Select to expand quotekiteboy dave said..
There is a whole sport called indoor kiting. It's not the manliest thing you've ever seen.
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That doesn't count as no wind kiting. Walking backwards at 2 knots is no different to standing still with a two knot breeze at your back. And the rush of dignity and self respect escaping his body as he flew a kite in a gymnasium to that music would surely generate another knot or two?
Select to expand quotewave6ft said..
I would like a kite and board combo that would work from 5 to 8 knots get so many days here like that but don't think that it can be done
It has already been done. Check out the Airrush Lithium Zero. Assuming you are an average sized person you will get out in 5 knots and be overpowered in 8.
Select to expand quoteChris6791 said..
^^ helium party balloons (latex or foil) go flat fairly quickly. I read somewhere that 'they' had looked at helium as a alternative fuel for fuel cells in cars or something but they couldn't build a cost effective tank that didn't bleed helium at an unacceptable rate.
I can assure you that leakage is the least of your problems if trying to use helium as a power source.
A much bigger problem is that helium is a noble gas, so it doesn't react with oxygen -- meaning it is utterly useless as a fuel source.
I must be bored to join in the thread. How about pumping hot air into the bladder like a hot air balloon. That would help with the initial launch. Then keep it moving as others have said. Drop it in the water though and relaunch might be impossible.
Real solution though is go find other hobbies, like mountain biking :-)
Come on guys have a brain storm.
Hot air could work I reckon. Just if it cools down your in for a swim. And bladder pressure may be an issue.
Select to expand quotekitebt said..wave6ft said..
I would like a kite and board combo that would work from 5 to 8 knots get so many days here like that but don't think that it can be done
It has already been done. Check out the Airrush Lithium Zero. Assuming you are an average sized person you will get out in 5 knots and be overpowered in 8.
I tried an 10m strutless kite,might of been an Airrush Lithium Zero,
but the wind was very very light,could not really get moving,
I think it would be very hard to be overpowered in 8 kts 
Select to expand quoteChris6791 said..
Even a hot air balloon needs wind for any lateral movement.
In line with this thread, this may be a stupid question but......why is that?
Once the kite is airborne, diving it will generate it's own apparent wind, the curve of the leading edge will then create high and low pressure zones and hence the kite will fly. As long as you keep it moving it should be all good.
...or is my brain still on holidays...
You can Select to expand quotegokid said..kitebt said..wave6ft said..
I would like a kite and board combo that would work from 5 to 8 knots get so many days here like that but don't think that it can be done
It has already been done. Check out the Airrush Lithium Zero. Assuming you are an average sized person you will get out in 5 knots and be overpowered in 8.
I tried an 10m strutless kite,might of been an Airrush Lithium Zero,
but the wind was very very light,could not really get moving,
I think it would be very hard to be overpowered in 8 kts
You can either live in your bubble or take a look at the Lithium Zero on the Airrush website which is not the same as a Lithium which is probably what you are referring to. Yes you are starting to get overpowered in 8 - 10 knots depending on your weight.
Select to expand quoteTrapped said.. Chris6791 said.. Trapped said..
Didnt I read somewhere on here something about filling kites with helium or hydrogen?
If the kite had a zero weight then maybe it would be possible.
Thoughts anyone?
That's been discussed before, helium atoms are really small and will bleed through the bladder fabric in no time.
What if we lined the bladders with something similar to latex? just have it as balloons basically.
Balloon Boarding. Its got a ring to it. I can just see them drifting upwind out to sea now.
A bit like natural selection.
Select to expand quoteFreddofrog said..Chris6791 said..
Even a hot air balloon needs wind for any lateral movement.
In line with this thread, this may be a stupid question but......why is that?
Once the kite is airborne, diving it will generate it's own apparent wind, the curve of the leading edge will then create high and low pressure zones and hence the kite will fly. As long as you keep it moving it should be all good.
...or is my brain still on holidays...
How do you dive a kite that is only sitting above you as a result of it being filled with a substance that is lighter than the air around it? i.e. what force drives the kite to dive?
Select to expand quoteFreddofrog said..Chris6791 said..
Even a hot air balloon needs wind for any lateral movement.
In line with this thread, this may be a stupid question but......why is that?
Once the kite is airborne, diving it will generate it's own apparent wind, the curve of the leading edge will then create high and low pressure zones and hence the kite will fly. As long as you keep it moving it should be all good.
...or is my brain still on holidays...
If you can get the kite to fly because it's light than air like a hot air balloon then it's flying because it's not a wing anymore, it's flying because it's a funky shaped hot air balloon. Pulling on the bar will just change the angle it sits directly overhead.
Hot air balloons get their lift from being lighter than air, and their descent is from that air cooling then becoming heavier again. It's still needs a knot or two of wind to move anywhere else. With absolutely no wind a balloon can happily ascend to 5000 feet and come back down land on exactly the same spot. Throw in one knot of wind and the same 5000 foot ascent will have them landing kilometres away.
To get a kite lighter than air? It's never going to happen. It's possibly the most inefficient shape to try with. Look at a hot air balloon and it's shape and also the sheer volume required to get aloft, now compare that to a kite leading edge tube of maybe 5 -7 metres long and 3-4 inches in diameter.
