How To Make A Kite

24 Kites! Tips Plus Step-By-Step Instructional eBooks

If you want to know how to make a kite, you have definitely come to the right spot! Perhaps you have made plenty, but are always on the lookout for more designs and ideas.

In any case, some of the most popular single-line designs being flown in the Western world are covered here. There are 8 types to choose from, and each one can be made in a small, medium or large size. Smalls and mediums using bamboo BBQ skewers, while the larger kites use ordinary hard-wood dowel.

The emphasis is on very cheap components, so you could make them all for just a few dollars! However, making kites from bamboo skewers or dowel and plastic is fun and they do fly really well! You can see for yourself in the video for each design, showing the original in flight.

You can read all about just how well the Skewer kites fly in the eBook Climbing Kites. By the way, this is not a handbook on how to make a kite, it's a collection of real-life flying adventures! After downloading, grab a coffee and settle down for a read.

MBK Kites To Make

For each kite in the table below, there is...

• A template graphic showing you the sail shape and dimensions.
• A list of hints for the experienced kite-builder.
• A 20 second video of the kite in flight.
• A launch photo or an in-flight close-up of the kite.

Although this is quite basic kite making, the designs do get more complex and time consuming as you move from Sled right through to Dopero...

The 2-skewer designs have about 4 times as much sail area as the 1-skewer designs. Hence, it's easier to make them accurately. Plus, for any given sail material, a 2 skewer kite will be better in light breezes than a 1-skewer kite. The 1.2 meter Dowel kites are another step up again, with a roughly 4-fold increase in sail area compared with the 2-Skewer kites! However, the strength-to-weight ratio of hard-wood dowel is not as good as bamboo.

Actual Flights With All These Kites

I like to document things, so the following table will slowly fill with accounts of what happens when our family goes out to fly. Just in case you need additional proof that you won't be wasting your time learning how to make a kite the MBK way!

If you haven't made many before, I hope you enjoy learning how to make a kite!

MBK Flying Skewers And Plastic is a fun publication for kite lovers. Particularly single-line fliers! This FREE monthly newsletter will help keep you in touch... There's always something new being built or flown at MBK!

Your FREE COPY of a great 87-page eBook on popular kites is waiting to be downloaded. It's my way of saying 'Thank You' for subscribing.

Last updated: 15 Jan 2010