How To Make A Roller Kite

Step-by-Step - The MBK Dowel Roller

This set of instructions on how to make a Roller kite assumes you know absolutely nothing about kite making.

You might already have some of the simple tools and materials required. Anything you don't have is easily bought. If not exactly what I used, then at least something pretty similar!

The MBK Dowel Roller is a large tail-less kite based on the old Pearson Roller design. Like the original, this kite is a great light to moderate wind flier.

These instructions on how to make a Roller kite might look quite detailed. However, your reward is a large, very cheap kite that is quick to set up and break down.

This Roller is designed to roll up into a slim cylindrical package like a Sled, thanks to the removable vertical spar and the toggle-linked bow lines.

Setting up on the flying field takes less than 5 minutes once you get the hang of it. Of course, if you have room, you can always leave this kite ready-to-fly.

I have chosen to make '1 Dowel Length' equal to 120cm for every kite in the Dowel series. If you are in North America, 48" of 3/16" dowel is close enough to 120cm of 5mm dowel. This will result in a kite with similar flying characteristics to my original.

How To Make A Roller Kite - Sail

Now's the time to read up on the kite making tools and materials required for making a Dowel Roller, if you haven't already. For this kite, you will also need some cheap thin shoe-laces.

The template shown above represents one side of the kite sail. You will now transfer these measurements to the sail plastic as follows...

• Firstly, take a large bag that you want to use for the sail, and lay it flat on the floor.
• Mark dots on the plastic which correspond to the corners of the Template. There is no need to use a T-square, or an extra-long ruler since any small errors in position will be duplicated on the other side of the sail.
• Using the marking pen, rule lines between the dots, as in the photo. For lines longer than the ruler, just add a few extra dots using one of the dowel spars as a ruler! Then it's easy to connect the dots with a ruler. It's probably best not to rule the whole line with the dowel, since it bends easily.
  

• Flip the plastic bag over, and trace over all the black lines using your marker pen and ruler.
• Cut out a rectangular section of the bag containing the kite sail, open it out and lay it flat on the floor - you can now see the complete sail outline, as in the photos.
  
  
  

When doing the following, most of the width of the tape should be inside the kite's outline. Use a single length of tape for each line. Hold it out straight, touch it down to the plastic at one end, then at the other end, dab it down in the middle, then press down all along its length.

• Lay down clear sticking tape where indicated by the yellow lines in the first 2 photos. Just over half the kite is shown, so do the other side exactly the same.
• With scissors, cut along all the black lines. This will leave most of the width of the sticking tape inside the sail outline.
• Add a corner strap to the topcorner of the sail. This strap, with a length of 0.26DL (32cm, 13"), is much longer than in those examples. See the third photo.
• The bottom corner of the sail requires a pocket. First you cut out a triangular pocket from some spare sail plastic, just a little higher than the width of your tape. Lay the triangle down on the sail corner.
• Cut a square piece of insulation tape and fold it right over the point of the corner. This will prevent the spar from poking through there.
• Lay another piece of tape flush with the top edge of the pocket, and fold under the sail where necessary, to the left and right. The corner should now look like the fourth photo.
  
  

How To Make A Roller Kite - Spars

For this Roller, you need long lengths of 5mm (3/16") wooden dowel. Enough for the 3 spars of 1.0DL (120cm, 48") each. They are easily cut to the lengths required with a small cheap hack-saw.

• Select the straightest piece of dowel you can find. Measure off a 1.0DL (120cm, 48") length, mark it and saw it off at the mark. Round off the tips with a wood file. This is the vertical spar.
• Cut off 2 very short 0.01DL (1.2cm, 1/2") lengths of dowel. Round off the tips with a wood file. These will be used as the bow-line toggles. You can use thinner dowel for these if you have some lying around. I use 4mm dowel for toggles, just to save a bit of weight.
• Lay down some more dowel across the width of the sail, mark it at the exact width, and cut off at the mark. Also make an easily-seen mark around the dowel where it touches the center crease of the sail.
• Round off the tips with a wood file, then add a bow-line so the depth of the bow is 0.06DL (7.2cm, 2 3/4"). With the kite flat on the ground, that's how far the tips should be from the grass. This is the upper horizontal spar.
• While the glue is drying on the knots, do those previous 2 steps again to create a 3rd spar. The depth of this bow should be 0.12DL (14.4cm, 5 3/4"). Now you have made the lower horizontal spar. The photo shows all 3 spars, with the bow-lines attached on the 2 horizontal spars. (The amount of bow was changed after the kite was test flown, if you were wondering!)
  
  

How To Make A Roller Kite - Joining The Sails

The upper and lower sails now need to be joined in the center, and protected against stretch for when the corner strap is tightened.

• Insert the vertical spar into the lower sail pocket, and line up the upper tip with the nose corner of the upper sail. This shows you exactly how far apart the 2 sails should be!
• Carefully remove the spar, without shifting the sails.
• Add 4 strips of clear sticky tape onto the sails, as illustrated by the yellow rectangles in the photo. The order is not important. Yes, the tapes might stick a bit to the floor, between the sails...
• Flip the sails over, and stick down another 2 strips of tape so they stick to the other tapes in the area between the sails. These 2 tapes are represented by the 2 thick red lines. The exact length is not important, just copy the photo.
  
  

How To Make A Roller Kite - Attachment Ties

The vertical spar will have 2 shoe-lace ties attached to it, which will be used to lash it to the horizontal spars before flying.

• Firstly lay down the vertical spar, then the 2 horizontal spars over the sail. Carefully line up the tips of the horizontal spars with the sail corners.
• Make marks on the vertical spar, showing where the horizontal spars cross. Then remove all the horizontal spars.
• Measure and cut off two 0.16DL (20cm, 8") lengths of shoe-lace. To prevent the cut ends from fraying, just tie a Simple Knot near the end.
• Measure and cut off a length of insulation tape that is long enough to go all the way around the dowel, plus a little more. Cut it in half, in the length-wise direction, so its width is halved. Now you have 2 pieces, one for each tie.
• Attach the ties at the spar-crossing points which you marked on the vertical spar. Each red tape wraps around the dowel, attaching the middle of the shoe-lace to the dowel, as in the photo.
  

• Prepare 4 lengths of electrical insulation tape, each one about 4 times longer than it is wide. Stick them by a corner onto something handy like a table edge. You can remove them one at a time as needed.
• Spread out the sail, with the edge tape facing upwards.
• Lay down the upper horizontal spar over the sail, so it would bow away from the sail if you attached the toggle. With the toggle un-attached, line up the tips of the spar with the upper corners of the sail.
• Cap one tip of the spar with tape, by sticking tape down over the dowel and plastic then folding it around and under the plastic to stick on the other side - a bit tricky, take your time! See the completed cap in the first photo.
• Now do the other tip of the spar similarly, using another piece of tape.
• Attach both tips of the lower horizontal spar to the sail in a similar same way, using the last 2 pieces of tape.
• The long tabs of the lower sail need to have a slit, to let the bow-line through when the tab is folded over. Make a short vertical snip with scissors, in each tab, right down to the bow-line knot.
• Fold down the plastic tabs over the spar and tape in place using clear sticky tape. See the second photo, which shows the center of the kite.
  
  

How To Make A Roller Kite - Sail Ties

• Add a short length of clear sticky tape to an upper sail corner, then add another one of the same length to the other side of the plastic. Where they stick out from the sail edge, press the 2 tapes together so they stick to each other. About the length of a fore-finger should be sufficient, half on the sail, half off.
• Put a Loop Knot into a length of flying line, and thread the tapes through the loop, before folding the tapes over and securing them to the sail with another short length of tape.
• As in the photo, snip off the line so you have enough length to fasten it to the lower horizontal spar with some Half Hitchs. There should be a little slack in the line.
• Do the other sail corner exactly the same way.
  
  

How To Make A Roller Kite - Keel

• Mark out the keel shape on some spare plastic, as per the dimensions on the template.
• Cut out the keel and tape down 2 lengths of flying line onto one side. One goes from the bridle attachment point to the upper attachment point, and the other goes from the bridle attachment point to the lower attachment point. Use sticky tape, not electrical tape. The pieces of line hanging free should be at least as long as your finger.
• Now flip the plastic over and tape down another 2 lengths of flying line, directly over the first 2.
• Where 2 pieces of line come together, tie a Multi-Strand Simple Knot close to the plastic. These 2 knots will sit against the vertical spar. See the top, left photo.
• Where the 4 pieces of line come together, tie them into another Multi-Strand Simple Knot close to the plastic, then tie another one further out, as in the top, right photo. The bottom photo shows the complete keel.
• Reinforce the keel with short lengths of sticky tape, where indicated by the yellow rectangles.
  

• Insert the vertical spar between the sail and the horizontal spars. Make sure the lower end of the vertical spar is into the bottom pocket as far as it will go, and then mark the spar at the top edge of the pocket.
• Remove the vertical spar and tightly tie the lower keel lines around the mark on the dowel, using a Granny Knot.
• Using the keel itself to find the exact spot, tightly tie the upper lines around the dowel also. This will be quite close to the lower horizontal spar when the vertical spar is inserted.
• Fold the 4 dowel-width tab over the dowel and tape it down all along its length with a piece of clear sticky tape.
• Align the knots with the shoe-lace ties. Smear wood glue all over the 2 knots and all around the dowel where the keel lines touch the wood. When dry, it should look like the top photo.
• Cut a slit in the plastic sail, between the 2 long vertical pieces of tape. The slit should go all the way from where the lower knot will sit, up to where the upper knot will sit, after the vertical spar is inserted. The bottom photo shows how the keel is poked through the slit after the vertical spar is inserted.

Note: The patch of green tape near the tail end of the keel is covering a 5c piece! This makes the kite more tail-heavy and improves stability.

How To Make A Roller Kite - Bridle

• Cut off some 50 pound flying line to a length of 1.0DL (120cm, 48"), and tie a very small Loop Knot into each end.
• Poke holes in the plastic, on either side of the upper horizontal spar. Four holes altogether, 0.24DL (28.8cm, 11 1/2") from the vertical spar, as indicated by the 4 yellow dots in the photo.
• Tie each end of the line to the spar, through the holes. Use a Double Wrap Slip Knot, and pull tight against the knot of the small loop. This is the bridle loop.
• Cut off some flying line to a length of 3.0DL (360cm, 144"), and attach one end to the bridle loop. Use a shiftable knot such as the Prusik Knot, and adjust it to center. Let's just call this the bridle line.
• Tie a Double Loop Knot into the other end of the bridle line.

Finally, take a length of flying line about 0.2DL (240mm, 9 1/2") long, and tie one end to the bridle line with a Prusik Knot. Tie a small Double Loop Knot into the other end, just to get a large knot. There's a photo of this further down, in the section titled Before First Pre-Flight.

At this point, you've pretty much finished making the Dowel Roller! However, there is a short Setup procedure to go through before it will fly...

How To Make A Roller Kite - Setting Up

1. Spread out the plastic sail on the ground, with the horizontal spars on top.
2. Slip the top tip of the vertical spar under the lower horizontal spar, then under the upper spar then over the nose of the sail.
3. Locate the bottom tip of the vertical spar in the sail pocket at the tail end of the kite. Tuck the keel through the slit.
4. Fasten the vertical spar to the horizontal spars with the shoe-lace ties, as if you were doing up your own shoe.
5. Locate the top tip of the vertical spar in the top corner strap, pull just a little tension into the sail, feed the strap around the middle of the upper horizontal spar a couple of times then tie off with a half-hitch or small bow. See the photo.
6. Attach the bow lines of the horizontal spars.
7. Finally, attach the keel to the bridle line using a Lark's Head Knot.

That looks a lot, but once you have done it a few times, it's not hard to remember. In fact, after the first flight, you can just leave that top tie done up. The top tip of the vertical spar can just be carefully slipped in, the next time you fly. Also, the Lark's Head on the keel can be left attached!

How To Make A Roller Kite - Breaking Down

I don't mean breaking down in grief because your flying session has come to an end - I mean getting the kite packed up ready for transport or storage!

1. Lay the kite on the ground with the spars on top, and flying line removed.
2. Un-attach the bow lines of the horizontal spars.
3. Unpick and loosen the top corner strap. Or you can experiment with leaving it in place and just slipping the dowel out sideways. That's quicker!
4. Undo both shoe-lace ties, then carefully feed the keel back through the slit, still attached to the bridle line.
5. Remove the vertical spar, slipping it towards the tail end of the kite.
6. Place the vertical spar between the horizontal spars, parallel to them, and roll up the kite from bottom to top.
7. Finally, wrap the remaining bridle line around the kite a few times to prevent it unrolling. There it is in the photo, taking up no more space than a Sled kite. The Roller doesn't look so big now does it!
   
   

How To Make A Roller Kite - First Pre-Flight

Make up a flying line and attach it to the bridle with a Lark's Head Knot. See the photo over there, where the Lark's Head has been left loose.

The bridle is a bit long to check on the ground, so fly the kite on a very short line to see where the towing point is. Shift the Prusik Knot along the bridle line until the towing point appears to be level with the upper horizontal spar or a little below it. To lock the Prusik in place, take the 2 bridle lines in one hand, the flying line in the other, and pull tight. To unlock it, you just pull the bridle line straight, with the knot in the middle.

Check the bridle slip knots on the upper horizontal spar. Re-tighten if necessary, and put a small drop of wood glue on each so they can never come loose. You won't have to wait the full drying time for this glue to dry, since the amounts are small.

How To Make A Roller Kite - Flying!

Firstly, if it's very windy outside, stay home! This is a light-wind kite and won't like being launched in a gale. If the wind is too strong, it might get damaged.

The Prusik knot on the bridle line can loosen off a little over time. If necessary, pull on all the lines to tighten the knot up before a flying session.

Assuming there is some breeze outside, just dangle the kite at arm's length until the wind catches it.

As long as you feel the kite pulling, let out line slowly by taking loop after loop off the winder.

Be cautious about letting line slip through your fingers. If a big gust hits the kite, the line could burn you! For any kite this big or bigger, it's a good idea to wear a glove of some sort.

Another approach is to get a helper to hold the kite up and let it go, on the end of maybe 10 or 20 meters of line. This way, the kite soon gets high enough to make it easy to let more line out.

Have fun flying, and I hope you've enjoyed learning how to make a Roller kite!

Some improvements to try:

-upper horizontal spar further forward, to allow more forward towing point while keeping tension on the lower bridle line.
-lower horizontal spar further back to shift center of gravity further back, reducing need for tail-weight
-same amount of bow in both horizontal spars
-sail ties to tips rather than LE (reduce main sail billow)
-slightly smaller keel.

Now, just in case you have actually made and flown this kite at least once already...

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