I never thought my kitelife would take over my real life. I’ve gone from the weekend warrior to the daily rider searching for wind daily, being constistly surrounded by anything kite related. I’ve spent countless hours on skype talking kites and racing theories. When will I sleep, probably never.

Finally got added to the PL Teamrider website. Wooohooo.

First stop of the season for me is NABX 2010 in Las Vegas where I get to hang out with PL designer Michel Dekker and VO sales Marijn T. Lots of discussion to be had about some future plans on PL wear. I’m currently designing the clothing right now so stay tuned for updates.
Also at the event is my teammates from Holland; Ozzy, Ruud, and Arie. It will be good to have Ruud setup my new Apexx as well since new season meant new kits. Having these guys there will help me push a little harder and I can discuss my plans for World Cup. This is also on the agenda but that will come in a later section. I did start a group on facebook call “Send Richard 2 World Cup”. ROFL.
This year I put a lot of time and effort promoting NABX on various kite forums, since it’s the 20th anniversary of the kite buggy so it’s got to be special. I’ve managed to get a few more riders from Europe to attend so we can have some fierce racing. When having international riders come to any event it’s a good way to promote us overseas too since we have a lot to offer. We learn from them as much as they learn from us, and manufactures can also gain to help fuel our sport in all aspects with hosting branded kite events. We only grow as a sport with numbers the more we have the more will be reconized as a true sport. Someday we just might get into X-Games or national TV. The hope is still there for me and that will be my continuing goal.

Anyways see you at an event sooner than later.

i turned 30 today (nov.30) and what a great present to have after nearly 3 week of pure rain.

I went to a school park close by and discovered the whole field was under water, so i headed to the other school with better drainage with baseball fields.

The wind was 20 to 25 mph with gusts up to 30 going by YVR / WG. my trusty Iphone App was reading 20 steady.
I setup the 3m first and it was a blast, however with the amount space I had to run it wasnt much fun. So sized down to the baby 2m. It was more fun cruising around. it was a fun day to be had, and ill be able to stretch out the legs at nabx. I cant see using the 2m much since the 3m already does a great job dealing with gusty conditions and I already fly off short lines.

The production model is a bit faster than the prototype version when i last flew them at NABX.

Buggy: PL XR+ Std (no mods)
Lines: 15m on Long Handles, however some might prefer short handles to reduce the control in such high winds.

Finally after the long wait, the Vapors will arrive for me, and the general public can have theirs by Mid-November.

The ‘Vapor’ is Peter Lynn’s flagship high performance race kite and the latest addition to the ‘Pro-Range’ of kites.
The Vapor has already proved itself to be a world class winning kite when John Jansen used his with devastating effect taking the Vapor to victory at the recent European championships in St Peter Ording (Germany). This alone would be something to shout about, but in fact the Vapor also helped five other pilots to attain positions in the top ten places cementing the Vapor as a true full-breed performer.

Nearly two years of development and testing have produced a kite which is not only one of the fastest kites on the planet but amazingly stable too. This balance is testament to the vision and dedication to ‘Excellence with no compromise’ shown by the design team and riders encompassing the ethos of the Peter Lynn Pro-Range of kites.

A combination of the finest materials available matched with the application of cutting edge design, the most stringent quality control and production techniques place the Vapor at the top of race kite technology.

Unlike many race kites the Vapor’s handling characteristics mean that it is not just restricted to the most expert of pilots. In fact most intermediate pilots would be surprised how well behaved this kite is and would benefit greatly and experience the improvement and enhancement of their own performance. Make no mistake though, this is a fast powerful kite chosen by some of the top pilots in the world and thus deserves some healthy respect.

Be it in a full blown race buggy or on ski’s or landboard you can be sure that the Vapor has the power to put you in front..!

Flying characteristics

High flying Speed

The Vapor is one of the fastest kites on planet Earth! Not just an empty boast but proven on the dry lake beds of Nevada in North America as well as helping John Jansen to realize his dream of winning the European Kite buggy championships.

The light wind performance of the larger sizes is truly outstanding and the maneuverability of these bigger kites will be a welcome surprise. During final testing our pilots were able to achieve speeds up to approx 30kph in virtually zero wind! At the other end of the scale the smaller kites you will find are blisteringly fast but never too much for the experienced rider to handle.
The Vapor will give you the ride of your life

Fast and direct steering

The Vapor is agile and has positive response to your steering input. You will be amazed by the fast and direct handling of this race kite. When riding with a Vapor, you have the ability to place the kite exactly where you want it. This enables you to accelerate faster and make turns quicker with full confidence. Even the largest sizes loop on short lines which will help you to get that extra bit of speed in your turns or downwind runs. After tight turns the Vapor will not stall out or hold back, it is always eager to fly and maintain its speed in flight helping you to get those winning results.

Good stability

The Vapor is unrivalled in its balance between performance and stability. This is partly due to the reflex designed into the kite’s profile which makes the kite very reluctant to collapse even in the most demanding conditions whilst not compromising performance in any way. Whether you’re cranking hard upwind, or running with the wind you will always feel in complete control.
Although the Vapor is one of the highest performance kites in the world, it exhibits many of the more user friendly aspects commonly associated with kites of a much lower aspect ratio leaving you free to concentrate more on your riding.

Smooth but fast power build-up

The power delivery of the Vapor is smooth and fast. You won’t need to throw your kite around the window to get it up to speed! Its progressive and direct power will have you up there in no time. This means easier transitions around marks and maximizing speed through the turns giving you the opportunity of staying out in front!

Wind range

Vapors are quite powerful kites for their size, so you don’t always need the biggest kite to win. Besides this, the Vapor has quite a big wind range. You can work the kite up to speed very easily. Due to the broad range of sizes and their large wind range per size you will notice there is a comfortable overlap of power between the sizes. The larger sizes have a higher aspect ratio compared to the smaller sizes which gives them a similar feel across the range. The smaller sizes are closer together giving pilots more choice over kite size when they really need it!

Low lift

The Vapor has been designed with minimum lift characteristics. This is a big benefit to pilots carrying out high speed maneuvers and reduces the chances of being lifted from your buggy.
Features

· Variable Aspect ratio (AR)
· Precision designed and Laser cut panels
· Double cross-vented profiles
· Diagonal ribs
· Porcher reinforcements inside the kite
· Double needle stitched seams
· Chikara fabric for top skin, bottom skin and profiles
· Optimized bridle design
· Cousin Dyneema bridles .
· Spliced then stitched bridles

Technical details

Specifications

The Vapor is available in the sizes 2.3m2, 2.7m2, 3.2m2, 3.8m2, 4.5m2, 5.4m2. 6.5m2, 7.8m2, 9.4m2, 11.2m2, 13.4m2 & 16.1m2.

Vapor package

The Vapor is delivered kite only.
The Package contains:
· Vapor kite
· Vapor bag
· 4-line bridled foil kite full-colour
instruction manual
· Peter Lynn sticker

Vapor colours

Each size Vapor is available in the following standard colour combinations:

Royal blue-white-orange (A)
Black-white-red (B)
Orange-white-dark grey (C)

Day 1 – The Arrival:
With two vehicles we managed to stuff almost everything into Grant’s truck (buggies, kites, mtn boards and of course clothing, didn’t think anyone wanted to see me buggy naked….LMAO). We were off southbound to the USA, with 7 hours of driving and 3 Redbulls later we arrived at Sunset Beach, Oregon.
First thing we did was to meet up with RSK USA – Monty and Pat Oriet and our good friend Sean (CSA_D) at the beach. I couldn’t wait to get out and ride so I setup the RII 5.5m for the first time and headed upwind towards Seaside.
Why did I wait so long to return? This is one of the best beaches to ride on, and I can see why the OR Crew Riders are so fast. Their playground is huge with good winds and everyone runs Bigfoot Wheels.

The kite review:
Wow these kites are so sweet.
Michel Dekker has re-worked the Reactor II into an intermediate race machine (yet still manageable for the average rider). I remember flying the prototypes back at NABX and it’s been refined since then.
The kite’s performance is so good that it doesn’t luff at the edge or have its wingtip folding. The power/speed comes on and keeps getting faster with control. You can actually ride a larger size than needed and still feel safe with the reduced side pull and lift. Also when you need that upwind advantage you can simply push the handles outwards to gain that extra edge. On the flip side the kite performs well on downwind runs too. Not to mention it doesn’t overshoot when you’re having to loop the kite to slow it down, instead just a simple tap of the brakes and it slows down so the kite can catch up to the speed. This really counted when we’re on a beach where we had a lot down winder rides. The Reactor II also does well in gusty conditions, during gusts the kite naturally pushes forward to deal with it. All in all I’m impressed with the Reactor II series, and will be adding these to my quiver.

Day 2 – Good Day / Great Ride:
Waking up early but not Arie Time (5am) we all headed for breakfast and off to the beach. With the forecast for moderate winds and sunny it was going to be a good day. Everyday seems to start off with cloud / fog / showers or rain, but that quickly changes by 11:00am. The long range forecast for the duration of our trip was calling for rain. Good thing, the weather man isn’t always correct.

We got to the beach and the winds are up, so I finally got to crack open the RII 3.5m and setup the PL BF Buggy (I didn’t have my usual ride in time – Xxtreme ApeXX), the guys at Vliegerop rushed me a PL BF so I had something to ride.
The winds started off with SW so it was short tacks upwind and screaming down winders. Due to some technical difficulties with the PL Buggy, Monty allowed me use of his ApeXX.
With the 3.5m being too small with the larger buggy I geared up the RII 5.5m and head back for some runs. By the afternoon I was tacking less up the beach so I could get longer runs in, and for some reason the winds switch to near perfect westerly conditions. I went as far as I could go up the beach thinking if I didn’t need to tack going this far I could make it to the Shipwreck and back. I made my decision to go for it, started my turn, and headed screaming down the beach. I passed by camp yelling “Yeeehooowww!” and didn’t stop going. I don’t know how fast I was going but I know that I was faster than the car I passed moving at the speed limit (25 m p/hr). As I watched the mile marks pass by, I started thinking it’s going to be a long tack back if something goes wrong. I didn’t care I had to make it back to the famous Shipwreck again.
One of the sweetest rides ever, as I passed vehicles and beach goers along the way, and in the distance I could see the pieces of metal for the water and a lot of people in the area. I MADE IT THERE!!! Woohoo!!! Took in the sights for a few minutes and made my turn back to camp and it was a little slower getting back but I didn’t need to tack once. Near camp Grant asked me where I went, all I said was “shipwreck baby!!!.” I quickly asked if he wanted to go back since I could use a second trip there. Off we went back down the beach and made it all the way to the shipwreck. Twice in one day. I couldn’t ask for more after being away for so long. Well as we head back the wind dropped, and Grant was having trouble and he had to tack a few times. I looked back to see how far he was behind me, and so I stopped and headed back to get him. Grant said not enough kite to get home. I was still flyable and with enough power to get home. The plan now was to tandem back to camp. We put his PL BF front wheel onto the ApeXX seat which left little room for me to sit but we had to make it back, since no one knew if we were up or down the beach. I figured that the RII 5.5m could power us both home, however, Grant wanted to try tandem. We started up again, both in the buggies and two kites in the air, and I didn’t have much space so I had to fly one handed and hold onto the front fork. Grant was complaining about abdominal pain since he had no control over direction. Hehehe! I wouldn’t tandem with most people since they fly differently, but Grant’s my new riding partner. We powered it back to camp and about halfway Monty drives by and I just yell “we aren’t stopping, we made it there we’re coming home too.” Monty drove beside us for video footage. The wind dropped to near zero, so we all went out for dinner with some of the other riders that night, and talked about the day’s events and old times.

Day 3 – Rain can’t stop us now:
Funny how weather changes from good to bad from one day to the next. The morning reports called for rain all day. Well they were right. At the beach we finally met up with Ken (Bladerunner) who already had his Synergy 15m ready to go. The rain was on and off and getting worse. I setup the RII 3.5m regardless, I came here to buggy, buggy, and buggy. The rain came on even harder so we left the kites and ran into Grant’s truck for warmth. The rain got a little weaker and I couldn’t wait anymore I needed to ride. Thinking the kite wasn’t going to fly period because of the rain making it for a boring day. I popped the kite into the air no problem and moved it around a bit and you could see the water coming out of the dirt-outs. I turned the kite a few times and off in the buggy I went again, it was cold and wet but I didn’t care I had to tack a few times to make it up the beach and there the other buggiers setup camp. Camp was supposed to be Mile Mark #2, people. LOL. I was having a ball the RII 3.5m and who says kites can’t fly in the rain. By early afternoon the sun came out and so did everyone else. Ken was setup on the Syn 15 ready to ride all day with his blades on. Ken had done some of the hugest jumps I’ve ever seen him do. I couldn’t believe it with just the short distance we had with the tide in on one side and the soft sand on the other. Ken’s new nickname should be Big Air Blade, because he doesn’t run but flies. I had a few runs on the Syn 15 and I totally wished I had a kiteboard with me to hit the water. The winds were SW so Sunset-Jim’s idea was to ride down winders all day and have someone come get us. Monty was kind enough to drive up and down the beach and tow us back.

Day 4 – RAIN, This sucks:
With rain all day in the forecast and super high winds. We all meet for breakfast and Grant said that even if the rain goes there’s no beach to ride. The tide was in so high it’s impossible to even drive a vehicle on it let alone kitebuggy. So Grant and Tim decided to drive back home, Maria and I wanted to stay a few days longer. Roughly about 45mins into Grant’s drive home he was thinking if I was crazy enough to go out and ride because there was about 1hr of sun before the rain hit again and the winds were about 30mph with gusts up to 50mph. I’m not that crazy but I probably would have done it just because I have the Reactor IIs that fly in gusty conditions and rain.

Maria and I went off to Portland with Monty and Pat for the remainder of the trip. I wanted to end the trip on a good note and it was some of the best riding next to NABX.

The Video: http://www.vimeo.com/6617149

Even if you can’t come to this place every year, you should make this part of your kiting agenda to attend. There nothing like riding with a sea breeze and sandy beach, its not about speed here but just good old fun riding.
It was neat we came home by Train from Portland to Vancouver, BC. That was a different experience all by itself.
We’d like to thank:

Monty and Pat Oriet (for letting us stay at their place and taking over their basement, it’s now my second home and its only 45mins to the Gorge!)
Also for driving up and down the beach to get us when we could only make downwind runs.
Grant KC888 for taking my stuff there and back and my new riding partner.
Sean (CSA_D) for transporting my buggy back and forth the beach
Sunset “eat my sand” Jim for the great times ripping up and down the beach
Ken “Bladeruner” / Eli / Jon Ellis / VWBrian and the whole OR Crew.

Vliegerop / Peter Lynn for supplying me with Reactor II and a Bigfoot Buggy

Ricardo Lui – KC88
www.ricardo-kc88.com

Full Report to follow, the information will be found on the Peter Lynn Website shortly after I go through all the pics and the sweet video.

Stay tuned.

Big thank you to:
Monty and Pat Oriet (for letting us stay at their place and taking over their basement, its now my second home. only 45mins from the Gorge!)
Driving up and down the beach to get us when we could only do downwinders.

Grant KC888 for taking my stuff there and back and my new riding partner.

Sean (CSA_D) for transporting my buggy back and fourth the beach

Sunset “eat my sand” Jim for the great times ripping up and down the beach

Ken “Bladeruner” / Eli / Jon Ellis / VWBrian and the whole OR Crew.

Its been everywhere from the NABX to Fano and has landed in Canada forever.

Thank to the guys at Peter Lynn Kites (Marijn and designer Michel Dekker) and my Bros: Ruud / Ozzy (building me the fastest buggy in the world) / Arie / Robert / Maarten and also my better half Maria. Not to forget my USA riding buds, Speedy Eli and Eat my Dust – Sunset Jim.
Also for pushing me daily at NABX to drive in the extreme winds when they did, and waking me up at 5:00am and yelling WIND in the phone. It was the best NABX trip ever with the whole Dutch Crew.

The kite will never be flew again, since its been signed. (pics to follow)

My personal record currently sits at 108.2 Km/h
Until next year ….

my Vapors in 4 weeks or less will be…

Custom Vapor

http://www.peterlynnkiteboarding.com/news/news.php?id=53