My Kite Bag

I liked this design so much I decided to do it on the Magic stunt kite. This is done all in 1/2oz Icarex and framed in Sky Shark 3P rods. The design really fits the kite.

This is one of my 6 foot deltas I designed. I did sell these for a while. These are pretty easy to fly and launch. Keep an eye out I will probably publish plans for this kite. Frame is 1/4" dowel.

Same basic kite as above but with a really nice applique on it. Frame is 1/4" dowel. I call this one "Skull".

This was one of my first kites I made, it is a gusset-ed delta from "Kite Works". This kite can be a bit squirrelly in strong winds. But in light breezes it is rock solid. Frame is fiberglass. Wing span is 7'.

This is one of the second single liners I designed. These are 8' delta conynes. I used these a lot to lift wind socks into the air. Either singly or as a pair. Frame is 1/4 Dowel with a 5/16 spreader, but I am thinking of switching to a 3/8 dowel.

This is my Rolor out of "Kite Works". This is also my first applique. When I was making it I had some scrap left over and a large empty area. I had to put something there. Framed in 1/4 dowel, the kite flies well in light winds.

This kite I did as a experiment. I wanted to practice applique with spray adhesive and also with a bowed fighter. The kite is about 2 and 1/2 feet wide, and framed in fiberglass rod. This kite flies in almost every wind condition I have you to see. It normally flies with a pair of 25' long 2" wide tails.

This is "Layla" after the song by Eric Clapton. She was my first major applique. Made after Skull. The original artwork was taken from a public domain series of pictures posted to the net. And adapted to the Rokkaku shape. She is 5' high and framed in fiberglass.

This is one of my latest Roks. Called "Illusion". It is 2meters tall. This one was done by cutting the individual squares and then placing strips down for the lines. If I were to redo it I would just applique the black on the front. Frame is fiberglass.

This on is called "Face". Based off a drawing done by my oldest daughter. This kite was meant to be just a fun kite to have in the sky. Frame is in fiberglass and the kite is 2 meters tall.

This little 6sq ft foil was done to test the concept of a closed mouth foil. It flies good and packs into a small 6"x2"x1" package, including line, foil, wind sock, drogue and small tail.

This foil was made totally from scraps. Based on the "JR Flow Form" plans by Rowland's, I made some modifications since it would not fly. When I get time I will put up a changes sheet. This kite is about 9 sq ft and will lift a small collection of wind socks. Only major problem is that the curved front tends to flip down, this can destabilize the kite.

This is the "Medium Aspect Ratio" foil from Rowland's. Once the bridle is properly set, this kite is a nice flier. I recommend lots of line and using an anchored launch since the kite does not like gusty or turbulent winds.

This is my first attempt at designing a foil. This foil is 20 sq ft. It features a closed mouth front. I need to continue changing this design. While providing good lift, the kite is not as stable as I would like it. I have been making some progress with a new attachment method to the bridle lines and a larger drogue. In light to medium winds the kite seems to be getting very stable.

Here are some of my fighters.

This was an interesting wind sock, it spins real fast. This one is from some German plans that were mailed to me. I initially sewed the kite backwards and it would not spin.

This is the Caterpillar windsock from Rowland's. While not hard to make the sock is time consuming. But is a big hit with kids.

This is my soccer from the plans posted to rec.kites. This one is based on 6 inch pieces and is about 2.5 feet in diameter. I will be cleaning up the plans posted to rec.kites and making a small gif file showing how to make one of these.

I make a snake from the original german plans. This one is about 10 feet in diameter. I found that the length of the bridal lines shown in the plans was too short for good opening. Currently I have 25' long bridal lines on this one. These wind socks require a lot of maintenance and a sut of very good swivels.

This is a 25' long helix wind spinner I built. This was a very simple project, the 2 25' long by 4" wide tails took the longest.

Here is a shot of some of my kites at Berkeley with their wind socks.