on_my_face

I'm certain I've set it up correctly. In it's gruntiest position it comes up a bit but doesn't inflate. In all other positions it comes up properly and is super stable even in the crap wind I was in. Unlike the instructions and anything else I found online before buying it, it doesn't have 4 knots to set the length, instead it's got 4 little plastic toggles and therefore 5 spaces to place the larks head between. Maybe that 5th 'space' is a step too far and not intended for use. The instructions that came with it are for the old knotted design so no mention of the toggle spacers. I'd been hunting around for a 6m Rage to replace it but I'm hoping I won't need to now. Only a session in the buggy will tell for sure. Oh, and I know you're gonna moan Mick but I finally got to use my Access in the buggy a few weeks ago and loved it. Was just able to park it and use the bar to soak up the gusts. Not ready to replace my fixed bridles but it certainly is a different but enjoyable way to buggy.

Well I finally got round to putting a triple a adjuster on my Blade and I can't believe the transformation. In it's gruntiest position I couldn't get the kite to launch so I'll have to wait for more wind but in it's lowest lift position the kite launched itself and was unbelievably fast in practically no wind. Still had loads of lift and was hard to compare to the opposite setting coz of failure to launch but I'm really looking forward to trying it in the buggy now. I'm theory I shouldn't get pulled out sideways and upwards so much but it also seems I can now use it in lighter winds which is a huge added bonus. Much recommended. And anyone who has trouble fitting it surely shouldn't be flying kites if they don't understand simple physics.

Ha ha, cheers guys for your honesty and saving me more frustration. Although......... I do fancy having a go on one of those nasa wings. Where do you get them from? When I've looked in the past there's a million links to making your own but not many stockists.

Looking for suggestions for a fixed bridle that will pull in virtually no wind but also be easy to get off the ground. I'm thinking of just getting a 12m+ but didn't know if anyone had any ideas of what is available that's light enough to launch.

I. Have. Got. To. Get. A. Kitebike! Looks like the Batbike and having ridden M/C's for 20yrs I might get the hang of it. Love the idea of leaning against the pull like boarding but having a low cg like buggying. Many, many thanks for all the input guys. I think I just need to accept the fact that I fly in shit wind and no kite is gonna be the magic answer. I'll just keep getting excited trying new things as the years go by rather than trying to suss it all out in a week. Very disappointed that the only windy day this weekend is Monday and my new club I've just joined only runs on weekends and "Monday is a weekday"!!??!! Have a great weekend guys. I'm biking and kayaking Sunday and got all day to kite on Monday. Can't wait :~)

Wow, some really great advice thanks guys now Mick has wound his neck in :~) @tvrgreg, I do have a strop on my handles but I still like to have the pull on my arms. Like going to the gym only fun. I also like having it on my arms to act as a shock absorber but I totally get the feeling of having a higher centre of gravity attached to the kite. And don't get me wrong, I fucking love sliding sideways with the front at full lock but what I don't like is when I start off on one side of a field and get pulled into the hedges on the other side before I've reached the end. As I'm unable to buggy upwind very well I end up having to tow the buggy back to the other side and I'm just trying to avoid that from happening unless I want it to. I guess after all the advice I'm going to have to take the plunge and learn how to fly race kites to avoid the sideways thing. Great tip about the AAA too, I feel a complete twat for not thinking of that myself. @Mick, I'm pleased you've explained more about the race kites. I always understood that they fly further forwards but I never knew they go further forward the faster you go. That sounds very appealing. I don't see it as a waste me getting some depowers coz once I finally decide to get back on my board I'll already be familiar with depower and only have to concentrate on balance. Perhaps on that basis I should collect Frenzies instead of Accesses. You won't convince me otherwise about my swapping lines from canopy to canopy though. I like my system and my daughter loves helping me. Since they don't do Razors anymore what race kite would you suggest for beginner and for intermediate? @playboy, I will make more of a conscious effort to strop in. I always put my harness on regardless but I just get carried away and forget to hook in. I must at least give this Turbo bar of yours a try. I think I'll miss handles but I'll get one and if I don't like it I'll just stick it on eBay. Do you just use your normal lines with it? You don't have to have shorter brake lines or anything? Believe me, I can't even get them into a field to try. They're like me though, you get to a point where you have too many hobbies and you have to avoid temptation at all costs to give the time your current hobbies deserve. I kayak, mountain bike and climb also and until just recently had 3 track bikes too but never enough time to focus on any one thing. Now I just concentrate on stuff I can do with my daughter. She's learning from all my mistakes which is very rewarding and her brain is thirsty for new challenges. I totally get the doing stuff on your own and I'm happy mostly but not every single time. With my kayaking and climbing you pretty much have to buddy up and it is a chore being let down by people but that's when I'll hit the trail centres or find a windy field but now I'm buggying I am finding myself feeling a social outcast running everyone's dogs over hence why I joined a club but I wish I'd joined a forum years ago. And what's with 50m lines? That's insane! Cheers for the invite btw, I may well head down that way this summer as I love the New Forest and you're only down the road from there. Last question, looking at your signature, what's a Flexifoil bike? I'll Google it once I've finished but thought I best ask in case I can't find it. Anyone had a go on those off road inline skates? I'm much better at ice and roller skating than skate boarding so I think I'd get on okay with them but the thought of having them glued to your feet and unable to bale doesn't appeal.

You do make me chuckle Mick! So a genuine question...... is it coz my new kite is depower that it turns slow as opposed to it's size having never flown a 10m before? A guy let me have a go on a 14m LEI and I didn't like it purely coz of it's slow turning. I appreciate that I have only flown the 10m in ridiculously low winds and it will get faster but I can see how it'll be a problem when flying with others. I absolutely love my Blade but it's ferocious in the gusts hence why I'm trying depower to absorb said gusts. Is there a way of flying fixed bridles that I'm yet to learn where you can absorb the gusts more using handles? All what's been said would certainly make sense why the bigger depowers are so much cheaper than smaller ones on the used market. I think I'll hold off on getting a full quiver of them for a while. With your fountain of knowledge Mick, what would you say is the ideal fixed bridle for buggying? My Rages are supposed to be quite good but coz I've only got small sizes I've yet to get out in strong enough wind with them to buggy. Very addictive flying them static. I can put them exactly where I want them every time. Maybe I should have stuck to my original plan of hunting down a 4.7 and 6m.

You didn't need to remove it Mick and I like your interference..... it's all good banter. I'm just pleased I've finally taken the time to join a forum rather than boring all my non kiting buddies. They're all into extreme sports but I just can't get them to show an interest in kites at all. I just wish there were more kiters where I live coz it's not the same on my own hence my extremely slow learning curve. The club I've joined is nearly 2 hours away so it's not like I'll get to go often enough so I'll feed my fix by arguing with you Mick :~)

Well you're certainly not shy about giving your opinion Mick! You seem to have the impression that I'm new to kiting. I'm new to depower and buggying hence my enthusiasm but I've been flying for about 8 or 9 years and as quick as I've got at wrapping a set of lines I still find changing at the canopy end each time much faster if I'm likely to be using several different sizes across a day. The talk I'm referring to about depower is from the buggiers at the club I've just joined. Most swear by using depower and they're mainly 30-40yr old and the ones that don't all use race kites which I've yet to master. The main appeal for me with depower is the fact I fly inland and their ability to absorb gusts. I get my Blade out and I'm either struggling to get it to launch and when I do a gust comes and pulls me 30m off course. I've yet to see the benefits I'm promised with depower but I'll enjoy learning their ways and I'll always have my FBs anyway. If I get on with them then I will get a full set but I'd like to try out the Flysurfers before I part with any money coz I've also heard good things about them. My handles are Prolinks with 250kg lines. More than enough for my Blade and when the wind is fast enough to get my smaller kites out the drag on 250kg lines is unnoticeable. Your grumble about me not appreciating much difference between sheeted in or out is unfair considering how light the wind was. I did say it'll probably make more sense when it's a stronger wind and again bearing in mind the wind, what the hell is wrong with doing figure 8's? At times the wind dropped so much it was all I could do to keep it in the air and it was a great exercise in learning to fly such a slow turner. After all your grumbling Mick, mostly about old men which is ironic, I'm still completely unaware what your point is other than you don't seem to like Ozone depowers. Anyway, I love it and I'm really grateful for everyone's input. Can't wait to fly it some more and look at getting some other sizes. Even tempted to get a Turbo bar now just as a change now and then. I love getting new toys. If I bought the best available kit in the first place then I wouldn't have had anything before it to make me appreciate it. An M5 is supposed to be a pretty bloody good car but would you be as excited about getting one if your first car was an M3 or a Mondeo! I appreciate my Flexifoils coz I started off on Pansh kites. The same way as I'll appreciate my first Flysurfer by starting with an old Access. Once I've mastered buggying and depower I'll then have race kites to look forward to learning. And I'm pleased you said that depower is only of real benefit to boarders coz the only reason I got a buggy was to learn more about sailing so when I do decide to try boarding again I'll only have to concentrate on balance. Life is all about learning. If we knew it all by time we were 20 then life would get boring very quickly. Right, now to find an 8m Access next I think :~)

I've only just got into buggying and all I keep hearing is "depower is the way to go". Finally got to fly my 10m in 8-13mph winds. Jesus does it turn slow. I was having to pull the bar 5 seconds before the planned turn. And it's so easy to forget how powerful it is coz it's not pulling your arms. I was getting cocky doing figure 8's and I should imaging in just 15mph+ winds it could get a bit of a handful very quickly. Still not convinced it's going to help my buggying but purely from an engineering viewpoint I'm really impressed. It only luffed once and even when trying the safeties it was up and flying with no tangles very quickly. Seems to need quite a bit of wind to reverse launch though which I found odd. Still can't get my head around the more power/less speed vs less power/more speed idea so I don't really know when I need to push or pull the bar. Hopefully it'll make more sense in higher winds. I'm hoping I don't need to buy the whole set but I can see where you're coming from. I wanted depower so it'll cover a wide range of wind speeds without keep changing kite but I guess the real coverage of different wind speeds is catered for with each extreme of the gusts and that you still need to put the optimum size up for the average wind speed on any given day. I absolutely love it but I can see why people still keep a quiver of fixed bridles. It's quite an old one so I think I'll play with it for a while and then see if a shop will do me a deal on a full set of new ones, probably kite only and one bar between them all. I only use one set of handles for all my FB's and despite everyone sneering I find it easier coz you only unwind and wind once during the day and once the lines are laid out I find it much quicker to connect the lines than keep wrapping and unwrapping full length lines. I didn't think this concept would work for depower and I'd have to have a bar for each but the bridles are simpler in many ways because they don't have as many lines and the pulleys don't have as much to get tangled in. And what with Ozone's ingenious numbering system it'll probably be even easier. I'm gonna call the shop tomorrow and get a price to ponder on. God this sport is addictive!

Well I'm not sure about the Turbo bar business as I really love handles but I picked up my 10m Access tonight so maybe I'll be converted when the wind decides to make an appearance and I finally get to see what all the fuss is about with depower etc.

Thanks for all your input xtreme playboy. Plenty of food for thought. Still quite taken by the Access's as an easy move from fixed bridle and they seem to suit buggying well but I'll certainly look into other options. You have however convinced me to go for the 12m and then the 8m. Anything stronger and I've got several FB storm kites that never get used.

I should throw it in the bin really but how else am I to pay for new toys :~) Just finally got myself some insurance and off to Kempsey tomorrow. Thanks for all your advice and hopefully I'll see you over BD soon.

I've removed said words Mick. Sorry but I didn't realise it was being monitored. As far as the red thing, no it hasn't got the velcro blow outs which is why I'm so frightened of flying it. I got it for a bargain off someone who didn't know what size it was let alone what type. I was well chuffed right up until the first time I flew it. I hope depower has evolved significantly since that setup and all the hassle trying to find enough wind to inflate but not so much as it rips your arms off. Defo not the best introduction to depower!

I'll stick with low aspect for the time being then. Keeping the kite full of air and where I want it are my major big bears flying inland so a race kite will just cause further problems for me. Still trying to find people to fly with for tomorrow. I'm sure most of my woes are my technique and not equipment and watching others would really help. There's only so much on YouTube lol.

Just over an hour. Will they definitely be there? Will I need insurance coz I still haven't got round to doing it?

Anyone flying/buggying tomorrow where I can come along and join in/meet people? I live in Kettering, Northamptonshire and happy to drive an hour or so but only if they'll actually be people there........

Just been chatting to Testpilotpete about you Mick...... He said you buggy at B D and I was curious what it would be like coz is very hilly? I need somewhere to go tomorrow where they'll be other kiters so if you're going let me know and I'll meet you there.

What do you mean by "bad up wind" Plummet? Yes Mick! Big Red lilo. Impossible to self launch/land and so slow turning you can't get it out the power zone. Maybe I had it set up wrong but I couldn't fly the bloody thing.

Can't find the Manta but the summit looks to be closed cell and a bit too advanced for me. I've got a Boom Vector closed cell but I'm getting rid of it coz it's too much hassle setting up.

I've never heard of Summit or Manta. I shall look them up now thanks very much.

I fancy buying a new toy and think it's about time I got my first depower. The question is which sizes? I guess it's either a 6&10m or a 8&12m. I weigh 95kgs and use my 4.7 Rage way more than the 3.5m Rage in the buggy but my 6.6 Blade still scares the crap out of me. Any suggestions would be much appreciated. The main problem I'm finding is that the wind drops and the kite falls to my side before powering up and just thought that with depower I'll have more control when this happens. Or maybe I'm just looking for an excuse to spend money and need to hone my skills on fixed bridle more.

I'm in Kettering. Mainly go to Weekley Glebe playing fields or that big field near Sixfields, Northampton. I don't mind traveling a bit further but it would be so good to meet up with like minded people.

Any kites and buggiers in or around northamptonshire? Getting fed up of sharing fields with dog walkers pissing on my kites and need others to bore about my addiction.