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Welcome Materdaddy


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Hello @Materdaddy,

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Thanks for the (automated) welcome!

As a kid I took many trips to San Francisco and watched many people flying kites.  On one trip my parents bought me a stunt kite that I've kept for about 15 years, only flown it a handful of times because I'm afraid it'll tear since it's a poly kite.

A couple years ago I bought a couple delta style stunt kites on eBay for around $20 a piece and fly them a couple times a year at the beach.  We have a couple cheap dollar-store kites for the kids as well.

Fast forward to now, I just went to San Francisco last week and bought a Prism Pica and I started thinking about flying kites more often, started doing research, found out that my (nearly dead) old kite is a classic TRLBY.  I wish I could find more of those, so much fun to fly, and it seems easier than the delta style ones I bought from eBay.

I perused the classified section and see a huge price jump going from no-name kites (even rip-stop nylon+fiberglass) and the name-brand ones.  Is it just like any other hobby?  Quality goes up dramatically? or is there more to it?  Are the aerodynamics that much different?  Easier to fly?

Thanks!

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Welcome to KiteLife!

New old stock TRLBY kites are still available at a kite store in the Myrtle Beach South Carolina area if you would like a replacement kite.  Selection is limited but my wife gave me this six stack one Christmas recently.  They are classics.  SHBKF

image from The Kite Dungeongallery_7709_404_76403.jpg

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Awesome!  I'll have to give them a call.  I actually saw you post that a couple years ago: 

I made an assumption that they no longer had them, so I'll have to give them a call tomorrow and see what they run and shipping would look like to the other coast.  Thanks for the information!

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29 minutes ago, Materdaddy said:

I presume you mean http://kligs.com/?  I don't see them listed on their website, so I'll give them a call.

Yes, Klig's is correct.  I saw some in the store at Thanksgiving so I believe you should be able to get one.  They are not expensive & they have spare parts too.  Sometimes when posting on forums I wonder if anyone reads them or will be helped by comments I make.  After a few zealous posts early on I decided I wanted to only post positive helpful things that others might like.  I recently have been adding images to show the mentioned kites if possible.  Need to increase my gallery images to cover more.

Still tryin', still flyin',  SHBKF

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Hi Materdaddy, and welcome from the SF Bay Area.  Do you frequent SF or the Bay Area?  If so, a couple of popular kite flying spots are Berkeley Marina (Cesar Chavez Park) and Shoreline Park in Mountain View (there's a Kite Flying Area just inside the entrance).  You will see kites at both these locations pretty much every weekend, single lines and sport kites.  

As for no-name vs brand-name kites, I am no expert, but quality generally goes up.  Materials, workmanship, etc as well.  There are many kinds of ripstop nylon, some better suited for sport kites than others.  I would also venture a guess that the no-name kites are smaller kites.  Smaller = less materials = less cost, but smaller kites are typically harder to fly.  Smaller kites tend to move faster and also need more wind before they get off the ground.  Smaller kites also react to smaller inputs, so it's easier to oversteer/overcorrect while flying.  By the way, 4' to 5' or less wingspan kites I consider to be smaller kites.  Full size sport kites are around 7'+ to 8'.  And don't forget, it's not just the kite.  Lines can make a big difference too.  Stretchy lines will dampen your inputs before they get to the kite or cause other outside influences.  Uneven lines will give an uneven input to the kite even if your hands are even.  High quality lines don't stretch very much and give a much more direct connection to the kite, but they do cost more.  

Well, now that I've given you information overload (hopefully not), remember to have fun and go fly a kite.  This shouldn't be stressful.  Like the TRLBY?  Go fly a TRLBY.  Hope you're able to get a "new" one (or many ;) ).  

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dragonfish, unfortunately I don't frequent the area.  My dad got his masters at SFSU, so as a child the family went a lot.  He died in 2001 and I have only been twice since then.  My wife had never been and the kids were staying with the in-laws for a couple days so we went up for a short time.  I will definitely make note of those locations for any return trips!

The kite I have is an 84" kite.  It looks like this one:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/84-Sport-Stunt-Kite-Dual-Line-X-LARGE-7-FT-WING-SPAN-Prism-Delta-Outdoor-Flying-/181636668202?hash=item2a4a639b2a:g:jEEAAOSwj0NUeTy-

I've only flown it a couple times (maybe 3 times?) and I see fraying of the nylon near the holes for spars and such.  If I were to fly it often, it probably won't last as long as a quality kite.  The line is probably cheap as well.  I found it much harder to fly than my TRLBY, but I'm not sure how much is due to line quality, wind conditions, vs. completely different designs of the two.

No information overload for me!  Thanks for the reply!

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Materdaddy, sorry to hear about your dad.  I just thought you might come up here often since you mentioned it multiple times.  If you're near San Diego, you may want to look up the San Diego Kite Club if you're looking for local kitefliers.  

Guess I was wrong about no-name kites being smaller.  But yes, anytime I see lines on handle/winders like that, I think cheap lines.  Most people I see with those kind of handle/winders also don't unwind the lines all the way, making it near impossible to have the two lines be exactly the same length, which is important for good control.  And, in case you're not aware, the listing you linked to says "Prism", but that does not look like a Prism kite to me.  Prism (the real one) is a reputable brand.  

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Thanks, I don't visit often, but it's where I link my desire to fly kites in my memory.  Childhood trips there seeing people flying stacks with beautiful tails and getting my first real kite.  I actually found the SDKC web page and might see about taking my kids to one of their monthly meet & greet type events.  I don't think I can make the next one, but maybe the one after that I'll be free.

As for the no-name I have, I'm not naive enough to think the cheap one I got is a real prism, I'm sure they just do that for keyword hits to lure people searching for reputable kite brands.  I think I was just searching for "stunt kite" at the time I bought it (it was 2014).

I have a couple cheap kites coming from Dyna tomorrow.  After I get some flight time with some more cheap kites and start to learn tricks, and what I like/don't like, maybe I'll look at buying a used kite or two of a name-brand to see the difference.

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The biggest problem with "cheap" kites is that they can ruin the kiting experience for many. Poorly made from bad materials, set up all wrong, they may look good, but in the end, fail. A small investment in a better kite is well worth the grief of getting crap and the frustration of trying to get it flying. Lines can be the worst! What is your only connection to the kite? Lines! Stretchy, uneven lines already doom you to an unsuccessful session. A better made, quality kite almost always comes with a decent set of lines, or they are suggested in the comments. Plus the better kites have some resale value, the cheapies don't. 

For many years, Revolution fought this battle, as no name copies were flooding the market. The copies flew badly, had issues, no customer support, but guess who got all the blame? Yep, Rev did, because most of the others 'looked" like a Rev. As the kiting world matured, the Rev reputation grew, and copies gained less ground. Know the old saying "there is no second chance to make a first impression"?

I would encourage you to stop putting your money towards "cheap" and save a bit more and buy "good"! Then as your experience grows and you find the style that you like, you can target a type of kite that works for that style! 

 

Good luck and good flying!

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@Wayne Dowler, that is a very well written post.  Makes perfect sense.  I hadn't really planned on spending more on cheap kites, but just wondered if it is worth even learning on them.  I have so many hobbies as it is, I'll probably first buy some better line and learn things like knots tying, nomenclature, basic flying, with the cheap-o for a while.  I'll save my pennies along the way to get something worthwhile longer-term.

I was originally thinking I had no interest in quad-lines of any kind until I watched a couple videos this morning...  This hobby could get expensive just like all the other ones!

@SHBKF, I just got off the phone with Kligs Kites and apparently the reason they still have some TRLBY kites is because when TRLBY went into plastic molding for medical equipment their insurance inspection required them to get rid of everything kite-related from their warehouse.  Bruce Kligman (whom I spoke with on the phone) was friends with Bob Milletti (TRLBY's manufacturer) and bought everything from him.  Bruce was very generous, offered a few different options and is getting me set up.

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It's not that expensive, really. A kite will fly for hundreds of hours. Even kites used regularly can still can be resold for a decent amount.

But, and there is always a but.

It's pretty hard to stop at one. Once you start though, you won't want to stop.

The community is truly excellent. I love all my kiting buddies all over the world.

Sent from my iPhone using KiteLife mobile app

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