Ivanpah Dry Lake sits just accross the border from the three casinos in Primm, NV which are visible from the staging area three miles away. | Buggytown takes shape on the eastern edge of Ivanpah with pits and launching area out front. |
The early half of many days were spent lounging in the pits with buggies as lounge chairs, waiting for wind. | Vicitmized by another "sucker wind", kites drop to the playa while pilots wait for the next puff. Even the Blokarts stand still. |
Mark Groshens of Ontario launches his Peter Lynn Phantom. The Canadians brought a lot of Peter Lynn Twinskin ARCs and they did real well in the gusty winds on the playa. | Mark's Phantom is fully infalated and takes to the air. |
Mark checks the rig on his de-pwer bar... | ...and he's off accross the lake. |
"Ziggy" Racek of Ontario takes off in his Phantom. He later passed me going 40 mph...backwards! | Ziggy's Phantom (background) and a PL Scorpion (foreground) fill the gusty sky. |
Susan Orgeron's dog Beau waits patiently for a ride in his custom buggy seat. | Susan (NPW Godess) prepares to launch her NPW (NASA Power Wing) while Beau settles in. |
Susan takes off while Beau settles in for nap on her shoulder. | AJ tools around in the light but gusty wind with an NPW, flying on bridles alone. |
Drew Parker of Orlando, Fl (and NABX Staff volunteer) gets ready to launch his Scorpion for a buggy session. | The Scorpion is launched and ready. |
In the buggy and ready to go. I guess helmets don't go well with mowhawks! | Drew takes off accross the dry lake bed for a session. |
Brent and Melissa Sutherland picked up a used buggy and tandem hitch at NABX to add to the back of Brent's homebuilt buggy. | Brent's buggy sports full suspension and makes a great towing bug for Melissa's new ride. |
The Sutherlands try the Rage 3.5 with the Tandem. | This time with the Peter Lynn reactor 2.2 in a stiff breeze. |
Ripsession Kites was showing off the new U-turn Nitro Evo II. With and aspect ratio of 5.4, the kite looked bigger than a 3.1 sq. meter. | Ricardo takes off with the Nitro Evo II in his custom Apexx buggy. He quickly hit 45 mph, showing again that small kites can pack a punch in the right conditions. |
A Montana 3 by HQ Kites takes a buggy accross the dry lake on a perfect afternoon breeze. | Close-up of the new Montana 3 sail, sporting refined mixer system; new, lighter water resistant fabric and improved overall stability . |
Tim Baxmeyer of HQ Kites, USA flies the new Scout, featuring a cross-over bar for faster turning. | Close-up of the Scout 5 meter. The Scout replaces the venerable Beamer TSR series of kites. |
Tim trades down to the 3m Scout in stiffer winds. | Getting ready for a camera fly-by in the bug. |
Chip Brown's buggy with custom leather seat. Chip is a blacksmith, leather worker and artist. | Close-up of chips's tooled seat with kite buggy motif. |
Hearty Canadian Norm Perreault of Ontario doesn't mind ice cold cooler water for a quick bath to rinse off the playa dust. | The author takes a quick spin on Brent's clown bike during some down time. It's harder than it looks! |
Fueld by thermals, a dust devil forms on the lake. | The Devil builds... |
...and rolls into Buggytown... | ...then dissapates just as fast. |
Late afternoons typically brought smoother winds, when kites filled the sky. | Sunset on the playa and kites are still flying in the gentle breezes. |
Flexifoil Team Rider"Stupid Dave" Roberts launches his beefed up Flexifoil buggy off the ramp... | ...and gets some serious air! |
The "Dirty Buffet" gang at the Banquet. Clockwise from left: Mark, Paul, Norm, Jim, Ian, Melissa and Brent. | Flexifoil Team Riders Will Mckean and Dave Roberts accept the award for the smoothest moves. |