VANCOUVER ISLAND WINDTALK

www.skywings.fi/movie_media/WEB_KWingWorls.wmv Where could we do this locally? Beacon Hill with a South wind?

You can get a rig like this called a SkimBat out of Edmonton AB.

get a kite

a kiter's reaction is, okay, this looks like windsurfing but with air time without ramps, which is similar to kitesurfing. Definitely more user friendly and safer than kiting but way less height and air time

at least theres no lines to tangle up. wasnt this thing invented back in the 80's "the wind weapon"? i saw it in "hard winds a blowin".

Yeah, it looks a lot like a windweapon without the awkward stance and mast. Whether or not it looks like windsurfing or kiting isn't really the point to me. Just looks like a hell of a lot of fun without any complexity. I like the idea of the direct connection to the wing and the potential for ultra long glides in a compact foil. No kitemares, and better gliding to a soft touchdown than windsurfing. It's just another way to have some fun!

If I remember right, Wind Weapon was Tom McGruder's invention, it had a short fixed mast with a universal on top I think (I only ever saw pictures). This Finnish thing looks kinda fun for ice (would have been perfect here a couple of weeks ago) or maybe that 2-wheel beach thingy, but flying long distances on skis looks like suicide compared to the relative safety of hang gliding or paragliding. Mind you, the mountain kiting clips posted here don't seem much safer. Note the one little stall he does on skis, luckily slow/low - need a very deep knee bend to recover. I wonder if the Finns have very low liability insurance rates? This seems like 1890s glider technology.

It's like going to parabolic skis instead of snowboarding. Looks like fun with a reduced learning curve.

winddoctor wrote:... Whether or not it looks like windsurfing or kiting isn't really the point to me. Just looks like a hell of a lot of fun without any complexity... It's just another way to have some fun!

Exactly! It looks totally cool.