Swallowtail - DRAFT --------------------------------------------------------------------- jeffy@syrinx.umd.edu (Jeffrey C. Burka) 14 Sep 92 20:42:14 GMT Manufacturer: Fizz Sport Kites Materials: sail Spars Wind Range: Span: Height: Type: Delta I got to fly (finally!) Benson's new Swallowtail. Ooh! Nifty! Instead of the normal dart keel, this kite has two little sailettes (;-) extending down from the t-fitting, like the tail of an angelfish (or Joel Scholtz' Neptune). Benson is far more sensible about his tail than Scholtz. On the Neptune, the tail is kept taut by a piece of fiberglass that curves by the sail. While this works, it distorts the sail by the spine. Benson simply has what amounts to leading edge pockets that meet at the t-fitting, and the swallowtails are held out by graphite spars (held in place with the obligatory bungee). All this is stuck onto a kite that looks an awful lot like a Phantom, in terms of size, geometry, and construction. So how does it fly? Well, the Swallowtail seems to take a bit more wind, but once it's in the air is shockingly reminiscient of the Phantom. It sounds just like a Phantom and has the same solid feel through turns. The big differences seem to be that it turns an awful lot faster (though nothing like the High Profile, Benson's other new kite) and it skates beautifully. While not an overly radical kite (certainly more than the Phantom though), this kite needs the now ever-present piece of monofilament strung along the bottom--the double tails just provide too many places for your bridles to get snagged. Jeffrey C. Burka