Buggying

I got down to the salt lakes nice and early as we had some decent wind forecast and I wanted to put the new 3m core through its paces and hopefully get a new PB.

The core is great, give it some decent wind and it wants to pull, it's quick through the air and the turns are quick and precise. As this was only my second or third go out with the core I thought I would build up slowly, making sure I could scrub the speed when needed. This was more important today as the wind was a SW-erly so didn't have the full length of the lake to play in.

I was gradually building up speed and confidence when the GPS flashed low battery and typically I had no spares! I did manage to match my PB before it died completely...

But still no 60kph!

Still kept on going and was having a great time, the core was performing brilliantly and I was motoring (have you guessed what happens next?).

The wind seemed pretty constant, with the forecast being 27-30kph, well within the cores limits (max recommended is 20knts or 37kph). There were a few gusts which just increased the speed! The next gust stayed and another one just added to it, started to slow the buggy and took the kite higher into the window - did I say the core is quick? Well it shot up and took me with it! I looked down and the buggy appeared to be 1-2 meters below, but i don't really know as my perspective was pretty skewed! I really didn't want to land on the bug as that was going to hurt...

No worries there! As I landed about 4m from the now stopped bug! Thankfully, I did still have some luck on my side and was on one of the softer parts of the lake. No cuts or grazes, jarred my neck and shoulder, and bruised my ego (and my arse, as I landed on my foot!). So glad I was wearing the helmet.

Left a nice dent in the ground...

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Then I staked the kite out and took a bit of a time out to recover. At this point checked the wind forecast again, the current speed was 38.9 with gusts of 48.2kph - look I'm flying...

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Decided that discretion was the better part of valor (whatever that means) and with the wind still howling like a banshee, decided to pack up and go home.

Welcome to the "I learnt the Hard Way Club" Most of us are members (or become members at some stage)
Glad your not to dinged up from the learning experience

Not a good idea to put the kite up to 12 o'clock at speed when it gets to much that is where you learn about lift. Ask me how I know

The best idea is to keep the kite low and steer into the wind if necessary slide the buggy a bit to blow off the speed, it seems a little counter-intuitive but it does work.


PS. Your also a member of the "I left a hole in the Ground Club"

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Mine left me limping for the better part of a couple of months as I badly bruised my heel on impact, I can remember being able to see over the dunes briefly as I went up.

PPS. How was the adrenalin rush afterwards.

The best idea is to keep the kite low and steer into the wind if necessary slide the buggy a bit to blow off the speed, it seems a little counter-intuitive but it does work.

I'm with Goz - more power + sliding buggy = slower speed. Anytime the kite is above you it has the potential to lift.

Plan your stopping area on high speed runs - if a wheel digs in, it's gonna hurt too. It looks like you have ample space though...

Glad you got out of it without injury.

I do scrub speed by sliding and normally steer the bug down wind a bit to de-power the kite before sticking it up to zenith! I have got pretty good a slowing and stopping - I think I was caught out by the wind and the speed of the kite!

I'll put it down to experience as was lucky enough to come away pretty un-scathed!

Small kite spank the hardest!
My biggest hurt was not long after I had started kiting, I decided it was a good idea to fly my 2m Beamer in about 25knts. "should be fine, it's only a little 2m kite". Well it was all good for about 30seconds until a gust hit and I supermaned through the air for few meter and then used my face as a brake. That's one of the reasons I always tend to fly kites toward the bottom end of their range, especially as I kite alone and often on beaches without a lot of foot traffic so if something goes wrong I'm on my own.

Is that photos typical of the Salt lakes surface Gum nuts ?

Looks kinda gravely


Glad yer ok too mate

Glad you're in one piece , I have only done it once, landed sort of sideways on my bum on hard packed sand.... It hurts, was on pain killers for a few days..... Neurofin works well

I'm getting Andy to make me a seatbelt, if it only saves me once it's worth it, next time it happens hopefully i will just jump and I will just pretend I meant to do it

Is that photos typical of the Salt lakes surface Gum nuts ?

Looks kinda gravely

Very gravely - some places there is only a very fine layer over a rock-hard suface. I was lucky to land in some deeper stuff! It's great for sliding on :-)

Have taken some strong anti-inflamatories, just in case - will have some wine later, for medicinal purposes only

Glad you're in one piece , I have only done it once, landed sort of sideways on my bum on hard packed sand.... It hurts, was on pain killers for a few days..... Neurofin works well

I'm getting Andy to make me a seatbelt, if it only saves me once it's worth it, next time it happens hopefully i will just jump and I will just pretend I meant to do it

Buggy seat belt for NEWBIES not good ideas for someone with experience maybe most times when a new pilot gets lofted they don't want to or don't know where their kite is so would be dangours to them or bystanders if close by kite killers first before harness small steps learn to STOP before going to fast !! CONTROL of kite and buggy first my first obe I bruised my knee from mid thigh to ankle flipped the bug and drowned the kite trying to stop !!but hey like I said each to their own and we all started somewhere and WE all CHOOSE to do this sport !!!

seeing a lot of bad choices being made lately, some guys need to step back from the edge before there there is a real serious accident!

seeing a lot of bad choices being made lately, some guys need to step back from the edge before there there is a real serious accident!

I'm not sure you can critisise others choices, when your picture shows you without a helmet - which has to be the most essential piece of equipment!

seeing a lot of bad choices being made lately, some guys need to step back from the edge before there there is a real serious accident!

I'm not sure you can critisise others choices, when your picture shows you without a helmet - which has to be the most essential piece of equipment!

I may not be wearing a helmet in a particular picture and your right it doesn't set the best example, but in context on the day when it was taken there was no wind, so not wearing a helmet was not a really bad choice, and certainly not one that put myself at any additional risk.

This is the point we are trying to make, with experience you are better able to make informed choices, getting spanked because you were flying in conditions unsuitable to your equipment and experience, relying on an online weather forecast, a wind meter that's 8km away and manufacturer data that your poorly qualified to judge to inform you of suitability, and as likely as not flying on your own are indicative of making really bad choices.

What did you expect us to say when you posted these pictures.... that we think you are some kind of awesome hero, and that we want to pin a medal on your chest for narrowly escaping getting yourself killed!

I'm no hero, I got spanked today because I made a mistake and misjudged the wind and a new kite. I took it slowly to start and pushed as my confidence and experience grew. If you don't push it, we will never develop as individuals and nor will the sport.

May have been a poor choice, but I use safety equipment wether the wind is 4kph or 30kph - you never know what the weather is going to throw at you. We learn from our mistakes. I posted so that others could to...

You never know when it is going to bite, no matter your level of experience. I'm not the first to OBE and certainly won't be the last.

I'm no hero, I got spanked today because I made a mistake and misjudged the wind and a new kite. I took it slowly to start and pushed as my confidence and experience grew. If you don't push it, we will never develop as individuals and nor will the sport.

May have been a poor choice, but I use safety equipment wether the wind is 4kph or 30kph - you never know what the weather is going to throw at you. We learn from our mistakes. I posted so that others could to...

You never know when it is going to bite, no matter your level of experience. I'm not the first to OBE and certainly won't be the last.

Good, so you will cease your rant and agree with my original statement, some bad choices were made, and people should take more care over the choices they make before there is another serious incident!

As for the rest of your statements they are very good guidelines for learners, but as with most learners guidelines, you will in time learn where they are incorrect, and you can use experience to overrule the dogma.

seeing a lot of bad choices being made lately, some guys need to step back from the edge before there there is a real serious accident!

I'm hoping my decision is more about safety than wild child attitude, ( seatbelt), I've done my fair share of dangerous sports, some quite more so than kiting. I'm certainly not looking to push the edge at this point in time. I appreciate honest and frank answers from all sides, and given it would seem the average age here is around 50 ( why is that???) we are old enough to then make a considered decision.

My addition to the conversation is a wind meter of some kind, I personally find it very difficult to judge wind speed accurately by sticking my finger in the air, I have spoken to more experienced sailboard riders who can accurately judge the wind by how the sea behaves, but I bought a skywatch one and it gives me an accurate idea of both the average and the gusts. My recent trip to goolwa clearly showed me weather reports and observations close by are not always what you might experience.

For example I have a 6.5 m method, I will NOT fly this at winds above 12 knots, and thats the gusts..... I do know people here fly the same kite at much larger speeds, but I don't feel comfortable enough so I don't. My one big mistake was thinking a 2.3 m kite wouldn't throw you out of your seat, and just how fast it moved through the window. Hopefully I will now treat it with more respect.

As previously said, I appreciate frank and honest input, and hopefully I can weed out the good advice from the bad.

Cheers all

Clive are you talking about a seat belt, hotwire or both?

The difference is a seat belt is meant for keeping you in the buggy and is usually use in freestyle, and a hotwire is for transmitting kite power directly to the buggy... neither are about safety and neither should be used by beginners

Clive are you talking about a seat belt, hotwire or both?

The difference is a seat belt is meant for keeping you in the buggy and is usually use in freestyle, and a hotwire is for transmitting kite power directly to the buggy... neither are about safety and neither should be used by beginners

Just the seatbelt ...... Your objection is duly noted.

Ok. I'm the one selling Clive the seatbelt, and yes they are generally designed more for freestyle. The problem that Clive is having however is that the buggy is a monster and the weight of the buggy is causing the problem of him moving one way and the buggy not wanting to Change direction as quickly. I know because it was my bugg and I had the same problem and guess what... People suggested to me that I put a seatbelt on it!!!

From memory I think that the biggest buggy accident we had in oz in recent times was when 2 buggys crashed into each other and I think that they were "experienced" pilots.

Glad I was wearing my belt a couple days ago.... got to the claypan and wind was 4-6 knots or so. Sat around and had a drink and kept an eye on it for a bit and thought ok, 6.5m method and 30m lines. Was tootling along very sedately when a 22 knot seabreeze came storming in. Kite low in the window and I was just getting dragged downwind. Kite high in the window and lap belt was trying to cut me in two - kept me in the buggy though. Time for the big red safety knob on the turbo bar -which works very well, I can add!! Wasn't expecting the wind to come up quite that quick!

I've only made the decision to wear a lapbelt in the last six months or so, now that I have a reasonable understanding of how my buggy handles. Funnily enough, the only OBE I've had with the Vmax was while I was sitting there fiddling around with the lapbelt ! So now I make a point of keeping the kite on the ground while I strap in, THEN launch the kite when everything is set.

Always learning........

The trick to the making the Lap belt safe is building in a weak point. Luke swears by $2 plastic clips and if anyone has a tone of exp avoiding turtling (being dragged connected to your buggy) .... It's him. The concept is when the forces are greater thN what is normally needed keeping yOu in the buggy ... The buckle will break seperating you from the bug. This is cool for freestyle and makes normal riding belted in safer but is obsolete fOr a hotwire.

Please excuse the typOs .... iPhone !