11/10/13

Update the site

Evening,
Just finished updating the front page of the website, trying to get it easier to read as we gain more kite makers....
Please let us know if you encounter any problem with it!!

Cheers
Windswept kites

11/9/13

Listing out the xUL single line kites....

Zero wind kites...indoor kites...xUL kites.....low wind kites
single line kites that are designed to fly in no wind and low wind conditions, indoors and outside

So..awhile back I was reminded that I had to add the iFlite and its brethren into the list of the xUL kite genre.....Thinking on it, I realized that there was a lot more to add that I had left out as well..so....this is an attempt to capture more of them, if not them all......please do not fault me if I miss one! 
Most of these kites I have and have flown, there are a few in here that I cannot comment directly on, but there are always new ones coming out to add to the bag!

The list (updated 6-26-16)


Fighter kites....lots of fighter kites also fall into this designation as well.....
There are makers like Jose Sainz, Glenn Davison and Paul Berard who have over the years made some kites that fit this genre that interested flyers have been able to get as well.

Some of these kites are long gone (2nd Wind) and some are currently available in one version or another, and some are still in the design process

These kites are all designed to fly in the no to low wind levels.   They are usually made out of lighter than normal fabrics and materials to make them as light as possible; but of course that also leads them to be a bit more fragile than normal wind kites.   
Some have carbon rods as thin as a pin, and some have their skins made out of material so thin that you could poke a hole in it with the slip of a finger.   
Some of the above listed kites are stable flying in 1 mph, while others are active flyers that you need to, and want to interact with to have the kite dancing in the lack of wind.  
Some of these kites are big (the Morpho Grande is about 14' wide) and others are small, small enough to fly in a office, or your dining room.  
Some of these kites excel at a long graceful gliding flight, while others excel at climbing as high and as fast in possible into the air.
Some of the above designs are older historical designs (i.e. the Genki and Pan Ying), and some are new fangled designs (Tapertail S) but they all have a spot in your bag.

The active single lines are my favorite to fly....making them swoop, dive and twirl in a wind dance is a lot of fun, and it shows your prowess as the kite dips towards the ground only to turn away at the last second....totally in control even though there is almost no wind felt.....my bags are full of kites like them if not the exact kites listed above.

Please feel free to comment if you can think of more out there, I know that try as I might I have not identified them all.