Fractured Axel

.... there was the 1990s. A time where kite makers would take any idea, throw some ripstop at it and see what stuck. In Ron Moulton and Pat Lloyd's "Kites: A Practical Handbook for the Modern Kite Flyer", a compendious tome to match Woydel Zing’s "Bath Sheets in Space" for breadth, they illustrated some of the ideas that excessive exposure to the sun and 50p-a-pint special offers could bring forth. Feel free to drink in the oddness.


Points are available to anyone that can name all of these kites.





Make no mistake - whilst some of these were Not Much Good, plenty worked well enough for the time, but once the Stranger came along and kites started lurching all over the place then their days were numbered. There probably are some good ideas to be harvested from this time though.

Mike.

I do recognise several, though not all. Have PM-ed you about that odd one in the centre (I think I know what it is)

<<Woydel Zing’s "Bath Sheets in Space">>

Is this available for the iPad? Or do I have to wait until I can lay hands on a genuine HHGG?

I've flown pairs with a couple of Flash Angels (last page) and even in the late 90s they were bloody good in stronger winds.

OK, if no one steps up to the challenge, I will make a start:

I spy, with my little eye (I think) .... a Phantom, LiteFlite, Swallowtail, Wasp, High Profile (?), Skynasaur, Speedwing (?), and X-Zeta.

3 short, I know!

scorpion

• Phantom
• LiteFlite I'd like a little more please
• Swallowtail
• Wasp Can you be more specific ?
• High Profile
  
• Skynasaur nope
• Speedwing nope
• X-Zeta
• Scorpion

If you view them as a row of 5, then a row of 3 and a further row of 3... missing the front of row 2 and all of the bottom row. All of the bottom row have plans to make them in the book.

Mike.

LiteFlite I'd like a little more please

Well, definitely not a Radial ! But you mean round or sharp corners on the coloured panels? Darn, you got me ...

Ian: I really liked the 'Flash Angel' at the time but couldn't afford one. Now if a good S/H one came up ---------!

Back in the day I had a JESTER myself & the other people that flew it were very impressed with the way it performed It`s a bit like most manufactured things, at the time certain ones are the way to go, but as the time passes we look at them now & wonder why we were so excited[ But if it wasn`t for them we wouldn`t have the slicky tricky kites of today] If you just want to have a buzz around the sky some are still quite good at the simpler things

The Jester inspired some well-known kites

LiteFlite with rounded corners is... well, if it was Ron's in the photo it is not what you think! Have to go and find the big book of LiteFlites to check for sure as the two rounded corners/one sharp corner ones were made by a couple of different people- standard was three sharp corners and there is a three rounded corners model as well (plus Raindrop, plain colours, the horrible stripey ones and specials!).

Other late 80s/early 90s horrors include the Cyborgs (I-VII) and the Banshees (Chikara, etc). Time to dig out the old videos and do a bit of framegrabbing.

Other late 80s/early 90s horrors include the Cyborgs (I-VII)

My Cyborg VIII UL:



Certainly wouldn't call it a horror, but it's definitely something different!


As to a Banshee, only seen pictures, never flown one. Anyone have a Banshee Scimitar gathering dust?

Dromel wrote:

Other late 80s/early 90s horrors include the Cyborgs (I-VII)

My Cyborg VIII UL:

There's no denying ^that's^ a very cool piece of kite design / history.

-Frazer

Dromel wrote:

My Cyborg VIII UL:



Certainly wouldn't call it a horror, but it's definitely something different!

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