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Saw an advert for this event https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/kite-flying-festival-2020-canberra-on-sunday-8th-march-2020-tickets-91605517569 Might pop along to see what happens I think the 10am start might suffer from a lack of wind (but I am happy to be wrong)

It has been suggested that we organize a weekend probably somewhere along the south coast when NSW and Canberra kiters can get together. Of course all others welcome too. I will suggest some dates both later this year and early next year to see which suits the majority best. Please give an indication if you are interested.

I was out at the Stromlo Forest Park cycle criterium on Monday to indulge in a different hobby and managed to twist my knee (doing lateral cuts coming down the slope) - forcing me to retire from that activity. I had my trusty 1.5M Imp Quattro in the car and so I put that up in the grassy patch in the middle of the Deek's Cross country circuit. The patch would be OK for a restricted buggy (is there any other type in Canberra ). The criterium would be good for a skate buggy when my skills on skates improve a lot (and I can afford to get a NASA-star on a bar). Next time I go, I might just put the tiger-buggy in the car as well. Has anyone tried adding a location to the database lately. I want to make sure that it is not just me before complaining to the board-admins. Cheers Bob

What going on here? Damn stupid weather!!

Anybody planning on flying tomorrow?

With such lovely weather in Canberra this week, I took the buggy up to Amaroo Ovals today. The grass is green and cut short; the wind was coming through at a reasonably steady 10 to 12 knots and there was one lone guy on the far side practicing his golf swing. I am getting used to my 9m Flysurfer Peak. I am beginning to understand the reduction in projected size when depowering which causes the ends of the kite to flutter. This means that less projected area is providing power and in essence makes it either a 9m kite or roughly a 7m kite. The change in power at the bar is noticeable but once you get used to it, it provides excellent control. I still have to pull on the brake lines rather than turn the bar to get a speedy turn, even in 10 knot winds; but this is not an issue. I still stall the kite occasionally but I am really enjoying the Peak and its such a light weight kite! The ovals meant that I was doing a lot of turning - all good practice though; but I look forward to long runs on a decent beach. If any of the Canberra kiters want to get out to Amaroo anytime, please let me know as it would be good to get together.

I know there have been previous discussions about both kite boarding and buggying at Lake George but I wondered what the latest position and thoughts about it are? I stopped off on the federal highway rest spot down by the lake on the way back from sydney yesterday. The one that you double back under the highway to get to. There is a gate there with a lock but no hinges on the other end so access is easy. I walked out onto the lake about 100m from a small orange windsock. The ground was rock hard with very low scanty grass cover. Not sure if there are any hidden pot holes or rocks but looked well worth a try in the buggy. I have read that winds can get gusty so may be start on a day with low winds? Is the land privately owned and if so does anybody have his contact details? Does the owner mind access for buggy sport? It would be fun to have a go on something bigger than ovals in Canberra and not much further out than Amaroo.

I enjoyed a couple of good sessions in the strong but gusty winds at the end of last week on the ovals in Kambah behind the Burns Club. The soccer goal posts have been taken out and the grass cut. There is easy parking. Are any Canberra buggy or kiteboard enthusiasts interested in meeting up when the conditions are good? Could be weekends or evenings now that the clocks have gone forward. Happy to come up to Amaroo again but I live in the south and Kambah is much closer .

Whos around and interested in a run at Amaroo tomorrow? How about 3pm?

Hi all, I'm a reasonably new snow kiter. I'm moving from Tas to Canberra in the near future and want to make sure my kites don't start feeling too neglected in their new home. I'm used to using my lunchbreaks to head out with a kite and play around on foot to stay in practice. Just wondering if any of the parks around the Canberra CBD would be good for this? I've seen a few posts about Amaroo but that's a bit far to fit in a fly plus the ride out and back over lunch... Cheers, Nicko

I'll be joining Crusty at Amaroo at about 1pm anyone else going take advantage of this wind? Buggy is loaded on the trailer, kites are in the boot

Anybody up for a fly at Amaroo on Sunday?

Hi all, Went out to amaroo with @crustybear yesterday and have caught the bug!! Have spent heaps of time today looking at buggy's and kites and hopefully with some time I'll have the cash to purchase. Looking forward to meeting the rest of the crew and getting more involved. Cheers, John p.s. how many posts do you have to make before being able to PM? There's some second hand gear that I wouldn't mind asking about.

Had a nice sedate kite buggy ride on Ford Oval beach, Merimbula the other day . The last two weeks has been great for buggying on a low tide in the arvo, mostly in a E to SE breeze . It's been a while since I last flew a kite on the beach, and it's the best venue for kite buggying. Also snuck in some windsurfing last Sunday in 25 knot NE gusts, but the kite buggying has been the better option this year.

Some raw footage to show the frustrating wind conditions that we have had to deal with lately. What happened to the awesome summer easterlies we got the last 2 years? When I arrived I the wind seemed a little dead so I unpacked the 10m Speed 2. But while unfurling it a gust came though that made me decide to opt out and put my 8m outlaw up instead. I am glad I did too because with a minute or two I powered it down because the gusts were coming though strong. Then when the others guys arrived the wind died off and became even more unpredictable and hard to read. Not only was there next to no wind at ground level and probably gusting around 15knts up top but also It seemed the wind was coming from two different directions at opposite ends of the oval. So we were changing tack with every lap. Very frustrating. But after the wind backed off a little a little I had a quick run on the Speed 2 10m, which just loved the conditions, I even managed to practice a little freestyle.

Excellent winds today... There will be a few of us out today. Anybody else keen?

Hi all. I picked up a buggy and reactor 3.8 a couple of months ago, have been flying the kite (awesome fun), but really think I should be getting some use out of the buggy. Is anyone interested in catching up this weekend and giving me a hand? I could go down and have a crack myself, but I'd rather not end up wrapped around a footy post. I live up in Gungahlin, Amaroo might be the best place to go??. Cheers, Craig.

With School holidays in Canberra this week, I decided to take little fly down to Amaroo for a fly with his Birthday Kite..... I looked outside, sky was blue the wind was up so I thought I would give Linda a call to see if Little Fly was interested in another flying lesson down at Amaroo.......... Of course he didn't need to be asked twice..... (Just like dad)... After about 20mins or so and the huge smile from ear to ear I knew we were going to be here for a while, he took to the kite like a duck to water. The Canberra crew were very suprised to see how well he fly's, swooping the boys became not even a challenge for him. It took some convincing, a few kicks of the soccer ball & some more flying before he was ready to pack up, after 3hours I finally convinced him that there will be other days and we could soon come again..... Here are some pics of Little Fly enjoying now his backyard too - Amaroo .........

Went out to Amaroo this afternoon from 1pm to 3pm. Even though no one else was there, had a reasonable afternoon in the gusty conditions. Said a quiet farewell to Andy before launching. Towards the end, a couple of families turned up with youngsters flying their Dora the Explorer and Bananas in Pyjamas single-liners - its good to hook them while they're young Put the Access away and left them to enjoy the wind and sunshine.

Stu asked me to post some photos from the snow but havnt got there yet but i plan to next winter. Im glad i didnt organize to go to iceland because of that stupid volcano. By the time i sorted out some new foils the kitesurfing season was is full swing. Some good spots up this way, especially for the buggies. Ive seen a hell of a lot of full race kites while ive been here, but I never seem to have a camera when the races are on though. All the beaches are really wide and not to crowded, although ive heard it gets crowded down south were its warmer. Always seems to be some wind to, and the coastline is so varied you can always find a spot thats not offshore. Although i think the wind is going to start dying off a bit now as summer kicks in. The main difference between australia is the culture, its really quite a main stream sport here. Everyone flies kites even families fly a lot of trainers and If you go to any camping area there is always kites in the air flying over all the campervans. There is also a lot of windsurfers and tons of land yachts. I think wind sports are especially popular in the area im in compared to most of france. The biggest problem is the language, the furthest you get away from the tourist areas the less they speak english.

My youngest had his 7th birthday during the week, one of his presents was a HQ Symphony Beach I had promised him "for the last ten years"...... according to him.... After his Sat morning soccer game we slipped home grabbed his kite and took it out for it's maiden flight.... As we pulled into Amaroo Stu was just leaving.. he turned around and joined us for a while...nice. Stu's a great teacher and Daniel always has a great time whenever they get together... onya mate.. After a couple of crashes he got the gist and had an absolute ball, the HQ Beach was very stable even in the gusts, gave him a taste of power and had him hooked ... Usually even an an exciting activity doesn't keep him interested for long but trying to get him to pack up at the end of the day was a mission... he is hooked I think.. onya Daniel for giving it a go.. .... onya Stu for your help and company.. .. we had a ball Andy...

The sun's out .... and there is almost wind ... so I'm going out to Amaroo to attempt to break the drought (flying) for better or worse.... Anyone else got the time ......come down and have fly Andy....

It was windy enough to get me interested today, so packed up and went to the oval at Mawson. For once it was not covered in soccer players (it must be school holidays). When I arrived, to my surprise, there was some one else setting up a largish looking kite. So naturally I went over and said gday. I can't remenber the guy's name, but he had purchased a blue 4.5M Pansh when he was posted to Adelaide (with Defence) and this was his second fly of it. He was having a bit of trouble setting up - mainly because he detatched the lines from the kite when he last packed it up, so everything was tangled. Once sorted out, he was ready to go. I reminded him about turbulence near fixed ojects - like clubhouses and changing sheds and he seemed happy to get going. I put up the twister and got dragged about the oval for a bit before seeing him running towards his kite - my guess he was either pulled too hard or trying to land it. I helped him pack his kite away, leaving the handles and lines attached this time, so hopefully he will have a better setup experience next time he is out. I even managed to give him an XK card so hopefully he'll join up and introduce himself. After putting away the twister, I go out the 4M Access and had a much better time in gusts and lulls before packing up my self at about 4pm. I even managed to take some pictures of the great buggy cover that Andyfly made. When I can get them loaded from my daughter's IPOD to the PC I'll load them up here. I might even turn one of the photos into a new avatar if I can remember the name the program to shrink photos - recently had to rebuild the laptop and that was one of the things that hasn't been re-installed. If there is wind again tomorrow I'll be out again somewhere.

So, NSW's a bust, and I've got to squeeze in a trip to mum's farm (Rosny-think goulburn). Anyone keen for a fly the 4/5th June weekend? I'm thinking I'll catch up with mum and then duck down to Canberra for a wee-fly. Or, if there's no wind, maybe just a beer or two. I'd love to fly on Lake George if that's even a possibility?

Thinking of flying for the long weekend - see NSW thread.