Tested great dragon and butterfly kites
by Jeff Huber - 2008-10-23
We went over to the park to test out some new kites and were disappointed to find there was no wind at all. We decided to open up the kites and assemble them, take a look at how they were structured, and see if the wind picked up.
The Butterfly Kite
After we assembled the butterfly kite we were so taken by its beauty that we wanted to try and get a picture of it in the air even if we had to run a lot to get the kite to fly. We were pleasantly surprised to find that with almost no wind the kite flew with just a slight tugging on the line, and then when a slight breath of air came along the kite flew high and fine. The kite is made of ripstop nylon and fiberglass and the nylon is cut in the shape of the butterfly as opposed to lessor kits that just have something printed on a clear background. The way the wings flutter in the breeze is super cool and it is great fun just watching it fly, and even more fun flying it.
Our not quite yet three year old daughter Junebug was really excited about the butterfly and wanted to fly it. We decided to allow it and began trying to explain to her how to hold the line, but she is technically still two years old and, as most of you probably know, two year olds are often temperamental and stubborn in the extreme, and Junebug, who is no exception to the rule, decided she wanted to fly the kite all alone with no instruction or help and since there is nothing wrong with that we let her do so, assuming she would get frustrated fairly quickly and allow us to help her. But lo and behold she grabbed the handle and we let go of the kite and it soared into the air and she had a grand time flying it. The wind picked up just a bit and the kite was rock steady in the sky for quite a while. It was really cool.
The Dragon Kite
The first thing that needs to be said about this 3D Dragon Kite is WOW! It looks great, it has a huge wingspan, and the body and legs give a 3 dimensional depth that is so very cool. The quality of the kite is very high, it has ripstop nylon for all the sail/body parts including the tail and even the streamers, which we didn't use, are nylon rather than the more common plastic. The frame is made of fiberglass and the construction is such that even with the three-dimensional realistic construction the kite is very light and floats up so effortlessly that if you have a decent imagination you can almost believe that it is flying on its own power. The motions of the body while in flight, and the way you can see the legs and tail move as real separate portions of the creature make it look really cool in flight. It is a really special kite.
