Fighter Kites 
Fighter Kites (Small Kites, BIG Delight)
This kite is how I got "Hooked on Fighters". I won this Richard Gareau Patang at a club raffle and to date haven't looked back. There are two words to describe it... Smooth and Solid! It, after all the fighters I have flown and designed, is still my favourite fighter to toss in the air.
Here are two BASF fighters. The left one I affectionately call Frankenstein with a ripstop nylon sail and a scary frame made up of an 1/8" fiberglass and carbon spine, fiberglass bow and split bamboo skewer battens. The right one is a light wind mylar sail with scooped trailing edges.
My first Buka... Prismatic Mylar centre and UL Orcon sides. Not a great flyer but not too awfully bad for a first attempt.
Here is Spot. Medium weight Orcon, bamboo spine and .06 carbon bow. Tracks great and is as fast as I can almost handle!! ;)
Here is a BBF. All I can say is that it flys beautifully and ask Bruce Lambert about it!
These two I use for gale force winds.The upper left is made of 3mil drafting mylar, bow of .08 fiberglass and spine of 1/4" sq hdwd dowel. The right one is medium weight Orcon, bamboo spine and .08 fiberglass bow.
Christmas come early? here is a Dot-01 on the left and a Publix on the right made from Tyvec wrapping paper. Too cool!
This is a modern Hata. The design by Peter Stauffer from Australia. The sail is Icarex with Avia 2300 spine and for low wind an 1/8" fiberglass bow with a .110 carbon compound attachment to the main bow. Really hard pulling and a ton of fun.
Here it is... Dot-02. It is Dot-01's smaller sister. A delicate little thing just for the pleasure oflitting a fighter around the sky. .05 fiberglass, Yes I said Fiberglass bow and bamboo spine make it a pure pleasure to fly.
Big, Black and Beautiful. My 48"wide by 32" high mammoth is a real hoot to fly. Always gets someone talking to me trying to figure out how I fly that thing!
This Korean dirivitive is called a "Pang Pae Yon". It was let out of the bag by Malcom Dick of Tasmania. A neeto kite that is indeed for light winds. The top spar bows to allow the air to flow down and off the bottom corners. the yellow "legs" help stabilize the kite a bit and provide a bit of livelyness in the movement. An interesting and unique flyer.
On his last trip to India I asked Vaino Raun if he would be so kind as to pick me up two kites from the Kite Centre in what we knew as Bombay. This mylar and bamboo specimen is called the Mirage 2000. A really nice flyer that cuts a fine profile in the sky. This one has had a troubled life as one wingtip got clipped off in a kite box crunch. With a bit of TLC tho' it is back in the air flying as gracefully as ever!
This is the second kite Vaino picked up for me. (many thinks by the way Vaino!) It is called the "Stealth". With some designs you win and some you don't. This one looks better hanging on the wall than flying in the air. Actually it looks cool in the air just flys like a wounded duck! Still a fun kite to have.
This is my latest acquisition! The one and only E-Kula. This beautiful yellow version was made by the incomparable Larry Marshall from La Belle Province du Quebec. The sail is Chikera (spelling?) with a unique carbon spine and bow. A straight line speedster that is more than fun to fly. Almost can keep up th it. Thanks Larry.
All ready for combat these two NFKA Standards or "Donna's Dogs" are finished and legal. The left one is a light wind version with cool blue mylar sail and .05 carbon bow and bamboo spine. The high wind version on the right is a combo prismatic mylar and medium orcon sail with .06 carbon bow and bamboo spine. All I can say is... FAST!
They don't call me "the mad scientist" for nuthin!! ;)
Here are the latest brain waves to come out of my laboratory. The one on the left is called
the "Sparrow Hawk" This one is hot off the banch and isn't even bridled yet. It may not
be a comp contender but I think it is pretty and hopefully fly as nice as it looks. This one is
mylar with .05 carbon bow and bamboo spine. Real Cute.
The one on the right is called the "HARK" or high aspect ratio kite. For all intensive purposes
this is what a fighter looks like when you cut off the nose and tail!! This one has an
orcon sail, .05 carbon bow and bamboo spine. I think it has potential but won't know till
I can get out and try it.
As they say the experiments
go on and the results will tell the tale.
This is a cool variation on my Dot-02. Using black mylar sail I cut out the face from a Giacomo shoppers bag and adhered it to the sail. Add a .05 carbon bow and a bamboo spine and you have a unique light wind fighter. NO... this isn't a self protrait!! ;))
Joe Ludwig created a line of amazing fighters called the "Roo". I have aquired 2 so far and am having way too much fun with them. The yellow one is a "Standard" version which is great in low winds. Being a bit difficult to see in certain lights I applied the word Roo to it for visibility. The rainbow Roo to the right is also a Standard version and I only fly it on perfect days! I still have to get a ROO II and a HW Roo. Can't wait!
These Indonesian tissue and bamboo fighters are my "Sunday afternoon, sit in a lawn chair, fly till you can't any more type of fighter. An 8K steady breeze and I float off on a fighter high! If you can ever get some give them a try... you will be hooked!
Here is the latest of my designs called the "Lightning Bolt" a bit smaller than my Dot-01 and twice as fast! I think I have finally got a competition ready fighter that in the right hands is a winner!
More Pics to come!!!