A few weeks ago we had good downwind conditions on the Gold Coast. On one of the runs I decided to get my trainer kite out again for something a little different. The wind was pretty good for it in the second half of the Bilinga to Burleigh run. Check out the movie.

I've had my DC14 for over 4 years now and it keeps on surprising me with how good it is.

Music: Seagull by Bad Company

Its an old 3m foil trainer that I use. I made a wide bar to handle attaching directly to the bridle, which works pretty well. Being a foil kite it needs to be flown low to the left/right. Flying in front creates too much lift. To fly it low down in front of me I grab the inside lines to create a kind of bat wing. You can see a bit of that in the movie. A low kite in front is best for catching runs.

I cut holes in the trailing edges of the foils, in case it gets wet. The key is not to fall and get the kite wet. If you fall you have to try keep the kite dry. I got lucky this day with no falls. There is a lot to think about - with the rudder, swell, wind, balance etc so its a really nice challenge.

You sup guys are real inventors.

Next stop a Mount franklin bottlle with a candle in it will be good as a lightbulb.

Keep em coming!

Dont think the point is that its a new invention. Just looks fun. I dont kitesurf but i would imagine that would be pretty hard to do that with no harness??

good work mike, looks tricky and some skill involved for sure!

Bnaccas said...
I'd be keen to beef up a traditional umbrella...would work the same.
And if it starts raining you can stay dry.

Mite be onto it couple cable ties large umbrella and a paddle let u do the maths got it coverd

Maybe a mast, pole and spinnaker?

hilly said..

Been around for a while. This is from 2010. ....
Did not take off for some reason

I am inspired, got to get a small kite now and try it with my collection of big boards.
Where can I store the paddle so that I can get back?

Great vid, good to see I'm not the only one with these crazy ideas.

Not a good idea to use a standard kitesurf kite as they are too efficient, especially for a direct downwind run. You need a kite that sits deep in the window. The F-One SUP kite does this and works well but were simply a lot more money than most would want to spend.
For direct downwind runs you could use a single line kite and attach it just in front of the stance area somewhere, this would also free you up to use a paddle.

Mikes idea with a trainer is a good option. Probably good to stick with short lines he could launch it, especially when it is open cell and would sink if he crashed it. Only problem is such short lines kill all the power.

Another option is a trainer that water relaunches. This video shows the concept but looks like it was filmed in very light wind-

mikeman said..

A few weeks ago we had good downwind conditions on the Gold Coast. On one of the runs I decided to get my trainer kite out again for something a little different. The wind was pretty good for it in the second half of the Bilinga to Burleigh run. Check out the movie.

I've had my DC14 for over 4 years now and it keeps on surprising me with how good it is.

Music: Seagull by Bad Company

Nice work Mike, much fun had on that day...........