This is large, surprisingly tricky, well made sport kite.
It comes with a tail weight (about a 12" solid rod fitting inside the spine).
It really needs more weight if you're thinking yoyo.
It's almost 12 feet across, pultruded frame, battens and nice looks.
The lower spreaders are sealed at both ends for added strength.
The sewing/finish is very nice and the nose is very clean.
Before you fly it, there are a few "touch-ups".
1 Shorten the battens about 1/2 inch (DO IT or buy replacement connectors)
2 Replace or retie the wingtip tensioners to tighten sail and add curvature.
3 Adjust center "limiter bridle leg to just slack with bridle legs taut.
4 Adjust leech lines to your desired noise level (mine was silent)
5 Add "insurance" elastic line to hold battens in place (just in case)
6 Add vinyl end caps to keep the wingtips clean and lines taut
7 Add an extra adjustment knot to the upper inhaul line
8 Shorten upper inhaul about 4 inches (I'm a woos)
9 Don't bother attempting to add end caps to the upper batten end as the
batten connector opening is too small to allow this protective action (I don't get it)
The lower spreaders have a tendency to slowly work out of the LE connectors.
The connectors are under rotational stress when assembled (not a good idea)
The engagement is good, just make sure you check them often if you are doing tricks.
So, all 4 leading edge connectors and the batten/leading edge connectors are made so that
they have to be torqued into assembly position. Tacky, but acceptable.
I flew the kite Friday night in winds from 5 to 15 mph. Although the catalog
says "the fun begins at 1 Beaufort", their idea of fun is different than mine.
At least at 2300 feet elevation on a 50°F evening, the kite needs about 8 mph
(3 Beaufort) to actually behave like a real sport kite. And then the fun begins.
I was able to do
Jacob's ladder rungs
Flic-flacs
Fade launch
Lazy Susans
Axel to fade
Snap stall (not pretty or snappy, but recognizable)
Cascades (barely)
I didn't try any barrel rolls, backspins, yoyos (needs more weight).
Oddly, Joe, who is a much trickier flier than I am, couldn't get the
kite to do much. I'm guessing that means this is more of an old-school
trick kite. It does nice lines, but has the turning radius of a 63 Riviera (I had one).
I didn't mess with the bridle, other than to shorten the upper inhaul.
I liked it a lot, after the adjustments.
In the very nice kite sleeve/bag, you are looking at about a 7 foot tall item.
Yep, it's not going into anyone's kite bag, unless you have one of those super
custom Kite Connection bags.
I'm not a fan of text on kites, but it appears almost abstract. Green it is and green
is your only option. I happen to like green.
It's somewhere just above $400. But you do get a lot of kite for the money.
Several pictures start at the linked photo below:
