Kites, anyone?

Off-topic
1

I started a wride up of todays ride, but it was so similar to all the others I even started to bore myself. So for a change, here’s a bit about some kite flying I did this morning.

Single string, of course.

I’ve had an interest in kites for many years, and I have a small collection. For the last couple of years I’ve had little chance to fly them, although with my brother adopting a 3 year old - a ready-made nephew for me- I’ve had one or two of them out in what has passed for a summer this year.

Today I decided to take them all out and have a jolly good flying session.

First up: the Cody kite: a winged box kite with two pairs of square cells, and angled wings. This was invented by an American chap and used to lift observers in wartime. Mine is very much smaller, but still exerts a hell of a pull on the string. The kite is new and needed some adjustment of the bridle, but eventually I got it up to highly illegal heights, with all the string out.

Next, the Conyne kite. I think this was also a military design; French if I remember correctly. So I guess that makes it a cheese eating surrender kite. (Although of course they did not surrender during the American War of Independence when they stood shoulder to shoulder with America; and they did give the USA the Statue of Liberty.)

The Conyne kite is two triangular cells in line, with two wings. Although it should be stable, mine has always been rather frisky, and it took several goes to get the bridle right for the gusty conditions, but at last I got it good and high - although I was too lazy to let all the line out on this one. I had forgotten what a physical activity kiting is!

Third: the traditional English box kite. I had forgotten that I even owned one of these beauties. Two square cells in line, incredibly stable, but flies at a fairly shallow angle. With a bit of persuasion I had it a couple of hundred metres up (the legal limit is 60 metres, I think) and then, to my horror, what should appear but a biplane, crawling across the sky at low altitude!

Although the biplane was low, it was higher than the kite, so no harm done.

Then the big one: I’m not quite sure what to call this, but it’s a star-shaped hexagonal box kite. It has two sets of 6 triangular cells, and six wings. It’s big and heavy and takes some encouragement to get up there, but once it does it pulls like a horse. This picture is fairly similar: http://www.geocities.com/p_leriche/wald/newbridle.jpg

By now I’d taken longer than expected, and I didn’t get the delta kites out. I have a delta that flies almost vertically overhead and it is possible to make it look very small indeed…

I did have a quick go with a bird-shaped kite that has never yet flown (and it didn’t today) and also with a very unsuccessful 99p soft kite that I bought on a whim recently.

I had forgotten how satisfying it can be to get a big single-line kite up with plenty of line out, and I returned home with a resolution to do it again soon.

Anyone else fly “proper” kites are are you all into two and four string power kites? I would have thought that as unicyclists, some of you would stay true to the philosophy of singularism…

2

Hah, great thread Mike! I definitely fly “proper kites”, although I also really enjoy the double-string stunt kites, as they do present a bit of a challenge to fly really well.

I liked the links to your various kites. That hexagonal contraption looks like a lot of fun. I’ve always wanted a more complex single line like that one. Like you, I have a Conyne kite, although I’ve never heard that reference. Over here, they’re generally just called French Military Kites. I have both a “single” model–the version you showed–as well as a double, shown here. The single flies with a breath of wind. The double takes a bit more to get going, but with a good breeze the pull is just amazing. Plus it’s big in the sky, and really looks cool even when quite high. I’m not sure how long my string is anymore, but the winder I use for the double french has two full spools of line, and you can really get it up there.

In the stunt kite category, we have two similar models, one slightly bigger, more advanced. Couldn’t find either specifically, but both are similar to this one. It took me a little while to get to the point where I wouldn’t just crash the thing immediately back into the ground. Kind of like riding a guni…an easy touch, no over reacting, is everything.

3

Mike,

You said “but eventually I got it up to highly illegal heights, with all the string out.”

are there really illegal heights in England? I don’t think there’s any kite restrictions here in the land of the free.

except, of course, years ago i used to fly a 40’ silver mylar dragon kite, and rumor had it the silver mylar conducted electricity, and several fires started when they got caught in electrical wires, so they outlawed those particular kites.

billy

4

The law on this subject is quite complicated, and seldom enforced.

From memory:

Maximum height 60 metres.

No kiting at all within 5 km of an airport.

In some circumstances you can fly higher but you must have streamers of a specified length and colour at intervals along the line.

It’s all to do with making it less likely that an aeroplane gets caught in the line.

5

Mike,

My dad is very much a kite fan. His passion has dulled slightly as us kids have been growing up but I think once we all get older and move out he will get them out again.
Some of my earliest memories are my mum, dad and me going to kite festivals. He likes single liners, ‘proper’ kites as you say. He has made hundreds of kites over the years and was quite involved in the kite society. He is fairly well known on the kite scene I believe.
A quick google brought up this: http://www.thekitesociety.org.uk/Cross%20Kite.PDF
Its his design although I have never seen this particular kite before. We have tens of box kites, I think they are his favorites!
He is on holiday at the moment, but when he gets back I will see if I can find out some photos.

Good thread Mike!

Edd

6

Living in very windy Prestatyn and often camping at even windier Shell Island I have half-heartedly bought a couple of kites. I suspect that they are cheap rubbish and are therefore aren’t giving a good representation of kiting.

We bought one for Sam which was tiny and quite cheap at a kite festivel here. It was ace and always flew really well, dancing in the wind. Unfortunately Sam lost it.

Kiting has always seemed a good alternative to unicycling when it’s too windy to unicycle (most of the time) and a few of our juggling friends also kite. The problem I have is dragging Sam down to the beach when it’s windy.

I would like to buy a good one, designed to fly when it’s quite windy (but not too expensive), any recommendations?

7

I I used to fly kites. Get a plastic delta with a three foot wingspan and some fishing line about eight pound test maybe about 3,000 feet. That’s what I used to fly. Intothowind has lots of nice kites too.

8

If you want a single string kite that’s reliable and easy to fly, a keeled delta is good. That is a triangular kite that flies point first, and with the line attached to a cloth keel instead of to a string “bridle”. Most deltas will fly without a tail.

The only problem with a keeled delta is it’s too reliable. Just tie it on and up it goes. I have one that’s about 4 feet across that will fly almost perfectly overhead, and has been up in the lightest airs and in strong winds.

For something with a bit more character: I like the look of a box kite, winged or otherwise. A Cody kite is impressive. A Conyne is slightly less so (size for size) and a traditional square or triangular box kite is simple and beautiful.

In all cases, you get more satisfaction if the sail is cloth. It feels more of a kite and less of a toy. If only I had the time, patience, skill and a sewing machine, I would make hundreds of kites.:o

The simplest and most reliable kite I ever owned was one of these:

http://www.pictureprettykites.com/single-line-kites/cellular-kites/prism-triad-citrus/prod_982.html

It wasn’t this exact model, and was probably a size smaller. Just attach the line and up she goes - and quite pretty too.

I was flying it on Mablethorpe beach in a strong offshore wind when I fumbled and dropped the handle. The kite was still aloft when the handle reached the water’s edge, and after that there was enough drag on the line to keep the kite flying. I stood agape and aghast and watched it all the way to the horizon, so it probably just kept flying until it reached mainland Europe!

If you use Google advanced search, try these searches:

“kite store” (.co.uk)

“box kite” (.co.uk)

“cellular kite” (.co.uk)

These will all give you various matches for on line kite stores selling good quality cloth kites as well as lines and other accessories.

For a good quality, small, cloth-sailed single line kite, there’s no need to go over about £15 - £20 and there’re plenty around at slightly less. Anything much under £10 is likely to be an unsatisfactory toy.

There is a knack to adjusting a kite the first time to get it to fly - no place here for a lecture, but there are only about 3 simple rules.

Have fun.:slight_smile:

9

Big Kites with 4-strings are fun. Add water and a surf board and you can’t beat it. When you jump and get air, ‘‘you are the tail’’.

I fly a Helix, made by Naish. One of the smoothest kites I’ve ever flown. (It handles the gust very well.) Size#9m for winds 16-30+mph.

08Helix_top.jpg

PRKITE2.jpg
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10

Just don’t go kiting around tropical storms
http://cbs4.com/local/Kite.Surfer.las.2.798049.html

ouch!

11

I bought a two-string ‘stunt-kite’ a while back.
Our annual Juggling Convention was at the beach and messing about with a kite was a fun way to spend the windier times. And there were plenty.
We had people from Windsong Kites (possibly the most awesome name for a kite shop) come and bring down some of their demonstration kites.
Some pretty impressive kites indeed.

Reading Mike’s thread reminded me of building kites as a kid.

I think I need to do more of that again.

12

like my unicycles, i like tricking my kites…

so, though i suppose it’s not for the purists, i’ve a couple of 2 line diamonds which i like to take out every now and then.

i owned a nice cellular single stringed kite waaay back, probably about 15 years ago now, but unfortunately the string got cut one windy day in my back yard and the kite went flying so far away, there was no realistic chance of recovery.

i also think this is a pretty neat topic- nice post!!

13

Tommy Thompson (who occasionally posts here as Tmornstar) was at one time big into very expensive kites. He has a great story about a windy day when he tied his kite to a soccer goal and pulled the goal post out of the ground.

Hearing him telling about explaining it to the guy who managed the field is hilarious.

You may want to track him down for more info on kites.

14

Just thinking about the situation is hilarious enough. Talk about moving the goalposts!

15

While on this tangent, I get this cell-phone pic from a friend of mine this morning with that exact heading.

Goalposts.JPG
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My old man once made a 15 foot high kite for the scouts with the scout logo on it.
We flew it at their event and tied it down to a Land Rover. There was a strong gust of wind and it started to lift the Land Rover up before the line snapped!

17

I went out this afternoon with the bag of kites to relax after my exhausting ride.

I found a field near the river. A few bullocks were lying down at one end of the field. No one was about. I started to get the kites out, and noticed the gliders… a mile or two away (it’s difficult to judge) were some gliders They were down wind of me and circling, so I decided it was safe to carry on.

The Conyne kite (French military box kite) is usually really skittish, but today the wind was just right. It launched straight from my hand, took all the string without any encouragement, flew almost overhead, and then I reeled it back in all the way to my hand. The perfect flight for a single-line kite!

The square box kite: not so good. The kite has more weight per unit of sail area, and the wind speed was dropping. I spent a good twenty minutes bell-pulling the line, pumping the kite skywards, adjusting the bridle… and the bullocks all got up and came over to see what was happening. There was me trying to fly a kite, completely surrounded by cattle- very smelly cattle, but harmless - although one did slobber on my line handle when I put it down for a few seconds.

At last everything came together, and oh so carefully I got the kite to take the line until finally it was flying well with all the line out. It’s really satisfying to nurse a reluctant kite up into the faster airflow.

Reeling it in was less successful, and when it started looping I had to be careful not to hit one of the bullocks. I didn’t manage to reel it all the way in to my hand. The wind seemed to be dropping again.

Then the cheap yellow keeled delta. This must be the only keeled delta designed not to fly. I can only get it up with a plastic tail looped from one wing tip to the other. It flies well enough then, but there’s no real pleasure in forcing a badly designed kite to gfly by making it look ugly.

So out with the proper delta, which goes up like a rocket and soars like a buzzard, teasing me to let more and more line out - this one was on the longer line than I was using for the two box kites. And the gliders seemed to be just that bit closer than I remembered them…

So plenty of laundry on the line: a combination of kite bags, reel bags, and the bits of tail from the cheap delta. Maximum visibility for the kite and line, and maximum alertness for approaching gliders.

The glider traffic died down as the weather started to close in. When I started it was sunny, but now it was overcast and cold. I reeled in the delta, removing the laundry as I did so. As soon as there was no extra drag on the line the kite came to life, swooping and zig zagging almost directly over head, the trailing edge flapping and roaring in the stiffening breeze.

A nice session.

18

They kite I recently bought from the internet came this morning. The only day for a long while that it wasn’t windy. Typical.

19

Make the most of it by going down the prom for a ride.
It’ll make a nice change not to have to lean at a 45 degree angle to stay upright.

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Yes indeed, althought it’s very dodge-the-holiday-makers as it’s the bank holiday weekend.