Untitled - KiteLife
Untitled - KiteLife Untitled - KiteLife
attens to help the kite maintainstructural integrity in higher winds .All of the bunji cord connectingpoints are gromet-reinforced .Heavy wall vinyls are used on allof the spar fittings . All of theseitems point to the fact that theHurricane is intended as a kite tobe employed in windy situations .The final confirmation of this point,at least visually, is that there is almostno billow in the sail . . . it'sstretched almost drumhead tight .This is not a low wind kite! In fact,when we tried to fly it in low winds(3 to 5 mph) it was nearly an impossibletask . The aspect ratio ishigher than most and the kite wasnearly uncontrollable . But that'sabout what we had expected . . .But let the wind crank up to 12to 15 mph (and a whole bunchmore), and this kite really beginsto come into its own . Flying theHurricane is an exercise in concentration. It is not a forgiving kite .It must be flown nearly the entiretime that it is airborne . . . that is tosay that one must pay careful attentionto what is being done . Thisis the case with most high-aspectHaving been a Peter Powelldiamond stunt flier in the past, Iwas interested to note that mostof the components that are usedin the Skyraker are the same asthose of past Powell kites, down tothe bottom center connector thatlooks to be the same as that of afour foot diamond stunter . This willmake for easy parts replacement .The Skyraker's assembled in thestandard manner for a wingedtype stunter and takes aboutthree minutes . One important notein the directions is that the bottomcenter mold must be in front ofthe center strut . This gives theslight dihedral to the spars . Flightcharacteristics do change for theworse if this component is insertedimproperly .Once assembled with the standoffspars in place, the kite has thekites . Whereas a kite with a fairamount of billow will catch air onits own, those with taut sailsgenerally will not . They will, given aslack line, often flip and headearthward at amazing speeds.The way to avoid this is to makesure that there is no slack in thelines, either from sharp turns orfrom flying off-wind . This is a seemingcontradiction for those that flywith a lot of arm movement . Thetradeoff is that again, owing tothe sail's tightness, the responsetime for the kite is to react is superfast. There is no "extra" sail to billowout so response is nearly instantaneous.Keeping that point in mind, onecan then proceed to have somereal fun with this kite . The Hurricanehandles wind so well thatwe weren't able to come evenclose to what the upper end ofwhat the range might be . We flewit in 15, 20, 25, 30, and 35 mphwinds, with intermittent stops betweenand there was no appreciabledifference at any of them .Nor was there any kite distortionobserved. The Hurricane flewMODEL: SKYRAKERFABRIC WEIGHT: 1 oz . RipstopKITE WEIGHT: 245 gramsCOLORS AVAILABLE: VariedCONFIGURATION : Delta-typeLIFT SURFACE : 8.95 Sq . Ft.MFGR's SUGGESTED RETAIL : 65 .00MANUFACTURER : PETER POWELL KITES INC .unusual ability of being able tostand up by itself . The pockets thatbeautifully in each case . Not tosay that it was an easy experience. The Hurricane is not, inour opinion, a novice class kite .There is a significant amount ofpull encountered in relation tosize . The speeds developed in highwinds are blinding, and there ismore than a small amount offinesse required to make the kiterespond properly . Still, we found itexhilarating!Unlike other kite tests, whereinwe try to "pull" them from the airwith a series of rapid armmovements, tests on these"flatter" wings are more subjective. They're rather easily pulledfrom the air. The secret is in learninghow to keep them aloft . Oncethat's learned, and the kites comparedon even terms, the Hurricaneflies right up among theleaders of the pack . If you are nota flyer that likes to become intenselyinvolved with his kite, thismight not be the kite for you . . . butif you find yourself wanting to get"wrapped up" in a different sort ofhigh wind experience : try the Hurricane.C .B .the stand-offs are inserted into extendabout 1/2" under the sail,
giving the kite some grip even insand .It is interesting to note beforethe test flight that, true to PeterPowell tradition, the bridles areknotted and not adjustable . Moreon this later .Initial flights were in 15-20 mphwinds . I was quite surprised to findthat this relatively small stunterdeveloped quite a bit of pull . Thekite was test flown on 135#Spectra and launched smoothlywith no wobble whatsoever . Thekite tracked very well and flewwith moderate speed for a kite ofthis size .The Skyraker did wingtip turnsand was quite fast in response tocontrol movements . Even excessivecontrol movement is handledwell by the kite .We ran into some difficulties onthe second day of testing . Thewinds were light (5 mph) withsome gusts to 8 mph . I encounteredtwo problems, bothrelated to the bridle .Experience showed that in thelight winds the bridle setting needto be adjusted "lighter" (Towardsthe nose) . As the bridle point isknotted at the factory, you are leftto untie the knots (which had becomeset quite tightly in theprevious day's heavy winds) andeither retie them higher or install aclip to facilitate future adjustments.The Skyraker instructions state"The bridle is set to a goodaverage setting" (Standard for allPowell kites) . Remember thatwhen you try to fly in the extremeends of the wind (very low andvery high winds), the bridle needsto be adjusted . The flier who isunwilling to retie the bridles willhave to be content with the unchangeableaverage bridle settingin average winds .The second problem encounteredwas that on first launchthe kite exhibited different turningcharacteristics in either direction .This indicated that the bridle settingson one side or the other hadchanged . These points were knottedand could not have changed .I discovered that the bridle line tothe top spreader on one side ofthe kite had moved to the top ofthe vinyl tube fitting . (The otherside was at the bottom of thefitting .) This was merely an oversightin assembly, but could causemuch confusion to an inexperiencedflier. A piece of tapeMODEL: WASPFABRIC WEIGHT :(filament strapping tape seems tobe the preferred Peter Powellsecuring material) over the bridlelines at the wing spars should solvethis problem in the future .Another interesting item to noteabout the Skyraker is that it didn'tseem to make much noise eventhough it has a straight trailingedge. This may be a bad point tosome fliers that like to have theirkite roar back at them duringflight, but it does speak well for thekite's efficient design .The Skyraker is not designed tobe a lightwind stunt kite . It wasvery sluggish in 5-8 mph winds .Most of this is due to the small liftsurface and the high kite weight .But when you toss up the 'Raker ina good breeze it becomes an intriguing,and durable stunt kite .As is the case with all PeterPowell stunt kites, the instructionsheet comes with a list ofreplacement parts and prices .Peter Powell has been selling stuntkites since 1976 so you can be assuredthat the company will bearound to supply you withreplacement parts and accessorieswhen you turn the Skyrakerover to your grandchildren! Nodoubt this stunt kite is durableenough to last that long ..75 oz. ripstop nylonKITE WEIGHT : 390 gramsCOLORS AVAILABLE : variedWIND RANGE: 4 to 30 mphCONFIGURATION : delta-type with interior wing battensand cut-away trailing edgeMFGR's SUGGESTED RETAIL : $150 .00MANUFACTURER : WIND WALKER KITESTerry Crumpler of Wind WalkerKites in Clute, Texas, beganmaking stunt kites in 1988 . Havingflown all of the major stuntersavailable, he decided to try andcreate one himself that combinedthose aspects of each that heliked the best . . . the Wasp is theend result of the effort . It is an experimentin "kite genetics" thathas turned out on the wholerather well . The Wasp is a fast kitewith a relatively large sail area, yetit remains very exacting inmaneuvers . The cut-away section,between the wing battens andthe spine gives the kite a uniqueappearance, while fulfilling acouple of aerodynamic intents .
- Page 4 and 5: VOL . 1 NO. 3 SPRING, 198926 THE TE
- Page 6 and 7: sport. So be sure to enter noviceev
- Page 8 and 9: INTERNATIONAL STUNT KITEASSOCIATION
- Page 10 and 11: Top of the Line in Japan? Nope . .
- Page 12 and 13: We understand that Wind Pilot, ofDa
- Page 14: THE VALENTINE'S DAYFeb . 10, 11,&12
- Page 17 and 18: 1st - Locklan Gilford 141 .02nd - K
- Page 19 and 20: through the vinyl is seated in then
- Page 21: Wind conditions are often veryhard
- Page 24 and 25: exquisite ripstop and fiberglass cr
- Page 26 and 27: By Al Hargus IIIIntroduction by Cri
- Page 28 and 29: THIRD ANNUAL TEXAS GULF COASTCHALLE
- Page 30 and 31: GREAT LAKES STUNT KITE CHAMPIONSHIP
- Page 32 and 33: We heard about the Acceleratornear
- Page 34 and 35: pleasing appearance in the sky .Our
- Page 36 and 37: actual wing . It makes for a verycl
- Page 40 and 41: In flight, the spine flexes inwarda
- Page 42 and 43: situations . In flight, the charact
- Page 44 and 45: able in the standard manner, andare
- Page 47 and 48: (SKQ NOTE: Due to the large numbero
giving the kite some grip even insand .It is interesting to note beforethe test flight that, true to PeterPowell tradition, the bridles areknotted and not adjustable . Moreon this later .Initial flights were in 15-20 mphwinds . I was quite surprised to findthat this relatively small stunterdeveloped quite a bit of pull . Thekite was test flown on 135#Spectra and launched smoothlywith no wobble whatsoever . Thekite tracked very well and flewwith moderate speed for a kite ofthis size .The Skyraker did wingtip turnsand was quite fast in response tocontrol movements . Even excessivecontrol movement is handledwell by the kite .We ran into some difficulties onthe second day of testing . Thewinds were light (5 mph) withsome gusts to 8 mph . I encounteredtwo problems, bothrelated to the bridle .Experience showed that in thelight winds the bridle setting needto be adjusted "lighter" (Towardsthe nose) . As the bridle point isknotted at the factory, you are leftto untie the knots (which had becomeset quite tightly in theprevious day's heavy winds) andeither retie them higher or install aclip to facilitate future adjustments.The Skyraker instructions state"The bridle is set to a goodaverage setting" (Standard for allPowell kites) . Remember thatwhen you try to fly in the extremeends of the wind (very low andvery high winds), the bridle needsto be adjusted . The flier who isunwilling to retie the bridles willhave to be content with the unchangeableaverage bridle settingin average winds .The second problem encounteredwas that on first launchthe kite exhibited different turningcharacteristics in either direction .This indicated that the bridle settingson one side or the other hadchanged . These points were knottedand could not have changed .I discovered that the bridle line tothe top spreader on one side ofthe kite had moved to the top ofthe vinyl tube fitting . (The otherside was at the bottom of thefitting .) This was merely an oversightin assembly, but could causemuch confusion to an inexperiencedflier. A piece of tapeMODEL: WASPFABRIC WEIGHT :(filament strapping tape seems tobe the preferred Peter Powellsecuring material) over the bridlelines at the wing spars should solvethis problem in the future .Another interesting item to noteabout the Skyraker is that it didn'tseem to make much noise eventhough it has a straight trailingedge. This may be a bad point tosome fliers that like to have theirkite roar back at them duringflight, but it does speak well for thekite's efficient design .The Skyraker is not designed tobe a lightwind stunt kite . It wasvery sluggish in 5-8 mph winds .Most of this is due to the small liftsurface and the high kite weight .But when you toss up the 'Raker ina good breeze it becomes an intriguing,and durable stunt kite .As is the case with all PeterPowell stunt kites, the instructionsheet comes with a list ofreplacement parts and prices .Peter Powell has been selling stuntkites since 1976 so you can be assuredthat the company will bearound to supply you withreplacement parts and accessorieswhen you turn the Skyrakerover to your grandchildren! Nodoubt this stunt kite is durableenough to last that long ..75 oz. ripstop nylonKITE WEIGHT : 390 gramsCOLORS AVAILABLE : variedWIND RANGE: 4 to 30 mphCONFIGURATION : delta-type with interior wing battensand cut-away trailing edgeMFGR's SUGGESTED RETAIL : $150 .00MANUFACTURER : WIND WALKER KITESTerry Crumpler of Wind WalkerKites in Clute, Texas, beganmaking stunt kites in 1988 . Havingflown all of the major stuntersavailable, he decided to try andcreate one himself that combinedthose aspects of each that heliked the best . . . the Wasp is theend result of the effort . It is an experimentin "kite genetics" thathas turned out on the wholerather well . The Wasp is a fast kitewith a relatively large sail area, yetit remains very exacting inmaneuvers . The cut-away section,between the wing battens andthe spine gives the kite a uniqueappearance, while fulfilling acouple of aerodynamic intents .
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