Kite Designers Must Cry

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[chilese]

I have owned and been disappointed by several kites.

What these kites have in common is that they were designed by one person

and built to a low price point by a licensing company. So the designer gets

some money and watches as a well intentioned kite is lowered in quality by

material and parts compromises to meet a companie's idea of where the kite

should sell.

Diablo AFTER the rights were sold by Ken McNeill.
  (after much standoff modifications, the kite at least flew
     without falling apart)

Paper Airplane (designed by Robert Brasington)
  (with cheap sail, stitching and no reinforcement, this one sits useless
    in the closet after 1 moderate nose plant totally removed the rear
    spine pocket and mostly ripped the spine guide pockets)

Jam Session Classic
  (connector material so porous the rods poked through after gentle use)

I want to like these kites, but building to a price point is killing off the desire
  of many new fliers who have spent what they consider a lot of money for
  a kite that only flew a few times.

Sorry, just had to whine after looking at that Airplane kite again.

[tcope]

Well, who do you blame if the designer allows their kites to be made in this fashion?

Part of the problem is that some designers/sellers don't have a lot of control over how the kites are made. Many are made in factories located in china that make kites for a lot of different people. They may do things like skimp on the material or workmanship after the deal is made as this is just how they operate.

I remember having conversations with Dodd when he was at New Tech and this had always been an ongoing issue. I know Gomberg goes through the same thing.

[madhabitz]

They are not all bad though. Sometimes it's a very good deal.

[Tmadz]

I have the paper airplane. It is an extremely stable flier and it wants to jump out of my hand as soon as it senses the wind, but I am losing the stitching on the spine guide sleeve as well. I am thinking of getting poly line and reinforcing the stitching by hand

 I have two other kites of Roberts design by New Tech. One I am very happy with the build, but the price point was much higher. The other I got for cheap, but the spines and spars are so flimsy they whip in any kind of wind and to make it worse, there is a 4in tube to attach to it that is so heavy for the size of the kite it could never get off the ground. The tube is worth more than the kite.

Unfortunately, on my ghost pyro the loops that were stitched at the end of the tails whipped off in high wind and the ends are now starting to fray. I need to figure out how to stop that because it is my new favorite.

[tpatter]

It's like anything else.....

If I can; I always hire a plumber, electrician, lawn person, roof cleaner, house cleaner, kite builder!, etc that I either know or personally know someone who knows them.

Why?  Because, while they are of course making a living, they also care about what I or my friends think about them and that can make all the difference.

The more local, the better.  Some customer service representative in Philadelphia working his 9-5 could care less if I saw the latest  episode of 'The Boss' or not - he's too busy helping other customers spend more money to worry about the few that are not happy with their purchase.

You may pay more (although certainly not always), but you are almost always better off when the unexpected happens.

Seems like the kiter who is going to fly a kite more than 2-4 times per year is a bit of a rarity in the global scheme of things.  It's about as often as I use my treadmill! 

[thief]

Who is to say that the designer has ANY say about how the kite finally is produced...........

[ae]

Well, i know for a fact that Level One Razorback and the new Balor power kite are produced to be true to the designers specifications.
Spacekites are also made like the designer wants them, since the designer is also the owner and makes them.

[Wayner]

Well, i know for a fact that Level One Razorback and the new Balor power kite are produced to be true to the designers specifications.


.........  since the designer is also the owner and makes them.

True quality control. 

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