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  3. A great article on one of the pioneers of powered flight. Australian aviation pioneer Lawrence Hargrave celebrated 130 years after first heavier-than-air flight - ABC News
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  6. Hi Gavin, no response? I am very much still interested in purchasing you Viper. Please get in contact soon. Thanks, Terry.
  7. I have to ask, why? Past generation fixed bridal race kites, like Vapors, Combats, Yakuza's, or current generation de-power race foils (R1's, VMG's), would have superior performance to the F-Arc. They would also have less handling "quirks" (bow tie). If your committed to the Arc. A few people (and Peter Lynn) have played with adding a bridle to an Arc before. This would remove the bow tie issue. These bridled Arcs have an "A" and "B" attached to the cells at different points. I happen to have one of these from the secret squirrel works at the PL factory. Leading edge is on the right hand side in the pic. Thinking of my safety, wouldn't a proper rated wing (paraglider wing) be a better option? These high performance kites might over fly when attached/anchored to a base of some sort. I know from experience, that when a kiter is in the air, you need to pull the brakes on as you descend, to stop the kite over flying. So you will have to back bridle, or increase the AOA of the kite in some way to stop this. A performance loss? If you need to fly with the so called "brakes on" all the time? Keep us informed of your progress, and good luck.
  8. Bonjour Paul. Peut on en discuter ? WhatsApp 0097332233327
  9. Nice one. Wanted to do this with my old Crossbows but will never have the time …And as I suspected, “deformed under load” would have been the result. The new 5-strut kites do that anyway 😂
  10. I saw a Cabrinha Contra 2007 on Mktpl, new condition (used once) for sale cheap. So I did a bit of research in this kite and came across this fantastic video by Anthony @ St-Petersburg Kiteboarding. Thanks! I knew what I was dealing with. It is was 7 strut (heavy!) with a 2:1 bar system (heavy bar pressure). I was curious to see if this kite could be upgraded in design similar the latest offering, lighter, faster, more responsive. So I bought it to take up this new challenge. Step 1. I first started the process by flying the kite in light air. The weight of the kite makes it much harder to roll over and relaunch. The kite was powerful but slow to react and bar pressure was really annoying. The kite would stall and set back in the window, or fall out of the sky in lulls. A porker! Step 2. The second step was to fly with target struts deflated and with the bar 1:1. I tried various combinations but the best was to keep the center and tip struts. The kite would only turn if I would reach out to grab a rear line, the bar not being long enough to turn sharply. No surprise there. Step 3. So I proceeded to remove the 4 large struts. I plugged the valves and went for another test flight (unsewn, just taped). To my surprise, there was no flapping, so canopy adjustment (coning) would be required. So I sewed the panels back up. However, I noted that the valve stubs are hooks that can easily catch bridle lines. They will need to go. Step 4. I went back to try the first bridle mod. I simply removed the wingtip blocks that linked the rear lines to rest of the bridle. The kite flew well in light air, however, later, I noticed that the kite would deform when loaded up. The wingtip of the kite will need a better load distribution from the bridle that adjusts with AoA. Bridle re-design and balancing turned out to be the most challenging part of the modification that took a few passes. I now have it really sweet, the rear lines ties to a block on the last bridle cascade that the kite can roll around. While testing, I did not notice that the Boston valve let go, with hindsight, adhesive failure could be expected with such an old kite. Unfortunately the Boston valve twisted in the hole and caused an aneurism in the bladder causing a major blowout. I repaired it but ordered a replacement kit, not feeling confident. Besides, this would allow me to eliminate the 4 valves, eliminating the number of potential failure points going forward. Conclusion The major difference in this kite from 2007 to 2023 appear to be the number of struts, better bridles, bar and safety systems and material science improvements (fibres, weaves, coatings…). There is no doubt that there were also subtle canopy and shape adjustments, but the kite design appears to be relatively unchanged. Apart from market hype and trends (ex: more struts = better shape = faster, more power), kite designs were pretty well tuned in 2007. I really love this kite now, it is a true light air machine like it was intended to be. Three struts are enough for it to fill nose down, roll over and pop up. The only hick is water that may now pool on the unsupported canopy, but that is a minor issue. The canopy does not flap, just a little rustle once in a while like I have seen on many modern lightweight kites. I can post images if anyone is interested to know more about this.
  11. Hi all, I have been thinking about developing a motorized F-Arc e-paraglider for quite some time now. The F-Arc peel up launches easily, generates tremendous lift, is low drag (great upwind performance) but with unfortunate bowtie susceptibility. Kite surfing in unstable winds with the F-Arc is almost useless due to the short relaunch window on water (not so bad on snow). My lower aspect clones (900, 1400) are much better regarding this but with less performance whereas higher ones (1900) can be most challenging with only modest performance increase and a tad of quirkiness. The vanilla 1600 would be a good start. Using such an efficient wing as the F-Arc for a paraglider seems most attractive to me. Bowties may be less an issue since we cruise in light winds, at a very constant speed, with gentle turns and pitch correction. Apart from doing something silly and stalling the F-Arc, bowties or inversions should be less an issue. Lower surface area and higher wing loading implies faster speeds. Not an issue. Proof of concept I will be trying the F-Arc 1600 on a small 9.9HP 14foot fishing boat on which I will install a cross bar shortly. The two tow points will be a good 5 feet apart. The front lines could go to the middle of the bar, however, they could also cross and attach to opposite ends. The idea here is to increase autozenith reactivity, keeping the kite parallel with the bar at all times. Questions: Has anyone ever heard of an autozenith setup like this? Does it work? Are there thing to know? Would steering the kite be better (kite turns, craft follows) than a rudder or direction of thrust (craft leads, kite follows)? Perhaps an active kite control system (Arduino, sensors, servos) would be better? The lines and kite could be spread apart with much shorter lines. Not a good idea ? 😞 Paul in Quebec City Canada.
  12. I'm so tempted by the Synergy... been wondering how the Arcs would go with foiling
  13. Well Mother Nature has done it again! Another abysmal forecast for any chance of a buggy this weekend. With light Easterlies forecast, and fine weather, cross offshore is no good. And a big rain event on the Sunday Arvo to dampen any spirits I might have had left. You would think that for the Footy final, a Winter sport, there would be conditions to match, but, no. So sad to say but I will not be heading off to Sandy Point any time over the weekend. Fingers crossed for a run come my Christmas/New Year Holidays. Back to polishing the buggy.
  14. Only the 12m Synergy and Scorpion kites left. Which is surprising, because I thought they would be the first to go 🤷‍♂️🤯 Make me a ridiculous offer, you may be surprised.
  15. Im so sorry, I was long time sick due my multiple sclerosis and forget this chat. Hope y’all doing great greets from germany
  16. Forgot to say that it’s in excellent condition , it’s red and black .
  17. Katharine

    Ekko 3.8

    I have an original Ekko 3.8 first addition , only used once , been in storage . four line double handles, bag etc . £100
  18. Lake Lefroy Mini Plans..... | Land Yacht Sailing Forums, page 1 (seabreeze.com.au)
  19. Please ,dose any one know where to buy AJA devil stick in the UK?
  20. I only hope you can view these photos to see the plans of the Lake Lefroy mini yacht that Paul Day designed. I originally followed these plans and they sail really well. I have since built 29 more International 5.6 mini yachts to compete with. landyacht's Photo Gallery, page 13 | Seabreeze The steel framed yacht I repaired for a mate.
  21. Hi, I'm a design student at National Insititute of Design, Gandhinagar, India. I'm currently doing a project on land sailing vehicle. Can someone who has experience of driving these vehicles and also how its made and operated and is interested in discussing about it reply to me at <- Spam Removed ->. Thankyou in Advance.
  22. List has been updated with what has been sold. if there is anything you have been eyeing off better jump on it quickly. Already half the gear has been sold.
  23. Last post about this request was in 2011 more than 10 years ago. Where is the best place to fly dual line stunt kites in Brisbane, preferably close to Carindale?
  24. Wow! I guess I didn't think that through since I didn't know it would be that much to have it shipped. I may have to pass on these. Thanks for looking into it though.
  25. smithy001

    Nasa NPW 5

    This thread is 20 years old, but the NPW 5 is exactly as described, super fun and a potential killer when flying without experience and or without brake lines. I have personally seen 3 m high, 18 m far jumps. On land, in a cropfield... fun, fun, FUN !
  26. @Highflyingkitenut postage would be $200 for the fixed bridle kites and apex depower kite. It looks like someone else is buying the s-arcs. let me know if you would like to go ahead and we can move the conversation over to email or private messages.
  27. No problem. I will get you a postage quote on Wednesday.
  28. That would be great they will be shipped to cambria, California 93428 zip code. Thanks, Jim I would be interested in the fixed bridal kites, the HQ apex and the S arcs if you could ship them to California.
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