MBK Paper Delta
MBK Paper Delta
These instructions take you step-by-step through making a small but high-flying Delta kite. All from several pieces of A4 or Letter size copier paper and some sticky tape!
This kite performs well in Gentle to Moderate wind speeds. That's from 12 to 28 kph or from 8 to 18 mph. Even quite a small child should be able to hang on to the winder once the kite is up.
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.
How To Make A Paper Delta Kite...
The Sail
Tack Paper Sheets Together
3 sheets of paper tacked together
-
Orient the sheets sideways as
shown in the photo. The paper color(s) are up to you!
- Crease
the upper sheet down the middle, by folding from left to right.
Bring the sheets together and
tack in place with short strips of sticky tape. Line up the crease
with the join-line of the other 2 sheets. Yellow lines show where
the tape goes.
Note: The edges of tape just
applied are shown as yellow lines, from here on.
Measure On One Side
Sail shape measured and marked
-
Start
measuring from the point where the 3 sheets of paper meet.
- Using
a pen (perhaps a felt-tip pen on the sticky tape!), make dots on the
paper, following the arrows shown above. I have added yellow dots to
make the positions clear.
- Note
how dots are placed either on
the center-line from top to bottom, or to
the right
of the center-line.
Note:
The second dot from the right is handy if you only have a standard
30cm (12”) ruler! If you have a longer
ruler, that dot may be left out.
Fold Along The Center-Line
Paper sheets folded
-
Fold
the 3 sheets along the center-line, leaving the dots on the outside.
- Place
the paper up against a window while there is some light outside.
- Trace
the dots that are away from the center-line onto the unmarked
side.
Note:
What if the paper is too dark to see through, like the black used
here? Just poke a hole
through the dot with a needle so you can see where to put a dot on
the unmarked side!
Draw Sail Shape
Lines drawn between dots
-
Unfold
all the paper and lay it down.
- Using
a pen and ruler, connect the dots as shown in the photo.
Note:
For black
paper, I found a blunt
soft pencil
leaves a shiny line on the matte surface of the paper. Otherwise, the
lines can be very hard to see!
Apply Tape
Tape laid down
-
Apply
sticky tape as indicated in the photo. Those 2 strips at
the top
extend 8cm (3 1/8”) along the sail outline from the nose point.
Cut Sail Shape
Sail cut out
-
With
scissors, cut all around the sail shape. There's the completed sail
in the photo.
Draw Vertical Guide Lines
Dots drawn for vertical guide lines
-
Lay down the sail so the sticky
tape is against the floor.
- Near the top of the sail,
make a dot on each side of the center-line, 0.6cm (1/4”) from the
line. See the photo on the left up there.
- Similarly,make a pair of dots
near the bottom end of the center-line. The photo on the
right shows both pairs of dots.
Note: For very dark-colored
paper, try using a soft pencil which will make a shiny mark.
Both guide lines drawn
-
Rule 2 straight lines through
all the dots as shown.
Note: The camera flash has
made the ends of the lines faint in the photo above.
Draw Leading
Edge Guide Lines
Dots marked near leading edges
-
Flip
the sail over and mark 4 dots, each one 0.8cm (5/16”) from the
edge of the paper. The distances in
from each end
of the paper edge can just be approximate. Use the photo as a guide.
Lines drawn through dots
-
Rule
a line through each pair of dots as shown. Did you make them close
enough for your 30cm (12”) ruler to reach? ;-)
Note:
The lines go all the way to the bottom of the sail, although they are
a little faint in parts of the photo.
Draw
Horizontal Guide Lines
Line drawn out to sides
-
Mark
a dot on the center-line 16cm (6 5/16”) from the nose end.
- Using
your ruler, draw a horizontal line through the dot and out to each
side of the sail shape. Take care to keep the line parallel to the
horizontal join-line of the sail.
Dots marked above and below the line
-
Mark
dots, 0.8cm (5/16”) away from the line near the paper edge, above
and below where the guide-lines cross. See the photo.
- Also
mark dots 1.1cm (7/16”) away from the line in the middle
of the sail.
Spar guide-lines drawn through all the dots
- Using
your ruler, draw lines through all the dots as shown in the photo.
The
Vertical Spar
Measure Rectangles
Measured and dots marked
-
Measure,
and mark dots where indicated in the photo. It will be helpful to
lightly rule some long horizontal lines first, at the indicated
intervals.
Note:
The distances to the edges of the paper don't matter. Just measure as
indicated, from bottom left.
Draw Lines
Lines drawn between dots
-
Using your pen and ruler, connect the dots as
shown.
Tape Over
Rectangles taped
-
Lay strips of sticky tape over
the rectangles as illustrated in the photo.
- The strips of tape can overlap
slightly and should cover the rectangles completely. That's all that
matters, so don't fuss over the detail!
Cut Out
Rectangles cut out
-
Cut out the rectangles, which will be totally
covered in tape on one side. Some curl is OK, as you can see in the
photo above.
Stick Together
shorter rectangles butt-joined
-
Lay down the 2 widest
rectangles with taped sides facing the floor, butted together as
shown at the bottom of the photo. The one on the left is 22cm (8
5/8“) while the shorter one is 14cm (5 1/2”).
- Similarly, lay down the 2
next-widest rectangles together. The one on the left is also 22cm (8
5/8“) while the shorter one is 6cm (2 3/8”).
- Lay tape across each join as
shown, before wrapping the overhanging tape around to the other
side.
Note: Use a ruler or other
long straight edge to verify the rectangles are perfectly lined up
before applying the tape!
Shorter piece goes on top then taped at each end
-
Still keeping the tape-covered
sides facing down, place the shorter butt-joined piece on top of the
other butt-joined piece. The shorter one is slightly narrower, so
try to center it over the wider piece.
- Align the 2 pieces at the
right-hand end and put a short strip of tape around to hold
them there. There should now be 8cm (3 1/8”) between the edges at
the other end.
- Tack the free end of the
over-lying piece down with a piece of sticky tape as indicated in
the photo.
Last rectangle goes on top
-
The remaining rectangle is
thinner again. Position taped-side-down and center the long edges,
before tacking in place with squares of tape as shown. This time the
distance from the end at left should be 12cm (4 3/4”). See
the photo.
Encase In Tape
Tape laid down over one long edge
-
Lay a strip of sticky tape the
full length of the layered piece. Leave half the width overhanging,
as indicated in the photo.
Tape folded around a long edge
- Fold the overhanging tape around so it sticks to
the other side. Doing it all at once with 1 strip of tape can be
tricky, so consider using 2 or 3 strips of tape instead. A little bit
of overlap is OK.
Tape laid and folded around other long edge
-
In the same way, cover the other edge
of the paper with tape and fold around. The 3 layers of paper should
now feel like 1 solid piece.
- Trim off any excess folded tape at either
end, with scissors.
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.
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