Kites?

[Tom the Tenor]

Some friends of mine have married recently and I was hoping to get them something unusal as a present. They have a holiday home on the West Cork coast where there is often quite a good wind blowing and I was thinking of getting them a decent kite. Anyone have any ideas of what to get? Thank you, TTT.

[henry crun]

Got my son a Marconi rigged kite some years back, something different from the usual diamond shape, it had three adjustable sails and a fin. Damn thing nearly lifted him off the ground one breezy day and he weighed about 6 stone at the time. Put Kites in your search engine, there are a lot of ppl out there selling them in all shapes and sizes

[Boss Raptor]

Depends how much you want to spend but 'Flexifoil' style kites are very good and reasonably easy to fly (easy to carry/store as well). They are similar to a parafoil but have a rigid kevlar front spar...

I have several but they can be a bit pricey, the 6ft ones start at around £50 and go up to several hundred but they last for ever (I have one that is 12 years old and gets flown on a regular basis!)

If you are going to get a kite as a gift go for something good...plenty of on-line kite shops on line, have a look...

[HEATHROW DIRECTOR]

Tom, go have a look at:
http://www.kites.org/jo/stores-uk.htm

My son and I fly kites - he runs the big ones used for buggying and I have two stunt kites. Prices range from a few quid to £500 plus. Please be advised that the larger ones can be highly dangerous in inexperinced hands. In mild conditions at Kew recently my son watched somebody launch a big kite for the first time - ten minutes later he was in an ambulance with several broken bones having been hoisted upwards and dumped unceremoniously!

[Boss Raptor]

Too true HD - I almost lost a finger with my first Flexifoil which was supplied with Kevlar line which is now frowned upon I understand...not realising the line was wrapped around my finger I released the kite and the line ran and clean cut around two thirds of my finger right to the bone...

The irony being that when I went to hospital they said that the heat'friction of the Kevlar line had cauterised the cut and it was in fact sealed by fluorescent pink Kevlar...still have the scar today!

Have a buggy myself which is great for the beach... :rolleyes:

[Tom the Tenor]

Thanks for all the replies, everyone. Very kind of you - glad you told me about the likely dangers too if the kite is too large - I guess the happy couple could do without any nasty accidents!

[Tom the Tenor]

I have decided the Flexifoil Xtro might be the right job. It is not too big and is easy to use for beginners. Cant get a price on it yet though on the net but will ring one of the stores tomorrow. Looks great too.

[PPRuNe Dispatcher]

Kevlar line does have one excellent use - occasionally when flying a kite, some idiot will decide it's fun to buzz my kite with theirs with the aim of tangling the lines. As I usually use some fairly good (and not cheap!) braided lines, I don't like them to get damaged. So off comes the braided line, on goes the kevlar.

Then when the idiot decides to tangle lines, my line stays intact whereas theirs gets instantly cut in two and away goes their kite... :eek:

[Stan Sted]

Seems enough interest here for a PPRuNe kite fly-in.

I have a range of old beasties up to a 10ft span Cody, (a big boxkite with winglets) and a few modern stunters and deltas.

There is still something a bit magical about the Cody with its bamboo struts, black terylene fabric and miles of string holding it all together. It was made by an old friend of mine who flew it in a train of Codys which was powerful enough to lift a harness with him strapped in it!!

He jacked up the front of his old banger car, took off one of the front wheels, bolted on a large rope-holding drum and used the car engine as an amazing winch which an assistant operated to haul down the train of kites.

Go to the site below for a pic of the original Cody
http://home.snafu.de/thomiru/cody_eng.htm

[ 17 July 2001: Message edited by: Stan Sted ]

[Tom the Tenor]

I was speaking with the people from The Kite Shop, Covent Garden this morning and they were very helpful. Interested in you and what you wanted and not a bit pushy. Top marks for that.