spblat Posted July 15, 2013 Author Report Posted July 15, 2013 Interesting. The kite was rarely going less than one spine-length per frame, and occasionally as much as two spine-lengths per frame. If you could tell us what speed (fps) you were filming at and the spine-length of the kite, we could calculate the speed range fairly easily. (It looked to me to be less than the usual 30 fps, but that could be just a persistence-of-vision artifact.) It was filmed on 1080hd @30fps - it seems to play better on youtube for some reason. That is actual speed - it's quick! Spine is 28". 28" * 30fps = 840 inches per second. 840 * 3600 / 12 / 5280 = 47 mph Quote
Reef Runner Posted July 15, 2013 Report Posted July 15, 2013 Uhgggh ! That's what I thought 47 mph (maybe) Quote
--Pete Posted July 16, 2013 Report Posted July 16, 2013 47 mph. Seems reasonable for a fast two-line delta in a brisk wind. I know that Flexifoils have been measured (with a radar-gun) at about 100 mph while diving through the power band. Quote
John Barresi Posted July 16, 2013 Report Posted July 16, 2013 If I remember right, Flexifoil set a kite speed record of 120 mph while flying in a hurricane. Dangerous as hell, but it looked good for promotion back in the day! Quote
--Pete Posted July 16, 2013 Report Posted July 16, 2013 I know my 10' Flexi seemed fast. Even on 200' lines it went across the window very quickly. I flew it in some fairly high winds, but never in a hurricane (we don't have many hurricanes in Michigan). On 500# braided Kevlar and a 6' flying bar, which was dangerous enough without the extra wind. Quote
rob103 Posted July 16, 2013 Report Posted July 16, 2013 And if any of y'all feel like flying a Thor's hammer in 20- 30 mph, I wanna watch! 1 Quote
Wayne Dowler Posted July 16, 2013 Report Posted July 16, 2013 And if any of y'all feel like flying a Thor's hammer in 20- 30 mph, I wanna watch! I'd be covering my eyes!!!! Quote
John Barresi Posted July 16, 2013 Report Posted July 16, 2013 Oh yeah, Thors Hammer is a beast. 4 Quote
Wayne Dowler Posted July 17, 2013 Report Posted July 17, 2013 A MONSTER sized kite - something close to 10' wingspan!! I'm shuddering at someone putting it up in winds over 15 mph!!! Quote
Reef Runner Posted July 17, 2013 Report Posted July 17, 2013 Oh yeah, Thors Hammer is a beast. That's just sick (and not the good sick), just sick ! Looks like you need a BUTT pad to fly that thing........ 1 Quote
SHBKF Posted July 17, 2013 Report Posted July 17, 2013 And if any of y'all feel like flying a Thor's hammer in 20- 30 mph, I wanna watch! I'd give it a go, but maybe only briefly. Love powerful kites & stacks. Fly 'em till you're sore... 2 Quote
rexracer Posted July 18, 2013 Report Posted July 18, 2013 Ditto for me! I'll give it a shot...I love the pull. My Flexi Bullet has pulled me around quite a bit, but I gotta respect the wind. I'll leave it alone if the winds up and it's gusty. It already bit me once. Quote
SHBKF Posted July 18, 2013 Report Posted July 18, 2013 Ditto for me! I'll give it a shot...I love the pull. My Flexi Bullet has pulled me around quite a bit, but I gotta respect the wind. I'll leave it alone if the winds up and it's gusty. It already bit me once. You are wise young Jedi. Have not hurt myself much, yet.... 1 Quote
rexracer Posted July 18, 2013 Report Posted July 18, 2013 Ditto for me! I'll give it a shot...I love the pull. My Flexi Bullet has pulled me around quite a bit, but I gotta respect the wind. I'll leave it alone if the winds up and it's gusty. It already bit me once. You are wise young Jedi. Have not hurt myself much, yet.... I thought the hurt was major yet it turned out to be minor, but the possibility was there and it made me think. Quote
--Pete Posted July 18, 2013 Report Posted July 18, 2013 Oh yeah, Thors Hammer is a beast. That's just sick (and not the good sick), just sick ! Looks like you need a BUTT pad to fly that thing........ I've always liked flying kites that ultimately were frightening. This may be why most of my line sets are rated at 2 to 5 times my body weight. 2 Quote
RobB Posted July 18, 2013 Report Posted July 18, 2013 I have a few big pulling kites, and I don't really fly them anymore because of an incident with this kite... The pull of this kite is tremendous, it can drag me 50 feet or more in the sand, and I've also been lifted up in the air by it 5+ feet. It is possible to do an axel with it on the edge of the window, and I was doing that one day. The move requires a lot of slack on one hand, and somehow the line wrapped around my wrist while it was slack. Once the kite exits the trick, it powers up and takes off like a rocket, so I had to move REALLY fast to get my hand out of the loop before the line cut my hand OFF ! It was a pretty scary experience, and I really haven't flown the kite since. Respect the power of the wind, there's no way you can control it, it will hurt you if you're not careful. 1 Quote
SHBKF Posted July 18, 2013 Report Posted July 18, 2013 I am more cautious now than I was initially despite my silly enthusiasm that leaks out sometimes. When I first flew my 3 meter SLK delta recently it seemed so big. It was in Murdo South Dakota with a nice evening breeze & it launched easily but searched back & forth until I got it up in the smooth wind at about sixty feet. I was glad I had some Wala experience to draw on. The big kites are ones to fly with great care & intent. But the wind is fickle & things do go awry. Thanks for the caution about the line loop wrapping your wrist, Wow! And my imagination has not allowed for an axel like that. Quote
rexracer Posted July 19, 2013 Report Posted July 19, 2013 I've been dragged around and I'm not afraid to fly most things, but I think I would draw the line at doing slack line tricks with a kite that can yank your arms off! Quote
Joespickles Posted July 19, 2013 Report Posted July 19, 2013 I have a few big pulling kites, and I don't really fly them anymore because of an incident with this kite... http://kitelife.com/forum/uploads/1173590142/gallery_786_29_7010.jpg'>http://kitelife.com/forum/uploads/1173590142/gallery_786_29_7010.jpg The pull of this kite is tremendous, it can drag me 50 feet or more in the sand, and I've also been lifted up in the air by it 5+ feet. It is possible to do an axel with it on the edge of the window, and I was doing that one day. The move requires a lot of slack on one hand, and somehow the line wrapped around my wrist while it was slack. Once the kite exits the trick, it powers up and takes off like a rocket, so I had to move REALLY fast to get my hand out of the loop before the line cut my hand OFF ! It was a pretty scary experience, and I really haven't flown the kite since. Respect the power of the wind, there's no way you can control it, it will hurt you if you're not careful. . Rob how big is that kite and how fast was the wind, From the water , wind looks fast Quote
RobB Posted July 19, 2013 Report Posted July 19, 2013 The wind was probably pushing 20mph this day. The kite is a Speedfoil RM10, similar to a Flexifoil Stacker 10. I used to snap 300# lines with it... I had more energy then. 1 Quote
andre Posted August 10, 2013 Report Posted August 10, 2013 When the wind is higher, i pull out my speedkites. Like this one: https://vimeo.com/66261049 Wind is around 3bft in this video. It really starts to go at around 5-6bft. It was radar clocked 2 years ago in the german speedkite competition with 111mph. 1 Quote
Joespickles Posted August 10, 2013 Report Posted August 10, 2013 When the wind is higher, i pull out my speedkites. Like this one: https://vimeo.com/66261049'>https://vimeo.com/66261049 Wind is around 3bft in this video. It really starts to go at around 5-6bft. It was radar clocked 2 years ago in the german speedkite competition with 111mph. Andre what kind and what size is that kite. Quote
Reef Runner Posted August 10, 2013 Report Posted August 10, 2013 Try a HQ Delta Hawk, for those high wind days........also very fast...........unbelievably fast ! Not sure if it's as fast as Andre's speed kite, but it's still a hand full in a breeze ! Quote
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