Untitled - KiteLife

MODEL : SPECTREFABRIC WEIGHT : .75 oz. ripstop nylonFRAMING MATERIALS: graphiteWIND RANGE : 3-35 MPHCONFIGURATION : delta-type (82 inch wingspan)SKILL LEVEL : novice/intermediate/advancedMFGR'S SUGGESTED RETAIL : $170 .00MANUFACTURER : HIGHFLYERSThe Spectre from Highflyers (England),was presented to us by oneoath companies principles, SteveWalton, during the AKA Grand Nationals. "This is our 'novice' kite," hehad said ."Why the grin?' we replied ."Give it a try. . . ." he shot back .Now we understand!The Spectre is a fuller-sailed versionof the extremely responsive Bantam(reviewed in Vol . 2, No. 4) and it haslost little in the translation . Our lowwindtests in 3-6 MPH revealed thatthe Spectre was quite at home .Marks in nearly all categories weresignificantly higher than average .Flying on 90' of 801b . Spectra, wewere particularly impressed with thekite's landing-relaunch abilities . Evenin winds which were plainly less thanthe kite would have preferred, wingwork was easy and fun .The available wind window wasanticipated, and the Spectre wasspeedy enough to make good useof it . Even more of a surprise was theamount of pull generated . It didn'tpull us off our feet for sure, but evenin 5 MPH you are well aware thatthere's something out there at theother end .Plainly, though, the Spectre wasdesigned for a touch more wind . Thisfact translated to over-rotation in thetighter turns. It also showed up in thetime that the kite took to recoverafter sharp, angular maneuvers .Subsequent flights in 15-19 MPHshowed no trace of the over-rotat ion .Flights at speed, however, didshow us something else . This wasa very fast kite! It wasn't quite as fastas the Bantam, but it certainly didn'tmiss it by much . The same smoothnessthat we had noticed in lowbreezes carried through to the highwind as well . Corners involving anglesof any sort were a breeze . Likewise,smooth curves of any size weredone with ease . . . and quickly! It'seffect was to raise our confidencelevel . . . and we all know what thatmeans!The responsiveness of the kitecombined with our newly heightenedsureness to temporarily override ourcommon sense . Within seconds wewere attempting what is called bysome the famed "spiral of death" .You know . . .that high-wind maneuverwhere the screaming power diveterminates in a blinding spin with thekite bare inches off the ground . . . followedby the grim realization thatyou have absolutely no idea of whento pull the kite out to avoid a realgood bash . You guessed it . ..WHAM!Sure we broke it . . .we'd have brokena pick-up truck had it been one!Surprisingly, however, the damagewasn't done to a wing spar. Nope .We broke a ferrule . . .about a 5-minuterepair and right back in business .A discussion of sparring brings upanother interesting point . The upperspreader is very tight in terms oflength . So much so that when thecharacteristic rubber bands are attached to the wing and center vinylsfrom the lower spreader, the effect isto lessen the tension on the sail . Theupper spreader bar is also locatedquite a distance from the nose . Asthe bridle adjusting line runs from theupper wing vinyl to the lower, settingsare kept rather far outboard . This mayaccount for the over-rotation at lowerspeeds .Workmanship on our Spectre wasexcellent . Stoppers are placed belowboth upper and lower spreadervinyls to ensure no travel . This has,likewise been done above the T-fitting to retard movement in crashes .Reinforcement has been placed atall stress points .The Spectre has been touted as anovice kite . . . and it certainly fits thatdefinition . It is easy to fly by almostanyone who should happen to pickup the lines . But for a pricey retail of$170, it had better be a lot more thanthat . Happily, it is . The Spectre maybe just the kite for someone whowants to start at the top . The pricewon't buy you experience, but it willget you a kite that will keep pacewith each hour of learning .CB/SB