Date:	Tue, 26 Jul 1994 16:36:38 -1000
From:	tanaka_be@swam1.enet.dec.com (Bert Tanaka)
Message-Id: <9407270235.AA28642@mts-gw.pa.dec.com>
Organization: Division of Applied Sciences, Harvard University
Subject: Kite Info - Legend IQ (vented)

Over the weekend and past few days, I have been test flying the Vented IQ,
>From Legend Sport Kites.  It is intended for heavy wind flying and although
to date I have only had it up in 15 mph winds, it has shown great promise
and has performed very impressively.

If at all possible, I prefer to fly with a kite that is unscreened.  When
you put a screen on, it changes the way that kite will fly, some of which
you can adjust out if you have time.  Also, because the screen itself has
wind resistance, wind from the side makes the kite act different - when its
stalled as an example.  Not that it bothers me to put on screens.  If its
blowing hard enough I'll hang all kinds of screens on my kite to slow it 
down (including kitchen sinks, lead weights and small boat anchors - I  
have no pride).  But, a good vented kite is still my first choice.

As far as vented kites go, I look for three things:
1.  Slowness - For light wind I like speed.  But for heavy wind, I like
slowness.  Not that speed isn't fun, but how much side to side flying
at really high speed can you take?  Its like being tethered to a gigantic
fly, high on amphetamines.
2.  Reduced pull -  The old Team Air Art and Team High Performance are famous
for flying with the full body tilts, but I can't do it.  I mean I can keep
the kite in the air, but that's about it.  Heavy pull kills hand speed and
makes many stunts, at the very least, extremely difficult to do.  (Them
guys is jes' amazin'..)
3.  Flight characteristics similar to its unvented version -  Most of us
probably don't fly in heavy wind regularly enough to really become comfortable
with it, so having a kite that responds familiarly in tougher conditions
is an advantage and helps us to stay in synch with the wind and control of
the kite.

The Vented Legend IQ has all of these characteristics.  I.E., its really
slow.  At one point when the wind speed was around 6-7 mph,  I put a screen 
on the IQ, just to see what would happen. Slow. Like mud rolling down hill on
a cold day.  The IQ would just inch up in a gravity defying climb.  Mainly, I 
wanted to see how much the screen would change it, and it wasn't much except 
for the speed. 

At any rate, in 12-15 mph winds, unscreened it flies like the standard IQ, 
although at this wind speed, it is still slower than the standard IQ in 
normal winds. I would guesstimate that it would have to be >18 mph before 
I would need to put on a screen.  In 12-15 mph winds I could do everything I 
normally do including stalls, slides, axels, stabs, etc.  Like the standard 
IQ, this one tracks really nice, turns accurately and flies very predictably.
Unscreened, the vented IQ does a pretty good job of keeping the wind window 
wide.  The window is slightly lower but that may be in part due to my 
preference for very low bridling for this kite in these conditions.  It 
attracted a couple of test flys from some of the other pilots that day that 
were curious about how I could fly this kite unscreened in this wind, 
standing straight up and down.  And how come it was going slow enough that 
you could still actually see a figure?  

The pull was relatively light.  I could still step forward enough to 
compensate for the wind and pull off some slack line stunts like off edge 
axels, short versions of the Black Hole, and side slides.  I flew my ballet 
routine, on the music, with everything in using normal lines.   I fly the
IQ with the low wind leach line disconnected because this amplifies the  
gating effect of the sail pressure release system.  It makes a whirring noise
unless the wind is really strong.  (With the leach line taut, its silent.)

Strong wind has always been tough for me, but this weekend, I had an absolute 
blast! Most of which was due to the almost shocking ease in which the vented
IQ handles stronger wind.  There are still a few compensating techniques
needed for strong wind, but essentially, I was able to do everything that
I normally do in milder wind.  Definitely worth a test fly!

Except for the venting, its identical to the standard IQ.  3/4 oz. ripstop,
5.5 Skyshark pultruded carbon spars, kevlar nose.  Height:40.5", 
Wingspan: 81", and Weight: 10.5 oz.  Twin tensioning system in place
of the wing tips.  Leach line for low wind.  Available from DJ Sport Kites,
TEL. 800-296-KITE for the catalog price of $165 less 10AKA discount.

       -Bert


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