The Blue Moon Fabrications "Muse"

admin — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 02:25:17 +0000

We attended the Mile High Kite Festival up in Beech Mountain on Labor Day. The event is put on my the Richmond Air Force and the WACKOs and its always a fun event, even if the winds are a little hit and miss. Last year Ken debuted his 61/49 SLK and this year he returned with something else sort of new, the “Muse”.

The Muse is a simplified version of the Mantis and is the design which Ken has folks build who attend his kite building classes/seminars. The Muse has fewer configurations/options than the Mantis, lacking extra stand-off holes or weight kit. The construction is also simplified with fewer panels which means that it takes less time for Ken to build these and hes able to offer them at the compelling price point of $234.

Thats right only $234 for a kite crafted by an artisan right here in the good ole US of A. The construction is of course top drawer which is only to be expected given Ken’s standing in the industry. The kites include all the top end features one would expect, snag free nose, leading edge covers (both upper and lower) and well protected/reinforced trailing edge. For another $20 you can choose your preferred custom colors or for another $25 again you can upgrade the frame to Nitro spec.

So then, how do they fly ? Very nicely indeed. Ken brought three versions to the field. The standard model framed in Skyshark P200; the light version framed in SkyShark 3PT and the Nitro’d standard. All versions are based on the same sail, the only difference is the framing material. Doug Charleville and I spent the afternoon switching between them as the choppy winds came and went. The conditions prolly favored the light, but I found that both standards had sufficient lift and drive to fly and trick impressively. Whats more they handled the winds lulls and gusts better than many kites I’ve flown.

The kites of course excel in old skool flatspin, flic-flac, slide type moves and offer very good precision and corners but the design is very capable of more modern tricks such as jacobs ladders, combos and cometes (although the latter are decidedly ropey when flown by yours truly). We experimented with weights and perhaps the Nitro version was a little better with some on the tail but the kites flew just dandy in their simple/default configuration. Seems like these days everything come rollbar’d and weighted and whilst these innovations undoubtedly work it is refreshing to fly a kite without such gadgets and gizmos.

This is a helluva kite for the money; boutique quality at mass produced pricing; plenty trick capable and yet a graceful / elegant flier. I really don’t see how you Ken can miss with the Muse – which leaves me with a problem as I had been all set on his Exile UL.

Blue Moon Kites "61/49" Review

admin — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 02:03:59 +0000

And now for something completely different. I received a Blue Moon Fabrications 61/49 SLK for Christmas and this past weekend I finally got a chance to air it and in the company of the designer himself, Ken McNeil. The 61/49 draws from the Marconi rigged kite and the Platz glider and Ken talks about the design and his influences on his forum here. The build quality is exceptional, as with all BMF kites, recently voted top of the tree in this quality survey.

Early on the conditions were not the best, with little wind and the threat of rain but we made the best of it and several of us took to the field with SLKs. Ken and Eddie Sprouse flying 61/49s, Paul Debakker of Focus Kite Designs flying his new Skate glider and me helping my daughter, Georgina, fly her Atelier Papillon then Prism Stowaway. When Georgie tired of kite flying I assembled my 61/49 and ventured out.

The wind was light and swirling and would have been a nightmare for a dual line, but such conditions seem to matter little to the 61/49 which can follow the wind as it changes direction. It flies somewhat like a fighter, tension on the line and it’ll move in the direction the nose is pointed, slack and it’ll float onto its belly where is can be rotated. That said, its altogether bigger than a fighter requiring much more working of the line and it is capable of real pull in gusts of wind. The occasional gusts presented a problem as the braided line I was using would burn my fingers as the kite pulled, next time out I’ll use a heavier line (150lb or more) and/or a glove.

I really enjoyed the change of pace with the 61/49 and whole heartedly recommend it. It’ll stay in the bag now and I expect it to rescue what otherwise would be frustrating sessions of poor wind conditions.

KiteClique v2.1 » Blue Moon

The Blue Moon Fabrications "Muse"

Blue Moon Kites "61/49" Review