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Hand-held vacuum cleaner for inflation

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windrider1
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Re: Hand-held vacuum cleaner for inflation

Postby windrider1 » Sun Sep 24, 2017 3:37 am

pure noob nonsense. if u cant get enough air in at launch either your technique is very bad or there is not enough wind to fly the kite period. end of story.

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Kamikuza
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Re: Hand-held vacuum cleaner for inflation

Postby Kamikuza » Sun Sep 24, 2017 4:51 am

windrider1 wrote:
Sun Sep 24, 2017 3:37 am
pure lazy bugger nonsense. if u cant get enough air in at launch either your technique is very bad or there is not enough wind to fly the kite period. end of story.
There I fixed it :D

You can launch foils in wind your can't surf in, but it's a lot of work...

Only advantage I can see is if you had limited space.

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Re: Hand-held vacuum cleaner for inflation

Postby Rakky » Sun Sep 24, 2017 7:24 pm

I suppose another way to put it is = try it and if you succeed and it works in the conditions you describe, then write it up here to educate us

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Re: Hand-held vacuum cleaner for inflation

Postby socommk23 » Sun Sep 24, 2017 7:48 pm

Why buy take and use even more equipment? Learn proper launching and you'll never need one.

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Peert
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Re: Hand-held vacuum cleaner for inflation

Postby Peert » Sun Sep 24, 2017 10:44 pm

Kykeon wrote:
Sat Sep 23, 2017 1:40 pm
I find inflation super hard because the wind is low down at the beach and I also have to place the foil 4-5 meters from the water.
In between the kite and the water there is a small (0.5-1m) hill crest that kills the air even more.
Do you imply that a natural pre-inflation is always possible?
None of the people that make the idea of the TS ridiculous respond to his clarification and question above.

Do you all imply that in the most challenging conditions (small launch, no space to walk backwards, disturbed wind at ground level) launching with a blower inflated kite is nonsense as you will always be able to launch without?

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Re: Hand-held vacuum cleaner for inflation

Postby PullStrings » Mon Sep 25, 2017 2:42 am

windrider1 wrote:
Sun Sep 24, 2017 3:37 am
pure noob nonsense. if u cant get enough air in at launch either your technique is very bad or there is not enough wind to fly the kite period. end of story.
Beg to differ
I know of a spot you could not launch without pre-inflating fully a ram air
Side on direction gradient wind where the entry to the water is only 7ft wide ....zero wind gets to the kite on the ground...and there is 10-12 knots at 30 ft
Smallish grassy park with 8 ft tall bushes all around it...you have no more than 10 ft if walking fast backwards a non-inflated ram air is your launch technique
At that spot if the ram air is fully leaf blower pumped you can easily send the kite up using a side launch technique into the wind window...or hot launch...needing only 7 ft of rider displacement

It's pure no-noob no-nonsense........now the story as a happy ending.

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Re: Hand-held vacuum cleaner for inflation

Postby Kykeon » Mon Sep 25, 2017 5:14 pm

Thanks for your replies

Again, I'm a noob when it comes to rams and unfortunately there is no one familiar locally to help. (one of the problems of frequently windy areas...)

It's not yet possible for me to figure out what is the low end for launching or keeping it in the air. (that's one of the things I'm currently learning /experiencing)
My enthusiasm may push me to try in conditions that it is not possible even for a more skilled person.

Luckily, the place I kite is frequently windy (my 10m switchblade is at least barely rideable 150+ days per year) and the shore is so "curly" that we can always pick a sideshore spot within 20 kms, even if we sometimes have to launch the LEIs between trees, above bushes or other kites etc.

I'm trying the ram during the days that I know the 10m switchblade will be a struggle to keep upwind in best case till days with almost no wind.

During these days there is usually a thermal onshore breeze and enough swimmers to make kite launching possible only in very few spots. (As a local community we religiously keep at least 200m from swimmers and other non-kiters)

The beach is long but not wide. The distance between the water and the road above is 30% smaller than my kite+bridle lines.
That means that when I need to do a downwind launch (onshore wind), it’s a hybrid… and I’m already in the water which deep fast. (i.e. no backwards running option)
Moreover, there is a natural pebble bump about a meter high, 2-3 meters from the water, that kills the ground wind downwind from it…

The vacuum cleaner, compared to a leafblower has the advantage that if you figure out you do not need it, you can use it at home :P

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Re: Hand-held vacuum cleaner for inflation

Postby Mossy 757 » Mon Sep 25, 2017 6:30 pm

I'd rather fly a pink kite with a graphic of two dudes space docking each other than pre-inflate with a leaf blower, but to each his own...

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Kykeon
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Re: Hand-held vacuum cleaner for inflation

Postby Kykeon » Mon Sep 25, 2017 9:16 pm

Mossy 757 wrote:
Mon Sep 25, 2017 6:30 pm
I'd rather fly a pink kite with a graphic of two dudes space docking each other than pre-inflate with a leaf blower, but to each his own...
That means that you are more leafblowerophobic than homophobic, my dog is the same. :jump: :jump: :jump:

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Re: Hand-held vacuum cleaner for inflation

Postby Hardwater Kiter » Tue Sep 26, 2017 11:18 am

There's no shame in mechanical preinflation. There are often days where there is no ground wind but there's something to work with up in the gradient.

I can't count how many days I would have missed if I didn't used a blower to get the kite up to pressure enough to launch. Especially kites like Peter Lynn Arcs. Using the recommended inflation technique for those kites simply doesn't work here due to lack of steady windspeed and direction. Using a mechanical inflation is no different than using a pump on an LEI.

Not everyone has steady coastal winds or wide open spaces to launch from. So take the derogatory responses with a grain of salt.

This said, mechanical should be used in tight launch areas and if the wind is too poor to get the kite to pressure. You should practice getting your non-assisted launch technique dialed as best you can. A) Because it does kinda suck to have to use an inflator when you don't REALLY need to. And B) You may have a situation where you are forced down and have to get the kite back into the air after a time.

It is very rare these days to NEED a mechanical assist to inflate a modern closed cell foil. But some do take a lot of finesse to get into the air.


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