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Originally Posted by Skyway Scott
.....You are in the middle of nowhere (kiting wise), so...you can't exactly get other kiters banned!! I say go for it man! Let us know how it goes, Patrick. |
"Kiting wise", and all together, really!
I'll definitely keep you up to date. It seems like I've heard about kiter "black-balling" more than a few times now. I'm guessing that's a big issue back in the States' and, I would imagine, the rest of the civilized world.?. What's the biggest problem?
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What wind speed do you encounter most often?
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That's the nice part about being a pilot. I have the best seat in the house to check out conditions. The other benefit is that you always have your finger on the pulse of the most current weather. I have access to the lastest, greatest weather equipment and information.
In the past I spent a lot of time looking out the window as we were making our final approach into certain destinations, looking for good surf spots.
These days, I'm looking for wind strength and direction and nice open areas to go kiting.
The trend that I've noticed here, is that, consistently, every afternoon during the warm season (...about Mar-Oct
) you can count on a 10-15kt onshore breeze. The combination of the desert heat and cooler Persian Gulf water means that there is a consistent seabreeze effect most of the year.
During the heart of the summer we also have sand storms once or twice a week (15-30kts+). The idea of going out during a sandstorm probably sounds a little whack'd but the dust here is about the consistency of talcum powder. People go about their daily routine during the sand storms, like any other day. You
do have to get used to, on occasion, that feeling of grit in your mouth during the
real bad days.
I'm actually looking forward to getting to the level where I can go out during one!
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Is it hard to get stuff out there (tax wise)?
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...not exactly sure I understand... Do you mean import tax? If so, no.
Taxes aren't a problem. (There aren't any.) There's actually a little bit of a cash glut here (Did you really think you were paying $3/gal because the fuel was actually becoming more expensive to produce? ). So, at this point, their cash cow is making enough so that they're not getting creative with taxes.......yet.
That's one of the only "up's" to this gig (makes for a great paycheck). The way that I usually purchase big items is via EBay (EBay’s taking over the world!). Then I have my wife FedEx it to me (and FedEx is helping them). The only downside to this process is the fact that; the idea of a mail system and street addresses hasn't quite caught on here in the ME. It can be a real cr@p-shoot. (usually 60-70% odds for success)
While on the subject of wind strength and cr@pshoots; at 185#, what's the smallest kite I can realistically use (with regard to the previously mentioned LEI that I'm considering)?
Patrick