During Britton Shaw’s Endless Foot Drag near Fort Smith, AR, the wind blew a steady howl. It was nasty by beach standards but decent for the midwest. Importantly, it was steady enough to play, so play I did.
Thanks to John DeFranco who recorded much of it smoothly on his camera.
This was the first time I’ve ever “Flown” from the Enterprise (motorhome) by pushing off, climbing then re-landing on it. I did that first in Mexico this past February (2008) on a wall.
The biggest risk of doing this is having the wing collapse and then falling. As long as the wing stays inflated, you can get dragged over the back and just keep kiting since the wing remains above the motorhome’s roof. That happened to me at least once and I just kited around in front.
Too bad the motorhome wasn’t a bit taller and longer–I could have soared it.
Besides being fun on its own right, such kiting builds useful skills that may help a pilot who is unexpectedly served up high winds.