An excerpt from "6 extreme sports you won't believe anyone survives"

An excerpt from "6 extreme sports you won't believe anyone survives" by Pauli Pouiso of Cracked.com

Third Coast Kite and Hobby can help you do the top 2!

#2. Freestyle Jumping ... With a Giant Kite

For people who want to get in the air but aren't coordinated enough to attempt hang gliding or the process of buying plane tickets, kite jumping is probably the best start. Because anyone can jump, right? Sure. But jumping is the easy part.

The recipe for kite jumping is as simple as the recipe for disaster: A comically oversized kite and you, trying not to die when it inevitably snatches you up into the sky.

Ian B., College Humor
This is the final picture of at least one of these kids.

It is considered one of the riskier forms of kiting, an achievement that may seem comparable to being the most hardcore knitter in the Woolly Sock Club ... until you actually see it in action.

Like we said, you are by no means in for a smooth ride: you are at the mercy of the wind, which can fling you to the ground in a screeching, crushing arc.

YouTube
"I'm beginning to regret several specific life choices."

And of course, while you're up there, you do tricks. Because how else would it be extreme?

Could there be a stupider way to get airborne?

YouTube

Yes, actually.

#1. Surfing, Snowboarding/Skiing ... While Hang Gliding

Aviation is never a simple thing. Perhaps nowhere is this more evident than with hang gliding, which is basically just a dude leaping off cliffs wearing a giant wing thong and trying not to die. Yet the sport of hang gliding somehow manages to have some of the strictest safety standards around, with more controls, harnesses and safety measures than a moderately equipped bondage dungeon.

But then there's the Kitewing, which is an unholy cross between a hang glider and a kite that's stripped of every single conceivable safety feature. What it has instead is a handle, for you to better hang-on-for-dear-life with.

Kitewing
"I like a morning glider shark hunt before my afternoon volcano skiing."

Technically, the Kitewing can be used safely, as a sail-like propeller to extreme sports vehicles such as roller skates, surfboards and snowboards. But Kitewing is also specifically designed to provide lift, in order to gain the extra element of uncontrollable flight to sports that are strictly surface-based.

And so we have these guys snow skiing with Kitewings ...

... and using them to fly right the hell off the side of the mountain:

YouTube
"The handles count as a safety feature, so I don't really need a helmet."

And then we have this guy ...

... using it to kite himself right across a frozen lake at breakneck speed:

YouTube
"I'll take imminent, gory death over coffee any morning."

Damn it, people. If God wanted people to fly via kite, he would have given us kite heads.

Read more: 6 Extreme Sports You Won't Believe Anyone Survives | Cracked.com http://www.cracked.com/article_19516_6-extreme-sports-you-wont-believe-anyone-survives_p2.html#ixzz1eZBOt7C1


Third Coast Kites

Starbucks "Snow Day" Kite

Starflake - White 69" Cellular Box Kite

One of the famous "Snowday" kites from the Starbucks commercial! Perfect for resorts, weddings, or just for flying fun! Click to see video!


Third Coast Kite and Hobby

4WD Electric Mountainboard

Joshua T. from California used his Third Coast connection to build this awesome 4WD Electric Mountainboard - Top speed: 24mph with 4 wheel independent electric drive!

Third Coast Kites

Wallaby Boomerangs on the Third Coast

Wallaby Boomerangs is proud to provide a high-quality line of all natural, sport boomerangs handcrafted in his workshop in the Montreal, Canada. He’s one of the major manufacturers in North America and the first one to develop eco-friendly boomerangs made of different species of wood, bamboo and now biopolymers.

Wallaby combines timeless contemporary design with a thoughtful ethical way of working. By taking traditional craft methods to a contemporary level, Wallaby savoir-faire in working with this living material.

The red line through all these products is the company mission to design and manufacture new products with minimal environmental impact, using as much as possible renewable or abundantly available natural raw materials, while offering the highest technical and health safety standards for our customers. The company product range encompasses ecological paint products, varnishes.

We assume responsibility for our environment that is one of the principles of our corporate philosophy. For us, that means minimizing the ecological impact within the bounds of the financially defensible. We are therefore constantly upgrading our production processes and ascertaining, evaluating and minimizing the use of raw materials, emissions and waste volumes on an ongoing basis.

Wallaby is committed to :

- Sharing innovative and modern applications of different materials with the consumers around the world to give more value to my skill.

- Contributing to the preservation of the environment, continually searching for and educating on more ecological manufacturing and production processes.

- Maximizing social equity and sensitizing consumers to current social and ecological issues.


Check out some video: Third Coast Kite and Hobby YouTube Channel

Third Coast Kite and Hobby

KiteWing adds a new dimension to kiteboarding

The KiteWing is easier to learn and handle than windsurfing or kitesurfing gear. It’s also very safe for the people around, since there are no lines. The wing is also TOTALLY depowerable, since you have direct control to the wind. (holding the wind in your hands) Compared to windsurfing rigs a KiteWing covers easily 4 windsurfing sail sizes (which often requires two different masts).

Check them out!

Video: KiteWing test on land and water in Maui -
KiteWing instructional video (water) -

More info: KiteWing -


Third Coast Kite and Hobby

Seagull Robot Takes Off And Flies On Its Own, Just Like the Real Thing

Ok...I know it's not a kite, but this is still pretty damn cool. What you see here is a new lifelike seagull ‘bot is one of the most realistic bio-inspired flight machines we’ve seen. SmartBird takes off, flies and lands on its own, flapping its wings and turning its head and tail to steer. It is modeled on the herring gull and its appearance and movements are uncannily similar to the real thing.

Designed by the German firm Festo, which also brought us the elephant-trunk-inspired robotic arm and the autonomous robotic jellyfish, SmartBird is Festo’s newest entry in its Bionic Learning Network program, which involves several universities in the U.S. and Europe and aims to use nature as a model for mechatronic systems.

The bird has a 6.5-foot wingspan, so it’s much larger than a real gull, but it looks pretty much like the real thing, as you can see in the video below.

SmartBird flies like a seagull thanks to an active torsion system combined with a complex control system. Its wings each consist of a two-part arm wing spar with an axle bearing on the torso. The wings and tail are the only mechanisms creating lift, and Festo engineers had to figure out bird flight in order to do it.

The company explains: “First, the wings beat up and down, whereby a lever mechanism causes the degree of deflection to increase from the torso to the wing tip. Second, the wing twists in such a way that its leading edge is directed upwards during the upward stroke, so that the wing adopts a positive angle of attack.”

The tail acts as an elevator and rudder, stabilizing the bird in straight-line flight and helping it change direction.

Check out a video of the SmartBird in action:

http://www.facebook.com/video/?id=81334776533#!/video/video.php?v=1466732328197

Third Coast Kite and Hobby

Buy Starkites at Third Coast Kite and Hobby

ExA 2011- Power and Performance
Sizes Available: 7-9-11-13

The 2011 ExA, Starkites hybrid model is designed and built for one purpose, top notch freestyle performance. It is intended for demanding riders looking for big/lofty jumps, high powered tricks and mega loops.

Now on its third R and D year, we specifically focused on dynamic stability control.

This enables the ExA’s potential to be fully exploited at high winds, enhances safety at the extremes, and steering comfort in order to stay focused on the actual trick instead of the kite. Keeping our competition riders in mind, we have maximized upwind ability in order for them to throw more tricks during their heats.

The ExA comes in one-pump system and reinforcements at the leading and Trailing edges.

With its huge wind range, heavy duty construction, and ease-of-use, this kite stays at the top of the charts.

Technologies

Starkites R&D team has devoted a large amount of time to testing and improving each detail of ExA 2011. The result is amazing … See for yourself!

As with all the Starkites products, the ExA has been developed using state of the art technology and our specialized know-how to make this kite a market leader.

The Auto Morphing Profile enables a dual action:

1. Auto-stabilisation of the kite when it is located at the edge of wind window in gusty winds.

2. Double De-power allowing the kite to flatten the center profile in addition to reducing the angle of attack when sheeting out.

In more technical terms, the ExA s Central Strut Curve Curve is inverted and linked to the canopy by a fabric wall. This feature prevents the kites stalling in gusty winds and also increases the effect of sheeting in and out. Kites with standard struts change the angle of attack when the rider sheets in or out. The ExA changes both the center profile shape and the angle of attack which all leads to better de-power capacity using smaller movements on the bar.

The bridle system is key to a kites’ performance. With the ExA, we focused on developing the Dual Bridle System

This bridle system will always keep the kite arch in the same shape and ensure power transmission to be complete. The bridle does not absorb or lose force, which makes you get a real and direct response from your kite.

In the Dual System, the central bridle keeps the leading edge in a constant perfect shape, and the lateral bridle gives direct power transmission while maintaining the best kite balance according to the kite s center of power.

ICE technlogy stands for Inner Curved leading Edge.

The leading edge shape ensures minimal contact with water when the kite is on the water. It also guarantees a fast and easy re-launch.

Just power-up and pull one of the leader lines a few centimeters and it will re-launch the kite. No more swimming needed!

This is the same technology as developed for Starkites SBOW kite, a renowned model for its amazing re-launch capabilities.

Central Inflation

The ExA 2011 is available in with Central Inflation – we have the simplest and strongest system on the market, easy for repair and simple to use.

High Strength Structure

The ExA’s high strength structure creates a very reactive kite thanks to its hybrid radial construction : 1/3 bi-radial and 2/3 tri-radial.

Fabric fibers are orientated in the same exact direction as the power is distributed from, which creates a strong and stiff structure that results in minimum energy loss, increased reactivity, easier control and increased wind range.

Third Coast Kites

Kite / Wind Powered Car Crosses Australia

Cruising along in a car of their own design--part kite surfer, part wind power turbine, part EV--a German duo has driven across the vast majority of southern Australia on about $15 worth of electricity. According to their own account they’ve set several records for their particular class of vehicle in doing so, and we’re inclined to believe them if only for the fact that we’ve never seen anything else quite like the “Wind Explorer.”

Like many eco-minded innovators before them, Dirk Gion and Stefan Simmerer wanted to create an emissions-free source of personal transit, one free of both direct carbon emissions and secondary emissions from consuming fossil-fuel derived electricity. So they built the Wind Explorer, a 441-pound auto that transports its own wind turbine--a 20-foot bamboo mast that can be fitted with a 9-foot-diameter rotor--for charging the 8 kWh batteries during the night.

But that’s not the only sense in which the car is wind-powered; with the right crosswinds, the passenger can deploy a parachute-like kite (similar to those used by kite surfers) to provide added thrust for the car.

It’s important to note that the Wind Explorer’s journey from Albany in southwestern Australia to Sydney in the east wasn’t entirely unplugged. During early technical adjustments and fine-tuning of their equipment the team plugged into the grid from time to time, as they did during Cyclone Yasi when they couldn’t erect their wind turbine due to the weather.

But their point was never to prove that they could cross a continent with a zero-total carbon footprint, but rather to show that there are different ways to think about automobile travel outside of the existing paradigm. And they’ve certainly succeeded at that. Have you ever seen a kite-surfing, turbine-toting, electric vehicle before?

Third Coast Kite and Hobby