schmik

Palm is OK. It really depends on the wind direction. The beach is quite narrow in spots but it doesn't get that crowded. The beach gets a bit wider right up the north end. Long reaf (the north end of Dee Why) can be ok too. This can get a bit crowded but would be fine at this time of year. I also posted a spot on this site. "George Kendal riverside park". Its not a beach but has pretty clean winds for an inland spot. There is also "macquarie fields" in Marsfield but i only fly there coz its close to home. Gusty is an understatement when describing this spot. Its for the brave and stupid! BTW, you can mail me at mik_kat@tpg.com.au if you want to fly. I am now in touch with a guy with a buggy so if you want to try a buggy or ATB drop me a line. schmik

Good to see that you are insane too Gibo! I'll send you a PM next time I go out flying. Where do you normally fly ? schmik

Can't tell you bout Geelong. I am in sydeny. I'm sure goshen wil drop in here sooner or later and let you know. schmik

From what i have hear, you need to get a lift to the topo f Thredbo and then walk about 200m to the main ridge. Thats the comp site. Also there is supposed to be some decent flat area (at the bottom) around the Perisher Blue resort too. Go to http://www.kitepower.com.au , find their contact details and ring them. (probably ring Goshen at the Geelong store). He will be able to give you much more information. schmik

Geez it was windy yesterday. Just had to take the kite out. It was a solid 20knots, gusting up to 40ish knots. Its not a good site to see trees down on roads when you arre on your way to go kiting. When i got the field I could see a guy on a buggy. I was very pleased as this is the first Kiter I had met at this field and because there is someone else out there stupid enough to fly in those conditions. He (dave) was tearing around in the buggy using a 2m blade II and i was on the ATB with a 2.1 Little Devil. Dave has a speedo on his buggy. He nearly hit 50kph yesterday with a 2m kite! At times we were both totally overpowered. There were some good crashes... sometimes kites were just pulled out of our hands, I was smart enough not to use a harness. Neither of us are light weights and we both managed to get lifted by 2m kites... It was an insane day! I wouldn't recommend flying in those conditions without wearing ALL of the safety gear. I know it was kinda silly to go out yesterday but boy was it fun. schmik

Hmmm.... it would be cool to get more of these guys online. It would be even even cooler to meet some of them and fly together. The learning curve is kinda steep when you fly alone and rely on online forums and watching movie clips. I'm sure that this sport will grow and until then I'll just keep spreading the good word. Until then.... i should change my online name to "The Lone Ranger". From now on I'll refer to my ATB as "Silver". (I'm still searching for my "Tonto"). Goshen, do you sell more foils in Syd or Mel ? I know it would be weird to advertise someone elses website but would it be posible to provide a flyer containing these web addresses with every kite sold ? I fear that unless people find flying buddies that they will get sick of kiting alone. later schmik

Just wondering how many of us there are out there. Obviously there are many kiters without net access and a lot that don't know of this forum. I only know one other kiter and he's not obsessed like I am. Goshen, Steve, how many of these traction kites do you sell ? Got an opinion about how many are out there... and I don't mean the kite surf crew. cheers schmik

At the moment i use $15 army pants from disposal stores... I had ruined too many good clothes by the stylish art of 'butt skudding'. When i can find (and afford) some i will get some ATB / BMX race pants. These are padded in all the right places and virtualy impossible to rip. They are probably overkill for static flying but should be great for Kite ATB and good ol 'butt scudding'!! Have you seen any proper 'kite pants' ? schmik

Goshen... Nice Video!! That looks absolutely awsome. When you do get some info on the Thredbo comp please let us know. cheers schmik

http://www.kitepower.com.au/news/specials_geelong.htm $500 for the 4.5m LD. That will be cheaper than the 3m brand new. Hmmmm... the 4.5 could be a bit of a handful in gusts. schmik

The 3m is a great kite. Plenty of pull too. Check out the second hand section of the Kitepower website ( http://www.kitepower.com.au ). There is a second hand 4.5m little devil on there. cheers schmik

I too would love to know how much a set of the adjustable MBS trucks cost..... steve ? Ian, think of it like this : If you have springs only then there is nothing to stop the 'spring' action. So on a car (with springs only), if you hit a bump the car would bounce up and down and up and down for ages. If you have shock absorbers (or egg shox) they resist the bouncy nature of a spring. Another option for you would be to get soft springs and put them on the ouside holes (with soft eggs). Try http://www.munroboards.com they sell springs and are in australia. schmik

I can vouch for the stability of the Little Devils. I have only flown the little ones (2.1m and 3m). They move fast enough, the build quality is unbelievabe and they are probably cheaper than Bullets. These kites are very hard to upset... i fly in some very gusty places. I think the bullet would be a very similar kite to the LD. schmik

Hmmm... I have never seen water on the lake. I'll have a look at some maps and see if it is lake george I am talking about. Wow... 13 and flying a 4m blade III! You are are gonna fly! Have you seen anyone else in canberra flying foils ? schmik

Highflier, do you know of any in sydney ? BTW, what kites are you flying ? Are you just static flying or using a buggy or a board ? cheers schmik

If you can get some info I'll come down from syd for the day. I have driven past it at least 10 times and it looks awsome. See if you can find out how to gain access to it. cheers schmik

Sorry to burst your bubble but Kitepower already has them in stock. I am going on saturday to check them out. I may be buying a Blade II 4.9 from them. ... Can't afford a new Mach III. Anyone else do the Kite ATB thing in canberra ? cheers schmik

OK.... Another aussie joins. Based in sydney, my kite bag consists of : 2.1m Little Devil 4.0m Firebee 4.9m Blade II (coming soon) BHI FibreFlex ATB Can't wait to see more Aussies join this site. Whats the huge flat area near canberra called ? Is it lake george ? Now some kite ATB on there would be cool for some insane speed runs. schmik