I am a kite flier. I'm hopelessly hooked. It's a bit of a sickness I think, but I just have so much fun with it. I have no idea how many kites I have but they range in size from postage stamps to school buses. I've flown kites ever since I can remember, and over time it's progressed from plastic deltas in the front yard, to dual line trick kites, to quad line trick kites, to large show kites. Then I started making my own, which added a whole new level to the madness (and mess that forms in the living room). So lets take a look at some of my kites. HomemadeI've discovered I like to make kites. Actually, I hate just about ever aspect of the process of making kites (making templates, cutting fabric, sewing, framing, bridling), but I like the idea of making my own kites. Here's a collection of some of the ones I've made. Hours Rokkaku
These kites were among the early ones. Rokkaku are 6 sided kites from Japan that are used for fighting. In a Rok battle, the object is to knock your opponent out of the sky. You typically do this by usign your line to cut your opponent down, or maneuver your kite to tip them over. I made these kites for my friends who live in different states. I kept one in Michigan, the second one went to Iowa, and the third went to Indiana. The idea was that I wanted to fly all three together sometime. And on May 20, 2007, we finally did.
Photo by Chaelee. Thanks Chaelee! Jordan Airform 200 This was a Kitebuilder.com project headed up by Barry Ogletree of Texas. He cut the keels and ribs, and I did the rest. I finished the kite in October of 2008. The tails are 160 feet long and taper the entire length. The kite is 12 feet wide by 16 feet tall. Jordan Airform 100
The Jordan Airform was designed by Dean Jordan, but the artwork was my own. He sells the plans and a license to make the kites at a reasonable price. This was my first attempt at a large kite. The kite is roughly 9 feet wide by 12 feet tall, with two 100 foot long tails. This was my first attempt at sewing curves on a kite (everything else had been straight lines). I decided to do a complex bridle instead of the usual keels in the middle of the kite to keep the graphics open. It was a lot of work to get it flying well like this, but I now have it rock solid steady in the sky. I really don't have a name for this kite, I should think of one. Dwain
Dwain stands for "Dragon without an interesting name". It's [mostly] based on the Kevin Shannon Parafoil (with perm ission, Thanks Kevin!). The dragon design was my own creation, and really stretched my artistic skills (I'm a computer geek, not an artist). It's designed to be a high wind kite. I used a heavier fabric for it than normal, it's all reinforced in key locations, and will fly in up to 35 mph winds. Although it's not my largest kite (at 75 square feet), it is one of my most powerful ones. I need very secure anchors whenever I fly this kite, and help pulling it down when the winds are above 25 mph. Pit Bull Dog Free Flying Soul
Ok, this kite has a bit of a story behind it's design. As I've said before, I'm really not an artist. I've tried and miserably failed at all sorts of attempts to draw things that look somewhat recognizable. But I also have a problem with using other people's work (as in, I don't unless they give me explicit permission to). So this was going to be my classy, beautiful Geisha masterpiece that would rival all others. I started by roughly drawing in the face, to start work on placement, and this face is what popped out at me. Didn't look much like a Geisha, and I couldn't figure out why the smile. Well, the more I looked at it (I still only had the face) the more I liked it. Then I got this crazy notion of doing some sort of forced perspective, upside down, flying through the air like Superman bit, and this was the result. The kite sail is 6 foot tall (almost 7.5 foot with the support extensions) by 4 foot wide. It breaks down to a bundle 30 inches long, which is small enough to fit in my suitcase. That came in handy as it's public debut was at the 2007 Weifang International Kite Festival in China. The sail's design is my own, but I'm sure I'm not the first to do something like this. It's shaped like an Edo, but framed and bridled more like a Rokkaku. It flys well, but if the wind dies, it tends to fall forward, and become a glider. Hubert
Hubert isn't a kite. He's a ground bouncer. He's 6 foot in diameter plus the spikes. He's made from scraps, and is a hit with kids. Once one or two kids start playing with him, the entire beach tends to swarm towards him. It's Ok, he can take the beating that a group of kids can dish out. I use Hubert to distract the kids so they won't try to and grab the tails of my larger kites. Bol
This is a spinning bol I made out of scrap hot air balloon fabric. This is also not a kite, but a ground bouncer. It's 8 feet in diameter, and has a very strong pull. It is directionally unstable and wanders around quite a bit, so I keep it on a short line. It is made from 168 pieces of fabric. I intended to make a second one that spins in the opposite direction, but I lost the templates during a move. Overall, I think I did my best sewing job on this piece. I was trying to go for consistency, and I think I achieved it. |
