RobB Posted November 16, 2014 Report Share Posted November 16, 2014 Something new flew in my door this week... I had to take a shot to give it scale... I always say... Bigger's Better. Unfortunately, the wind just wasn't strong enough to give it a proper flight. It's kinda heavy, but did get off the ground a little bit. Just too much work in ~2mph winds. Stay tuned for a video once the wind comes back... 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparkieRob Posted November 17, 2014 Report Share Posted November 17, 2014 Nice. Whenever I see the beaches in the US and how you can just park at/on them, I wish we had that kind of access here in Oz. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobB Posted November 17, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 17, 2014 The best beaches are the ones that you can actually drive out on the sand, find a quiet spot & enjoy the day. We don't have too many of those by me, and you need special permits & equipment. Not to mention 4wd. Cars & parking lots kind of take away from the serenity of being at the beach, but this time of year, at least the parking lots are empty... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flynhi Posted November 17, 2014 Report Share Posted November 17, 2014 Beautiful kite! I can't wait to see it fly in higher winds! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragonfish Posted November 17, 2014 Report Share Posted November 17, 2014 Is this......what I think it is? I don't even know what it's called. The colors and your description (BIG) make me think it is though. Please do share more once you get a proper flight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobB Posted November 17, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 17, 2014 Is this......what I think it is? I don't even know what it's called. The colors and your description (BIG) make me think it is though. Please do share more once you get a proper flight. It might be... the pictures on the ground don't do it justice. I got to see it in the air, and even in the dark grey skies, it lit up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hyzakite Posted November 18, 2014 Report Share Posted November 18, 2014 Rob, What is that 10' kite? I'm under 3' of snow on the other side of the state, and you're playing in the sand? That ain't right! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobB Posted November 19, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 19, 2014 Yes, 10' of hang gliding fun ! We don't get as much snow down here, but that still doesn't stop me from flying... crashing in the snow isn't likely to do as much damage ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Barresi Posted November 23, 2014 Report Share Posted November 23, 2014 What is that kite? Dying to know! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobB Posted November 23, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 23, 2014 Heh heh heh... it's the Skyburner XL. Sadly, the kite never made it to production due to lack of interest. I don't know why there aren't enough people interested in a 10 foot stunt kite. It looks like it might be geared towards power and speed, but it can also do tricks, in a really big, slow motion fashion. Suprisingly, the XL isn't much for light wind, I mean, with all that sail, you'd think it would shoot off the ground in 5mph of wind. Today was the second day with it out at the beach, and I got it to fly a little bit more, but it was still work. The winds were around 5mph (+/- 2mph). One of my other 10 foot wings was on hand, the NewTech Firestorm. The Firestorm is a little taller, so it has a little more sail, which probably helps it to get off the ground easier. I was going to get the Prophecy out, too, but the four lines were calling me, so I got out the Zen. It's pretty big, too, so it sorta went along with the theme of the day... So, maybe next time for the XL, but I had a good fly, tag teaming the Firestorm & the Zen. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reef Runner Posted November 24, 2014 Report Share Posted November 24, 2014 Well, that's got to be one "hand-full" of kite................Yikes !!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobB Posted November 27, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 27, 2014 Not so much of a handful in light winds. It is a little different trying to keep it under control, though... 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobB Posted November 30, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 30, 2014 Mostly because of poor camera placement and light winds, I only came away from the last session with a small clip of the New Big Kite... But did get some more footage of my struggles with the Zen. Actually, with winds 3mph or so, I am getting along much better with the Zen. I figured it fit in with the other two, as it's actually a pretty big kite. There's a little bit of the Firestorm at the end, I figured it worked to show scale of the big kites... 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayne Dowler Posted November 30, 2014 Report Share Posted November 30, 2014 Have you tried the stiffer frame in it yet (Zen)?? You'll notice it really doesn't hover upright very well, but will hover inverted forever! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobB Posted December 9, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 9, 2014 OK, I finally got the BIG kite out in winds that it was happy with, somewhere between 5 and 10mph. All I can say is WOW, this thing is fun ! Being that it's scaled up from a full-sized kite, my flying inputs have to get scaled up as well. I spent some time tuning and adjusting it, as well as adding a weight to the tail. A small beach stone did the trick, as all the weights in my bag were for normal sized kites... It's a little crude, but it's easy to find tuning weights on my beach ! 85 foot lines are a little short, and look like 50 foot lines do on a full-sized kite. Anyway, I let the camera run for a while, and I cut out more than 75% of the footage, and was still left with over 10 minutes of video. So, sorry it's long, but if you want to watch, please full-screen it and click HD. Mute the sound if you don't like SRV playing a Jimi Hendrix cover, otherwise, rock out ! 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHBKF Posted December 9, 2014 Report Share Posted December 9, 2014 Probably my favorite Hendrix tune....always moves me. Kite Master Rob showing how it's done. Wow, love big kites! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobB Posted December 9, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 9, 2014 Thanks, Ralph. This kite is the most fun I've had on two lines in a long time. This was the first time I really got it flying in the kind of winds it needs. I look forward to spending a lot more time on the lines to really explore what it can do ! And the Hendrix tune ? Just lucky, it was the only song in my MP3 library that fit the length of the video ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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