Team kites
ma...@mss.tzo.com
folks recommend for team kites available in the USA? I have the
following requirements:
- stable and straight tracking, no twitchiness.
- not too fast.
- should appear to be big in the sky.
- capable of basic tricks
- available in ultralight, regular, and heavy wind versions. Each
version should fly similarly to the other kites.
- the cheaper the better.
- still available.
I realize that team kites aren't that popular since most flyers who
aren't into traction enjoy flying tricks.
Thanks.
--
Marty Sasaki ma...@mss.tzo.com
Arlington, Massachusetts USA
WT
(all you long time team fliers know him) of Cutting Edge Kites has been
great about connecting us up with demos, and owners of various kites he
thinks qualify.
6th Sense opinions,
Tramontana 2001 - (Our current kite) good value on the standard version.
Vented is the best we have flown. HP frame makes an even better standard but
the price goes up. Trickable, excellent tracking, great stalls, vented and
std fly very much the same. Downside is no UL version. We fly Vapors for
SULs, and really missed not having a UL for the lumpy winds during a demo at
Billings this year. The older versions of this kite are good but tip wraps
are deadly when you get one.
Jon Trennepohl's new "Profile" should be good. Doesn't trick quite as well,
better speed control. The Premier Kites version will make a low price
standard version, but you would need to have UL, and Vented versions made by
Jon at Skyburner.
Styx by Cavaliers du Ciel is a good choice since all three versions are
available from the same source. The price isn't cheap, but not outrageous
for team kites either. The Shiva is a smaller version.
The Killer Bee maybe what all trickable, team kites want to be. You will pay
a higher price for these kites though.
The Mamba by Blue Moon Kites only has one version so far, but looks to be
the kite 6th Sense maybe seen flying this summer. When the wind is right.
High Level by Level One is very capable kite also. Hopefully the new
distributor can make this a readily available kite in all three versions for
team fliers. It could be a good value.
All these kites fly differently, so the best thing you can do is find some
to try. There are alot more kites that could be used, these strike me as the
best I have tried, so far 8^)
WT
<ma...@mss.tzo.com> wrote in message
news:hmK18.5615$Ln2.2...@typhoon.ne.mediaone.net...
Mike Emery
> folks recommend for team kites available in the USA?
Not USA but FYI this is what was "happening" in Europe last season from what
I saw:
L'Atelier Lithium
Carl Robertshaw Matrix
Blackbird Blackbird #1 (EuroCup winners' kite)
If backed into a corner and interrogated at length *I* would chose the
Lithium for team flying (as someone who doesn't fly teams). Sorry about the
"cheap" bit :-)
It will be interesting to see what the US and Japanese teams turn up with in
Berck-sur-Mer this coming April.
Mike.
WT
WT
"Mike Emery" <michae...@stack.inet.fi> wrote in message
news:n8M18.1$sq4...@read2.inet.fi...
ma...@mss.tzo.com
> Forgot about the Matrix. Great kite, but pricey also.
I've got a Matrix in my bag and like it a lot. Wish I could fly it
like the Robertshaws. Unfortunately, it isn't made anymore, at least
it's not available in the USA. It was, as you say, also a bit pricey.
ma...@mss.tzo.com
> L'Atelier Lithium
I have a Lithium in my bag. Very nice kite. As far as I know, it's
unavailable in the USA. Buying from a shop in Europe is expensive with
duty and shipping (and they need to make some money on the deal as
well).
> Carl Robertshaw Matrix
> Blackbird Blackbird #1 (EuroCup winners' kite)
Haven't seen these in the USA. What are they like?
Bert Tanaka
team kite
but also an outstanding individual performer. A joy to fly.
-Bert Tanaka
Mike Emery
news:hVM18.25310$zX1.13...@typhoon.ne.mediaone.net...
> I've got a Matrix in my bag and like it a lot. Wish I could fly it
> like the Robertshaws. Unfortunately, it isn't made anymore, at least
> it's not available in the USA. It was, as you say, also a bit pricey.
Now made under licence by His Carlness in even more versions.
www.kitestudio.com
Latest SkyShark frame also. I've got one of 4 silver versions he made for
EuroCup 2001.
Mike.
Mike Emery
news:P5N18.25313$zX1.13...@typhoon.ne.mediaone.net...
> > Blackbird Blackbird #1 (EuroCup winners' kite)
>
> Haven't seen these in the USA. What are they like?
Old. Very, very old. :-)
Been around since the early Nineties. Straight LEs, square nose, winglets,
noisy. I am not even sure if they are commercially available any more. Once
used by Lung Ta and currently by Overdrive. A couple of EuroCup wins and an
armful of French championships. Well suited to "old school" team flying.
Review by Jeremy Boyce (Airkraft) from Kite Passion
http://www.kites.org/jo/reviews/blackbird1review.html
See Overdrive in action (briefly)
http://www.alphabyte.co.uk/ec2001/images/ec2001.mpg
Mike.
Paul May
we flew the Matrix for two years in competition and liked it very much.
But after all it takes time to get used to this kite. The Matrix is not
easy to fly, but someday, when you know it really, it gives you everything
a team or individual could want from a kite. Even the backspin is not a
great problem with Andy Preston's masterpiece. ;-) Unfortunately Flexifoil
does not produce this kite any more, but Carl Robertshaw
(www.kitestudio.com) is now making them under license. They selln for 165
UKP as far as I recall.
Meanwhile we fly Lithiums of L'Atelier (France). When I tried this kite
for the first time I immediately fell in love with it. Kathy Jarvis, STACK
UK's Chairwoman and former command-woman of team Punchline, expressed it
that way: "Flying this kite for the first time gives you a whow-moment!"
The Lithium is precise, good to control in it's speed and that does nearly
every trick with ease, so that even the individual pilot can enjoy this
kite. Maybe the Lithium is hard to get in the USA and it surely is not
cheap but it is worth every dollar, euro ... A wonderful kite (pics at our
team's website; url below)
Cheaper and also a good kite is HQ's Tramontana 2001. It is available in a
standard and a vented version, but it shouldn't be any problem to reframe
a standard to an UL kite. I wrote a review of this kite (as on the Matrix,
Lithium and very many other kites) for the german magazine "KITE &
friends" (www.kite-friends.de) two years ago and was quite impressed of
it. It tracks very well, corners are crisp, circles really round, tricks
are not too hard to execute - a really good kite, that needs very large
arm motions and likes an agressive pilot. I reframed my Tramontana 2001
with Avia SuperSkinnies (leading edges) and G-Force ULs (lower spreaders).
This really improves this kite's flying characteristics dramatically.
A nice and very, very good alternative to all these kites mentioned above
is Jonas Seitz's SKYMAX. This kite is developed by the german master-class
champ and x-time pairs-champ (pair "Up 2 the Sky") Jonas Seitz. It was
flown by team "Abflug" (http://studhome.rrze.uni-erlangen.de/~spmafist/)
for the last 3 or 4 years and is an excellent choice for any team.
"Abflug" came in first during the last three years of the german "kite
challenge tour", that means they were the best german team during the last
years. Too bad they meanwhile split...
But now the clou: a plan of the Skymax was published in the german
magazine "Sport & Design Drachen" - so you can build it yourself! This
should be the cheapest way to get a very good team kite. If you'd like to
get the plan, please e-mail me directly so I can scan the plan for you. If
you need help with the translation of the plan just contact me. Perhaps
even Jonas might help. I can ask him if it becomes necessary.
If I were you I'd go for the Lithium or, if this kite is too expensive,
for the Skymax.
Ciao!
Paul
(Team Cloud Nine)
___________________________________
come on and visit our team-page:
http://www.cloudnine.de
and also have a look at our sponsor's site:
http://www.chill-out.org
<ma...@mss.tzo.com> schrieb in im Newsbeitrag:
hmK18.5615$Ln2.2...@typhoon.ne.mediaone.net...
Michael Stegherr
> If I were you I'd go for the Lithium or, if this kite is too expensive,
> for the Skymax.
Hallo Paul,
... thank your for this great overview about teamkites! But you didn't
mention another popular german teamkite - the V-Max for Level One.
Please could you say some words about this kite, too?
--
Viele Grüße
Michael
_____________________________________
Michael Stegherr's Drachenseiten:
http://drachen.sport-aktiv.de
_____________________________________
Paul May
> ... thank your for this great overview about teamkites! But you didn't
> mention another popular german teamkite - the V-Max for Level One.
> Please could you say some words about this kite, too?
oh yes, I forgot the V-Max and the Masque and maybe some other kites. The
V-Max is a good kite but it does not fit our team's style of flying. It is
tricky (but not more than the others), tracks and corners well and has
less pull than the Lithium and the Matrix. The arm movements should also
be smaller than for the other team kites.
Another fantastic, but a little bit old fashioned looking kite is
L'Atelier's Masque. This kite is very noisy (something I personally like
for team flying), tracks, corners and tricks excellent, and I really don't
know whether I 'd take the Lithium or the Masque if our team had to decide
between them right now. But as it seems this kite's not available in the
US at the moment. ;-) So why talk about them and make the boys over there
appetite.
Joe_Ludwig
Marty,
For a team kite I can't think of a better kite than the
Aerostar Pulsar. I have the pro version and its probably
my favorite dual line kite to fly. If I had more time
available I would get a team together flying these. Its
custom made in Pittsburgh, PA so its USA built.
Later
Joe_L
Posted from the Rec.Kites Archive at http://www.ikite.com - I Kite, Therefore I Am
ma...@mss.tzo.com
generated. Thanks for the suggestions and advice. I'll check out those
kites I can get ahold of here in the USA.
Paul, thanks for the offer of a plan, but I really don't want to get
into building my own kites. I used to fly on a team, Storm Front, and
made all of the kites, which was a real bother. I used to make the
Katana line of kites and do have a prototype for what would be an
excellant team kite (by my definition of course). Maybe I should try
to find someone to manufacture the kites for me... ;-)
Paul May
> made all of the kites, which was a real bother. I used to make the
> Katana line of kites and do have a prototype for what would be an
> excellant team kite (by my definition of course). Maybe I should try
> to find someone to manufacture the kites for me... ;-)
I remember the Katanas and that's why I thought it would be a good idea to
sew your own kites.
Cutting Edge Kites
available in the USA, and is available in vented, standard, and UL.
Jim Barber
Team Cutting Edge
--
The Wind Is Out There...Experience It!
Jim & Monica Barber
1-800-379-3109 for orders only
1-360-289-0667
http://www.cuttingedgekites.com
Michel
available in the USA, and is available in vented, standard, and UL.
Jim Barber
Team Cutting Edge
Hi all !
More info about this high-tech team kite here :
http://perso.club-internet.fr/ajouny/ (Rialto's designer Alain Jouny)
http://www.cavaliersduciel.com/
ken mcneill
me there may be a North American distributor for this fine range of kites on
the horizon! More info as it comes!
--
Ken McNeill
http://www.bluemoonkites.com
"Paul May" <p....@nefkom.net> wrote in message
news:3c485ea2$1...@news.nefonline.de...
Martin J Harris
For my 2 cents / euros etc, I and about 15 other very lucky
people on this planet fly a kite called an Acara built by
Ian Newham in the UK - this kite was designed for team
flying and performs outstandingly well. I am ddoubly
privelaged to fly my Acara with Ian and Jim White (when not
woodworking) most Saturdays.
Ian's web site isn www.ian.ourshack.org/
cheers - Martin