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Big Sister (Wolfe Design)

Like all big sisters, this kite has its good and bad points. Starting at the top, she has a strong nose, with a good angle and the latest shape of sail. This contributes to good groundwork trickability, along with the depth of the sail and a nice three points bridle. She's slightly unstable to fly, due mainly to the oversteer on the bridle and thin wingtips. The bridle is one of the best features of the Big Sister. It gives the kite virtually no drive, enabling good stalling, quick recovery from flipping the kite on to her back, easy axles, good turning ability and sharp square cuts. The sacrifices of such a bridle however won't lend her to very light wind flying, including reacting when pumped with any arm movement. Further being more unpredictable for doing pancakes and flat spins as she can blow back to front she's not user friendly for beginners and prefers somebody with a bit more experience. Aimed at the better intermediate to expert flyer, who will not become frustrated when pulling off tricks, as she is consistently well behaved there.

What does she look like? The aesthetics are a matter of taste of taste on French art. There has been little attention paid to the direction of the bias on the sail, where appliqued. The panels have been simply laid on top of each other and straight machine stitched throughout, with an additional strengthening stitch. The moulded fittings are neat and practical. The leading edge connectors are sturdy and the knots are slit on the side. The other fittings look homemade. Good anti-line fouling idea on her backside; using cable ties to attach the vinyl stand-off holder on the sail. The stand-offs are the same diameter as the frame; unconventional but not a problem. The base of her spine is Velcro so you won't break her back easily. A bit soft around the edges though, the leading edge is only 3/4 ounce Ripstop nylon. No doubt this is intentional, as the 2/3 leech line can then be tightened to effect curvature as well as give her a tight bottom. She's great to play with but could do with dressing up a bit