A Wind Too Strong

by Alex
(USA)

I decided to go out to my favorite spot to fly kites a few days ago. The wind was quite brisk, and I had no problem getting my 7 foot delta into the wind. The gusts were strong, and the kite struggled at first but then went up straight away...

I had to use considerable force to keep the spindle from being yanked from my hands. About 8 minutes into the flight, the kite collapsed and slowly descended down to Earth. I had figured the spar stick snapped and when I examined it, sure enough that is what happened.

The winds were about 20 - 25kts.

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by: Tim Parish

20 to 25knts! In my language that's around 40kph which would destroy most of my kites - which are designed for 'light' winds. Most home-made Box designs would cope.

Your big Delta did well to survive - and apparently continue to fly stable - for as long as it did. An idea - try using a shorter spreader (of the same diameter) when flying in strong winds. This will make the kite stronger and more stable.

Anyway, live and learn. I've snapped the odd spreader myself ;-)

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    Remarkable. Before leaving for the field, the online weather station reported 20kph gusting to 28kph. And then on arriving back, again, the speeds were 20kph gusting to 28kph! However, the direction w…

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Wind Speeds

Light Air
1-5 km/h
1-3 mph
1-3 knots
Beaufort 1

Light breeze
6–11 km/h
4–7 mph
4–6 knots
Beaufort 2

Gentle ...
12–19 km/h
8–12 mph
7–10 knots
Beaufort 3

Moderate ...
20–28 km/h
13–18 mph
11–16 knots
Beaufort 4

Fresh ...
29–38 km/h
19–24 mph
17–21 knots
Beaufort 5

Strong ...
39–49 km/h
25–31 mph
22–27 knots
Beaufort 6

High Wind
50-61 km/h
32-38 mph
28-33 knots
Beaufort 7

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