wildkite_my kites

My latest kite. It's the successor of the Orange and has a slightly heavier frame. A good all-rounder with a wide wind range. Very easy to control. Sail Icarex PC31, LE's and spine SkyShark P100, lower spreaders SkyShark P300, upper spreader Exel 5,5mm. 220x103cm, weight ~218g.
	A kite I've been testing and improving for quite some time. A light wind all-rounder that has proved to be a solid performer - easy to fly and tricks like mad. Holds fades like it was stapled to the sky. :) Sail Icarex PC31, LE's Exel 5,5mm, spine and lower spreaders SkyShark 3P, upper spreader Exel 5,5mm. 220x103cm, weight 198g.
A nice basic kite, the Marenki is made of cheap materials. I was aiming for an economical trickster that could be flown by beginners. A very steady kite. This individual is sold. Sail ripstop nylon ~45g/m2, spars Exel 5,5mm. 215x105cm, weight ~240g.
	Proto4, the latest in the Proto series… testing and adjusting it was slowed due to the Orange. I'll take it up again though. As it is, it's already a very nice trick machine. LE's, spine and upper spreader SkyShark 3P, lower spreaders Dynamic T15. Sail a mixture of Air-X and ripstop. 225x98cm, weight ~250g.
Proto3, the third and last "small" trickster. The kite has a wingspan of only 195cm as well as a curving tail and is very low. It's very sensitive and moves lightly. The TrickTail type tail part helps it flip around in pitch manouvers. This kite was preceded by the Proto2, which was of similar size but had a sturdier frame - a high wind kite. At the moment, it has no frame. LE's Exel 5,5mm, spine Exel 6mm, tail 4mm glass fiber rod, upper spreader Exel 5mm, lower spreaders Dynamic T15, sail Air-X. 195x80cm, weight ~200g.
	A copy of the original kite. I wanted a TrickTail, but it was no longer manufactured, so I made one. This may be the best kite design ever - with the TrickTail UL. The slightly smaller than normal size is due to the shorter LE spars I used. The normal LE length is 165cm, and in my TT it's 160cm. Here's a link to a German TrickTail site. Spars SkyShark 3P, Sail Icarex PC31 225x119cm, weight 254g.
The best there is… an incredible kite. I've flown this one indoors and outdoors, all the way up to 3m/s. A truly excellent UL. Spars SkyShark 2P, Sail mylar (25g/m2) and Icarex PC31 230x120cm, weight 184g
	A light wind version of the Prism Fanatic. I made this kite in a kitebuilding demo at the Model Expo fair of 2002. The plans for the kite were originally taken from a Fanatic that had been flown so much it was just no good anymore. That's recycling. Only the LE seams were sewn on this kite, the rest was taped, and it works fine. Sail Icarex PC31, spars Exel 4mm 195x108cm, weight 135g
The first "team" kite I made. Very precise, great for flying figures. I also made another Mirage2, a transparent all-mylar version, which does not have a frame at the moment. It had SkyShark 3P spars, but those are now in the TrickTail. I have to frame that Mirage at some point, though. The plans for this kite can be found in the Net. Sail ripstop nylon, spars exel 6mm 213X120cm, weight 308g
	A very enjoyable high wind trickster. I think every kiter should have a Tim. Despite its age (designed in 1995), it's still very competent tricking-wise when compared with newer kites. Easy and cheap to build - basic materials like cheap pultruded spars and heavy ripstop can be used. Expensive materials do not really help the performance, as the kite is after all meant for high winds. Sail ripstop nylon, spars 6mm Exel 190X80cm, weight 220g
The latest version… this Tim has gone through many different framesets. Originally, it was an all Exel 4mm indoor/SUL kite (102g). After that, many variations with bridles and heavier & lighter spars, until this, the latest and best combination. The Tim is designed for high winds and it's hard to make a sensible UL out of it. Sail Air-X (nylon), LE's and upper spreader Exel 5,5mm, spine and lower spreaders Dynamic T15. 185x85cm, weight 165g
	Elliot Spike. It's very rare for a manufacturer to release plans for its older models on the Net. Elliot have a number of OK kites with detailed plans in the public domain. The Spike is a nice and easy kite which is well suited for beginners practicing tricks and figures. Sail ripstop nylon, LE's, spine and upper spreader Exel 5,5mm, lower spreaders SkyShark 3P. 213x108cm, weight 235g
A fun kite, gets me in a good mood every time I take it out. ;) Scaled down from the bigger Jemini, with the Benson MiniGem as a model. There are differences in the dimensions and the shape, as I have never seen an original MiniGem. A wild trickster, does every stunt in the book… and then some. Very nice. Sail Air-X (nylon), LE's Exel 5,5mm, spine and upper spreader Exel 5mm, lower spreaders Beman UL16 and SkyShark (middle spar) 192x83cm, weight 210g
	A copy of the Benson Gemini. This is one copy job that I'm not terribly proud of - the Gem is such a great kite that I could maybe have bought the commercial one. In any case, the kite has the same characteristics as the original, so it's a real top-notch trickster. Backspins are automatic and tricking is very effortless overall. Sail Icarex PC31, LE's, spine and upper spreader Exel 5,5mm, lower spreaders Exel 6mm and SkyShark (middle spar) 225x103cm, weight 256g
A Flexifoil-style foil. The kite is different from traditional foils in that it has a spar in the leading edge and no bridle at all. I only fly this one in very high winds (over 10m/s), when other kites become useless. Sail Ripstop nylon 180x60cm, weight?
	Roku is a rokkaku - a Japanese fighter kite. The Net is full of plans for these. I made mine accoring to this. I did rescale the plans a bit to better accommodate the spars I had, though. Sail ripstop nylon, spars Exel 8mm and 6mm. 160x130cm, weight?
A parafoil. Flies very steadily and pulls a lot for a kite this small. It only has seven keels,a deviation from the plans. I removed the three middle ones from the back due to difficult bridle adjustment, and I don't need them. I can recommend building this kite - it's relatively easy to make, packs up very small and has a great presence in the sky. Sail Ripstop nylon
	Flying lines. The strengths and lengths vary according to the place, the winds and the kite flown. My lines go from 12 to 75 kg and the lengths are 1,5m to 30m. What you like to hold on to is a matter of taste - I use finger straps, personally.