Untitled - KiteLife

The Encore is the follow-up to VinceBobrosky's successful Stinger design .It is basically a full-size kite that, inVince's own words, "is a rather radicaldeparture from my previous efforts. "There are some vague parallels tothe Stinger, but those are confinedmainly to sail graphics . Beyond that,the Encore is almost completely differentboth in appearance and performance. The Stinger becameknown for its slow, precise attitudewhile this newest effort may best becharacterized as more of an individual'skite with quite a bit morespeed designed in .MODEL : ENCOREFABRIC WEIGHT : .75 oz . ripstop nylonFRAMING MATERIALS: graphiteWIND RANGE : 5-25 MPHCONFIGURATION : delta-type (103 inch wingspan)SKILL LEVEL : intermediate/advancedMFGR'S SUGGESTED RETAIL : $230 .00MANUFACTURER: STINGER STUNT KITE CO .The Encore is a moderate aspectratiokite . The nose is cut improbablywide . Bridles are set at shorter lengthsthan we were used to in Vince's previousdesigns . When we gave him acall to inquire as to their shortness, heresponded by giving us a new set oflengths to try out . . .BIG SURPRISE! Ourinitial tests with the Encore hadshowed a kite with significantamounts of oversteer . That changedquickly with the new settings .In winds of speed (10+ MPH), flyingon 100' of 1351b . Spectra, we foundthat the Encore flew well . As a balletkite, it may be termed as excellentdepending on your individual crite ria .There are two small fiberglass battenswhich are inserted in sleevesfrom the tail of the Encore . Thesebattens run to a point about 7/8 ofthe way to the nose . The protrudingends are then fitted into vinyls on thelower spreader bars and constitutestandoff spars of a fashion . Thesebattens help maintain the integrity ofthe sail in lower winds . In addition,they augment the channeling of airin flight rather like stabilizers . They area help in relaunch situations as well .There is still a bit of evident oversteerin the Encore which will be adelight for those who fly in a mannerwhich utilizes it . The kite is able to belanded and relaunched at virtuallyany point . Likewise, it will dowingstands with ease . A sharp pullon the upper line will cause the Encoreto flip from one wingstand toanother on nearly the exact samespot. Without much practice, wewere able to hit 6-8 in a row, each apicture of the one previous .Undercut turns performed at theside of the window will put the Encoreinto an immediate "float' whichcan be carried nearly halfway acrossthe field with ease . There is occasionalslurring in the take-offs but itcan be controlled to a great degreeby keeping a careful eye on theamount of slack in the flying lines .As might be expected, the Encoreis an excellent spinner, although itoccasionally slows its speed onceinto the spin . It doesn't cause the kiteto lose much altitude, however, andcan't be viewed as a problem .The kite's wide nose makes forgenerally excellent turning ability . Weexperienced nearly no difficulty withany sort of curved turn . Alternateflying styles of push and pull turning,however, produced a bobble onthe end of angled turns . This, in retrospect,is probably. i n response toindividual flying styles .The Encore also makes noise . . .something that we were not used toin Vince's kites . Don't worry though,decibel levels aren't so high as to beoverpowering!Workmanship on the Encore canbe expected to be up to par . Ourmodel was a prototype and the onlycasualties were both wing-end arrownocks . If they expect folks usethe Encore to its fullest advantage,these could certainly be beefed upa bit by the manufacturer .Those devotees of strict precisionmay not find the Encore initially totheir liking . There is an element ofoversteer in this new kite . Its presence,however, is by design . TheEncore wasn't plotted out as a kitefor the beginner . Its place seems tobe in the hands of that flyer who islooking for a specialized product tocarry out specific functions . If youare one of the increasing number offlyers who finds that their love affairwith their kite has extended groundward,the Encore may well be worthchecking out!CB/SB