Untitled - KiteLife

When we first saw Frontier Kitesnew Team Storm at last January'sKTA show, our first impression was . . .Wow! . . . that's a whole bunch of sail!It's going to pull us right out of oursocks! With a wingspan of 100" anda spine of 43", it's truly one of thebigger sail areas available in whatmight be referred to as a "standard"size kite .MODEL : TEAM STORMFABRIC WEIGHT : .75 oz. ripstop nylonFRAMING MATERIALS : graphiteWIND RANGE : 6-25 MPHCONFIGURATION : delta-type (100 inch wingspan)SKILL LEVEL : intermediate/advancedMFGR'S SUGGESTED RETAIL : $230 .00MANUFACTURER : FRONTIER KITESAccordingly, a couple of weekslater, with the wind buzzing backand forth between 15 an 20 MPH, weput our standard 1351b . line back intothe bag in favor of 120' of 3001b .Spectra . Turns out that we couldhave probably gotten away with2001b . but in the gusts, we sure appreciatedthe extra poundage!The Storm proved to be singular inone overwhelming aspect . . . its speed .The kite is beautifully slow . Slow, yousay? You bet! And virtuallyunshakable . Completely solid . Therewas virtually no trace of either overor understeer . The Storm's low aspectratio design allowed it to performwhatever command we gave it withsteady deliberation .The kite's pull is solid and remainssteadily so for such time as it's kept inthe power zone . It is a uniform pull,with an absence of jerks and jostles .The pleasant part here, is that thekite moves slowly in spite of the heft.What this means is that the Storm canbe taken overhead, turned directlydownwind, and landed there withonly a moderate amount of forwardmovement . . . this in fairly stout wind .In the same turn, the Storm functionswell off-wind . It lands quietlyand takes off without bobble orfanfare . There is no slurring or dipping .If the takeoff position is from a wingtipstand, the Storm will simply proceedslowly across the field at whateverheight above the ground the flyer iscapable of maintaining .When a kite of size moves slowly inlarge winds, it is usually for one of tworeasons : either the bridles are set inthe wrong position or the kite wassimply designed to perform that way .In the case of the former, there isusually a characteristic "porpoising"as the kite tries to override the setting. Happily, there is a completeabsence, of any "fishy" maneuveringon the part of the Storm . We mustconclude that the design was one ofintention .The Storm is very stable, its reactionsbeing predictable in nearlyevery case . One flyer's commentwas that the Storm flew as if thecontrol lines were rigid . . .a move onthe part of the flyer resulting in acorresponding move by the kite . . . noless, no more .There is a moderate amount ofnoise produced by the Storm . It isnot particularly overwhelming . Thisin spite of the fact that the kite isequipped with four standoffs . Thesestandoffs "divide" the trailing edgeof the kite into three sections . Theoutermost of these three is wherethe tension is least, subsequentlyproducing the noise . It's possiblethat a stiffer outboard standoff sparmight alleviate the problem .In the quality department, theStorm gets good marks . All seams,save the trailing edge are doublestitched . The trailing edge is rolledand single stitched . There are retainingvinyls below both upper and lowerspreader connections on the leadingedge . There are also retaining vinylson the spreaders themselves assuringthe same fit each time the kite isassembled . Quick change bridlesare also employed along with heavyduty line clips . Dacron is used toreinforce stress points .We could, in fact, find only onearea for suggested improvement .The lower spreaders must be insertedthrough the T-vinyl each time theStorm is assembled . A ferrule on theend of one serves as the centerconnection piece for the other . Thisfitting, because of its frequent removaland replacement, has a tendencyto enlarge the vinyl and becomesloose very quickly . We'd liketo see a solid fitting that either remains"attached" to the spine or is treatedin some other way so as to retardmovement .The Team Storm holds every potentialof becoming a team kite ofnote . Potential flyers should be preparedto respect its size and pullingability . It is not a kite of speed . . . infact, it ranks with the slowest that wehave tested . That is appropriate forits intended function . . .team flight .This is going to be a good one!CB/SB