have to wonder what kind of person flies it at the top of the suggested wind range, 8m/s (28km). It probably won't be me.
Sunrise does not have room to buggy as there are power lines to the south, chain link fence to the east, and steep hill to the north. Judging by the height of the poles, the power lines are fairly high voltage. Reasonably clear wind on SE or NW. All weather baseball field, grass with drainage. Your feet are dry and you can scud on the baselines. DCR 7.5/10
S

*Dog Crap Rating 1: Montreal in the spring - 10: none

Hi, all. I have a homebuilt sail buggy, powered by a windsurfer sail. It's smaller and a bit heavier than most commercial ones. Going to El Mirage or Ivanpah would be overkill for me. I don't need to go fast or far, just a 1/4 mile square area would be awesome.

The sod farm that is mentioned often in these forums (in or near Davis) seems like a great place to try, but I want to be respectful of the existing activity and the relationship between your community and the owners. Guidance appreciated.

Also, are there any other farms or similar areas closer to Dublin? I used to go on the dirt lots near my house, but now the lots are fenced off as they prep for construction.

I appreciate any help or advice you can offer. The land yacht forums are not too helpful because they are focused on the vast flat areas, not little parking lots and fields.

Thanks much! -- Dave

Welcome to the forum.

Now I don't go out when it's wet, or muddy. Probably as much for the kite as for the fields. I worked ( first season not there!) for the sod farm where I kite so that's not a problem. As far as the grass goes I try not to do 360's on it, there is plenty of fresh cut dirt area to play on. In our fields we cut north and south on most of the fields. But there are a couple of areas where we cut east to west. So as you can figure the wind dictates which areas I play in, I still out in the grassy spots but I save the power slides for the dirt.

Nice big fields. Loos like good long runs also.

The main field that we use at the sod farm in Davis is being harvested right now it's pretty small and cut up, but Dan used another adjescent field (across the road and owned by the same people) the other day and said it was a little lumpy but runnable. What kind of tires do you use on your landsailer? 6" wide? 10" wide? It makes a difference on grass to be able to displace as much ground surface as possible - lumpy grass slows momentum unless you have larger tires. I use Nankang Bigfoot ripoffs which are 12" wide and 21" tall and smooth tread which the farmer didn't bat an eye at as far as worrying about dammage to his grass. The tires also cruise well over lumpy grass.