Sled Kites

Simply Convenient!

Sled kites have 2 big things going for them - simplicity and convenience! Plus they are super-easy to make for yourself.

The simplest kind of Sled is just a single sheet of sail material with a couple of vertical sticks attached. A simple bridle loop is attached to the left and right extremities of the sail. No adjustments, no fuss. Just unroll, attach a flying line and you're up and away!

We've been to few kite festivals over the years and taken plenty of photos. There's a few Sled pictures among them, so see below for a few examples which show the variety available in this kind of kite.

Would you like to have a go at actually making a simple Sled that flies well? Just check out these PDF eBooks on the 1-skewer series, 2-skewer series and dowel series of MBK kites. The Sled is number 1 in all three series.

Sled Kites We Have Seen At Festivals

Here's 4 Sleds, each with something unique about it. There are so many variations on the theme that are possible, just in terms of configuration. Let alone decoration and tails! However, in my books, a Sled always has a single-surface sail.

A really simple one to start with. This Sled uses the classic '2 sticks and a sail' approach. The rainbow color scheme is carried through to the long twin tails.

Two tails are the most natural way to decorate or stabilize a Sled since the 2 spar tips provide convenient anchor points. Also, there is no distortion of the inflated sail in flight.

A slightly more complex Sled here, featuring inflatable spars. Air pressure keeps some rigidity in the tube-spars on each side, so the whole thing works just like a simple Sled in flight. The spars are also partitioned in half - perhaps this helps to prevent them collapsing, I'm not sure.

Despite what I said for the first kite up there, this one does have a tail attached to the trailing edge of the sail! However, look how broad it is...

My hunch is that the tail is so broad that the top portion of the tail is effectively part of the main sail.

They might just be for convenience in attaching the bridle, but this Sled also has a tiny keel on each side. See if you can spot them. They don't look big enough to have much effect on stability.

Here's an interesting design! Like some early rigid-spar Sleds, this one has a central spar in addition to the other two. The central spar is partitioned, and it's a bit hard to see, but it looks like the side spars are as well. There seems to be some light-colored fabric in there. Would you agree?

Something I didn't notice straight away is the flat inside edges of the side spars! I guess this might be to add 'walls' on each side of the airflow just like the side flaps of a simple Sled. If you get what I mean...

Definitely no keels on this kite.

Finally, this Sled is really no more complex than the last one, but there is a real difference! It's a double Sled, with each side looking somewhat like a single Sled kite! In other words, the sail has two distinct curvatures, separated by the deep central inflatable spar.

There must be a real advantage to using partitions in those inflatable spars. The side spars on this kite have them too.

The 3-point bridle is very visible in the picture. Not so the very small keels to which the lines are attached - I think.

The MBK Sled Kites

Now for the 3 MBK Sled kites. These are all made from very cheap and widely available materials. Instructions and plans for making all 3 may be found elsewhere on this site.

This dinky little number is called the 1-Skewer Sled. You see, each spar is a 29 cm (1 foot) bamboo BBQ skewer. The original was made from clear freezer-bag plastic, which made it almost impossible to see against a grey sky. A good little flier though!

We fly this one on 50 meters (150 feet) of 20 pound line. It doesn't need that strength, but we also fly our 2-skewer kites on the same line....

The 2-Skewer Sled is, as the name suggests, exactly twice as tall as the 1-Skewer design. This gives it 4 times the sail area with not much more than double the weight. Hence, it's pretty good in light winds.

The kite pictured has 2-ply plastic which made it a little heavier, but it was still a great performer.

In moderate winds, the 20 pound line is pulled quite tight, and even starts to buzz when the wind strength picks up even further! The kite is also quite happy to loll about lazily in quite light wind conditions.

The big Daddy of MBK Sled kites. This one was designed from the start to be tail-less. Those diamond-shaped cut-outs create a little extra drag near the tail end of the kite to help keep it stable.

The Dowel Sled, as it is called, is rather sensitive to rough air but will fly at extremely high line angles in conditions that suit it.

Size? It's about twice as tall as the 2-Skewer Sled, so that's about 4 times the sail area. Compared to the 1-Skewer Sled, the Dowel Sled has about 16 times as much sail area!

We once took all 3 Sleds down to the beach and put them up in the moderate sea breeze that was blowing in from the South West. Even managed to get a photo, with all 3 in view!

That's about it for this page on Sled Kites. Hope you enjoyed the pics and the info!

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Last updated: 30 Jan 2010