| Kite | Description |
|---|---|
| 2 Trlby diamond kites | Given me for my birthday about 15 years ago. They still fly very well even though they are now rather second-hand |
| 6ft Delta | Now adorning the office of a disabled friend in South Africa who collects kites |
| 9ft Delta | Great for going high. It has been to 2500 ft at the Middle Wallop festival one year. |
| 12 ft Delta | Used to lift bears for parachuting at kite festivals |
| 14 ft Delta | Just completed (in a little over 2 days - 24th Aughst 2003). It will be used to lift bears for parachuting at kite festivals. Complete with matching windsock |
| 2m Conyne | I have always liked the Conyne kite. The first one I made was back in my teens. It was a 3ft high kite and pulled very well. I subsequently made a 7ft version that flew only once. I made the mistake of flying it on 35lb lines. It was out about 300m when the line broke and I had a mile or more to walk into the valley below to retrieve it. I made a new one more recently and sometimes use it to lift bears at kite festivals. |
| Two "Viper" Deltas | These were designed buy Nick Frewen in Poole. They are very easy to fly but spend rather too much time languishing in the bags. I prefer foils! |
| Revolution EXP | One of the few kites I have bought. Very controllable but... I prefer foils! |
| 1.5m Rokkaku | I made this for my son to fly. He gave creative input to the design and together we came up with a rather nice dragon based on a children's book called "Drango Dragon" |
| 2m 4-line Foil | My first attempt. It still gets flown occasionally but it is not very easy unless the wind is up. |
| 5.5m 2-line foil | My second attempt. It took several weeks to get the bridling right. |
| 32sq ft foil | Now owned by the friend of a work-colleague |
| 4m Foil | |
| Standard Krypton S | Made from the design in Stunt Kites 2. I was due to take a paragliding course but the weather was not right so in frustration, I made this one. It cost me less than £2 since it was made out of scraps I had bought from somebody who was giving up kites (whatever posessed him???) |
| 3m Krypton S | Well, my own version of it. It was intended to look similar to a Peel but it never did. It has its own personality. |
| 7m Krypton S | As for the 3m but was a much better flier although it did not have a huge pull. Sadly, I crashed it on the 1999 Last Gasp enduro and blew out every one of the 36 ribs. One day, I will remake it. |
| 6.1m Firecrest WL | Very powerful. The biggest kite I had made at the time. |
| 4.5m Firecrest | This was the first Firecrest, made in yellow with a blue triangle. I sold it to somebody in Weymouth. I saw it again at Weymouth a few years back, still pulling like a rogue elephant. |
| 4.5m Firecrest | In pink and dark green. The aerofoil is Gotingen 397. Rather good. |
| 3.2m Firecrest | Same profile as the 4.5m above. Now owned by a work colleague. |
| 4.5m Firecrest | in Red and yellow. A poor choice of aerofoil resulted in a fast kite but unfortunately it tends to luff. |
| 4.5m Firecrest WL | |
| 3.2m Firecrest | |
| 3.2m Firecrest WL | |
| 2.6m Firecrest | In red and blue. Same profile as the 4.5 red/yellow. Similar bad behaviour. |
| 2.6m Firecrest WL | In pink and Flo green. Excellent kite when the wind is up, but not quite big enough to surf with. It is just too fast. |
| 2.5m Firecrest | An earlier version, made with a symetrical profile. Flies very nicely. It has quite a high aspect ratio and is great for buggying when the wind is up. Good for 40mph plus on a good surface. Now owned by my brother-in-law whose favorite trick with it is to give the handles to his boss and watch him get dragged across the ground |
| 2m Firecrest | Same profile as the 2.5m. Also very easy to fly. Great for training, but needs a reasonable breeze. |
| 8m Firecrest 2 | |
| 6.5m Firecrest 2 | |
| 5.5m Firecrest 2 | |
| 4m Firecrest 2 | In yellow with black triangle with black tips. I made this to match my son's black and yellow kite (see below). |
| 4m Firecrest 2 WL | I made this to experiment with a variable power system. It was quite effective but kites (even Blades) do not seem to fly very nicely on VPS. I have since converted this one back to a standard open-cell kite. It flies very well. |
| 4m Firecrest 2 | In black with yellow triangle and yellow tips. Made for my son who nagged me for years for a black kite. |
| 3m Firecrest 2 | In yellow and red. Not quite big enough to surf since when the wind is up enough, it is too fast and the waves are too big. Would probably be OK on flat water |
| Balinese Galleon | Bought for me by a friend on a beach in Bali! |
| 9.6m Falhawk Kitesail | One of the few kites I have that I did not make myself. I had intended to make one that size but decided that I was not experienced enough to be sure that the large investment in time and money would be worth it. This kite became available at a very sensible price so I took it! |