It gives me great pleasure to announce the WORLD KITE BUGGY SPEED RECORD has been broken on the 6th March 2012, by the Peter Lynn Freestyle rider from the USA, Mr Brian Holgate, he was using the PL Speed Buggy, and a 2.7m PL Vapor kite.
Everthing HAS been checked and confirmed including the track log, this record is officially official, fantastic effort
Here is Brian’s Post on Facebook before he went..
Going out to set the new land speed record for a buggy tomorrow. Expecting to hit 90mph. Checked the forecast and NOAA says gusts to 55 mph and Weather Channel says gusts to 60 – 70 mph. Should have no problem reaching my goal! — with Peterlynn Kites and Johnny Sanchez Losada at Ivanpah Dry Lake Bed.
What fantastic news, I find it very fitting that Peter Lynn, have produced the tools for Brian to get the New World Record, if it wasn’t for Peter Lynn, none of us would be here, and now all this time later, they (Company) are still at the cutting edge.
So here is the update.
I DID IT!!! Got there and the winds were going from 15-30mph sustained with gusts to 50mph. Decided to wait it out for a while. Once the wind steadied out I got the kite out and hooked up the 500kg lines with my freestyle handles with a shortened leash to the 2.7 Vapor that I borrowed from BB. Went over to the buggy to get everything ready and realized I left my harness at home. So you can guess by now that I also left the spreader bar….YIKES! So after I got done crying, , I called Beamer Bob and asked for his since he lives very close to the edge of town. He agreed to let me use it so off I was.
Once I returned to the dry lake the winds were perfect. They were sustained at 35-40 with gusts to 55mph. We quickly hooked up the spreader bar and pulled the kite back out. When Johnny was helping me to launch the kite the wind was blowing it all over the place. The bridles kept getting tangles, it was actually quite stressful. We were finally able to launch the kite from the side of the wind window. The first time we launched it, we did so without being harnessed in. So as soon as the kite went up I was sent dancing across the playa! Johnny had to run over and hold me down in order to hold the kite down and walk back up wind. Now that I knew the kite was in working order(since it was my first time flying this specific kite) I decided it was time to harness in and go. Didn’t want to harness in till I knew the kite was right. I sat in the buggy and we launched the kite with it secured to the spreader bar and off I went. At first I was cutting almost straight up wind. Went out to the middle of the lake and let it go. Turned the buggy down wind and it accelerated quicker than I have felt in a car. The winds were almost straight west so I thought I would be able to go the length of the dry lake. However there was so much power that I was sliding around at a high speed. Tried to tack back up wind with no prevail.
So here I am barreling toward the brush, on the edge of Ivanpah, at a high rate of speed. I decided there was no saving the run and I would have to let the kite go. I turned downwind a little and tried to pull the leash out of the spreader bar but the kite was loaded with so much power that it wasn’t budging. After about 4 tries to free the leash I turned straight downwind and gave it one last pull and out it came. Let the kite go and turned away from the brush that was now only about 100 yards away. I turned away into the small rocks that run the length of the lake right next to the brush. It was like marbles…I slid a little in the rocks and hit the brakes. Must have slid about 500 feet before it finally stopped. At this point I didn’t think I broke the record but I knew it was a personal best for sure. When I got out and looked at the GPS’s they said 84.0, 84.1, and 84.4 mph!!!!! This all happened within 2 miles. I had just left the camp. Johnny rushed over in his truck to check on me and when he got there I was jumping and screaming. I ripped off all 3 gps and brought them over to Johnny Losada and Steve the Land Sailor Guy(Sorry Steve, don’t know your last name).
Not sure what I have to do to make this official but doing it again is no problem. I could have gone faster if I would have went all the way to the freeway and started my run from there.
Many thanks goes out to Johnny and Steve for being kite monkeys! Thank you Craig Hansen and Gavin Mulvay at Peter Lynn Kites in New Zealand for allowing me to run their buggy. Thanks to Michel Dekker for making this incredible kite. And Most of all thank you Bobby Muse for letting me borrow you 2.7m Vapor, GPS Units, and spreader bar.
The best thing was I had no idea I was going that fast. I love this PL Speed Buggy and can’t wait to go out again!
Brian Holgate! Cheers
84.10mph
Anyone wanting to attempt the World Record, please follow the following criteria
WORLD RECORD ATTEMPT RULES
RULES For “World Record” Attempts
The following criteria has to be met to be classed “official” amongst the Kite buggying fraternity, nobody especially the existing record holder wants any mistakes made, so in the interest of safety, accuracy, accountability, and to remove any doubt what so ever, the following criteria is asked for when submitting a World Record
1. Two dedicated GPS units minimum (Three is better) and MUST be attached to the buggy not the pilot.
(a) When two GPS units are used, the lower reading of the two will be the reading recorded. If one unit fails, and only one unit is working the record WILL NOT be recognised.
(b) When three GPS units are used the middle reading of the three is the one recorded. If one unit fails, the lower of the two units is the one recorded
(c) Dedicated GPS units must be used; a mobile phone is NOT a dedicated GPS unit.
2. Track/data logs from at least one of the GPS units MUST be sent to popeyethewelder@gmail.com for viewing verifying and recording (make sure your GPS allows this)
3. At least one responsible witness must be present the whole time, for safety reasons we would prefer two, these will play a crucial role.
(a) Witnesses will have checked/reset/zeroed GPS units prior to the buggy moving by one of the named responsible witness (two witnesses are preferred for safety reasons)
(b) Witnesses can also take video footage, most people have this facility on their mobile phones nowadays, or use dedicated video products. A video of the record attempt returning to buggy camp and showing the GPS units data on the buggy as soon as the Buggy has stopped moving is highly desirable.
(c) Witnesses can also take photographs of the record attempt, and take photos of the GPS data.
4. On-board video footage is not only great to watch; it will greatly help the verification process and is advised, a video proves you were at least in a kite buggy in the conditions you describe in your write up, rather than driving in or on a motor powered at a lake bed or beach.
(a) Having a camera showing the live GPS data on the buggy is highly desirable.
If some of the data above is not submitted, it is purely at the record keepers discretion if the submitted record is valid or not, the attempted record will be investigated and discussed and decided upon by a selected committee, to determine if the record will remain valid or not. It is highly recommended you follow the above criteria to avoid this.
For submitting a World Record, for Kite buggy speed, Ice Buggy Top Speed and Team and Solo 24hr attempts. Please send the data to Contact
19/03/2012 Contact here
