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I learnt a lot at the Last Gasp, including the fact that I needed a small kite for the full on that I love so much. After flying the EKKO I knew that flaffing around with shorter lines had it's limits. A smaller kite with long lines is better. An opportunity arose and I seized the moment. Bill Williams Scotland's and possibly the UK's rep for Airea, Had read the Viper review on a site that no longer exists. After a lot of haggling, and what the lads said amounted to emotional blackmail, Bill agreed to lend me the kite to test and do a write up. He He He... That whole thing about getting a new kite to fly all over again, only this time it was the other option, waiting for the wind! Boy did I wait? Worth the wait? Hell it most certainly was. An Easterly arrived, the likes of which had not been seen or felt forever such a long time. A rare treat, perfect conditions at Millisle, and a 1.7 Raptor to make the best of it. The beach was in a state that it only achieves in darkest winter. Big moguls everywhere and firm sand where normally you would need Bigfoots. Infact this is what the lad's up North have wanted for years, buggy-cross. It took a while tweaking and twiddling, adjusting lines etc, when it was tuned, it was wicked, everything I expected. The Raptor 1.7 is one stonkingly good kite Airea have something to be proud of in the Raptor series. I could tell immediately that Bill would not be getting this kite back, as it was performing the miraculous at will. It has all the qualities that I usually witter on about, it is fast, stable and at home all over the window with awesome power. There is a local that walks his dog at Millisle and has watched our progress, he watched me do the wall of death stunt that Steve and I have been perfecting, then he came over and said "your going well today; new kite then". Well he was right. For over four hours I worked the 1.7 stopping every now and again for a smoke as you do, and loved every minute of it. When it was time to wrap I had a closer look at the marvel. The finish on the kite is second to none. It is robust and sturdy. The colour scheme wouldn't be my normal choice, but I'm no great authority on colour, so I'm told. The one thing that pissed me off about the package is that there is no room in its little bag to accommodate lines and handles. Now what's that about? A bit of a slip up if you ask me. I like to keep lines and handles dedicated to each kite I have, and I don't think I'm the only one that does that. A small detail ok but relevant to a review. The next time I was about to fly it was at Benone just before the New Year. Steve El Presidente fly past me at a rate of knots sporting a 2.5 Raptor, I was flying my predator 2.8 over powered, and losing, now I really hate that. I realised that by moving down to the 1.7 it wouldn't allow me to catch Steve with his 2.5. All of that became immaterial as I went airborne into the front of my own car finishing off my years kiting with a spectacular. It was this incident that made realise that there is too much of a gap between the 1.7 and the 2.8. So I have ordered up a 2.2 Predator and Steve is taking my Raptor 1.7, and is changing his entire fleet to Raptor's. Airea's Raptors are superb kites, truly high performance and friendly with it. When I phoned Bill to tell him so, he replied with, "I told you so", he also told me he had been kitesurfing. Shame on him. By : IR23