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View Full Version : Flying around Lake Havasu



TheCarDudes
02-25-2007, 11:08 AM
I found this photo from last summer. It is my son Michael on the "Manta" behind our Chaparral. In order to get this kind of lift we needed to pull him at almost 55 mph and keep it there for as long as he wanted to fly. Once we kept him there for over a minute. It is one awesome ride. :D
http://www.***boat.com/image_center/data/500/IMG_2853.jpg

Hardly Satisfied
02-25-2007, 11:57 AM
It looks like he was having fun back there

wsuwrhr
02-25-2007, 11:59 AM
55MPH?
Scary.

RVRGIRL
02-25-2007, 12:03 PM
55MPH.. That is crazy. What if he fell off and landed on his head.. I wouldn't let my child do that. He needs a helmet on.... or something....
Just my 2cents.

Not So Fast
02-25-2007, 12:05 PM
It looks like fun but didnt they outlaw these last year because people were dying??????????????? NSF

Wet Dream
02-25-2007, 12:21 PM
No, they outlawed the Kite Tube. Still, at 55, thats nuts with any kind of elevation.

bead
02-25-2007, 01:23 PM
whats the difference bewteen this and a the floating couches they rent out ? there is plenty of 16 year olds driving them things over 55mph.

TheCarDudes
02-25-2007, 02:30 PM
It is pretty hard to "fall off" unless he were to just jump off on purpose. What some people don't realize is that those of you who pull kids or adults on regular tubes and put them into a whip on the outside of a turn, these speeds can reach double or triple that of the boat. This flying manta is much safer in that respect because he is going in a straight line and I control what the tube does with the speed of the boat.
The best conditions are if you can just go straight into a 30 mph or more headwind then the boat only hast to go about 25 to 35 mph to get the lift under the tube.

work2play
02-25-2007, 08:57 PM
Heck it ain't dangerous. I throw my kids out the sunroof at 55 mph on the freeway. It's only dangerous it they hit the asphalt or the car behind them runs over them. All flying towables were outlawed at powell and I think mead also. Looks dangerous to me, best of luck to you.

lil man wayne
02-25-2007, 09:15 PM
Another safety police thread!
What about all the ones who drive their boats at 80 plus right past a floating boat beers up in one hand too no life jackets etc.Oh wait its got the cool factor so its ok.
Gimmie a break hypocrites:confused:

lawbreaker2
02-26-2007, 06:53 AM
Looks like fun to me, So what if you get hurt, I could be sitting in my living room watching tv with the kids and have a car come thew the wall and kill us.
Live for today, and don't worry about tomorrow.:D

2Driver
02-26-2007, 07:20 AM
If I'm not mistaken it wasn't that people were falling off the kite. Rather it was the kites were not aerodynamically stable. The common accident was flipping mid-air and driving the passenger into the water at an accelerated speed. At 55 MPH (which is about twice what the kite is rated for I think) the accelerated speed may reach 80 or 90. At that speed there is a good chance for becoming paralyzed or dying. That was the history of the injuries if I recall.
Life is full of risks. Growing up, our kids all rely on our decision making as to what risks are worth taking. I just got back Sunday from burying a 23 year old young man for risks he thought were worth taking. His Mom and new Bride thought otherwise. Life can be hard to figure out sometimes.

ChumpChange
02-26-2007, 07:49 AM
Then let's ban the Catalina Ski race. Those guys go faster than 55 and fall....sometimes.
Looks like fun. Keep doing it. :D

ratso
02-26-2007, 08:02 AM
You can live life and have fun and take risks... that's how I live mine. Anything you do practically has risks, it's not like they are running 80 mph and slinging him out to the side. A friend of mine was killed practicing on a local motocross track Friday with his son... talk about a devastating blow. Some people like to get out and take risks... others sit in front of their TV and play videos and pretend, and are absolutely horrified seeing a tube packing a little air http://***boat.com/ubb/rolleyes.gif

2Driver
02-26-2007, 08:12 AM
Then let's ban the Catalina Ski race. Those guys go faster than 55 and fall....sometimes.
Looks like fun. Keep doing it. :D
I was providing data about the kite subject and one personal experience. To each his own for sure.
The Catalina ski race is one where the individual assumes the risk for himself. Personal risk taking was not what the others in the thread were debating.

TheCarDudes
02-26-2007, 11:34 AM
Everyone has their own comfort level with risks. Anyone here on the boards who knows me personally know how I am with regard to safety and risks. My family rides desert motocross both 2 wheel and 4 wheel, we go off-roading in the Jeep, and my wife and I sky dive. Like ratso pointed out, we prefer to enjoy life as much as we can. Pulling him straight on a tube instead of flinging him from side to side and totally out of control, this is much safer. I did several rides on this tube myself at many different speeds to test the stability of this tube before I ever thought of putting my son on it.