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Best Backyard Kite


Scott
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What's THE BEST sport kite to fly in a backyard? I'm talking about sport kite fun in a small, small area. I assume a lightwind kite would be best but has anyone had experience with a regular wind kite in a backyard when the wind is up? Tell me your thoughts.. wind or nowind, small area, short lines, backyard!?

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I love my REv. on short lines, but I like the UFO for that quick fix satisfaction. I've managed to not feel well.. thus staying home every night this week. heheh Steve finally busted me out in the front yard with the UFO. Lucky for me he's a forgiving sort of guy. ;)

I'd like the ease of a fighter, but the UFO is offereing me what I really want. Wind, or no wind.. lots of challenge and still fun.

BB

Penny

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I think that would mostly depend on the size of your backyard and what you are trying to do while flying. My backyard has a block wall all the way around it and several houses on all sides and loads of trees, bushes, shrubs etc.... The wind can be 15mph outside but because of all the buildings, trees, and other obstructions, you would barely feel it in the backyard at all and kite flying would not even be worthwhile from the turbulence and circling winds created by those obstructions.

But...if you are lucky enough to have a large grassy meadow in the middle of nowhere for a back yard, that would change everything. Again, the current winds would determine the kite used. If you normally have ultra light winds in your backyard then an ultra light or indoor kite would be the choice. If your winds are a steady 8-10+ then the sky is the limit. ;):clap;

There are thousands of kites to choose from that are incredibly fun to fly. It all comes down to your skills, what you are looking to do with your kite and where you want to go.

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What is a UFO? i've never heard of it before. My backyard is lined by trees and a fence on one side. I've actually flew my parastunter on short lines once for a minute when the wind was blowing the right direction. I've been thinking of getting a prism 3D but it'll be a while before I can get any new kite. Maybe by Christmas? My first kite was a go fly a kite boomer which is HARD to get up unless it's really windy and once I found a bandit on sale and finally got experience with it in an open field, i was hooked ever since. The parastunter is my newest kite but my lines broke recently and i had to switch to the cheap ones that came with the bandit AND i've a broken taped up spar on my bandit now. I rarely get to go out to the field lately cause i'm fostering 3 kids on top of my own two so i'm looking to get a backyard friendly kite by Christmas! Any suggestions on a next level kite up from a bandit for the flying field would be helpful too!

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Hi Scott, enjoyed your post and had to put in my two cents worth. CLTKiter posted a nice photo of the UFO on the Kitelife Forum -> Sport Kites -> Indoor Flying section of this board. And info to convert it to a quad liner, if you’re confident with stringing bridles.

I’m heavily experienced with the Flying Wings Beetle 2100+ and love it. It’s the lightest and sturdiest dual line stunt kite I’ve come across. I can fly mine in squirrelly 3mph winds if I walk backwards a lot and finesse it a bunch. Five mph and above and it’s easy magic. Llamaguy has written approvingly of the New Tech dual line Desire Ultra Lite that fly in one mph winds, and warns not to fly it in winds above nine mph.

I imagine you could keep five kids quite busy with single line kites. The Premier Parafoil-5 does really well in very light to heavy winds. (And it’s kid-proofed because there are no breakable spars). The Premier Easy Flyers are great kites in 4-5mph and above. The New Tech single line Deltas are outstanding flyers as well.

Read Kitelife Forum -> Single Line -> General Discussion on this board for more kite reviews.

http://www.flyingwingskites.com//merch/lis...tkites.beginner - Beetle

http://www.premierkites.com/pages/kites/single/easy.html - Easy Flyers

http://www.newtechkites.com/ntk_products.p...esID=1&sGroup=1 - Deltas

http://www.newtechkites.com/ntk_products.p...CategoriesID=13 - Desire UL

Long-winded again, my two cents worth has become a nickel’s worth (modern inflation?). And bear in mind this is all my own personal opinion. Every kite flyer has their own favorite. ;) kitepilot

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I find that the back yard has a bit too much turbulence for a light kite. My FW Hornets are the best back there on the Addiction lines.

When the wind shifts the kite will float over to the new window. The light kites just get blown out of the sky (There's no time to adjust).

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Thanks kitepilot for the post! The UFO looks similar to an air-yo. So what's the best low/no wind kite for the money? And could someone tell me how a prism nexus compares to a beetle? I've read a lot about the beetle being a great kite for the money but I don't really like the design of it compared to prism's line of kites. Any thoughts?

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