Date: Sat, 18 Feb 1995 16:55:00 -1000 From: bwg001@carina.unm.edu (Brian W. Gordon) Message-Id: <3i6bu4$4nm@lynx.unm.edu> Organization: University of New Mexico, Albuquerque Subject: Aerial, IQ, XTC, Eclipse... I've got a favor to ask you kite experts: Compare and contrast the Aerial, IQ, XTC, and Eclipse, in terms of performance, cost and durability to the Tracer and/or the Trixter. I'm familiar with the Tracer and Trixter and am looking the something to take me beyond the Tracer in terms of responsiveness and "radicalness". Unfortunately I do not know anyone in the New Mexico area that owns an Aerial, IQ, XTC or Eclipse for me to try. Please don't flame me if you think this post is stupid. I don't want this to turn into a "My kite is better than your kite" thread. I'm looking for responses like "This kite is DIFFERENT from that kite because ... it snaps stalls better... harder to axel... doesn't punch turn very tight... slightly faster in light winds... " etc., you get the picture. I've heard a lot of people say that these 4 kites are great, but no one has told me why. I'm hoping you can put things into perspective for me. Keith Kidder Albuquerque, NM = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Date: Tue, 21 Feb 1995 11:53:40 -1000 From: djskites@aol.com (Djskites) Message-Id: <3idnd4$9ev@newsbf02.news.aol.com> Organization: America Online, Inc. (1-800-827-6364) Subject: Re: Aerial, IQ, XTC, Eclipse... Keith asks about the difference between the Aerial, I.Q., XTC, and the Eclipse, compared against the Trixter and the Tracer.....WOW. You certainly picked all good kites which makes this task almost impossible unless you had all of those kites in front of you on a perfect wind day to try. Each kite flys differently and each flyer flys each kite differently. One person will love this or that about one and another will not. In my humble opinion, if you like a little over steer that you can learn to control, and you want a nice ballet oriented kite, buy the Prism or the ETC. Both are great kites. If you want radical AND stable, buy an I.Q. or my personal favorite, the Aerial. Oh yes, I do distribute the two latter mentioned, but I only do so because they float my boat, I like em, and most that fly them, even other kite makers like em too! Dodd Gross = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Date: Wed, 22 Feb 1995 14:08:43 -1000 From: navarrol@netcom.com (Larry Navarro) Message-Id: Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 261-4700 guest) Subject: Re: Aerial, IQ, XTC, Eclipse... Hey Keith, howsitgoing? You asked about input on the Aerial, IQ, XTC, and Eclipse... I have no experience with the Aerial so I'll exclude it >From this comparison. All of these kites are great kites that fly beautifully, but each has it's own personality that makes it slightly different, so I'll just give you my IMPRESSIONS on those differences: Hard Punch Turns - the Eclipse tends to wiggle when coming out of a 90 degree turn, and the XTC may oversteer if your not careful, but the IQ comes out dead on the line. Oversteer - The XTC has very predictable, controllable oversteer while the Eclipse and IQ have less oversteer. Forward Speed - XTC is very fast, Eclipse and IQ are medium speed kites. Snap Stalls - The Eclipse requires a light touch to prevent over control, the XTC is easy to stall anywhere in the window, and the IQ requires a slightly heavier hand for a stall. The XTC will give you more balanced hang time than the IQ or Eclipse. Axles - The XTC does a flat, medium speed axle. The Eclipse does a very quick axle that almost looks like a somersault. The IQ does a a slower axle kinda like a Tracer. Specialties - The Eclipse is great at mid-air turtles, you can pop in and out of them easily with no line tangles. The XTC is great for ballet because of it's very predictable and controllable oversteer and radical trick abilities. The IQ is the perfect kite if you can only have one to use for precision and ballet due to it's fantastic tracking and also it's ability to do tricks. The XTC and Eclipse would not be my first choice for precision kites. In comparing these kites to a Tracer, I'd say the IQ flys most like a Tracer, the Eclipse is less like a Tracer, and the XTC is far from a Tracer. These are just my IMPRESSIONS. Larry Navarro = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =