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Kite is a relatively unfamiliar setter for me, and it took me a while to find the wavelength, but it was an enjoyable challenge in the end.
FOI 5ac, LOI 16. COD perhaps 5dn.
Not entirely sure of the parsing of 13.

And now I’ve worked out what’s going on with 13, I think it’s supplanted 5d as my COD!

Thanks to Kite, who I've rarely encountered.
Started out thinking the puzzle was easy and kind of annoying, but gradually encountered numerous good clues, and it wound up enjoyable and on the challenging side. Some UK spelling and GK required.

FOI 1a. LOI 26, though much of the SE quadrant (especially 13) slowed progress.

Co-COD 28 and 9 by a hair over 20, 1d, 15, 16, 7, 27, 23 and 24.

I can see why 13 would have slowed your progress, geeker!

In the cold (well in fact rather warmer than of late) light of day, I should perhaps add a general quibble, namely that I found that rather too many of the clues’ surfaces didn’t make sense. Indeed my tentative COD (5dn) and at least one of geeker’s (19) fall down on that score in my view. I often don’t pay enough attention to surfaces when I’m solving, only really appreciating them (or not, as the case may be) on later review. I’d be interested to know the views of others on this aspect of Kite’s offering.

Indeed so Rogissimo.

The perfect clue has the following characteristics, in my view.

1. Brief
2. An entirely credible surface reading that encompasses both the definition and wordplay
3. Ambiguity as to what is the definition

Clearly signposted very long anagrams, while fun to work out, are too easily resolved by anagram generators.

The famous "I say nothing (3)" and "Run out of gas (3)" both fit admirably.

Quite good I thought. Rather a lot of piecemeal anagrams which can be a bit fiddly. 13 was also my last one to parse. Wondered if there might be an added element as Kite as done in the past, but I don’t see anything.

Ahh, there is an added element, just seen it.
A three letter word appears in the grid twice, and it commonly goes in front of several other of the solutions.

…actually it appears three times.

how you discover these things beats me, jono! It actually appears three times - though perhaps the third by accident. I can see 7 applications - did you find more?