Out Of Buggy Experience Obe !!

[mac]

Out of Buggy Experience

 

I’ve just had my first really big OBE!!

 

I was out today in about a 15 mph wind, and was flying a 5.5mt Buster on full power!

Any way there I was tearing down the field doing about 25 mph when I needed to turn. So to slow myself down I popped the kite up to the top of the window.

At the same time the wind changed direction and stared to gust.

Before I new it I was going one way doing about 20 mph and the kite was going in the opposite direction at about 20 mph! The result was me doing a massif swing through the air for about 8 seconds and about 10 foot of the ground.

Several things went through my mind, as I’m sure you can imagine. Unfortunately I can’t repeat them on the forum.

So any way after that little fright what do you think I did next? Yes that’s right I tried it again but this time I was ready for it!

I did exactly the same but this time in stead of thought of my impending doom, I had thoughts of I got to try this again but faster.

 

So lets hear from any else about there OBE I’m sure we all have a tale to tell.

Mac.

[trix222]

got caught out in about 15ish mph buggyin with a blade II 4.9!!!

 

tryed sort of the same thing as you!!! ended up about 6ft above my buggy hangin on me kite as the buggy disappeared into the distance!!!! grrrr then i landed and the buggy was in a ditch at the other end of the field!!!!

[mac]

Ye I know that feeling. I'm looking into some sort of seat belt, so I stay in the buggy!

Cant wait to go and play. Up up and away.

Mac.

[trix222]

Ye I know that feeling. I'm looking into some sort of seat belt, so I stay in the buggy!

Cant wait to go and play. Up up and away.

Mac.

 

 

just sorted a lap strap thing.... its Q.r but needs improving!!! used a buckle i bought from a divin shop for about £3!! just pull it and it releases the belt which is just a webbin toolbelt!!!

 

needs a loop or somethin so you can pull it in a hurry!!!!

 

shame yo lost in space mate coz theres one hell of a meet goin on in essex this wkend!!!!!

 

trix

[mac]

Cool, then I make it back to earth I fly in Derby. theres always a good turn out at the race course, if your ever up this way its worth a visit. This is a link to the local group.

Mac.

http://www.dck.org.uk/

[trix222]

Cool, then I make it back to earth I fly in Derby. theres always a good turn out at the race course, if your ever up this way its worth a visit. This is a link to the local group.

Mac.

http://www.dck.org.uk/

 

 

CHEERS MATE.............if im ever up that way i will drop ye a line!! lol

 

trix

[Rivertay]

I know about the meet at Brancaster but what's the essex meeting?...might be interesting in meeting some more local folk!!

[trix222]

I know about the meet at Brancaster but what's the essex meeting?...might be interesting in meeting some more local folk!!

 

its in chelmsford @hylands park on sat 21stfeb......... was just a couple of us but has spiralled and now theres about 15-20 of us meetin up!!! bishops stortford aint that far off!!!!!

 

more than welcome to join us mate.......... have a look at our thread its the essex kite flyers thread!!!

 

should be a good day plenty of wind forcast!!!

 

trix

[justin1599968620]

hi guys

 

from southend, what time are people going over to Hylands? Only ever been there for the Virgin concerts...

[trix222]

hi guys

 

from southend, what time are people going over to Hylands? Only ever been there for the Virgin concerts...

 

 

1.00 come join the fun!!!!!!! lol we actually fly on the field they use as the V car park!!!!

 

you wont miss us beleive me!!!!!

 

trix

 

check out the essex kiters thread!!!

[8015]

Out of Buggy Experience

 

I popped the kite up to the top of the window.

 

There is your cause!

 

To slow down without an OBE you need to steer upwind and raise the kite gently to the top (some people don't raise at all but I prefer to) of the window.

 

Popping the kite to the zenith, whatever kite it is, is going to provide a lifting force, especially if you have enough wind to make it fly really fast!

 

I've never been that far out, I have been caught by gusts and strengthening winds and both my LD 4.5 and bullet 2.5 have lifted my backside off the seat - I have always managed to keep my feet on the buggy and lower back into it though. That normally signals to me that I need to get a smaller kite out

 

Enjoy your buggy bailing!

 

JIM

[Brother Dave]

just sorted a lap strap thing.... its Q.r but needs improving!!! used a buckle i bought from a divin shop for about £3!! just pull it and it releases the belt which is just a webbin toolbelt!!!

 

needs a loop or somethin so you can pull it in a hurry!!!!

 

shame yo lost in space mate coz theres one hell of a meet goin on in essex this wkend!!!!!

 

trix

 

just sorted out my seat belt which is from a ford escort which I got from the scrappies for £1 does the trick has a puh button to release it so going to test it out on Sunday cannot wait

 

dave

[Jonesing4Wind]

I know I am starting to sound like a granny, but do wear a lid when doing this. The closest call I had was doing this unintentionally, got swung around, and got twisted, landed sideways, and banged my head to dirt. Luck was with me, and a lid, so it was all good, but was a little dazed for a few seconds. Anyway, be safe!!!

sea,

[Jonny3.3blade]

Nice one Mac thats usually my department in DCK OBE's mate but sounds

like I missed a good bit of wind sounds like our local field unpredictable and

gusty but thats how we like it !! saying that touch wood I havent come

out flying inland but had a big one at branny a month or so ago on sand

and nearly landed up in the the sea with my 3.3 MK1 blade.

 

All U can say when it all goes pearshaped u hold for grim deaf and hope!!

[DIGGY]

Am I being stupid (don't answer that) but wouldn't it be safer to be flung out iof the buggy rather than be strapped to it and having it give you a nasty clout!?

 

You tell me.

[mac]

You may well have a point there Diggy, and it wounld'nt be as much fun if it was safer.

Now would it.

Mac.

[mac]

Hi there Jonny, hope to see you down the field at the weekend, looks like it could be a ( big fun day ).

Sorry I thought that you ended up in the sea at Brancaster.

Mac.

[trebor]

http://redhottheatre.co.uk/video/obe.jpg LOL - this is me doing an unwanted wheelstand

[Sand-Yeti]

The worst OBE I had was when buggying in a PL std buggy with bigfoots held on with the PL 15mm dia axle bolts.

I was blatting along at 55kph, when the LH wheel axle bolt broke. The wind was from the right, so kite was on my left. The first inkling of a problem was to see my rear left wheel level with me, the rear rigid axle dug into the ground & the buggy went to the left. I was also pulled to he left smashing my right shoulder had into the ground. At that time I didn't have a quick release on my harness & tried pulling the brake handles. Right arm couldn't pull anything being stuffed, but left arm worked causing kite to spiral until it hit the deck. Afterwards, I measured the distance across the sand from where the buggy axle had dug in until I stopped. It was 110 meters. My SWMBO film the incident or the first part at least, but stupidly switched off thinking it's not to film somebody about to die. She was severley reprimanded for this bad decision and threatened on pain of death that my next filmed OBE had better be nominated for an Oscar.

 

The most spectacular crash was not an OBE but from my mate Glenn who got fed up being lifted in his buggy when traversing sand dunes. He strapped himself into his buggy to fix that problem. He screamed up a dune & immediately took off with buggy attached to him. It looked OK at first but then it started to swing under the kite with the front wheel no longer pointing forwards but to the side. The buggy with him in it flipped upside down and he came down on his head. Fortunately he had a helmet on and did not sustain a serious injury.

He no longer straps himself in his buggy & I wear body armour to avoid smashed shoulders. Next month I will stop using PL's for ever, as I'm getting new buggy with 20mm axles.

 

Sand-Yeti

[mac]

Not bad for a 60 year old!!!!!!

Well it sounds like you and your mate may have got off lightly, (if you can call crashing to the ground with your buggy on top of you light that is).

They have to be the best OBES that I've heard of so far!!!

Cool.

So dose anyone have any better tales to tell than Sand-Yeti, or is the honorary OBE go to him?

Well I'm of out to try and beat him cause I'm sure I saw a hurricane forecast for the East Midlands.

Mac.

[Sand-Yeti]

Mac.

Sounds like you have me with one foot in the grave. The best advice I never took was to act my age. I'm still told today by a lot younger adults to stop being childish. Once I follow that advice, I really will get old. My Mother who is 83 goes dancing every night of the week if she isn't bumming off somewhere around the world, still threatens to beat me for misbehaving. I'm bigger than her now, so her threats no longer hold water. Anyhow, I think it isn't allowed by law to beat kids these days. I think torturing cats is also forbidden.

 

She visited me in the UAE at the end of last year.

I took her out into the desert, sat her in my buggy but she wasn't too hot on the kite (pics of my 83 year old Mum in Buggy available). She preferred to bomb around the dunes on my SWMBO's 400cc Polaris quad. Now that's the sort of thing old people do when they can't hack it anymore. Poor old dear!

 

Incidentally, I will still buggy a hundred kms in 4 to 5 hours with my much younger mates & have to listen to their whining about how they ache after a long desert blast.

 

Is there an age limit to buggying? I write from time to time to a guy called Alan in Australia (never met him) who's older than me & buggies. He never wrote about any OBE's. Perhaps he didn’t have one or just doesn’t talk about it.

Sand Yeti

[Mark Everitt]

Use any sort of lap strap as long as it's quick release.... needless to say use all the appropriate sefety gear... I personally use a velcro lappy... works for me...or as mentioned a diving belt buckle... the ones wit the non sarrated edge are better....

 

The amount of Adveanced freestyle buggy instructors has doubled this week so anyone wanting lessons... there are people out there.... Inc Me!

 

Cheers people happy jumping...

 

MArk

[mac]

Sorry Sand-Yeti, if it came across like that, no offence meant. Just trying to get some of these kids into it.

Just been checking out your pics in the gallery, they cool. How high are they dunes that you’re on, it like you guys have some serious kit over there.

All the best.

Mac.

[8015]

Oh you want serious crashes as well as OBEs?????

 

4th Jan 2004

Stevenston, North Ayrshire, Scotland

Me, Pl comp, LD 4.5, 3 mates mostly with smaller kites

 

I had been screaming up and down the beach as I do (it's a 2 mile run to Irvine, takes about 5 mins), started on my own, then Flydad joined me, and then Dave Furmage and mark 101 appeared as well. We had regrouped at the Irvine end and were heading back, the wind had been increasing steadily all day, but not enough to really notice. About half way back up I perceived that I was drifting downwind towards the banking and the soft sand. Gently took the kite up and tried turning upwind. Lots of powersliding, kept seeing Dave catching me up and didn't want to cut him off. This probably went on for a minute or so and we had reached the area where the banking is reinforced by huge boulders piled up as sea defences (hadn't made it to the concrete wall) when I hit the soft sand and had even less control. Dumping the kite didn't occur to me, it will now!

 

I saw a lump of stuff in front of me (apparantly mostly kelp) and turned to miss it, but in the soft nowI just kept ploughing towards it. At this point the LD was screaming around the window, the smallest twitch on the lines had it rising and falling rapidly. I hit the lump and got good air, which I somehow landed, now more downwind with the kite close to the top of the bank. I ran out of time to think and before i knew it the buggy had hit one of the boulders, I went up in the air, it span around. I landed on my shoulder and head, tumbled over into a gap, then continued to cartwheel onto my head on the next boulder, then into the gap and into a third boulder with my head. I finished upright with the kite crashed over the fence at the top of the bank, I think I remained conscious although I don't remember much.

 

My helmet was crushed and had 2 splits (a chunk fell off when examined), my head was fine. I had put my neck out and really battered my shoulder and couldn't turn my head to the right at all! I had a lot of pain and went to A&E who decided nothing was broken. My osteopath has put my neck right and I have pretty much full movement. I feel so good I'm racing next weekend! Unfortunately no-one had a video camera

 

Luckily one of my mates (flydad) did have a big enough kite to give me a tow back up the beach as I could barely walk never mind fly!

 

Umm, this was only a couple of weeks after I had a high wind speed session on my 2.5 bullet down there on my own. I won't be doing that again!

 

JIM

[mick]

So strictly speaking then an OBE is not neccessarily a vertical lift from the buggy? I'm not over sure on this but only to say that today I exitted my PL at about 20mph after a turn. A major gust just yanked me out sidewards. Bruised from knee to shoulder. Head hit the ground pretty hard as well. Good job I wear a helmet. Nowt serious, better in a couple of days. Landed about 15 feet from the buggy then dragged. Ya just don't let go do ya?