Although kites were traditionally toys for the kids, kites today have changed enormously with the advent of stronger and lighter materials. Kite festivals are held regularly around Australia and in most countries in the world. Many are massive and incur expenses of over half a million dollars for a weekend event. The kites on display are designed and built by kitemakers throughout the world with a huge range of shapes and sizes. Kites can be loosely defined in the following groups: single-line kites, dual-line kites and multiple-line kites.

This group includes the diamond or box kite you flew all those years ago. It also includes the biggest kite in the world built by New Zealand kite designer Peter Lynn which weighs in at around 250kg (550lbs) and a massive array of traditional kites from dozens of countries like Japan, China, India, Colombia etc.. These days most single-line kites sold by kite retailers tend to be for youngsters up to the age of about eight. At this age kids are likely to get bored too easily and need more of a challenge. This is where dual-line kites take over.

Often called stunt kites or sport kites dual line kites were first made popular by Englishman Peter Powell in the mid-70's. Due to new stronger and lighter materials such as carbon-fibre, dual line kites took on a whole new meaning around 1987 in the USA with the development of the "Hawaiian". The major improvement was the speed and manouvrability of the kites which, in turn, caused increased pull on the flier's arms. There's nothing quite like the thrill of being dragged around a beach by the power of a well made sport kite. When you do it with friends by flying in groups of 2,3,4 or more the excitement is multiplied.

Sport kites fall into two main categories, beginners kites and high-performance kites. Beginners' kites can perform most of the same manouvres as the more advanced models but do so with less speed (good for learning), are stronger (to withstand the crashing by learners) and are much cheaper to buy. Kids start flying dual line beginners' kites at around 5 and often learn quicker than their parents. Adults usually learn on the same kite which makes this type of kite very popular for families (see the QUOKKA page). After a couple of months of practise most fliers can move on to any of the more advanced models with much reduced risk of damage and expense. It is not unusual to find adults who learn faster than most others. These include pilots, skydivers, radio-controlled model aircraft fliers, windsurfers and a few others. These and some others seem to learn the required co-ordination quite quickly and can easily bypass the beginners' kite stage.

The one element of sport kite flying that remains unexplained is its addiction! Many adults go on to enjoy the challenge of power kites which are often used for traction by kite buggy (up to 100 km/hr!) or kite surfing or simply to get airborne. We recommend that fliers work up to this level for their own safety. Having broken a leg during this process I am available for advice!!

The most popular of these is the quad line kite. They are controlled by means of two handles with lines from the top and bottom of each. They are definitely more difficult to learn than are dual line kites and therefore tend to be more popular with existing fliers. The kites can be flown forwards or backwards and may be held dead still anywhere in the wind window. The world's best selling quad line kite is the REVOLUTION designed in the USA by the Hadzicki brothers. It is a kite more designed for precision than power. The Quadrifoil is probably the most popular quad line inflatable power kite used for buggying although many other brands may be found.

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