This set of instructions on how to make a Sled kite assumes you know absolutely nothing about kite making. You might already have some of the simple tools and materials required.
Anything you don't have is easily bought. If not exactly what I used, then at least something pretty similar!
This kite is a large vented Sled, with a shallow V cut into the leading edge. It's is a good light wind flier and can cope with gentle winds up to around 15 kph. However, it likes smooth air to fly in! It will not tolerate rough air or turbulence.
If you have trouble getting a decent flight out of it, just take it down to the nearest beach or find the widest, most open space possible.
In smooth air, you will be amazed at how this big Sled parks itself up there at a high angle!
One time I did manage to coax it high on a warm day. It was fun working the line to re-inflate the kite every time it got hit by thermal turbulence! A 'bag of washing' about to touch down one moment and then a glorious long climb back to 200 feet above the field.
I have chosen to make '1 Dowel Length' equal to 120cm for every kite in the Dowel series. If you are in North America, 48" of 3/16" dowel is close enough to 120cm of 5mm dowel. This will result in a kite with similar flying characteristics to my original. Make sure to find a hard-wood type for your dowel.
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.
Now's the time to read up on the kite making tools and materials required for making a Dowel Sled, if you haven't already.
For this Sled, you need 2 lengths of 5mm wooden dowel. For a light-wind Sled, the dowel doesn't have to be very stiff.
The template shown above represents one side of the kite sail. You will now transfer these measurements to the sail plastic.
Like to see a video clip? Just scroll down to near the end...
Note: Don't worry about overlapping lengths of tape at the corners, it will all look tidier after the cutting is done.
Now, tape down the right hand spar in exactly the same way.
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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