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Nathan Yun is making a documentary on Kite Zhang's Kites - I'm not quite sure how to describe this, it's kind of like a cross between exceptional meccano and kite making skills steeped in Eastern tradition....er..I think. It is fascinating to see both the kites and the detail in some of the constructions. Chook, you're gonna love this!! Check out the video here.... https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1747407323/kite-zhangs-kites-a-documentary-of-kinetic-kites Nathan has got a kickstarter page going where he's trying to raise funds to make this into a proper documentary that will help in keeping this art alive. I wish you all the best, Nathan.

Anyone doing this? I've made up a picavet mount for the GoPro which will take photos every 2,5,10,30 seconds but haven't managed to use it yet. I have had the gopro under the wing of a motor glider with some success, but of course every time I bank/turn it, I get shots of the neighbors paddock. Of which I have A LOT. But it seems a bit hit and miss. I like the idea of putting a kite up, attaching camera and then letting out the line to position the camera in the right spot. Found a good vid:

Something about the Cody box kites that has always intrigued me. I think they look awesome. Named after Samuel Cody, who is famous for his work with large kites, some used by the British military in world war one for artillery observation. He may have also been one of the very first 'kite boaters' as he successfully used one of his kites to cross the English channel pulling a boat. I have a smallish 'Spirit of Air' cody that was relatively cheap at around $80AU, but you get what you pay for and I wouldn't really recommend it. It's not the most stable flyer and I had to unpick and re-sew one of the seams that overran into another panel - not great QC. HQ make a bigger, much more complex version. If you don't mind messing around with quite a few spars, it would probably make a good lifter or kap platform. Certainly a stunning looking kite. Reviews n.a. Cody This cody, made according to the standards of Lutz Treczoks, is a friend for life. Superior workmanship and made of the finest materials, this Cody rocks. This classic kite performs best in medium to higher winds. Our 35er Cody with top-sail is especially suitable to hauling up all kinds of line laundry as a result of the strong lift it develops. rec. accessories: groundstake, windturbines. Width 260 cm / 102" Height 120 cm / 120" Sail Nylon Frame Carbon 3 + 6 + 8 mm Line rec., 90-145 kp / 200-320 lb. Wind 2-6 Bft. (6-49 km/h, 4-31 mph) Age + 14 There's also some nice video of it flying too - looks like it flys at a nice high angle and pretty stable too. Skip through the German intro/review to the last bit of assembly and flying at 3:30ish Found a bit of a review on it from issue 104 of The Kiteflyer: Priced at US $298.95.

Based in Lenoir, North Carolina, you'll find Ken McNeill Fabrications making some stunning looking kites (or high performance aerial art as Ken refers to them) - no argument from me there. Ken's been designing and building his kites for 25 years out of the finest materials he can get his hands on. I hadn't heard of Ken until Doug put a picture of one of his kites in the gallery. The Cody heritage immediately caught my eye although a look through Ken's site reveals some quite different designs and even some 2 line stunters. Check out Ken's site here: http://www.kmacfab.com/ My favorite.....

Peter Lynn has been hard at work developing single skin, single line kites. He has a couple now which he has licensed out for other people to produce. This one looks very nice - the Boomer, a 2.5sq.m 7 cell made and sold by John and Irene Tan in Singapore, fionareen@yahoo.com.sg It evidently has 3x the pull of an equivalent ram air foil... could be a good line laundry anchor. According to Peter, they fly at a higher angle than a similar ram air foil and the Boomer's wind range is 8 km/hr to 40 km/hr.

Designed by Ray and Jeanne Merry, the Ultrafoil range has gained a bigger brother - the Ultrafoil 30. This one is designed for 5 - 30 mph wind and I imagine it would generate some pretty decent pull in the upper wind range. I have the Ultrafoil 15 which is an excellent gopro kap rig that flies at a reasonably steep angle and is quite stable. This should make an excellent alternative to a HQ Flowform 2. Recommended line is 300lb and current price is $250 US. Available at IntoTheWind and Cobra Kites as well as the KAPshop.

You think your flysurfer is big, have a look at some of these bad boys...