Fresh Winds Dowel Box Kite

by Jim Millisky
(Philadelphia, PA, USA )

Box kite heading up

Box kite heading up

I finished making your fresh wind Dowel Box kite. I used 1/4" dowels for a little extra strength.

The kite was flying in 16-20 mph winds. Gusts were about 25 mph. The kite flew perfectly, but it sure did pull! I thought the string might break when the wind would gust!

Like your flight report, it flew at about a 75 degree angle, and was very exciting to fly. I could only take the kite to 100' or so, because I was in a small city park in Philadelphia. Looking forward to taking it to the beach!

Comments for Fresh Winds Dowel Box Kite

Average Rating starstarstarstarstar

Click here to add your own comments

Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Spars
by: Jim

Hi Tim,
I was wondering if the wood spars here in the states are of a lighter wood than in Australia? The 3/16 seemed flimsy to me, but maybe I just had a few lighter than normal spars. Your idea of thicker cross pieces is a good one! I am planning to use the 3/16 on the traditional box kite, as per your plan. 45 mph winds- WOW, that kite must have pulled like a truck!!
Take Care,
Jim

(T.P. - Most dowels over here are of Tasmanian Oak, also we get dowels from Indonesia - unsure what type that is, having not made any inquiries. Hardness seems similar, and these are supposed to be 'hardwood' dowels. Eeerm ... 45KPH not mph ;-) = around 25 - 30 mph)
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Spars
by: Tim Parish

Sounds like you had a good first outing with this kite! The 3/16" dowels do look a little spindly, but I have had this design in the air while winds gusted to 45kph. Enough to knock the wind meter over on its little tripod!

Under those conditions, 3/16" cross pieces might snap - as mine did that day, but the main spars can take it. The bonus of course, is that the kite will fly at lower wind speeds than otherwise.

These days I always use or design cross-pieces that are thicker than the main spars. The horizontal cross-pieces for the new 2.4 meter (8 feet) long Multi-Dowel Box kite are 12.5mm compared to 9.5mm for the main spars.

A short bridle loop also helps to reduce stresses on a Box kite. So the towing point is not far below the kite in flight.

PS - I think I recognize your name as being one of my e-book customers. Well of course you are - this kite design doesn't appear on this website!

Click here to add your own comments

Join in and write your own page! It's easy to do. How? Simply click here to return to YOUR Pictures Of Kites!.

FREE: A kite-making e-book!

Just sign up for my free newsletter and you can immediately download Simplest Dowel Kites, a printable PDF. In the e-book I show you how to make a diamond, delta or sled from oak dowels and plastic. Great fliers!

It's just 1 email per month, no other emails will be sent, and your details are safe with me. You need to be at least 16 years old to sign up...



Back to top of page

Need winders, reels, flying line?

We earn a small commission if you click the following link and buy something. The item does not cost you any more, since we are an "affiliate" of Amazon.

Click here to buy anything you need. Just use the Search box in there if you need different weights or lengths of line, for example.

P.S. Keep an eye out for books by kite author Glenn Davison, a prominent kite person in the USA.

What's New!

RSS

  1. Flight Report:
    Big Box In Booming Air

    Jan 19, 19 02:53 AM

    Remarkable. Before leaving for the field, the online weather station reported 20kph gusting to 28kph. And then on arriving back, again, the speeds were 20kph gusting to 28kph! However, the direction w…

    Read More

Wind Speeds

Light Air
1-5 km/h
1-3 mph
1-3 knots
Beaufort 1

Light breeze
6–11 km/h
4–7 mph
4–6 knots
Beaufort 2

Gentle ...
12–19 km/h
8–12 mph
7–10 knots
Beaufort 3

Moderate ...
20–28 km/h
13–18 mph
11–16 knots
Beaufort 4

Fresh ...
29–38 km/h
19–24 mph
17–21 knots
Beaufort 5

Strong ...
39–49 km/h
25–31 mph
22–27 knots
Beaufort 6

High Wind
50-61 km/h
32-38 mph
28-33 knots
Beaufort 7

Like/share this site...

Like/share this page...