Competition Edge - DRAFT --------------------------------------------------------------------- sasaki@netop3.harvard.edu (Marty Sasaki) Mon, 29 Mar 1993 22:33:44 GMT Manufacturer: Big Easy Kites Materials: sail Spars Beman Wind Range: Span: Height: Type: Delta First Impressions on the High Performance Competition Edge Due to the generosity of Kevin Mayeshiro, I've had a bit of time to play with a Competition Edge. Some shops have them, other's don't. I couldn't find any locally so Kevin sent me his kite for evaluation. They are bound to be popular kites since High Performance flew these kites when they won the 1992 World Cup, and the suggested retail is $195. (I might have this slightly wrong, it might be $190 ;-) The kite is a full sized dart with little "winglets" near the tips. The construction is good. The kite is normally spared with Glassforms Pro-Comp rods. The fabric looks like Icarex. In large volumes, Icarex is about the same price as Carrington, and Spectra Sport is going to sell a lot of these kites. So, how does the kite fly? How strong are you? This kite is not for wimps. In moderate wind, this thing pulls like crazy. I removed the kite from my bag and set it up in about 8 mph winds. I eased the nose forward expecting the kite to leap into the sky. Instead the kite just sat there a few feet off of the ground wobbling like crazy. Kevin warned me that High Performance likes to set the kites "a little heavy," so I figured that the bridles were just too low for me and the current wind conditions. I walked back to the kite expecting to move the bridles way up, maybe an inch or so. But the marks were only about an inch apart and the clips were just below the midpoint between the marks, so I figured that the bridles were correct. I moved them about an eigth of an inch anyway. On the way back to the handles (it's amazing how long that trip can be sometimes) I thought about the way High Performance flys and the kinds of things that they like to do with their kites, and it occured to me what I was doing wrong. I was flying the kite like a wimpy Easterner and not like an Island boy. A small digression on kite design, especially bridles. Many delta-wing stunt kites have two three legged bridles. The lengths of these legs is about the same. This results in a kite that is relatively flat as it flys. By this, I mean that the lower spreaders are either straight or just slightly bowed. Now look at an Edge (or a North Shore Radical when tuned by High Performance) and you will see that the legs are unequal, usually the outhaul bridle (the leg that goes from the clip to the lower spreader/leading edge intersection) is much shorter. When the kites is in the air and in forward motion, the spreaders are noticeably curved. When the kite is moving forward, an Edge has a lower angle of attack, because of the curve in the spreaders, than when it is stationary, when the spreaders are straight. Now back to flying an Edge... Rather than easing the nose forward as I had done before, I gave the lines a hard, even tug. The kite leaped into the air and flew nice and straight. I did a ground pass and did a double push turn up and the kite stopped neatly. A few steps forward and I had landed the kite almost directly down wind. After I got used to flying it this way, I found the Edge a great kite to play with. Tip stands and helicopter slides were both very easy. I'm sure that leading edge launches would also be easy, but since it was a borrowed kite I refrained from dragging it on the ground. I had troubles with sharp right angle turns, I had a tendancy to push too much, which would flatten the kite out and cause a wobble. I think that the kite's frame was a little too stiff for the wind that I was flying it in. I'll have to return the kite to Kevin soon (thanks again for the loan), so I'll either buy one locally, or make a clone for further playing with. It is a fun kite to fly and flying it will add a few things to future kites that I make... --Marty Sasaki ~From: sasaki@netop3.harvard.edu (Marty Sasaki) ~Date: 5 Apr 93 17:14:08 GMT Well, here's my final test report on the High Performance Competition Edge. The short form: This is a high performance kite capable of all of the tricks. It is also very steady and stable. A real bargain, with a Pro- Comp graphite frame and Icarex polyester, and a suggested retail price of under $200. The long form: Construction: Construction is pretty good, with double turned seams and hems, and reinforcements in high wear and stress areas. The only nit here is that the bridles are formed using aluminum crimp-on fasteners, and a ball bearing swivel. If it were my kite, I would replace the bridles with knotted, or spliced bridles, and use a system that doesn't require a swivel or snap, but this is just personal preference. The kite should be thought of as having two different "modes". Forward flight, and stopped flight. Once the kite is moving forward it is very steady and stable (and noisy). Standard precision figures feel very solid. If you keep tension on the lines, there is virtually no oversteer. But give your line some slack so that the kite flattens out, and it will stop dead in it's tracks. In this mode the kite slides easiy. It is easy to land this kite, a double push turn and a step forward will put it down anywhere in the window. If you violently load the kite with a jerking sharp turn, and throw both hands forward, you can flatten the kite out and practically drive the kite into the ground. When you stop the kite, it goes from a loud buzzing to complete silence. It's startling and a very effective attention getter. Tip stands are also easy, as are leading edge launches. I also managed a Scott Augenbaugh nose launch. It isn't really easy, but the Edge made this stunt easier than other kites in my bag. You do have to be strong to fly this kite, it likes to have low bridles and flys very poorly with high bridles. It also has a completely different feel from the other kites in my bag or other kites that I really like. Enough differently that many of the other folks that tried the kite out (not many have been seen in New England) didn't like the way it flew. I didn't have enough air time with it to really show it off. So, if you are used to Big Brothers, or Jordan Pro's, or Katanas, then give this kite a fair chance before dismissing it. I'll add one of these to my kite bag soon. Thanks again go to Kevin Mayeshiro for loaning me his kite (I'll put it into the mail by Wednesday Keven). --Marty Sasaki