Foil Kite Bridle Design

by Darrin
(Canada)

Q:

I'm trying to find info about two line kite bridles. Specifically, is there a formula to the lengths or where the knots are tied? I'd like to try my hand at building a foil kite but can't find anything outside of adjusting bridles. Any direction would be appreciated. Thanks.

A:

OK, I might take the approach of finding some resources that can help you with designing foils, with bridling info included.

The web seems to have a lot of out-of-date, incomplete or otherwise unusable info on foil kite design. Further down, I have listed some links you will definitely find interesting.

However, it really seems your best bet would be to get hold of this book by Jim Rowlands - Soft Kites and Windsocks. (Yep, the old-fashioned paper thing)

Apparently, the book is strong on step-by-step construction and also bridling, which is exactly what you are after. A small investment might help you get that foil happening fairly soon :-) Not to mention inspiration and info to help you go even further in foil kite design later on.

Now, here's the other stuff I found...

There's a guy in France who has published a lot of foil-design content. Here's his English home page...

http://foilivier.free.fr/uk/index.htm (email him if you like)

And his section on generating bridle info via CAD software is further down the page. Click to it via his nav bar on the left.

Some rather detailed and in-depth info on foil kite designing and making can be found at this kite surfing site...

http://www.kitesurfingschool.org/kite.htm

Hope this all helps!