Learn how to build a Diamond kite with these easy-to-follow instructions. Fully illustrated with photographs, every step of the way...
Don't worry about how long this page looks....
The steps are easy, hence this simple Diamond kite comes together very quickly!
Sometimes I go out with my young son to fly this kite. A classic picture of father and son, out flying a kite!
Like nearly every Diamond, it's very reliable and easy to handle in flight. Watch it wing-waggle and swoop occasionally, staying up as long as the wind blows.
The tail is simplicity itself - just a long slim rectangle of the same plastic you use for the sail. For more stability in fresher winds, it's easy to just add on a bit more length to the tail.
50 pound line is the ideal weight for this kite.
On this site, there's more kite-making info than you can poke a stick at :-)
Want to know the most convenient way of using it all?
The Big MBK E-book Bundle is a collection of downloads - printable PDF files which provide step-by-step instructions for many kites large and small...
Every kite in every MBK series.
A quick look at the materials and tools for making this kite might be a good idea, first. Then just click the Back button on your browser to get back here.
Note: After flying this kite for several months, I decided to recommend you add another piece of tape to the top corner of the sail, at right-angles to the first tape. For added strength!
( If you purchase the kite line recommended below I may receive a small commission - at no extra cost to you )
Do you need some kite line? This 3-pack of simple winders with 300ft lines from Amazon should be ideal. They are all ready to go with 50 pound line. This strength is good for bridles and flying lines for all the MBK kites up to the 1.2m (4ft) sizes.
My instructions for connecting a flying line don't mention swivel clips, but the swivels included in this product are good and strong. So go ahead and use them if you want to :-) Otherwise they can just be snipped off.
I hope you enjoyed learning how to build a Diamond kite. There's ours in the photo above, flying around on a perfect day for it.
Click/tap the photo to see a bigger, higher-res version.
That's it, you're ready to fly. Take the kite out whenever you can see leaves moving in the trees or bushes. If it won't stay up, try letting out plenty of line and then towing it up at jogging pace. It might find enough wind higher up.
With plenty of wind, this kite will waggle from side to side, so make sure all the tip-tapes are pressed down firmly and secure. I had one let go once, which brought the kite down suddenly. With some spare tape I had handy, the sail tip was soon fixed and the Diamond waggled straight back up to full flying height.
You've probably read a kite-flying story or 2 of mine, after they appear under the "what's new?" link on this site. I sometimes wonder if anyone else has made and flown this particular design...
If you feel your efforts really paid off when the the kite finally got airborne - please type a few paragraphs in here telling us all about it!
P.S. I can only accept stories of at least 300 words. Just mention a few details like the weather, onlookers, the kite's behavior and so on - 300 words is easy!
Click below to read about various kite-flying adventures, contributed by other visitors to this page...
Tiny light wind newspaper kites
As a child (around 6) one of my parent's friends with children near my age took us outside and taught us how to make the smallest of light-wind kites from …
Simple Dowel Kites at a Cub Scout Camp
My son is a cub scout and we were invited to attend a "family camp". Parents were asked to arrange activities for the cubs that would contribute towards …
We have a winner!
I helped my 11 year old son build this for his class project in science as he was studying the principles of flight. Half of the grade was design, the …
Terrific!
My son and I made this kite as part of a school project and were amazed with the results. It flew perfectly from the start - I was truly impressed!
…
First ever go at making a kite!
:) This is my first go at making a kite, and I'm stoked!
I've been flying now for a couple of years, bought kites, single and dual. But for some reason …
Black Diamond
We had a kite derby for cub scouts. We made a sail kite and a box kite in the two weeks we had to prepare for it. Both crashed and burned during their …
Best kite I've ever had!
My son got a cheap kite as a gift for his 6th birthday, and it broke in about 20 seconds. He was very disappointed, so I decided to build one.
With …
Easy. Cheap. And Fun as Fudge. Not rated yet
I am 15 and had to make a kite for my math class (following it's geometric meaning and characteristics and all that), and I made this kite in 1-2 hours. …
As mentioned earlier, there's more kite-making on this site than you can poke a stick at :-)
Want to know the most convenient way of using it all?
The Big MBK E-book Bundle is a collection of downloads - printable PDF files which provide step-by-step instructions for many kites large and small...
Every kite in every MBK series.
It's a printable PDF file. Make a diamond, delta or sled step-by-step. They fly hundreds of feet up for hours on end. Woohoo!
Could you do me just a small favor though? If you're over 16, please sign up for Tethered Flying - my free twice-per-month publication. Here's just a sampling of the total content...
* 3 "tips of the month" (for beginners, parents & experienced)
* A fresh "photo of the month" (+ link to big hi-res version)
* A fresh "flight report of the month" (my personal flying)
* Updates on the latest board game from my-best-kite.com
Any questions? Here's more info on both the e-book and the newsletter.