Untitled - KiteLife

ftto more billow in the sail . It's withinthis range of 12-18 that the SkyDart also begins to make a niceresonant roar if you happen to beone of those who likes sound inthe air when you're flying .Over 20 mph will give the flyer achance to test his reflexes .Igenerally fly on fairly short lines (90.) and in these higher windsituations, the Sky Dart performedadmirably. Level flight was free ofwobbles and square corners wereeasy maneuvers done by wristmovement alone . Lest one be misled,this is not to say that the kitesdoesn't develop a sense of pull . Itdoes. In fact, larger winds willshow that this little dart is quitecapable of producing somerather weighty flying . . . but notenough to contract a case of kiteflyer'selbow .Low wind flying with the Sky Dartcan be done one of a couple ofTop of the Line stunt kite company,headed by Don Tabor,pioneered the field of wingedstunt kites . After their first offering inthe Hawaiian Team kite they introducedthe Spinoff Free style . Iwould be willing to risk stating thatthe Spinoff is the most widelyknown (and the most widely imitated)stunt kite in the hobby andsport today . I was even temptedto list "Spinoff type" as thedescription of this wing's configuration. This is a spinoff of theSpinoff . Confused? Don't be . Ifyou are familiar with the Top of theLine Spinoff the 3/4 Spinoff is justthat . . . 3/4 size . (Splitting hairs andcall it 78% of the full sized Spinoff .)The kite assembles in exactly thesame way as its full-sized brother,time is about two minutes . The kiteis sparred with light weight epoxytubing of the same type found inthe full sized Spinoff Ultralight . Thecolor pattern of the test kite washalf pink and half yellow .The kite can be self launched inthe traditional manner (stakinghandles and leaning the kiteagainst the lines) . The first day oftests had winds that were 18-20ways . Either stock, from the bag,or by adding standoff spars (thisoption must be performed by theflyer) . I've flown the kite in lowwinds both with and without the"Van Stands" as they're called bythe Action Kite crew . I've seen e-qual performances with the kite ineither mode and conclude thatit's strictly a matter of personalpreference as to whether or notone wishes to add them . In eitherevent, the Sky Dart will perform inas little as 5 mph . With the rightcombination of lines and flyingskill, it could probably be flown inless .While the Sky Dart is a hot performer,it must be pointed out thatbecause of its size, bridle adjustmentsare fairly critical . Aquarter of an inch on thesesmaller wings will make a muchmore noticeable difference thanthe same adjustment on a largerMODEL: 3/4 SPINOFFFABRIC WEIGHT : .75 oz. ripstop nylonKITE WEIGHT: 150 gramsCOLORS AVAILABLE : Two color (varied)kite. The perennial "payback" forthe increased levels of performancehere is that it may takemore time than usual to field-tunethe Sky Dart to optimum levels forthe wind . The kite will fly fairly wellright off the factory settings forthose who don't wish to gothrough the rigmarole of walkingback and forth down the lineswhen they could be flying, but inthe case on the Sky Dart, the tripsare well worth the effort .Action Kites introduced the SkyDart to the stunt flying communityin 1984 and it met with near instantsuccess, in spite of the factthat it was basically a two-colorsail . The graphics changes, orrather, updating, will cause a lot ofnewer flyers to pick up on whatsome have known for years . . . theSky Dart is a nifty little performerand a real wind tamer!C .B.CONFIGURATION: Delta-type (78 inch wingspan)LIFT SURFACE : 5.8 sq . ft .MFGR's SUGGESTED RETAIL : $99 .00MANUFACTURER: TOP OF THE LINEmph and very choppy . There wasa small amount of slurring ontakeoff, but this can be compensatedfor by taking a few stepsbackwards at launch . The 3/4 ismarginally faster than the full sizedSpinoff due to its smallerwingspan . Without changing thefactory bridle settings the kite turnedon a wingtip . As a matter offact, with the high winds the fastspins were difficult to pull out of atthe right time to avoid those unexpectedlandings (crashes!) Thelittle Spinoff survived some heavyabuse in the high winds with nodamage, though with the lightweight spars I would not recommendtoo many unplannedcrashes . Soars are easily remov-