Kite Buggies (intro)
From a tiny football pitch to huge open beaches, wherever you get to do it kite buggying is an incredibly trilling and fun thing to do. Speeds over 30mph are common, in the right conditions most get over 40mph and a few have been over 50mph. This is on wind powered kite buggies without breaks and sitting only inches from the ground. Hands flying the kite for optimum efficiency, feet steering the buggy and your eyes torn between what the kite is doing and where you are heading.
Where: You can buggy on pretty much any reasonably flat open space with a constant and clean wind. Hard packed sand and hard soil are the best surface to buggy on. There are a number of great locations around the UK such as Camber Sands (nearish to Brighton). A grassy sports field is also great and a number of kite festivals around the UK can even give you access to runways! Many customers have recommended asking there local school if they can buggy on their grounds at weekends.
What: Obviously learn to fly your kite well, before getting into the buggy - start with a small kite. The most important thing to remember is wherever the power is from the kite you will go in this direction. No if this power is behind you in a buggy you can expect to go buggying backwards!
How: To start off with position the kite overhead, were the pull is minimized and then get into the buggy. Point the buggy about 70 degrees off downwind and steer the kite gradually into the power on your downwind side until you begin to move forward. Have the leading edge of your kite generally pointing in the direction you want to travel. Try not to let the kite get too far into the power zone as not only may the pull be too much, but you can be pulled this way (you don't want to go down wind).
If you do steer the buggy too far downwind you will initially accelerate, but the flying lines will slacken as you catch up to the kite. Steering the buggy too far upwind will cause forward motion to stop and if the kite is low and downwind, you will be dragged sideways, or out of the buggy if powered up well.
Turning: 180 degree turns should be quite tight towards the kite with no power coming from it. Gradually slow down, bring the kite to a high position and turn it, then turn the buggy towards downwind, trying to maintain tension in the flying lines.
To slow down or stop, steer the buggy upwind and fly the kite high and out of the power zone. Steer the buggy upwind in quite a pronounced way, almost as if you were going to turn away from the kite. This should allow the back two wheels to side as the buggy goes sideways and stops the buggies motion. Kind of like how you stop on ice skates and how you can stop on skis. To be honest this is quite difficult to explain. Failing that and if you are going slower you steer away from the kite. Once you've mastered this try...
All of these are a lot easier with a decent amount of power. You will probably get a few bruises learning these - be careful.
Two wheels in a buggy -
Make sure you have loads of power and are happy with it above you. Tack so the strongest side of your body is facing the kite (usually the side you are handed). Have the kite above you and press down hard on the foot peg leaning towards (but, not steering towards) the kite. After you have the hang of this try going around a corner (very slowly) on two wheels and you are then doing two wheels wrong-way - you can keep going around in circles for as long as you like.
360 in a buggy -
You have to be fairly confident in a buggy, being able to handle a lot of power to get high speeds and more importantly be as good going backwards as forwards helps, to pull this off. 360's are much easier on certain surfaces (wet grass and hard sand with a light covering of soft sand) than others (tarmac, very dry grass and soft sand). In learning this trick do expect to come out of the buggy a few times, by its very nature you need to do it fast. From a fairly fast (pending on the type of surface you are on) run, head down wind slightly and move the kite above you - there should be no power from it. Turn sharply away from the kite (as with an up wind turn) as you just finish the up wind turn, turn the opposite direction, hard and fast while shifting your body weight (this is the key) suitably. It takes some nerve and loads of practice to get this perfect, it is more something you just do - it is really tricky to explain. When you are a first class 360er, do a very, very fast one and repeat the process at the end to pull off a 720.
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