Nasa NPW5

this was the first "power" kite I made about 8 years ago and I am now in the process of making another but larger I love them! there really is something nice about flying a kite you have made yourself. NPW's are easy to make difficult to bridle properly and just plain cussed to fly.

NPWs need to be flown using the brake lines to keep the air in the nose of the kite otherwise you get catastrophic collapses and impressions of a bin bag in a breeze. However with practice they can be flown with a high degree of precision and very accurately placed in the wind envelope. So much so that on buying my first 4 liner I was disapointed how clumsy it was and little effect the brakelines had.

They pull well and consistently and I have found them useful as buggy engines although not as easy to relaunch as foils.

On the whole they are an interesting relic and oddity but for price and size they are powerful and fun also being single skinned pack down to next to nothing if making one for yourself the lines and handles will cost more than the sail and bridling.

Go on try one you might be suprised.

By : dick dastardly