My-Best-Kite Site Blog

May 17, Flight Report - 3-Skewer A-Frame Explores Upper Wind Range

Thu, 17 May 2012 06:02:06 GMT

The 3-Skewer A-Frame Kite performed for the camera before battling fresh breezes.

May 17, Sled Kite Out Of Control

Thu, 17 May 2012 04:49:37 GMT

Q: We have been having great fun with your kites in my class. However, our sled kites are giving us difficulty. They launch well, but then quickly veer

May 16, Flight Report - 3-Skewer A-Frame Great In Light Winds

Wed, 16 May 2012 11:42:36 GMT

This kite is one of three bonus kite designs planned for the Making Skewer Kites book. As such, the instructions won't be available on the website. As a natural progression up from the 2-skewer designs, these 3 kites use 3 bamboo skewers end-to-end as the basic building unit. That's just over twice the sail area of similar 2-Skewer kites. I actually had a couple of sessions with the A-Frame today. The first was on only 30 or 40 meters (100 feet+) of line, in very light air. Despite only making a 45 degree line angle, this flight enabled me to get some good photos and video. The kite flies smoothly on its 4-point bridle, as you would expect, starting to rock slightly when there is hardly enough air pressure to keep it up. The horizontal spar flexes noticeably if you tug the line, giving the kite a spongy feel not unlike a Delta - but without Delta vertical acceleration... The next session saw the kite rise easily to just under 400 feet, again in very light air. It looked quite photogenic up there, the bright orange panels illuminated or in shadow from the late afternoon sun. Black plastic looped tail hanging down almost motionless. 20 pound line is just perfect for this light-weight A-Frame kite. On this flight, it had a bit of thermal help up to high line angles. At no time was there much tension in the line. It's just a great light-wind kite! This kite was partly inspired by this kite story, contributed by a visitor to this website. About This Post: There are 2 kinds of Kite Flying Reports at MBK. Reports like this one are comments on a recent outing. The shorter Flight Report listings here link straight to the corresponding new page on the website, complete with video and in-flight photo. Here is a link to all those full flight report pages on this site.

May 12, Flight Report - Dowel Sode On A Short Leash

Sat, 12 May 2012 04:48:20 GMT

Just can't keep away from roof-top flying... Today it was the Dowel Sode. The breeze was quite gusty but I thought it was worth a try since the Sode is very stable once trimmed. Getting the kite airborne was easy since the gusts were moderate in strength. Had a couple of roof landings, but managed to pull the kite clear both times. I won't mention that I had to do a couple of minor repairs as a result... After things got rather hairy on 5 meters (20 feet) of line, I put the kite up again on just 2 meters (8 feet) for a while! Eventually it was time to pack up. Quit while you are ahead... Here's the How To ... page for the Dowel Sode Kite, in case you would like to fly one over your roof. Or up at 400 feet, where it will be even happier, on a 30 or 50 pound line. About This Post: There are 2 kinds of Kite Flying Reports at MBK. Reports like this one are comments on a recent outing. The shorter Flight Report listings here link straight to the corresponding new page on the website, complete with video and in-flight photo. Here is a link to all those full flight report pages on this site.

May 12, A Thank You And Some Comments

Sat, 12 May 2012 04:22:08 GMT

I thank you for your commentary and videos about the 2012 Adelaide Kite Festival - we all had a great time and enjoyed the weather, the kite-flying, the

May 11, Flight Report - Dowel Box Kite: Smooth Sailing Turns Rough

Fri, 11 May 2012 07:29:05 GMT

Just for a change, this flight with the Dowel Box Kite wasn't over the roof top... Earlier in the day, things looked fairly calm, but by the time I got out there were windier periods. Down at the reserve, moderate gusts would come through from time to time. Just enough to launch the fresh wind Box it appeared. Sure enough, after a few tows and sink-outs, the blue 'squashed box' design managed to claw its way higher. A bit of timing and working the line helped of course. Passing through 100 feet or so, additional wind strength made for very ideal conditions for this kite. Climbing further was a uhhm ... breeze. Initially the sky was rather overcast and the box kite settled down to a rock-solid position in smooth, moderate winds. Just over 90 meters (300 feet) of line was out. A ragged formation of white cockatoos flew across just down-wind of the field. Flickering specks of pure-white. Later, a splash of red and yellow shot past me at shoulder height - a parakeet of some kind, in a hurry to get somewhere downwind of my position. Why fly on 90 meters when there is more line on the winder... Out it went, another 30 meters to 120 meters (400 feet). Not long after this, I noticed that the kite was scooting around a lot more, and even climbing overhead from time to time. Well, 80 degrees at least. Thermals had arrived! Indeed, the sun was now out, not quite at full strength due to thin sheets of cloud here and there. But the air had responded to the ground's warmth within minutes. Now I had a big fish on the line, not a barge... All up, a great flight, with the wind meter peaking at 9.6 kph at ground level. But somewhere between 15 and 20 kph upstairs, I think. Why not give the Dowel Box Kite (fresh winds) a try. About This Post: There are 2 kinds of Kite Flying Reports at MBK. Reports like this one are comments on a recent outing. The shorter Flight Report listings here link straight to the corresponding new page on the website, complete with video and in-flight photo. Here is a link to all those full flight report pages on this site.

May 3, Kite For Reno Wind

Thu, 03 May 2012 01:39:39 GMT

Q: I haven't built a kite in 45 years, the wind in Reno, Nevada is strong. What do you suggest besides retirement? A: I was actually in a similar boat

Apr 30, Swallow Kite Form

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 00:49:09 GMT

Q: What is the basic form and shape of a swallow kite? I cannot find any efficient sites on the internet to answer this question for a project I have

Apr 27, 2 Skewer Diamond Kite Instructions

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 00:45:58 GMT

Q: I am making your 2-skewer Diamond kite with my class. I am a little unclear about a couple of details in the plans. 1) When I place the horizontal

Apr 25, Flight Report - My Kite Called 'Dances With TV Antenna'

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 08:32:46 GMT

Yes it's another flirt with danger over the rooftop - this time with the Dowel Rokkaku. To begin with, the air was somewhat gusty despite a quite low average wind speed. This did cause a few problems. Getting the kite's nose stuck in the gutter after about 30 seconds of air time was the first... A few short and scary flights later, I was pulling it out of one of our small trees. No great drama there. A few small pin-pricks from the rose bushes on yet another flight. But eventually, as the sun dipped towards the horizon, the air settled down. With more constant wind speed, and lower strengths overall, I gradually put the big pale-orange Rok up higher and higher over our roof. Maybe out to 25 meters (80 feet) or so. A couple of trimming changes with the bridle knots also helped to keep it flying straight and true. With dark rain clouds in the not-so-far distance, the big Chinese character on the kite was appropriate - 'rain'. The Dowel Rokkaku kite eventually tired of trying to stay airborne and slowly descended towards the roof. Just like when the Dowel Delta went up a few days ago. A little line handling ensured that the Rok made it over the gutter. Whereupon it floated onto its face and proceeded to glide straight towards me like a paper plane. An easy catch in one hand! A nice ending to another backyard sunset flight. And it was a great sunset too... About This Post: There are 2 kinds of Kite Flying Reports at MBK. Reports like this one are comments on a recent outing. The shorter Flight Report listings here link straight to the corresponding new page on the website, complete with video and in-flight photo. Here is a link to all those full flight report pages on this site.

Apr 25, Kite Sails In Colored Plastic

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 01:22:09 GMT

Q: I would like to know where to find different colors of plastic sheeting for my kite making? Thanks! A: I just go to the plastic bags section of the

Apr 25, Cheapest KAP Available

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 00:57:24 GMT

I used about 2 ft. of electrical tape to attach my cell phone in video mode to my kite! Doesn't get much cheaper than that

Apr 24, How To String A Malaysian Kite?

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 01:25:18 GMT

Q: Hi Tim, hows it all going now, good I hope. I wonder... (A) Can you get electrocuted flying a kite if it's hit by lightning? I use nylon string.

Apr 18, Flight Report - Dowel Barn Door Over A Hot Roof

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 06:48:35 GMT

Got a bit game today and decided to take the big Dowel Barn Door out for a backyard fly around mid-day. There was a gusty moderate breeze and who knows what kind of thermal contributions wafting up from the hot roof! The wind seemed to be a warm Northerly, judging by the movement of tree tops. But the breeze swirling around the yard came from all directions! Getting the kite lofted was a bit of a lottery. But eventually I succeeded in popping it up just high enough to grab a scrap of faster flowing air from the NNW. From there it easy - almost too easy - to let the kite up further. Then ensued a short white-knuckle flight as I kept the Barn Door on 10 meters (35 feet) of line or less. The kite got blown this way and that in the gusty winds that swirled around trees and over nearby roofs. Several times, high wind speed pushed the kite over to the left, taking it within centimeters of our roof. Each time, it was stable enough to recover by itself in the slower air lower down. Side stepping was necessary once or twice to keep the kite away from another property. After a few minutes of this extreme single-line flying :-) a lull brought the Dowel Barn Door kite all the way down. Taking in line, the kite ended up dropping right into my hands from above. About This Post: There are 2 kinds of Kite Flying Reports at MBK. Reports like this one are comments on a recent outing. The shorter Flight Report listings here link straight to the corresponding new page on the website, complete with video and in-flight photo. Here is a link to all those full flight report pages on this site.

Apr 16, Dowel Versus Skewer

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 00:14:05 GMT

Q: So I'm making a kite for my math class, and I chose to make a box kite. I was wondering what is the difference (benefits and stuff) between making

Apr 14, Flight Report - Dowel Delta Floats Over The Neighborhood

Sat, 14 Apr 2012 11:54:04 GMT

Hey, this sunset flying in the backyard idea is really working out... Today it was the Dowel Delta, which is reliable in very light winds. After numerous attempts to get it above rooftop height, it finally got helped along by a gentle gust that was perhaps 2kph stronger than the others. It's not easy when you've got about 6 paces to run in, and the breeze is so light it can hardly move a leaf. Anyway, there it was, not shifting left or right by more than a few meters at a time. On letting out even more line I discovered a sharp little wind gradient at about 2 - 3 times the height of our rooftop. Perhaps another 2 or 3kph of wind speed, all of a sudden. The kite dipped below and climbed above this level several times, so the effect became pretty clear. Sometimes, below this level, a few firm pull-ins were required to contact the faster air again, where the size-able pale-orange Delta would just maintain height by itself. A slightly windier period came through for a few minutes, so I pulled the kite down much closer to the roof, just in case. Don't want the kite to loop over and end up over the neighbor's fence. After this, the breeze progressively died off as the sun sank to the horizon. But not before the Dowel Delta had gone right out to 30 meters (100 feet) or so of line. Gentle gusts sent it surging almost overhead, directly over our roof. Eventually all breeze ceased and the Dowel Delta kite came down helicopter fashion - vertically - as I maintained a little tension in the line. Fantastic flight, although not so relaxing since I had to be absolutely sure to keep it out of trouble! About This Post: There are 2 kinds of Kite Flying Reports at MBK. Reports like this one are comments on a recent outing. The shorter Flight Report listings here link straight to the corresponding new page on the website, complete with video and in-flight photo. Here is a link to all those full flight report pages on this site.

Apr 14, Flight Report - 2-Skewer Diamond Floats Over The Neighborhood

Sat, 14 Apr 2012 01:24:22 GMT

With the sun going down and an ever-so-gentle breeze barely moving the leaves on the peach tree, I decided to put up the 2-Skewer Diamond from our small backyard. This was yesterday afternoon. The trimming hole has been sealed up with sticky tape, and its function replaced with a small length of sail plastic taped near one tip of the horizontal spar. In flight, it's really not that obvious. Well, what a flight it turned out to be. After a few attempts to get the kite to stay above gutter level, it finally caught a waft of breeze and soared up to a high angle. A few more meters of line went out, and then a few more. Flying right on the 'edge of the envelope'. Sometimes barely able to climb, then not quite able to maintain height. Keeping yours truly busy on the line! Eventually, the bright orange Diamond was at something like 3 or 4 times the height of our roof, and well over the neighbor's property. Barely a wiggle and even the tail just had a few tiny ripples right near the end as the kite clung on. It was a low-risk situation though, since the wind speeds were so low. After perhaps 10 or 15 minutes of this, the wind died almost completely. Enough to defeat any level of flying skill and kite efficiency :-) Bringing the kite in was straightforward. It's nice being only 2 strides from the back door away from a kite flying location! About This Post: There are 2 kinds of Kite Flying Reports at MBK. Reports like this one are comments on a recent outing. The shorter Flight Report listings here link straight to the corresponding new page on the website, complete with video and in-flight photo. Here is a link to all those full flight report pages on this site.

Apr 13, Adelaide Kite Festival 2012 - Lots Of Parafoils, Lots Of People

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 06:35:13 GMT

We attended the Adelaide Kite Festival 2012 over the Easter weekend. The event was very well attended and the weather was perfect.

Apr 9, Octopus Kite Bridle

Mon, 09 Apr 2012 01:21:26 GMT

Q: How to bridle/connect the line on my new very large octopus kite? Received as a gift, it has no directions. I do own several other kites but I'm not

Apr 8, Flight Report - 2-Skewer Diamond Trimmed For 20kph

Sun, 08 Apr 2012 11:59:36 GMT

Over the Easter weekend, we have spent a few hours during both afternoons at the Adelaide International Kite Festival at Semaphore. As is our custom, we will be documenting the event at a later time, on this website. I also like to take a different approach each year, just to keep things fresh and interesting... This time round, it will be mainly short movie clips, with just a few still photos. Plus of course, plenty of commentary. On the Saturday afternoon, after wandering up and down the jetty to get most of the imagery onto our digital camera, we returned to our car and pulled out 2 skewer kites. The 2-Skewer Diamond and the 1-Skewer Delta. Down at the dunes just a short distance north of the official flying area, I tested the wind with the Windtronic meter. Around 11kph average, according to the Windtronic wind speed meter, and gusting to 20kph. A stiff test for the light-wind Diamond! Anyway, we put it up and sure enough, even the trimming hole in the sail was not enough to correct the kite's lean. However, after cutting the hole open a little more, and shifting the bridle towing point forward by over 1cm, maybe 2cm, the 2-Skewer Diamond settled right down. Just a hint of leaning to the right as it sailed around happily on 60 meters (200 feet) of line. Mmmm don't know about that trimming hole experiment. It's not really proving to be as effective as I had hoped, after all. Might just return to the tried and true wingtip-tail approach! Why not try the 2-Skewer Diamond kite for yourself. As far as Diamonds go, it's an efficient little flier. Shortly after taking down the Diamond, we briefly tried the 1-Skewer Delta. There was way too much wind for it, although a really long tail might have kept it up there... About This Post: There are 2 kinds of Kite Flying Reports at MBK. Reports like this one are comments on a recent outing. The shorter Flight Report listings here link straight to the corresponding new page on the website, complete with video and in-flight photo. Here is a link to all those full flight report pages on this site.

Apr 4, Rubber Band On Bird Kite

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 00:49:15 GMT

Q: I have a Kite Factory Bird Kite with spinners, tails, etc. I have not found a picture of this kite anywhere on the i-net so I do not know what type

Apr 3, Girl Scouts - Kite Flying

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 03:39:43 GMT

Many years ago my Girl Scout troop took a trip to Frankenmuth where a kite shop let us make kites very similar to this. It is a rectangle base 18x24 with

Apr 3, Kite Making in Bermuda

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 00:55:40 GMT

Good Friday kites in Bermuda... I am a 68-year-old presently living in Western Canada. The kite tradition in Bermuda is central to my own early kiting

Apr 2, Rotating Kite With Airfoil Drum

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 01:30:51 GMT

Q: You have a wonderful and fantastic site. I just discovered it while seeking info on a kite design that I saw nearly 25 years ago while walking the

Mar 29, Flight Report - Dowel Box Kite In Sharp Wind Gradient

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 02:19:23 GMT

Been waiting to take this kite out for a while, to see how it performs in light winds. It's called the Dowel Box Kite (moderate winds) but it's so lightly built that it seems to get started somewhere in the light wind range. Today it was an effort to get the kite to stay up, requiring at least 3 launches before edging into slightly faster air way above tree top height. Once there was a fair amount of tension on the line, it was easy to gradually let line out, maintaining the kite's angle and hence slowly climbing it away from the ground. Lulls kept me on alert, requiring some pulling-in of line to keep the kite up. Also, some much faster air came through from time to time, associated with some strong thermals that were starting to lift off. At mid-morning, they get stronger by the hour. Still very little breeze at ground level though! Representing quite a fierce wind gradient between 0 and 50 feet. With the kite on over 90 meters (300 feet) of line, a couple of tapes slipped quite a bit, allowing 2 leading edges of the lower cell to slip down. This put the kite in a loop to the left during the strongest gusts, threatening to put the kite into the trees below. Fortunately, I was able to clear the trees by walking upwind every time the tension dropped a little. A couple of short climbs helped as well. Eventually the kite was landed and packed away - but not before some extra tape was used to fix the slippage problem. 20 minutes in the air, but not the most relaxing flight I've had with this kite! About This Post: There are 2 kinds of Kite Flying Reports at MBK. Reports like this one are comments on a recent outing. The shorter Flight Report listings here link straight to the corresponding new page on the website, complete with video and in-flight photo. Here is a link to all those full flight report pages on this site.

Mar 27, Small Kite Events

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 23:04:53 GMT

I try to attend every event within driving distance that has anything at all to do with kite flying. Recently I went to a local kite fly at a nearby county

Mar 27, How To Build A Diamond Kite - Complete Instructions: MBK 2-Skewer Diamond.

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 03:22:32 GMT

Learn how to build a Diamond kite by following these step-by-step instructions for the MBK 2-Skewer Diamond.

Mar 26, Kite Symmetrics: or Something Like That

Mon, 26 Mar 2012 23:18:19 GMT

A kite being of symmetrical design is tested by increased wind velocity pressing against the flying surface. As wind speed increases asymmetrical faults

Mar 26, Can You Donate A Kite Book?

Mon, 26 Mar 2012 23:00:03 GMT

Q: Would you consider donating one of your amazing books or whatever you feel comfortable with so it can go towards the new library we are creating for

Mar 26, Flight Report - 2 Skewer Diamond Kite Proves A New Trimming Technique

Mon, 26 Mar 2012 11:33:39 GMT

The 2 Skewer Diamond Kite MkII performed brilliantly with a small hole in the sail to correct a turning tendency.

Mar 24, Flight Report - New 2-Skewer Diamond Soars High

Sat, 24 Mar 2012 11:59:33 GMT

The weather outside seemed to be offering a long-anticipated break from the persistent fresh winds of the last couple of weeks. Clouds in the late evening sky and plenty of sun promised some good photo opportunities for the new bright-orange Skewer kite. And so it was. The re-vamp of the 2-Skewer Series has started with the Diamond. It's a full 2 skewers tall compared to the 1 1/2 skewer original, and is more Eddy-like in proportions. Hence it is a little smoother in motion than the original, with much more sail area. A few photos were taken with just a few meters of line out. One of these will end up as the in-flight shot down at the bottom of the new How To... instructions for this design. With over 60 meters (200 feet) of line out, the Diamond's swooping flight against a cloudy background was captured on video. Some of this will also end up on the website page. According to the Windtronic wind speed meter, at ground level - 1.1 kph average gusting to 4.6 kph max. Maybe gusting to 12 - 15 kph up higher. It was certainly enough to bend those skewer spars a little at times! The kite currently has a moderate lean to the right near the top of its wind range. I'm going to experiment with cutting a small hole in the sail on one side to correct it. More drag and less lift on that side should help. An alternative to the somewhat untidy-looking wing-tip tail-let approach! About This Post: There are 2 kinds of Kite Flying Reports at MBK. Reports like this one are comments on a recent outing. The shorter Flight Report listings here link straight to the corresponding new page on the website, complete with video and in-flight photo. Here is a link to all those full flight report pages on this site.

Mar 20, Diamond Kite Nose Diving

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 11:14:43 GMT

Q: Hi. We are building a kite for my daughter's science class. The only problem with the diamond kite is that once it goes up a few feet, it turns over

Mar 19, Flight Report - Fresh Wind Box Kite In Wild Air

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 01:15:53 GMT

It has been quite windy here for days on end, with plenty of sun and a little rain. I prefer light wind flying, but the month is half gone and not much flying reported, so... The Dowel Sode, Dowel Box (moderate winds) and Dowel Box (fresh winds) were put in the car. Down at the reserve the wind fanning my face suggested it might be prudent to go with the fresh wind box for a start. Here's what happened, in list form...

The sun occupied a similar position in the sky to the kite. Hence the kite's shadow on the grass continually shifted around close to the anchor point. Occasionally halting for a second or 2, before moving off in a random direction.
The kite's light blue plastic often lit up like a neon sign as it passed close to or directly across the sun's disc.
The wings of numerous flying insects also lit up like fuzzy white specks, as they flew around the flying line.
The air was wild. Super gusty in strength and vertical movements shoved the kite right down to 20 degree line angles, and then back up to 60 or 70! Enough to destroy a light wind kite.
Until today, I don't think I have ever seen a box kite lose air pressure so suddenly that it dipped its nose below horizontal and then went into free-fall for a few meters!
Big variations in line tension of course, and couldn't help wondering how much a couple of frays were weakening the line...
While observing the kite holding a high line angle I was amazed to spot 4 pelicans riding a thermal at well over 5000 feet, I'm sure. They were so high that their bodies and wings became tiny pale gray silhouettes, barely visible against the pale blue of the sky.

While bringing the kite down, and walking downwind, the Dowel Box still managed to climb in the gusts from time to time. An interesting flight today, although I had been hoping to put the Moderate Wind Box up instead. Good thing it didn't fly! The ground-level wind readings were 3 kph average and a maximum gust of 7.5 kph. Which, as usual, were not much of an indication of the mayhem happening higher up. Here's a printable book you can purchase and download if you would like to make this kite for yourself. About This Post: There are 2 kinds of Kite Flying Reports at MBK. Reports like this one are comments on a recent outing. The shorter Flight Report listings here link straight to the corresponding new page on the website, complete with video and in-flight photo. Here is a link to all those full flight report pages on this site.

Mar 15, Kites For School Children

Thu, 15 Mar 2012 03:56:47 GMT

Q: I work in the schoolies room in a child care centre. The children are age 5-12 years. Our April theme is Malaysia, and I would like to make either

Mar 11, Flight Report - Fresh Wind Box Kite Parked Overhead

Sun, 11 Mar 2012 12:13:35 GMT

No, it wasn't holding a 90 degree line angle the whole time... We just had it anchored to a small tree at the other end of the small park where I had walked with my 6 year-old. While we were occupied at the play equipment, the kite sailed directly overhead of us most of the time. After launching the kite, it flew a considerable distance to the left and right in the turbulent gusts, on 20 or 30 meters (100 feet) of line. However, after letting more line out and getting well above tree height it settled right down. Despite large variations in wind speed. Line angles varied from about 45 to 60 degrees. In the gusty moderate-to-fresh breeze, the box kite floated about on 90 meters (300 feet) of line. Moving a little downwind during lulls, as the line angle decreased. Soaring back up again in fresher gusts which caused some of the panel edges to flutter. This could be heard from the ground, and also felt through the tightly-stretched flying line. Just 4 and a half turns around the rough bark of the small tree was ample to hold the kite line securely, with the winder just laid on the grass beneath the branches. This kite is a good reliable flier in windy weather, as it proved again today. As the sun edged close to the horizon, it looked after itself well until we decided to bring it down after 30 minutes or so. The wind meter only registered an average of 2kph and a max gust of 5.9kph, since it's a small reserve surrounded by trees and houses. I think at the kite's height the breeze would have been around 8 to 18kph. Pretty gusty! Here's a printable book you can purchase and download if you would like to make this kite for yourself. About This Post: There are 2 kinds of Kite Flying Reports at MBK. Reports like this one are comments on a recent outing. The shorter Flight Report listings here link straight to the corresponding new page on the website, complete with video and in-flight photo. Here is a link to all those full flight report pages on this site.

Mar 5, MBK Site Map

Mon, 05 Mar 2012 01:09:52 GMT

This site map lists links for every visible page on the My Best Kite site, under broad categories.

Mar 1, Adelaide Kite Festival 2012

Thu, 01 Mar 2012 10:36:20 GMT

Just to let all readers of this magnificent site know that the 15th Adelaide Kite Festival will be held Saturday 7th and Sunday 8th of April 2012 - the

Mar 1, Homemade Snow Goose Decoy Kite?

Thu, 01 Mar 2012 00:32:14 GMT

Q: I know I can buy a Jackite for like $30 to use for hunting geese. I was curious how a guy could make his own kite that would resemble a snow goose?

Feb 29, 64th Annual Ocean Beach, CA. Kite Festival

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 01:08:45 GMT

Will be happening on Saturday March 3 2012 Beginning at 0900. Command Central is the Ocean Beach Recreation Center. Where: Ocean Beach Recreation Center

Feb 29, The Dizzy Camera On The PLT

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 01:00:24 GMT

Last year, I found plans for a Peter Lynn Box Kite. At first, I discounted it thinking it looked too complex. Still, I kept running across this design

Feb 29, Kids Can Fly

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 00:47:14 GMT

Well I'll start this story by telling you that I live in Great Falls Montana, where the wind doesn't blow it sucks. Needless to say pretty much every day

Feb 27, Balinese Kites

Mon, 27 Feb 2012 01:35:23 GMT

Q: Do you have specific instructions (possibly measurements) on how to make a Balinese kite? I want to make a kite for my math project that I can paint

Feb 23, Flight Report - Dowel Delta Beautifully Balanced

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 01:09:41 GMT

So much happened during this 'zero-wind and thermals' flight that I didn't even have the time to take any photos or shoot video. So it's going to be a very compressed 'short-form' Flight Report today. To see whether they were at fault, I switched the leading edge dowels around some days ago. Today's flying didn't really show up much of a tendency to hang either way in the air, but it will probably be best to wait for a moderate-wind day before coming to any conclusions about that! The Dowel proved 'beautifully balanced' indeed. To the point where I could toss the winder on the grass and let the kite fly on auto-pilot for minutes at a time. Drifting, slowly spinning in weak lift with the line hanging straight down or even trailing behind a little. Just a hint of fore-and-aft rocking in scrappy air. Very nice. Anyway, here's all the action in list form...

Wind was too light to hand-launch.
Pulled the Dowel Delta up on 20 meters of line, straight into some lift.
Managed to get 30 meters (100 feet) of line out. And in, and out, and so on, but no landing.
Better lift took the Delta to 200 feet. Sometimes I just let it circle and drift downwind in lift.
Ended up near ground level again. Never mind, just attempt some slope soaring - centimeters off the ground, over an artificial mound near the edge of the reserve! Fun fun fun, and still no landing. But lots of walking and working the line.
Back to 200 feet again, after dicing with the tree-tops in 2-3kph of thermal-induced puffs. But I kept losing the lift at 200 feet. Should have put the kite on 20 pound line perhaps. No danger of breakage in these conditions!
Tell-tale signs of thermals were everywhere. Small birds hunted for insects, and sometimes checked out the kite. Bits of white fluff floated by, high up.
The kite stayed East of me most of the time. The forecast was for light winds. They certainly got that right.
Eventually just let the Delta fly around on its own. All the way to the ground, after about 40 minutes in the air. The resident kookaburra in the suburbia to the South cackled in approval, a little more reserved than usual.

Don't forget the wind meter reading... I hear you. It showed an average of 1.2 kph (from many directions), and a max gust of 4.7 kph. I was waiting for a light wind day, but not quite this light! About This Post: There are 2 kinds of Kite Flying Reports at MBK. Reports like this one are comments on a recent outing. The shorter Flight Report listings here link straight to the corresponding new page on the website, complete with video and in-flight photo. Here is a link to all those full flight report pages on this site.

Feb 22, Kite Flying Straight Up

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:09:34 GMT

Q: What is causing my single line, run of the mill, pound shop kite to fly straight up? Not out at any angle, vertical, straight up above my head even

Feb 20, Flare Kite For Stunts

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 04:54:17 GMT

Q: Can I rig a Flare (or Winged Sled) kite for stunts? Seeing as I can't afford a stunt kite or the fibreglass and ripstop nylon to make one with. Thankyou,

Feb 18, How To Make A Kite Messenger

Sat, 18 Feb 2012 00:36:19 GMT

Q: How do you make a kite messenger that flys up and releases a payload then comes back down? A: To tell the truth, I've never made one myself. However,

Feb 13, Tacking A Delta Kite For Fishing

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 11:11:20 GMT

Q: I have a Delta fishing kite and would like to know of your ideas on tacking it to 90 degrees off the shore and still keep its stability. Some ideas

Feb 11, Flight Report - Dowel Delta Kite Photo Op In Sunshine

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 11:25:10 GMT

After nothing but overcast days and the odd rain shower, the sun made a real appearance late today. Time to head out and get some half-decent photos and video of the new Dowel Delta kite. It was getting quite late in the afternoon, but huge cumulus were still lined up in cloud streets. The breeze was alternately light and then fresh and gusty. Soon after getting the kite in the air I had to carefully bring it down again for fear of snapping another spreader! Large branches swaying and heaps of leaf noise... Never-the-less, we eventually got some good photos and let the kite up to around 200 feet above ground. Still has that slight lean to the left - perhaps tomorrow I will shave down the appropriate leading edge dowel and try again. The wind meter showed an average of 5.1 kph near ground level, and a max gust of 12.9 kph. I would say the top of the wind range for this Delta kite is about 20 kph. Ample for 'light wind flying'! Looking forward to actually getting a real light wind day now... About This Post: There are 2 kinds of Kite Flying Reports at MBK. Reports like this one are comments on a recent outing. The shorter Flight Report listings here link straight to the corresponding new page on the website, complete with video and in-flight photo. Here is a link to all those full flight report pages on this site.

Feb 9, Make A Delta Kite - Complete Instructions For The MBK Dowel Delta.

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 04:11:53 GMT

Learn how to make a Delta kite by following these complete instructions for the MBK Dowel Delta.

Feb 8, Long Line Kite Flying

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 23:47:06 GMT

As a boy of around 10 years I used to fly a wooden dowel single string kite about 30 inches long by about 20 inches wide. I flew it over the sea on the