Making A Box Kite

Dowel Box: Template And Tips, Or Step-By-Step eBook

Making a Box kite takes a little longer than, say, a simple Diamond or Sled, but it's well worth the effort. You can fly in stronger winds, and it sure looks good in the air!

If you have plenty of kite-making experience behind you, the Template and short list of Tips further down this page might be sufficient.

Otherwise, using a fully illustrated eBook of step-by-step instructions pretty well guarantees success! Like any decent Box design, mine is transportable, breaking down into a convenient long, slim package like a Sled.

The MBK Dowel Box Kite is a decent size at 1.2 meters (4 feet) long, and is designed to fly in moderate to fresh winds. The kite is rather light compared to most box kites made from traditional materials, and so will respond to thermals (rising air) from time to time!

The template shown above represents one cell of the kite, before the spars are added over the fold-lines. My Dowel Length is 1.2m (4 feet), this being the length of the spars.

Making A Box Kite - Tips

Here are some general tips, if you wish to reproduce my lightly-built moderate-wind design...

• Use 5mm (3/16") dowels for the spars and cross-pieces.
• Light single-ply plastic is the cheapest option for sail material, in which case you will need to edge it with clear sticky-tape.
• My original has the horizontal cross-pieces slightly longer than the vertical ones, which are just 0.5DL long.
• Position the upper leg of the bridle near the nose of the kite, and the lower one just in front of the leading edge of the lower cell. The kite flies on one edge, like a traditional Box kite.

Making A Box Kite - Flying!

We have had some really enjoyable flights with this sizable Box design, even with rather light winds at ground level. This kite will easily reach 400 feet above ground on a 50 pound flying line. The video up there shows the kite on a very short line, and hence coping with some variations in the wind.

Higher up, this Box kite tends to move around much less. I've had a bird perch on the line since it was barely moving! In fresher winds, this kite becomes slightly less stable and will move around a little to the left and right.

The in-flight picture over there was taken in fresh wind, as you can probably tell by those bending spars...

Have fun flying, and I hope you one day enjoy making a box kite the MBK way!

Last updated: 12 Apr 2010