Hi Bill,
do you know what year the kite was made?  The original Illusion had fragile Lower leading edges and ground work was done at your peril.  In '98, the year mine was made, the LLe were beefed up.  I fly with a friend who has the original and his is slightly better in very light winds. Although both do very well in light airs for standard kites.  If its pre 98 I'd still buy it, just keep some extra stick on hand and save the flapjacks and tip stabs for another bird.

thanks Dave, that's good info, think I'll stick to a longer lineset, for now. If the Illy is more prone to tip wraps than the Lix, I'm in trouble, heh. I get plenty with the Elixir, just something I'll need to work on then (like there's not enough of that already). Should go a long way for my line management however. I got ya on the give the input, let the kite do it's thing part. Nice lookin kite, dontcha think?

If I remember right, the Illusion was the top of the Prism foodchain back then, or was it another in the Elite Line? I'll contact the owner, see what the LLE's are or what date of birth it is. Do you think it's worth a LLE upgrade? And....from your description, does the Illy make for a better ballet or precision type kite than a trickster, or am I reading that wrong? Appreciate the input.

Bill

Good questions, Bill. This is just my take on it, but when the Illusion was at the top of the Prism line, I remember reading it was winning major comps in both Precision and ballet.  I think the Elixir is plane and simple more of a freestyle kite, whereas the Illusion was more of a comp kite.  I don't know that I'd do the LLE upgrade. There may also be an availability problem.  Hopefully Kid will clear this up.
The tip wrap thing may just be how it went for me.  I remember the Fanatic and the Illusion being tough with tip wraps and when the Elixir came out I didn't have near the trouble.  But with the Fanatic as a tip wrap trainer....

Finally, yes, I would consider the Illusion a ballet/precision kite capable of doing the tricks of its day. I think of these as the group of moves prior to the backspin whcih preceeded the pitch based style of flying.   The plus side is, axels and flatspin type moves look much much better on kites like the Illusion.  Just my opinion.  Hope that helps

Bill,
I couldn't tell by the pictures of your kite on photobucket, but it appears to be the same color scheme as our early model, which has the old style mylar:




It reminds me of the Fanatic in how you have to treat it for axels and flatspins and I know there are those that can backspin it.  (not me of course)

You will enjoy it I'm sure

Jim

streamhawk wrote on Mar 15^th, 2010 at 11:44am:


It was totally untensioned for the photo....I took about 14 pics of classics that day and didn't really have time for 'tensioning'.  The Illys have a total Vapor look to them when tensioned and once at Wskif, our '97 vapor was mistook for an Illy..kinda hard to believe cause there was virtually no wind, but...........

Jim

Steve wrote on Mar 15^th, 2010 at 12:07pm:


So what would one 'fix' the leading edges with if 'one' were to snap 'em.  I ask that cuz I'm getting ready to gl fly something.....anything....except a 4D, ie

If I was going to do a re-frame on a Illy Classique I'd be leaning towards SkyShark Nitros.. At least that is what I've been thinking lately.

Mainly, for now, I'm thinking: "Just don't bust it.."

DaveH wrote on Mar 15^th, 2010 at 12:31pm:


ahh, the good ol daze.............

Bill

I thought it was just a build up on the spar, not an internal re-enforcement?

The rods that Avia made were built up on the outside.  There was an obvious hump in the rod.

hey thanks Rob. I wrapped up the deal with the owner, kite and the old catalog video will ship out tomorrow. I think this kite will make a great addition to my classic, discontinued Prisms. It'll have to really be something to surpass my Proph though.
Bill

I still love my Prophecy!  I just wish I knew anyone else who had one (locally) so that I could try team flying with it.

Of course, I mostly fly it at festivals, because it's big, rainbow colored and impressive.

Congrats, Bill!  Great find 
I also like the Elixir and classic Illusion best of the old Prisms.  Of course, I still really like my Fanatic
I never liked the way the I2K looked compared to the original. 

Have fun and give us a fight report

One of the quirks of the I2K is that the bridle line from the upper spreader to the center-T seemed to act as part of the frame as well as being part of the bridle.  If that line became slack, or just a little loose, the I2K became a dog .  When the kite was on, it seem to me to be capable of flying circles around the classis Illusion .  I also have a couple of those.

Mark also made a couple of mods to the I2K.  Just off the top of my head, the lower spreaders were shortened and so was a standoff(?).  Both made considerable difference.

Now the Elixir was a different horse from the Illusions.  But, both were thorouhbreds  -- a Kentucky race horse and a western quarterhorse.

Gardner

Rob,

The easiest way to take up any slack, after setting up the kite, is to move the knot on the in-haul lines up.

First set up the I2K.  Then check the reverse turbo line for slack.  If there is any slack, remove the in-haul line from the center-T, loosen it and move the knot up the line just a tad.  When retightening the knot , be sure that the point where the turbo  lines tie on the in-hual is the same-- about 3.5 inches.

Measuring from the spine, the in-hauls on my four 12Ks measure 22 inches.

Other measurements are:  top haul, 26-9/16ths;; outhaul, 23.5 inches: turbo line, 15 inches.

Parts measurements are: inside standoffs (Jaco connectors) base to tip, 9-11/16ths including vinyl tip; outside standoff, 7 inches including vinyl tip; lower spreaders, 30-3/8thds inches.

Also, after tensioning the leading edges, be certain that the bow in each is the same.

Hope this is of some help,

Gardner

Gardner, thank you so much. The first few times I flew the kite, I thought it flew great, but it changed (or I changed) at some point, and I've flown it rarely since. I actually 'borrowed' the 5pt spreaders many times to fix other kites. I have it ready to fly again, but I'll check to see if the bridle is proper. If Mark Reed said it was his favorite kite at one time, I should give it another chance...

My I2K... simple colors that scream 90's to me...



~Rob.