Fractured Axel

Hi guys,

Just looking for some advice on a new stunt kite.

I have flown very basic stunt kites as a teenager and basically am looking at getting back into kiting as my young children are becoming more interested in flying their single line kites down at the beach.

I am basically looking for a high quality precision kite that I can zip around the sky to entertain the kids and possibly learn a few freestyle tricks in the future.

Realistically I will not have the time to put the hours in to become an expert kite flyer and hence want a kite I can enjoy and learn a few things quickly to entertain myself on weekends with the children.

I currently live in Liverpool (UK) but will be moving back to my homeland in about a year (Brisbane, Queensland, Australia). As you are aware the winds can be anything from 3-30kn in both these places so I would need a kite that would be suitable for a wide wind range.

So far I have looked at the Benson DS, Kitehouse SIN (?comp edition for high wind range), or veyron std which all may meet my mainly precision flying requirements with a good wind range.

Any advice/thoughts from the forum?

Cheers

Scott

I have the DS and the Sin and all I could do was precision before I got them. I still can't do much with them, but both have the potential to do pretty much everything.
There are some amazing kite flyers on here that will help you more.
Are you looking new or secondhand? CR fury is very good at precision, other kites maybe better suited.

All 3 of them are good kites. The DS is the smallest of the three and is really a freestyle kite - great tricks but not great for precision. The Sin and Veyron are more polyvalent in that they will do both precision and tricks.

Having owned both I feel they have different strengths. The Sin is a great all rounder, but does pull hard when the wind gets up. The Veyron doesn't pull quite as hard, but isn't quite as consistent in its trick delivery. 360 degree axels are very difficult and it does have a dead spot in the flare (although not of Cosmic proportions).

To be honest, you would do fine with any one of these. Just don't expect to fly any of them in 3 knots or in 30 knots. None of them will fly in 3 and none of them are going to last very long if you try and fly them in 30.

Of those three I've only ever flown a DS, which is a great kite and very forgiving when learning tricks. It's also quite strong.

But - there are no kites that are good from 3.5-35mph. Nothing can cover that range and fly well. A good wind range for the DS would be 5-15mph. With work and practice you could extend that by a couple of MPH at either end. If you want to get a wider wind range you need a set of kites.

Northern Kite Group members fly at Otterspool, Liverpool just about every Weds & Sun afternoons. Whole range of kites but I guess mostly old school. Why not call in sometime? Great for the kids even if you won't see a SIN or Veyron. Might be a few CR Furys, they pull when the winds up! Check the NKG event calendar though, might be a few of us at Crosby for a fly-in this very Sunday!

Thanks everyone for your advice, sounds like all three kites will probably suite my needs.

I am looking in the second hand market as well, so if anyone has one of these kites for sale in great condition please PM me.

Cheers

Scott

You should be checking in the For Sale and Wanted forum every day - you just missed a DS for £80.

Absolutely. I'd add a Talon to the list as well.

If you can get over to the Dips at New Brighton for about 6 one evening, I can let you have a fly of a Talon and a Veyron (one of a very few in the UK).

If you like the Talon, I might even be persuaded to sell.