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SkyDog Little Wing

Review By John Z.

Construction

It is surprisingly well-built for a kit in this price range.  Bungee cords at the wing tips, a well-wrapped nose, solid edge elbows/connectors all help to make this a solid kite.  Especially for a beginner kite.

The Little Wing also has both an upper spreader and a lower spreader and helps make it more solid.  (Unlike the Flying Wings’ Beetle, which has only a lower spreader—unless you buy an additional “wind range booster” kit).  More on that later.

The sail is sewn and constructed as well as other mid-level kites are so there are no unpleasant surprises there.

Sleeve

The sleeve the kite comes in is well thought-out.  Typically a kite sleeve has a hook and loop closure at the top end to secure the kite.  The lines are stored in either a pouch on the outside of the sleeve (not secured), or in a pouch that also uses the hook and loop closure.  And usually the hook and loop snags the straps or the lines when you are putting away the line set.

The Little Wing has a flap that serves as storage for the line set, and folds over onto the outside of the sleeve.  It is nice because it does not have hook and loop closures at the opening to snag/fray the straps/lines.  But they are still secure because the flap is secured down with a hook and loop patch.

 

 

 

 

Flight

When the Skydog Little Wing was reviewed, there was actually very little wind—between 4 – 6 mph, and it was not completely steady, as the wind would fade and come back.

Another kite, the HQ Limbo, which has a wind rating of 4-31 mph (per manufacturer specs) did not even get into the air, despite repeated attempts.  So that is a good comparison point.

The Little Wing immediately took off, with only a small tug to get it going.  It caught the breeze and would stay up even at the edge of the window.  There was no stalling or fading, even at that low wind speed.

The handling was predictable and solid.  It was not “twitchy” or “nervous” like another kite in the same ‘beginner’ class — the Beetle.  Since the Little Wing has both an upper spreader and a lower spreader (unlike the Beetle, which has only a lower spreader—unless you buy an additional “strong wind” kit) it is more stable in flight.

After enough flight time for an honest review, the Little Wing went where it is designed to go – into the hands of a little 7 year-old girl, and a 10 year-old boy.  Neither of them had even flown a dual-line kite.

Much to the delight of the kids, the Little Wing was completely stable in flight.  It was forgiving to some of the kids’ more exaggerated arm movements, and once they learned that only small movements were needed, they were flying with ease.  The 10 year-old boy even learned to do loops on his own.  They would take turns (about 10 minute intervals) or when one of them crashed at about that time.  But for the most part—they both kept it flying.  Cannot really tell how much abuse the Little Wing will take, because crashes in 4-6 mph winds are generally pretty slow and not very hard.  The abuse test flight comes later when stronger winds are blowing.

 


Click on picture for larger view

Conclusion

For the beginner, you absolutely cannot go wrong with the Skydog Little Wing.  It will fly in 4+ winds, and be steady in the hands of beginners and children alike.  Because it is so steady-they can master turns, and loops very quickly and really develop a love for sport kites.

For a quick summary:

• It flies in lighter winds than an HQ Limbo, even though they have the same low-end wind rating.
• It is very stable, even in lighter winds.
• It is much more stable in flight than the Flying Wings’ Beetle.
• It is solidly built, and the leading edge tips do not snag the lines.
• In the same price range as the Limbo and costs less than the Beetle (especially if you decide to buy the “wind range boost” kit which is basically just an upper spreader)
• The kite sleeve does not have Velcro that will snag the straps and lines when putting it away.

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