My first introduction to modern kiting was with a dual line, and my interest has been primarily dedicated to maneuverable kites since then (as you’ll find reflected in the info below), but you can find a wealth of information about ALL varieties of kiting on the American Kitefliers Association website.
With over three decades of experience in nearly all of the kite disciplines below (personal passions), my flying skill does vary with each one but I’m 100% confident teaching any of them to someone else – also remember, the world of kiting is so big and innovative that it’s impossible to cover everything – test, learn, adapt, follow your muse and have fun along the way.
With so much experience under my belt both as a performer and instructor, I launched my own brand of kites in 2018 under Kite Forge – a company totally dedicated to creating and offering only the very best products, all tailored to my own high standards.
Basic Kite Types
Even if we narrow kites down to a few basic genres, there are so many children and sub-children from each one, as well as innovations trhat defy the category they originated from… The three styles below strictly cover the over-simplified categories that I favor in my own passions, it’s not even close to an end-all list.
Single Line Kites - just one string, but still fun and versatile.
Single Line Kites
Likely the most familiar to an average person, single line kites fly on one string (we call it a line) but the urban or indoor models that I prefer tend to be simpler in design with some maneuverability and long gliding ability… These characteristics make flying the kite very easy, so much so that elderly or physically limited individuals can still find freedom in flight.
Speaking strictly toward controllable single line kites, the basic principle for flying them has to do with pulling in (power/flight) and letting out line (turn/glide) while you fly, using subtle right and left inputs in combination with speed control to perform a variety of movements.
One of the major advantages of a good indoor / urban glider is that you can quite literally fly these kites just about anywhere… Your living room, office, hotel lobby or train station, glider kites have taken spontaneous guerrilla kite flying to a whole new level.
Indoor models tend to be super, super light to make up for the absence of wind, while urban gliders tend to be a little stronger (added weight) for variable winds and outdoor impacts, both can be used almost interchangeably if wind and skill allow.
Single Line Glider Example
Dual Line Kites - classic with two strings, pull R/L for turns and tricks.
Dual Line Kites
One of the two most common controllable or “stunt” kites, many of us remember these as basic diamond or pyramid (“delta”) shapes made with aluminum, fiberglass or other materials… When a dual line kite is launched in enough wind, it is a “nose forward” flier that responds to pushing or pilling on the right and left lines, steering the nose where you want while flying forward.
These days, with super light carbon frames and over 20 years of design evolution, dual line kites can still be flown elegantly but are definitely more apt to faster flight speed, more aggressive movements and rotational tricks – I always describe dual lines as the “electric guitar” of sport kites, full range but capable of some really dynamic and high-paced maneuvers both indoors and out.
When looking at dual lines, there are a couple of key approaches to selecting a kite…
First is “slack line” tricks, wherein the kite is partially unstable and can be laid on it’s back, rotated, flipped and rolled up in it’s own lines through an infinite variety of combinations that make the kite appear as if it’s a yo yo, and not really flying under power.
Second is precision, which generally comes down to being stable, with solid drive, cornering and very controllable oversteer, the far extreme of this might be described as “driving a truck”… Can’t trick, but it’ll fly a straight line and turn corners like nobody’s business.
Alas, after flying literally hundreds upon hundreds of dual line kites over 20+ years of development and technology advancement, I’ve found that most pilots tend to prefer either tricks or precision… I truly enjoy both, but getting the right balance of trick and precision is tricky and the kites I would personally consider true “all rounders” are far and few between.
Dual Line Kite Example
Quad Line Kites - forward/reverse, hover, rotation and speed control.
Quad Line Kites
If dual line kites are the electric guitar, then quad line kites, particularly those such as the Djinn and other similar styles, would be the equivalent of an electric saxahone… While they generally lack that “straight and true” forward drive and R/L steering, controlling the kite with four lines gives you the ability to affect any edge of the sail to make it fly in any direction.
Forward or reverse at any speed, sideways flight, pivot on a wing tip or rotate on dead center or hover mid-air in any orientation – a skilled pilot can very gently place one wing tip into a 1″ hole at over 100 feet away, or do a blazing dive at over 50 mph and stop on a time without hitting the ground, all of which also makes Revolution kites very popular for team flying.
The versatility of quad line kites gives them more fly time than my dual lines, but they both provide a very different flight sensation, I’ve learned a lot from the comparative experience and I couldn’t live with just one.
Quad Line Kite Example
Styles of Kite Flying
Again, please remember that this is a list of kite disciplines as they’re relevent to my own interest as a kiteflier… I encourage you to research, try and learn about of much as kiting as you can because it will increase your knowledge and skills with kiting as a whole – but, there are other websites and forums for any topics not covered here.
It’s a big, big kiting world, and I only hope that I’ve fanned the ember enough – go fly!
