The old and the new

The old   The new

The old  

Kite-culture dual-line flying offers two separate tracks: 1) Delta kites for 'performance' flying. 2) Parafoil kites for 'power' flying or for easy stuffing into a fannypack.

In the collective mind of the kite culture, delta kites are the ultimate in performance and parafoils cannot possibly perform as well as or better than deltas. The delta is still the center of the sport-kiting universe, like how the Earth remained the center of the Universe for centuries after overwhelming evidence to the contrary. As always, enlightenment takes time.

First you buy an entry-level kite (an entry-level delta or an entry-level parafoil), then step-up kites, and finally 1) the latest specialized graphite-framed trick & competition delta kites for the utmost 'performance' or 2) the latest specialized parafoil traction or power kites for the most 'power.' The serious flyer has at least a dozen dual-line kites, and a big kite-bag to carry them all, a kite for every combination of skill, wind, and 'performance' or 'power'; it costs a small fortune.

But as we explain on this web site, few entry-level, step-up, and high-end deltas or parafoils FLY all that well in the three essential ways or provide high-quality exercise. That is, they don't respond well to basic skill because half the bridle is missing, they don't respond well to the wind because they deform and lose performance when the wind and pull rise, and the pull drops when turning which feels unnatural and powerless (which makes control and learning more difficult than it should be).

In track 1), you also step up to difficult advanced skills that reduce and eliminate FLYING performance, and to advanced trick & competition deltas that are the sport's slowest kites. In track 2), power flying -- where your arms are pulled straight as you bulldoze the beach with your heels -- is sold as good exercise. In reality, intense arm-&-body strain with little arm-&-body motion is low-quality exercise, and there's no arm or upper-body exercise at all when you anchor the control lines to a body harness. There's also low-quality arm & upper-body exercise in quad flying (you twiddle your hands and wrists) and in kite-surfing (the control bar prevents the full arm motion needed).

The most recommended and popular control handles are wrist-straps that dull your feel of the wind and of your kite and they squeeze your hands (sometimes painfully) when the wind strengthens and when you actively pull hard to achieve hot turning & good exercise.

What's happening? As other sports monitor and cater to the public to assure growth and success, the kite culture remains insular, caters to itself, imposes its peculiar preferences onto others, and resists forms of kiting the public would take a liking to -- such as healthful-exercise high-performance FLYING from easy basic skill. All this has driven the expense up, "kite-FLYING" performance down, visual and tactile excitement down, exercise quality down, difficulty up, physical discomfort up -- and many people away from the sport.

Consequences of the kite-culture's stubborn direction? During kite-festival displays of sport kiting expertise, as the experts flipped their expensive high-tech 'performance' kites in the air and tumbled them on the ground, the public has mistaken the experts as beginners and their hot deltas as flawed because it looked like neither could FLY; read this. Also during festivals and competitions, the public sees how recreational kites have hotter performance than competition models, strangely the opposite of other sports. Rip-your-arms-off get-dragged-and-lifted power flying scares most people -- fun to watch but not to do.

Organized kiting's narrow, two-track focus is on 1) kites designed to be killed, not FLOWN, using flight-killing skills. Many experts now have difficulty FLYING a kite well because advanced skill purged them of basic skill: instead of pulling on their control lines to generate speed & turning (basic skill), they don't pull enough or at all or they push on their kite lines instead -- like taking your foot off the gas and not turning the wheel to get hot performance out of a sports car. Focus 2) is on extreme-sport kiting: such as using a kite to stretch your arms sort of like Mel Gibson on the rack at the end of "Braveheart," and to experience the Earth as a giant belt grinder as you're dragged.

What happened to speed & turning FLYING performance? What happened to basic FLYING skill? What happened to sane recreational kiting suitable for the millions of normal people out there? The kite culture pretty much buried all that fun -- and seems hell bent on burying it deeper.

Yes, there's toy & hobby flying. There's kiting as history, culture, & art. There's performance & competition flying -- that's low-performance. There's extreme-sport power & traction flying -- that's unlively and gives low-quality exercise. Where is exciting, healthful-exercise fun flying with the qualities and spirit of mainstream recreation? The kite culture is shutting it out.

The public sees all this. Not surprisingly, kite festival attendance has declined. So has kite trade show attendance, about 20% per year: during the 2001 Kite Trade Association International (KTAI) show, less than 100 retailers from around the world came to see the wares. Kite shops are dying out. Both USA kite magazines folded in the year 2000.

The clear message to the kite trade? "Obviously, the public doesn't particularly care for what the kite culture likes."

The clear solution? "To assure growth and success, also offer choices the PUBLIC would like -- such as kites that FLY really well using basic skill. Satisfy the kite culture and the public. Make everybody happy, like other sports and trade groups do."

But the kite culture won't listen.

The new  

WindDancing is easy, fun-recreational, healthful-exercise, high-performance sport-kite FLYING with virtually-indestructible 100%-soft parafoil sport kites -- WindDances -- that provide hotter performance than 'performance' deltas and better exercise than 'power' parafoils.

WindDances are easy and forgiving for beginners and exciting and challenging for experts. No need for specialized entry-level, step-up, and high-end kites.

You can WindDance alone. And for a whole new world of fun you can WindDance side-by-side together with a partner, family member, or friend. No need for specialized 'individual' and 'team' kites.

We recommend the comfortable new ergonomically-correct handles that enhance performance, exercise, and the exciting physical sensations of FLYING. No need to avoid energetic pulling -- needed for hot turning and great exercise -- in order to prevent discomfort to your hands. No need to stop flying to let your hands recover.

Since WindDance performance is superb in light and strong wind, all at the same bridle setting, there's no need for specialized light-wind and strong-wind kites, and no need to change the bridle setting to optimize performance for different winds.

Higher acceleration & speed + hotter turning + livelier pull = more excitement. Hot state-of-the-art performance that can be tamed when necessary for novices or strong wind or when you desire a tranquil pace. No need for specialized 'performance' kites for light-to-medium winds or specialized slow 'vented' kites for strong winds.

Higher-quality exercise. No need for specialized power kites.

You can roll up a WindDance and stuff it in a big coffee mug. No need to buy a separate kite just for travel.

Incredibly strong and durable. No need to stress out over having to avoid high-speed crashes. While WindDancing side-by-side, no fear of destroying your kites during accidental midair collisions.

In short, higher performance and better exercise -- over a wide range of skill levels and winds -- than from a whole bunch of specialized kites. Much less expensive, easier, safer, stronger, longer lasting, and very compact, too.

One kite does it all, almost: WindDances accelerate too much and aren't slow enough for stunt competition, they can't do all the un-flying and non-flying tricks because they want to keep FLYING. And sometimes, when you want to go home, you can't because your WindDance bounces while attempting to land and keeps on FLYING! Enjoy the full range of dual-line "FLYING" -- hot acceleration, high speed, fast & tight & powerful turning, spectacular aerobatic agility, lively pull, and great exercise -- from one versatile fun-&-exercise machine, from one piece of high-performance airgear.

Choose the model with the pull and turning you like best.

WindDances are so different they're airgear -- recreation gear or sports equipment -- not kites.

WindDancing is so different it's outdoor recreation, not the usual kite flying.

Where did the hot response to basic skill, hot response to the wind, ease of flying, fast learning, and superior exercise come from? We aeronautically engineered WindDances to FLY well in the three essential ways, that is, to live up to our minimum standards for sport kites.

Most kite dealers impose the old -- kite-culture flying -- onto all of their customers. We offer the new: WindDancing!

WindDance dual-line parafoil stunt kites/sport kites are developed, sold, and backed by Seattle AirGear.
WindDance, WindDancing, Seattle AirGear, and AirGear are trademarks of Seattle AirGear.
Copyright © 1995-2017 Seattle AirGear.
This page last revised Oct-15-2001