Speedwing (I,S) $$-$$$ --------------------------------------------------------------------- Jeff Burka Manufacturer: Drachendompteur (imported by Air Circus) Materials: Carrington sail, carbon frame (fiberglass on "giant") Wind Range: standard(12-40 mph) (5-18 m/s) Span: standard(3'10") (117 cm) Height: *** Type: Delta Note: 3 versions: standard, pro, and giant Reviews: An interesting kite, the Speedwing has no spine, and only a single spreader. This is a tough kite to break! Unfor-tunately, I am completely unable to recommend the "giant" version. While it is, as advertised, fast and noisy, it also has a tremendous amount of vibration that makes it uncom-fortable to fly. I'm told that the smaller versions do not have this problem. With no standoffs, the Speedwing is virtually impossible to launch without a stake or assistant, and leading edge launches are a dicey proposition. Once in the air, the kite flies nicely, though care must be taken not to deflate the sail; stalls are difficult to recover from. The 'pro' version has a camber sewn into the leading edge by the nose; it is _supposed_ to increase the wind range down to about 2 mph. [1 m/s] - Jeff Burka I've never really got on well with this kite. The first time I flew it was in a very strong wind. I set it up for launch, leaning well back, but it self launched before I got back to the handles, smashing back into the ground and breaking the spreader Other than this, it has never really flown properly for me. No doubt I'll get the bridle right in the end, and it looks like it should be a blast in a gale, it's never really worked for me. (I don't accept that it is a bad kite - perhaps it just doesn't like me). Andrew Beattie Back in July '92, I flew one of the big fiberglass Speedwings and had a terrible experience with it. It vibrated tremendously, causing my arms to hurt after just a few minutes of flying it. I didn't think it was a tuning problem, as the kite was otherwise flying fine (I even startled the owner by doing a leading edge launch, something he thought wasn't possible with that kite). At SunFest, a friend of mine bought one of the giant Speedwings at the auction and I asked him to let me give it a go in a good (15-20) wind. Despite the Speedwing's difficulty of launch, I must say that it flew *beautifully*, with an amazingly hard pull for a 6' kite, and that I had no problems with vibrations as I had the first time I tried one of these kites. So ignore any bad press I've given the giant speedwing[...] Jeff