I just read a post by a fellow kite junkie who was lamenting the fact that there are so many facets of the kite hobby, he is torn to do them all. This can be a most disturbing conundrum for some of us. Apparently the lure of the adrenaline pumping power kites is taking a grasp. I can totally relate.
I was first introduced to sport kites [dual line] while on a brief journey to a coastal village in Mexico some years back. Having made and played with home built kites as a kid and hang gliders as a teen, I was naturally drawn to them. While later traveling in Texas, namely Galveston I stopped in Newberry’s Kite store and made a small investment in a single line diamond and a low-end little dual line kite. I struggled with the miniature sport kite back in Arizona’s errant and erratic wind almost “stomping” the poor little thing in frustration, no one had told me about staking out ones lines for re-launches, etc etc. I nicknamed that very fast little kite the “MOM”, for mosquito on meth!!
Upon moving to Texas a friend convinced me to attend Zilker kite festival and that’s when all heck broke loose!! By chance I saw a demo by Troy Gunn and Tye Harrison with the proverbial Revolution kites, I was hooked on quad from that point forward, never looking back. Now, i have dual line kites, and I fool around a bit with them, but really they don’t “charge my batteries”.
After establishing a kite retail operation in Rockport I was introduced to “power kites”, We started with some low-end dual line power kites , and the quad line NPW was a favorite with some of our local club kids. Actually, we made home built buggies from all manner of salvaged items, even tires from a Cessna!!! But one trip to Dead Bird Buggy Bash was all it took for me to really get excited about traction kites and the adrenaline junkie took over!! Someone was selling a four line power wing at a very reduced price, so i jumped on a 5.5 sq. meter Perche racing wing!! What a rush that thing had, way beyond my abilities at the time, this thing was turned on by “apparent wind speed” and was like a Porsche with a turbo!!! Sold under the name of “Alien” kites, we soon coined the phrase. “Have you been abducted by your Alien lately?” Everybody in the club had been yanked out of the buggy by this amazing kite at some point!! Subsequently we got into smaller and larger quad power kites by Flexifoil and other manufacturers and realized that matching kites to conditions and abilities can greatly reduce the “pucker factor” of power kiting.
The fun never ended, I was privileged to demonstrate buggy kiting at South Padre Island festival and Zilker Park festival as well as around the Coastal Bend beaches and parks. Then came the all terrain or “mountain” boards…..oh yeah baby, they were the bomb on the beach!! . The whole club got on the band wagon, and we would meet like minded riders at San Luis Pass in the Freeport, TX area for more fun with all things related to traction kites. These same folks were regulars at the aforementioned Dead Bird Buggy Bash, annually held at Galveston on Thanksgiving weekend. One of the few innovations was a traction Revolution called the Blast, being a “rev geek” I simply had to have one; so Lolly and Ben hooked me up with one of the first ones out….and I took it to Dead Bird, and to Zilker Park;, where I broke it in half doing a demo for nearly 10k folks!! I was flying it in 27-32 mph winds, way above it’s rating, the “pop” of a broken leading edge was like a gunshot!
I have had issues concerning equilibrium due to a stroke and slowly over the years am regaining the balance needed to enjoy my ATB again, and recently acquired a gently broken – in buggy so i can go ripping up and down the beaches!! I
Apparently I was a pretty good teacher, this is a pic of Lee doing his thing on the ATB only minutes after the first instructions.
These kites and boards are addicting, so if you think you can just “dabble”, get your head on straight!! If you like the thrill of going fast, especially;y with no motors, fumes, fuels or batteries, this is a sport that will grab you very deep down in your :soul: and not let go so easily. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!
Incidentally I was once overheard a statement on a kite field. “”Nice sport kite!! But can you buggy with it??” ,
Wickedrevs Windy World 