Ramlal hopes the kite will be in stores by the end of the summer, when the new Atelier website will be unveiled. However, it can ordered now by emailed Ramlal directly. The price is 370 euros.

Available now from Cerfvolantservice.com here.

This Slash video is something special, like all Atelier videos. In the hands of Mathieu not only are the tricks exemplary, but for good measure there’s dramatic scenery and spectacular new camera angles, from on the kite itself and along side it in the air.

Specifications:

• Dimensions: 237 cm / Height: 102.5 cm / Weight: 331 grs / Max Depth: 25 cm
• Framing: full Skyshark Nitro (STD + strong for upper leading edge)
• Standoffs: 2 x 3mm carbon rod + 2 x 2mm Gytech
• Bridle: 3 points “Y”
• Tailweight: 15gr
• Features: Adjustable centre T, Gytech wind absorbers, auto-breaking winglets
• Wind Range: 8-25 km/h
• Recommended Lines: 40-90 kg Length: 30m- 38m

I’m looking forward to seeing more of this kite in action. Its been far too long since the last design from Atelier, the excellent “V Masque”.

Republished with permission from

Photos: Atelier Kites & Paul May.

I recently acquired a baby Transfer.  I quite like it and I’ve written a little review.

Construction

Compared to his bigger brothers, the Z has been given a few small but appreciable fixes: the nose has finally been cut square, the tiny winglet spars are now protected by a rubbery coat rather than just mylar, the centre T is a neat hard-rubber dome thing, and the tail is a neat little slot in ferrule with a T on the end, rather than a piece of hosepipe cut and drilled (which works, but doesn’t look all that pro). The stitching is as usual, nicely done 3step zigzags. Chikara forms the LE panel, they claim it makes the kite more reasonable in rough wind. Trailing edge nicely reinforced, which is just as well as it is going to need it with all those lazies. Unusually, the coloured nose panels and the white TE panels are doubled up (TE is mylar and white icarex), just for visual kicks. The frame is Sky Shark Black Diamond Nitro, except the miniscule upper spreader. It is a stiff old frame, very stiff. And heavy. Without tailweight (and with roll bars), I weighed the kite at 320g. On the tail comes a 19g weight, and they give you a 12g one too.

Finally, yes this kite has “yo-rings”. In one word, I would describe them as lame. They are made of what looks to be 1.5mm carbon, going through an APA on the LS, and through a hole on the TE. They look ugly, and extend too far out back from the kite. OK they hold the lines perfectly well, until they break that is. I broke one within the hour. The yo-stops are fine as back up, but of course I immediately converted them to roll bars (2mm carbon), using their own hole on the TE to connect it to. At first glance that hole looks a bit too far down the TE (and the bars aren’t as upright as they are on a Deep Space or converted Akujis), but they work incredibly well this far akimbo. But really, they should have paid homage to Benson/Wardley by carbon-copying the design, rather than making a hash of it.

Flight

It needs a lot of wind to keep this kite happy. My estimate is that less than 6mph is the bottom end… though its trickable range is a lot higher than the XTr or XTs. It gives plenty of feedback, and I found the precision of the kite to be top notch. I’ve had more practice with the Frenchies, but in direct comparison with the Fury .85 (a kite of nearly identical size), the XTz won hands down. Really impressed. It is a little kite, and it can tight turn well within its own wingspan, unlike the R or S. It is virtually silent in flight unless at the top of its range, which I find to be a good thing.

So to tricks… Firstly, the 19g weight is odd – I used it initially, but then realized that the kite easily wraps up without any weight at all. Then I found out why it is there – to hold the kite in a fade better. With 19g, the nose is just a touch higher than horizontal, and requires careful tending. With 10g, a fade is perfectly flat, and requires more perfect tending. With none, the nose is lower than the horizontal, and though holdable, it’s difficult. This was disappointing, both the R and S can keep an indefinite fade, but it will take some practice and perfect wind to hold a sixty second fade on the Z. I eventually elected to put 10g on the tail, as the roll up speed is quick with any of the weights – 10/12/20g.

The stiffness and weight of the frame gives this kite loads of impetus – it rolls up as quick as an Akuji, and lazy susans like no other kite I’ve flown. It’ll do double lazies off a single input, which is amazingly good fun! Axels are crisp, yeah it’s all there, and the usual Transfer problems are there – cometes need to be soooo delicate to stop them ending up on their back, and backspins (though plenty easier than on the R or S) are difficult to do without losing altitude. Basically it is – shock! – like a very forgiving, fastforwarded XTr. It’s plenty of fun, especially with all the yoyos it hands out. Extended combos really do roll off the kite well, its a joy to fly these moves. The S and R, tricky for their size, are difficult to fly well – the Z is just the remedy, being forgiving and flippy.

All this comes at a price – which is that the kite is unimpressive in low winds. I’m even tempted to try lighter leading edges – though I’ll leave that until I know the kite better.

Verdict

I think that Atelier have done the Transfer dynasty well and made a very competent freestyle kite. It’s poor in low winds, I’m not an expert but I think it could lose some flab off the frame and still perform nicely. If you like lazy-based tricks and enjoy flying in brisk breezes, its a great kite. If you want to learn cometes or enjoy low winds, it’s not right.

-Al

A friend of mine in VA, Ben Liptak recently bought on of those blowout Atelier “V-Masque” sails from Bilboquet in France. He got his buddy Paul Shirey of Aerostar kites to frame and pimp it for him.

For more on the framing specs and such check out Paul’s new and updates section.

Here are Paul’s thoughts:

“We finally got a reprieve today from this sub-freezing weather. So, I decided to take your V-M on its maiden flight. First of all, it sure felt good to fly again and get out in the sunshine! Ok, ok, I’ll get to the point here is my review:

1. For the test flight, 5 – 15 mph variable winds, 150#/100 ft lineset w/ leaders attached & intermediate tail ballast (SSL 9 grams). After setting up the kite, I didn’t bother to put on my gloves. Figured I would fly it for a few moments and then have to start the bridle tweaking process. You know what? I never ended up touching it at all! I was quite surprised since I wasn’t 100% sure it was even installed correctly. In addition, the OEM V-M likely uses different fittings which can throw-off the bridle geometry a bit. Kite was quite precise yet would still do relatively tight spins (pivot point centered a few inches outside the wingtip). Plus, the kite seemed to have adequate lift during the lulls while producing a nice solid pull at the upper end.

2. I had a big grin on my face almost immediately! Not only was it fun to fly, but I was relieved since there were a lot of unknowns about the airframe and so forth (a bit anxious I wasted your money and my time!). Started off doing some precision maneuvers. Very crisp 90′ punch turns and I could easily complete the Square Cuts & Ladder Down competition figures. Snap Stalls and Tip Stabs were also very good. After getting a feel for the kite when stalled, I was able to pull off some full window Side Slides. Be warned, the V-M sail does generate a good amount of noise! Personally, I didn’t mind it and found the sound to be an asset when timing figures (Ex: when doing tight octagons).

3. The airframe kick a$$! Seriously, I can’t imagine another configuration that could possibly work any better. We picked a great set-up my friend! During some of the harder gusts, I simultaneously swept back on the lines and stepped backwards to put some excess stress on the frame. Not even a hint of wingtip shake was experienced. And to my surprise, did well in the lighter winds too. Since I didn’t get an extreme at either end of the wind speed, not sure of the true useable range. But, if I were to estimate, I’d say ~ 3 – 18mph (which ain’t too shabby!). During turbulence, the kite didn’t transmit a harsh feedback down the lines like an overly stiff frame often does. And, during those tip stabs, the LLE spar would deflect just the right amount (not too wimpy, yet enough resiliency to prevent breakage and keep the wingtip planted on the ground).

4. Moved on to some freestyle next: All the flat spins stuff was very good (Axels, Kick Turns, 540s, Coin Tosses, Cascades, etc.) Backspins stupid easy to initiate. In fact, I went to transition out of a Fade (which are pretty stable BTW) and accidentally did a full rotation ! HA! Many of the Backspins weren’t that flat however more of a Barrel Roll appearance. Lazy Susans, Reversing Lazy Susans & Jacobs Ladders were just ridiculously easy! IMO, how neutral the kite was on its back was one of the V-M’s best attributes.

5. About the only thing that eluded me was Roll-ups. Yes, I know people bitch about the Sano being tough, but the V-M seemed harder to me. The only way I could get it wrapped was to execute a deep turtle, recover and then immediately back flip again so it would ultimately roll-up. Keep in mind, there was a deep coat of wet snow on the ground, so I wasn’t exactly that mobile! LOL Also, maybe rolling-up right out of a JL would work too. Finally, there is always that SS 15 grams ballast at the ready! J

Overall, I loved this ‘pimped’ V-M! And, to be honest, I was prepared *not* to like it. Figured at 2.4m and being French, the kite would require tons of arm movement and a ‘Yank & Spank’ flying style. While you could fly it that way, you could also finesse it through nice slow axels and such. In many ways, it reminded me of the 8 ft. A* Pulsar Pro. Quite nimble for its size yet still precise. And, while the Pulsar would flat spin a bit better and was more stable in a fade, it was really tough to do the more technical tricks the V-M can easily accomplish.

So yeah, I think you’re going to love your new toy! I wanted to keep flying it, but then reminded myself this ain’t my kite. LOL But in the 20 minutes I had it out really makes confident to now deliver it to you. Not only does if fly extremely well, but seems quite durable too (wasn’t sure about that machined Center ‘T’, but held up fine). For sure, these Masques are pretty cool dual-liners so hats off the L’A. Never flew the full-size 2.6m, but I did enjoy that 2.1 you once had and like this new 2.4 even more. “

Tipped off from Robert Randolph, I switched out the leading edges to P200 and added a 3 cm reverse turbo.

Since the attachment of the bridle is not entirely fixed like R-Sky, I took the measurements from at the middle of the APA fitting.

Bridle Measurements

• 51.5 cm upper outhaul
• 50 cm lower outhaul
• 3 cm reverse turbo
• 58 cm inhaul

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