Seattle Airgear Wind Dance 3

I've had my Wind Dance 3 several weeks now, and have flown it in low winds, and decent breezy days. I bought one of the 'close-out' models, and the Seattle Airgear folks are off into retirement soon. The 'close-out' I bought was supposed to have some puckered stitching, but I couldn't find it.

First impressions were some concerns about the bridle...lots of lines in a crossed configuration. After reading all the hoopla on the website about tangled bridle lines and what to do (including sending it back to have it untangled!) my first thoughts were that tangles would be inevitable. So far, I have managed to do it when the canopy collapsed at the window edge and the kite spiraled to the ground in a balled up mess. But, sorting it all out was easy. Upon receiving the kite I did all that was asked...read the entire 37 page 'manual', re-read the website (which is a rambling, non-cohesive diatribe on the merits of this kite and the lack of merit in today's kite world according to the owner). I checked the bridle settings and familiarized myself with the entire kite. Off to flying...........

Day one was a day with low winds, 4-7 mph with occasional lulls. I started with the kite at factory bridle settings and found that the kite would fly, albeit not at the level of forgiveness of my HQ Symphony 1.8, at the edges of the envelope it would fold up like a cheap suit and tumble to the ground requiring me to make the 'walk of shame'. I adjusted the bridle a bit, and the kite responded a bit better. In subsequent days I found the kite seems to like the stiffer winds better, as I do. I still don't think it flies as broad an envelope as my HQ does. I can routinely get the Symphony to hold itself at the window edge nicely without falling from the sky. The Wind Dance 3 needs to constantly be flown, no resting at the edge or it will collapse. Even today, in winds of 8-12 mph if I wasn't 'pulling' as Seattle Airgear suggests, the kite will collapse and tumble. I even had the kite at the top of the window, where most kites will park nicely until a line pull changes it, and the Wind Dance 3 inverted itself, collapsed and made its way to terra firma.

This is frustrating at times, but then the website says this is a kite that has to be flown at all times, I read that as saying constant input to the control lines or you'll be walking out to re-launch it. When it does fly well, it pulls nicely, it is very fast and those absurd loops and edge turns on the website videos are all very easy to do. I've done loops until dizzy and the kite still controls with many linewraps. It's simply a different flying kite in that it requires the constant line pulls and controlling...no edge pauses or slack line stuff or it'll do the fold-up-cheap-suit routine. I think the kite likes near constant wind, if there's any gust and lulls you'll be very busy keeping it aloft.

Best bet is to get the kite, read the manual a time or two, fly it in different winds, definitely make the bridle changes to see which setting flies best because one setting on this kite does NOT fit all winds, then re-read the manual again and keep flying. I'm certain this kite has much more potential than I've seen from it, and I'm not about to merely dismiss it. When it has flown well, it's been a blast, when it hasn't, it's been a pain in the arse. But I'm on a learning curve with it, and I think there's more to learn.

Construction quality seems first rate. Nicely sewn, nice fabric and colors. The bridle lines seem a bit light, and I've read of others breaking lines but I haven't had the luxury of real high winds yet with this kite (and honestly, I can't wait to see what it'll do in higher winds, say the 12-18 mph range or more). Meanwhile, I'll put in a bunch more time with it and see what I can learn.

One thing I did do was to take the B-line bundles where they pass through the larkshead connector knot and color them because with the bridle adjustments it makes it easier to grab the entire colored bundle of B-lines and pull then to and fro as one adjusts the bridle length. There's quite a bunch of lines coming together there, it helps believe me. A bit of colored magic marker to define those adjustable lines makes a difference.

Launching: easy on a beach where a bit of beach sand to anchor the trailing edge and a light pull on the control lines lifts the leading edge just enough to begin to inflate the cells does it. A quick pull and the kite rockets straight up.
On grass, I find that laying it out on its back with the leading edge away and just enough tension on the lines to pull the wing tips in and then the leading edge up just a wee bit will get you launched with a quick pull. The other launch methods in the manual I haven't mastered yet. I did manage one great launch into a nifty stall just feet off the ground.

Bottom line: do I like the kite? Yes! I'll reach for it often and continue to do the Wind Dance as I actively fly this kite with near constant control line input. And there'll probably still be days when I fail to respond to the kites feedback and it'll collapse on me. But I'll bet those will get to be fewer and fewer as I progress. Sense the kite, respond to feedback on the lines, rely less upon what you see the kite doing and more on feel and I'm sure the enjoyment will come.

By : harpman