Date: Tue, 29 Jun 1993 12:51:09 -1000 From: Colin_Douthwaite@equinox.gen.nz (Colin Douthwaite) Message-Id: Organization: Equinox Networks Subject: Fighter Sortie 2 Greetings and thanks to Larry Marshall (Canada) for re-posting the excellent article from: (CSEPLO,STEPHEN P) who..... in <102973@hydra.gatech.EDU> sc5@prism.gatech.EDU writes: > First of all, to successfully learn to fly and subsequently fly a > fighter you first need a good kite. Now I know that most people > would think this is obvious, but judging from the comments about $2- > $8 paper Indian fighters it appears to be not too evident to some. > Remember the old saying, you get what you pay for. You are absolutely right in what you say, _but_ The $2 to $8 Bamboo/Paper Indian Fighters are the _only_ fighters I _can_ buy here. It is clear that NZ Fliers are not interested ( so far ) in Fighters. I will be printing a copy of Stephen's posting to give to my local Kite Supplier ( where I buy my Paper/Bamboo Indians ). He may be interested in considering trial imports of the Vic Fighters which I understand are made of more durable components than Paper/Bamboo. It is clear that Fighters are available from many sources in the USA. Postings in rec.kites also show there is also a good range of types and materials. The Vic Fighters; Grandmasters and George Peters Indians have been referred to several times in the past. They are clearly well liked by American Fighter Kiters. I very much doubt if these Fighters are available in other parts of the world. However, I stand to be corrected. ( I sometimes wonder what 0f the 14,000 readers of rec.kites actually live outside USA. America is well known for its Kite Flying enthusiasm ). The only locally made Kite I can find in NZ, which seems to match some of the descriptions given of American-sourced fighters, seems to be the Peter Lynn " Ei Dako ", a tiny kite made in lightweight ripstop nylon with fibreglass spars. The "Ei Dako" ( the name suggests Japanese origin although no one seems to know exactly what Ei Dako means ) is not classed as a Fighter but it performs in a similar way. The "Ei Dako" is sold with a Tail :-) :-) > Now I'm sure that if you buy a cheap paper indian fighter while in > India from a vendor, it will probably fly pretty good. But consider > all the thermal factors involved with shipping something like that > half way around the world and you can see how warping very easily > comes into the picture. And once warped, > they will never fly completely correct no matter what you do. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Well, I have now bought 5 cheap Indian Paper/Bamboo Fighters. They are all from the same source and same maker in India. All of them will fly quite well with a Tail - I am _not_ giving ^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^ them away _yet_ until I have tried out the many ideas which have been offered by the Fliers who have responded in these excellent postings in rec.kites ( and privately ) on the subject of Flying Fighters. Keep the ideas coming - I think a few people are interested :-) :-) Colin Douthwaite New Zealand 30/6/93 Email address: colin_douthwaite@equinox.gen.nz = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =