From: e_splett@trofs.enet.dec.com (Evan Splett - Ottawa, Canada)
Subject: repost of Reviews FAQ
Organisation: Digital Equipment of Canada - Ottawa
Organization: Digital Equipment Corp.
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1992 15:44:07 GMT



-----------------------------------------------------------------
From: kyoder@lamar.ColoState.EDU (Kenneth Yoder)
Subject: Stunt Kite Review

NOTE - This is the second posting.  To avoid any confusion, this 
is NOT the original FAQ associated with this group.  That is
awaiting revisions and will be posted when it is ready.  This is
an ADDITIONAL posting trying to address questions about individual
kites.  My appoligies to anyone confused by my original title.

I also know I have left out many kites!!!  I will include them as
I get comments on them.  If you can fill in any of the "blank"
areas I would appreciate a note.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Stunt Kite Reviews

One of the most frequently asked questions is "What should I
buy..." or "What do people think about kite XYZ..."  This posting
is an attempt to answer some of those questions.

Section 1 answers the question of "what kite do I buy to learn
on".  Anyone who wishes to add something there with their name
one it, please send me a note.  

Following that is Section 2 containing reviews and comments about
many different types of stunt kites.  The name of the reviewers
follow their comments.  If you wish to add some comments, reply
to:  kyoder@lamar.colostate.edu

Hope this helps!

Section 1 - Comments to beginners

"I would recommend that a person buys a larger delta kite in the
$75 to $200 range depending on their budget.  Smaller kites take
more wind, move quicker, and are more sensitive - all of which
makes them hard kites to learn on.  A slow moving, precise kite
like the Hawaiian Team is a good choice.  If you buy a kite at
the top end of your budget, I think you will find that it will
take you longer to "outgrow" it. 

If money is an issue, I would buy a Trlby, Peter Powell
diamond, or a Dynakite.  They are easy to learn on and very 
inexpensive.  You can stack them and put on quite a show.  You
will need someone to help you launch them at first however.

Whatever kite you buy, it is best if you can get someone who has
experience to help you at first.  If that isn't possible, try to
pick a day with a medium wind (10-15 mph).  Too many people have
become frustrated by trying to learn in light winds." - Ken Yoder


Section 2 - Reviews

The following codes are used to identify the "type" of stunt
kite.  For example, Hawaiian Team (BIP) would mean the Team could
be considered for Beginners, Intermediate, and/or Power flyers.

Note:  Kites may have multiple identifiers.

     Beginner       B
     Intermediate   I
     Advanced       A
     Power          P
     Speed          S
     Ultralight     U
     Radical        R
     Quadline       Q
     Team           T
     Ballet         Ba
     Precision      Pr

Price codes (suggested retail price) are as follows -

     $    under $50
     $$   $50-$100
     $$$  $100-$200
     $$$$ $200-$300
     $$$$ over $300


Comments by kite in alphabetical order -

Flash Angel (I,T,P,Pr) $$$$
  Manufacturer:  Rare Air Kite Company, imported by Air Circus
  Materials:  Carrington sail, Beman 6.3mm "Strong" graphite 
  Reviews:
  "An extremely smooth, quiet, precise, slow kite.  Screened
  vents on the leading edge and wing tips, and a vented keel
  make this kite extremely smooth, even through gusts.  A great
  kite for precision team flying, but be prepared for a bit of
  pull.  This kite feels like an updated high-tech version of
  the Hawaiian Team." --Jeff Burka


Flexifoil (I,P) $$$-$$$$$(price varies with size)
  Manufacturer: Flexifoil International
  Materials: Fiberglass spar
  Reviews:
  "Pulls hard, moves fast but has a big turning radius.  You
  must think ahead when flying a flex." - Ken Yoder

Flexifoil Hot Shot (I,S) $$
  Manufacturer: Flexifoil International
  Materials: Fiberglass spar
  Reviews:
  "Smallest Flexifoil available with a 4 foot wingspan.  In high
  winds on short lines this kite is a blast to fly with tight
  turns and high forward speed.  Needs lots of wind to fly well
  with standard spar.  Ultralight spar is available and makes
  this a moderate wind kite." - Marty Sasaki

Hawaiian Spin-Off (I) $$$
  Manufacturer: Top of the Line Kites
  Materials: Fiberglass spars
  Reviews:
  "Faster than the Team with a smaller turning radius." - Ken
  Yoder 

  "The kite that other kites are compared to.  One of the most
  poular stunt kites of all time.  In New England, most flyers
  have one in their bags, so this is a good kite for impromptu
  team flying." - Marty Sasaki

Hawaiian Team (B,I,P,T) $$$
  Manufacturer: Top of the Line Kites
  Materials: Fiberglass spars
  Reviews:
  "Great for precision flying.  It's slow speed and precise
  turns are also good for a beginner.  It tends to pull hard
  however, so it is not for a young person." - Ken Yoder

  "As it's name would imply, excellant for team flying." - Marty
  Sasaki

Jabberwocky (A,R,U) $$$$
  Manufacturer: Bob Childs
  Materials: Carrington Ripstop, Advantage graphite spars
  Reviews:
  "Light weight, flys well in light wind.  The Jabberwocky is
  capable of both radical tricks and smooth straight line
  flight.  Workmanship is excellant." - Marty Sasaki

Katana (A,S,R) $$$$
  Manufacturer: Sasaki Kites
  Materials: Beman Graphite
  Reviews:
  "Also known as the MDM-6.  Kite was designed for individual
  ballet and has tunable oversteer.  Spins fast.  Does tricks. 
  Flyers with Katanas have done well in Eastern League
  competition." - Marty Sasaki

Mirage (I) $$ (price depends on the options)
  Manufacturer: Jones Airfoils
  Materials: Fiberglass spar
  Reviews:
  "These track incredibly straight, turn incredibly tightly, and
  even make a good ballet kite because they have a wonderful
  personality (the only problem is that it's very tough to do
  any groundwork with them).  And all of this is for a stack of
  3 kites!  Jones has a number of different options on his
  kites.  You can buy them in 1, 3, or 6 kite stacks. 
  Single-piece sails with fiberglass frames are only $100 for 3
  kites." - Jeff Burka

NBK (R,U) $$$
  Manufacturer: Skyward Kites
  Materials: AFC graphite
  Reviews:
  - None at this time -

North Shore Extreme (I,S,R) $$$
  Manufacturer:  Top of the Line
  Materials:  3/4 oz ripstop, AFC graphite
  Reviews:
  "What a great kite for the money!  The Extreme is fast, fun,
  and has a slight radical edge.   Both the bridle and outhaul
  are tunable.  Great for stacking and even team flying.  The AFC
  frame is geared for light wind, not strength--try to avoid the
  ground." - Jeff Burka

North Shore Radical (R,U,T) $$$$
  Manufacturer:  Top of the Line Kites
  Materials: carbon aluminum (Easton)
  Reviews:
  "With the NSR you can have a family of kites with very similar
  performance. Use a Kona in light wind, move up to a standard NSR
  for moderate wind, and use the VIP for heavy wind. Personally, I
  like other kites much better than the NSR, but Team High 
  Performance won the World Cup last year flying these kites. 
  Scott Augenbaugh (who won practically everything last year)
  thinks that the NSR is the best kite around." - Marty Sasaki

Phantom (U) $$$$
  Manufacturer: 
  Materials:
  Reviews:
  "As mentioned in another note, the "wonder fabric" is Carrington
  ripstop nylon.  As far as the kite itself goes, Phantoms do fly
  well and have a fairly wide wind range. They are expensive 
  (again in the USA) and are relatively fragile, ie, when you buy 
  a Phantom, buy some replacement sticks at the same time." 
  - Marty Sasaki

Pro (I-A,R,Ba) $$$$
  Manufacturer:  Jordan Air Kites
  Materials:  Carrington sail on Advantage 2-wrap (AFC frame also
  available)
  Reviews:
  "A radical ballet kite with a strongly developed personality.
  Designed with a good bit of oversteer (some can be removed by
  tuning), this kite excels at groundwork, stalls, unusual
  launches, and all around flight.  Sewn with Dean Jordan's usual
  attention to detail, as well as Dean's willingness to do custom
  graphics on order."  - Jeff Burka

Quadrafoil (B,P,Q), $$$
  Manufacturer:  Kite Innovations
  Materials:  3/4 oz ripstop; no spars
  Reviews:
  "Possibly the best kite to learn to fly Quad with.  The
  Quadrafoil is slow and forgiving, and with its soft
  construction, you can neither break it in a crash nor injure
  people or items by hitting them (obviously you still want to
  avoid any such contact).  Beware of the pull--the smallest
  version, the 25, has enough yank to pull the flyer in a fresh
  wind."  - Jeff Burka

Revolution I (R) $$$$ - $220
  Manufacturer: Revolution
  Materials: Advantage graphite
  Reviews:
  "The "original" quad.  It uses a different technique than a
  dual line kite and takes some getting use to.  The propeller
  spins and ground action are great.  Once you get the hang of
  it, it is very easy to land and launch.  People love to see it
  stop in midair and fly backwards.  Needs a fair amount of
  wind." - Ken Yoder

Revolution II (R) $$$ - $129
  Manufacturer: Revolution
  Materials: Advantage graphite
  Reviews:
  "Smaller version of the Rev I.  Needs more wind but is quicker
  and more maneuverable." - Ken Yoder

Scorpion (U) $$$$
  Manufacturer: Flexifoil International
  Materials:
  Reviews:
  "The Scorpion is manufactured by Cobra, who used to import the
  Phantom.  Cobra's official line is that the quality of the
  Phantom's was declining and they couldn't get the quantity
  that was desired. So, Cobra started making the Scorpion.
  I haven't flown the Scorpion enough to form much of an
  opinion, but my gut reaction is that it's a nice enough kite,
  but there are lots of better kites out there, many of them for
  a lot less money." - Marty Sasaki

Skyburner (I,U) ?
  Manufacturer: ?
  Materials: ?
  Reviews:
  "A good low wind kite. The ultra-light version does do well in
  very light wind. The workmanship on the Skyburner is some of
  the best that you will see." - Marty Sasaki

Speedwing (I,S) $$-$$$ (3 versions:  standard, pro, and giant)
  Manufacturer:  Drachendompteur (imported by Air Circus)
  Materials:  Carrington sail, carbon frame (fiberglass on
    "giant")
  Reviews:
  "An interesting kite, the Speedwing has no spine, and only a
  single spreader.  This is a tough kite to break!  Unfor-
  tunately, I am completely unable to recommend the "giant"
  version.  While it is, as advertised, fast and noisy, it also
  has a tremendous amount of vibration that makes it uncom-
  fortable to fly.  I'm told that the smaller versions do not
  have this problem.  With no standoffs, the Speedwing is
  virtually impossible to launch without a stake or assistant,
  and leading edge launches are a dicey proposition.  Once in the
  air, the kite flies nicely, though care must be taken not to
  deflate the sail; stalls are difficult to recover from.  The
  'pro' version has a camber sewn into the leading edge by the
  nose; it is supposed to increase the wind range down to about 2
  mph."  - Jeff Burka

Stinger 1000 (U) $$$
  Manufacturer: ? 
  Materials: ?
  Reviews:
  "The Stinger has decent low wind performance, but swapping out
  the fiberglass for graphite spars will produce a noticeable
  increase in performance." - Marty Sasaki

Team High Fly Graphite (U,T,Pr) $$$$
  Manufacturer: High Fly Kite Co.
  Materials: Carbon/aluminum (Easton)
  Reviews:
  "This really is a team kite. Team kites stress stability and 
  precision.  This kite will not do the tricks that other kites 
  will do, but it will fly a nice straight line, and speed control
  is easy. You can get Team High Fly kites with an ultra-light two
  wrap spar." - Marty Sasaki

Tracer (I,Ba) $$$$ $220
  Manufacturer:  Skyward Kites
  Materials: Graphite or Fiberglass spars
  Review:
  "It's a big kite, with a wing span of over 8' and a height of 4'--there's 
  lots of sail area.  The sail is extremely deep--the stand-offs, at 10.5" 
  from sail to spreader are amongst the longest I've seen on a standard 
  'full-size' kite.  In addition to this, the leading edge is curved, 
  creating a camber.  Finally, the kite makes use of what Skyward is referring 
  to as "active frame tensioning" --instead of the usual bungee in the leading 
  edge, the sail is held taut by a length of spectra sewn into the trailing 
  edge.  This has the dual role of keeping the trailing edge taut (making the 
  kite quite quiet) and keeping the sail tight on the frame.  It actually 
  works quite well.

  I will point out that my kite is not a stock Tracer.  I've removed
  the extraordinarily heavy vinyls and bridle and replaced them with much
  thinner-walled vinyls and 300# Spectra.  I also added rubber bands to each
  end of all 3 spreaders to hold them in place.  I've set the clip about
  1/8" _above_ the half-way point along the main bridle line.  If you buy 
  one with the 2400 frame, consider making the modifications I've suggested 
  above; it's like a completely different kite.

  In terms of performance, the Tracer is somewhere between a precision kite
  and a radical ballet kite.  With a combination punch-pull turn you can
  cut extremely tight angles with great precision.  While it's not really on
  rails, the kite does track pretty well, so groundsweeps look good.  Despite
  all this, the kite has a nice bit of oversteer, and it's a very simple matter
  to dump air from the sail, stalling the kite in a lot of neat positions.  
  This also makes the kite good for groundwork--you can set it down where ever 
  you'd like.  Sometimes it even looks as if the kite is flying on quad lines.
  Belly and leading edge launches are a snap, and the kite is very easy to
  turtle--and recover.  It's a good idea to string some monofilament along the
  trailing edge to keep your lines from wrapping around a tip or the keel." 
  - Jeff Burka

Trlby (B) $
  Manufacturer: Trlby Products
  Materials: Figerglass (solid)
  Reviews:
  "A good, cheap beginners diamond.  Takes a beating and gives
  you the feel for flying a stunt kite.  Trains or stacks of
  three or more with their long tails are a great spectator
  attraction." - Ken Yoder

Ultrawing 96 (U) $$$
  Manufacturer: Skynasurs
  Materials: AFC graphite
  Reviews:
  "A nice ultralight with good precision.  I've only flow one a
  few times, but it handled smoooooth." - Ken Yoder

Ultralight Cheetah (I,U) $$$
  Manufacturer:  Wind Toys
  Materials:  Graphite spars
  Reviews:
  "Very good low wind kite (3mph).  When the wind kicks up to 8-15mph the
  kite gererates good pull and is quite fast.  In addition to the pull and
  speed it is a very noisy kite - a 'feature' I like.  It is a fun kite
  that gets more air time then the rest of my kites." - Al Harrington

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
         Evan Splett
Digital Equipment of Canada Ltd.
phone 819-772-7205  Fax 819-772-7226
  e_splett@kaofs.enet.dec.com
------------------------------------------------------------------------------