Learn how to make an Octopus kite with these easy-to-follow instructions. Fully illustrated with close-up photos, every step of the way.
These instructions will take you step-by-step through making a 84cm (35”) wide Octopus kite. Height? Over 5m (16ft) including the long tentacles! This 6-cell inflatable kite performs best in gentle to moderate wind speeds. That's 12 to 28kph or 8 to 18mph. Towards the low end of that range the kite will hang in the air at low line angles. With more wind speed, the line angle will increase to 45 degrees or slightly more, with a firm pull.
Some of the lines are
longer than the standard 30cm (12”) of most rulers. So, a handy
trick is to stretch out a length of flying line, weigh it down at
each end, and then make several dots beside it – less than a ruler
length apart. The dots can then be joined by using your ruler. With
care, you will end up with a perfectly straight long ruled line every
time.
The MBK Octopus kite is inspired by similar-looking retail kites, but is not a copy of any of them. For a start, this one uses only straight lines! This tape and plastic version works in exactly the same way and has been tested up to 300 feet off the ground. 20 pound Dacron flying line is ideal.
Materials for this
kite...
The kite described here will do well with just about any fairly robust plastic sheet. Only slightly stretchy when handled and slightly see-through is a good guide. For example, heavy-duty painter's drop-sheet or drop-cloth plastic. That would be around 4mil thickness for those buying or re-using plastic sheet in the US.
However, for the outer 6 tails, I suggest using as light a plastic as you can find! So see-through you could read a book through it. :-) There is no point in weighing the kite down unnecessarily.
Ordinary clear sticky tape in a dispenser is good for tacking seams together before laying down more of the same along the full length. I used the 1.8cm (3/4”) wide variety to ensure adequate strength.
These instructions illustrate an Octopus made with 20 pound (strength) Dacron bridle lines. Plus a short length of 50 pound Dacron. This type of line is readily available from eBay and Amazon online stores. You would get away with 30 pound line throughout.
Upper And Lower Surfaces
When this kite flies, one surface of the sail faces the sky – the Upper Surface. The other surface is easily visible from the ground – the Lower Surface. In between the two surfaces are vertical panels called Ribs.
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.
Judge the horizontal directions by eye. If you're careful, there's no need for a T-square.
Hint: If it's too hard to see through the plastic, just lay it up against a sun-lit window!
Note: The photo has been edited to make the lines darker and easier to see.
This ends up looking very similar to the upper surface. In fact, rather than doing the measuring all over again, it's simpler to start by tracing...
The approach here will be for you to position and
trace out circles, using whatever handy circular objects you can
find. Everybody has cups and saucers, for example! You can use a
non-permanent marker initially, so any little accidents can be
cleaned up. Then the final look an be achieved with a black permanent
marker.
Finally, fill in
the 'pupils' and thicken up the larger circles until you like the
look. Remember, it will mostly be seen from quite a distance away.
See the photo below...
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!
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