Untitled - KiteLife

Now for the shock. The kite performedvery well . . . from one-manunassisted ground launch, and nowobblestraight-line flight, rightthrough wing-tip turns and gentlelandings . Now, of course, whenyou're holding onto this behemoth,terms like wing-tip turnand structural integrity take ontotally different meanings . A wingtipturn sweeps out 30 feet of sky .And when this kite bows along theleading edge, you can measurethe distance in feet, not inches . Afour-man team flying these thingson a horizontal crossover will needas much height as a seven storybuilding (and that with no roomfor error!) .We tested the Force 10 twice inwinds ranging from 7 to 13 mph,which is low to moderate for thiskite, and found the pull not excessiveTo say that the kites producedby the Banshee Kite Company areunusual in today's spectrum offlying shapes is an understatement. The leading edge isrounded, the keel and interiorwing battens are bent, and thewings roll over at the ends. Tensionmust be applied to the whole apparatusto even assemble it in amaneuver that is not unlike thesame movements used to string ahunting bow. The bridle points arenearly unadjustable . . . in fact, theadjustments are effected by tyingknots in the bridle lines . O .K . Supposeyou go through all of that .When you pick the Chikara up bythe bridle clips and hold it in frontof you, the kite assumes that attitudethat fairly screams "thisthing isn't going to fly . . .' WRONG!I first saw the Banshee Kite lineat the KTA convention but theymade appearances at last year'sHawaii Challenge and the WindyCity AKA Nationals . The Chikara isthe largest of Banshee's three kiteline which also includes the S .T.O .S .(Same Thing Only Smaller), whichis, naturally, a down-sized Chikara,and the Raysoar, which is similar inThe manufacturer recommends "using extreme caution" inwinds over 25 mph . We don'tdoubt it! This kite could easilypower someone of less thanproper weight off the ground . Still,in all, it's a ball to fly . Tests were runon 140 feet of 4501b . Spectra lineand, on those occasions whengusts blew in, it was needed . This isnot to say that the kite becameunmanageable : it didn't, butwhen it takes off, it really goes!Off-wind work was fun . TheForce 10 does wing stands andlandings just like its smallercounterparts . . . except when youlet the kite down from a wingstanding position to a full landing,it can take several seconds . Theonly problem that we encounteredwas pulling thespreader spars from their vinyls inlandings and tight turns . Perhaps apin could be installed throughboth vinyls and spars to alleviatethis problem .The only other problem with theForce 10 is the amount of peoplethat gather when you set it out tofly . This kite has the best "drawingpower" of any that we've flown .There was a nearly constantcrowd of on-lookers, some ofwhom were actually kite flyers!In spite of the hefty price tag,which is really very low if you'recomparing dollars to sail area, theForce 10 is something other than amere novelty . It really flies, anddoes so very well . It is very wellmanneredfor something thislarge . The Force 10 will definitelybe a force to be reckoned withthis summer!C .B .MODEL: CHIKARAFABRIC WEIGHT : .75 oz . ripstop nylonKITE WEIGHT: 415 GramsCOLORS AVAILABLE : 14WIND RANGE: 5-30 MPHCONFIGURATION : cambered airfoil, 94 in . wingspan, 26 in .keelMFGR's SUGGESTED RETAIL : $250 .00MANUFACTURER: BANSHEE KITESdesign but incorporates a V-shaped leading edge . The kitesappear to be very efficient shapeswhich, at least in the case of theChikara, was borne out by fly-testing.The first opportunity to fly theChikara came on a beautifullysunny day with winds that beganat 6.0 mph and rose over thecourse of the afternoon to 18 gustingto22+ . After assembling thekite, the wing tips must be rotatedinwards to create a "tunnel" effect. This creates an even air flowand, presumably helps hold downthe turbulence near the tips . Thereis also a tensioning line that runsnearly from wingtip to wingtip . Thisline is responsible for maintainingthe Chikara's structural integrity inperiods of low wind or off-wind