[Do you remember your very first kite?]

Did anyone ever have one of these kites - the "Glite"?  It was sold in the 1970s and 1980s.  It was made by North Pacific, the same company that made those balsa wood, rubber-band-powered airplanes:

 

[Chinese Orange Kite done and flies]

I've tried to build this kite 3 times - the first 2 times, I crashed them "fatally" before I was able to get bridle and tail adjusted.  The 3rd time worked!

 

 

 

[Bridling, Chinese circle/orange kite]

Kite is complete.  Flight is very unstable - I think that a long tail will be needed.  I already tried ~30 feet of crepe paper streamer, but the crepe paper tore away from the base of the kite's spine during flight.  Next will try very thin cloth tail.

[Building Again]

Beautiful construction.  Great looking flier.

[Chinese Orange Kite almost ready]

Excitement for me!  I've almost done building my Chinese Orange Kite (bamboo circles, hardwood spine, rice paper).  Hope it's not too heavy.

 

[Do you remember your very first kite?]

I remember flying a paper "Top Flite" brand diamond kite when I was 6 or 7 (about 1975).  It had the "Man in the Moon" cover.

[Do you remember your very first kite?]

On 9/6/2019 at 11:59 AM, flyguy said:

Ridge lifting one day off the ridges of Palos Verdes .... Cal.    it kept flying out to sea until I lost site... radio would not respond and it was last headed west.

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Super high aspect ratio on that glider!

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[Do you remember your very first kite?]

On 6/8/2021 at 1:36 AM, Jeepster360 said:

Ok, I just got back into the joy of kites a few years ago. Like many, my first kite i remember flying was the Gala sky spy and bat kites. Probably not the first kite I tried to fly but the first kite that I actually flew!

Few years back I bought a kite for my daughter as a decoration for her room. Kind of a 3D head on it and very colorful. I took it out with her to try it out just to see how it would fly....?...hard left and crash. Oh well. 

Fast forward a few years and a trip to the Oregon coast. Found the New Port  kite store. My daughter liked the dragon kite Beauty. I ended up the next day with Beast. Great flyers, great fun and now I'm hooked as an adult. The wife has a high flying delta. Just ordered an 18m octopus kite I saw on YouTube. What was i thinking!!

 

John

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The Gayla Sky Spy and Baby Bat!  Such beautiful kites - all the neighborhood kids had them in the late 1970s and early 1980s.  They now sell the Sky Spy in a nylon version, with no keel(!). Amazon sells the keeled plastic version:  https://www.amazon.com/x22-Sky-Delta-Wing-Kite/dp/B079VLT8X1

[Bridling, Chinese circle/orange kite]

Now binding the individual covered circles together:

 

[Bridling, Chinese circle/orange kite]

The kite is coming together pretty well.  I'm using 1/8" bamboo dowels and rice paper.

 

[Bridling, Chinese circle/orange kite]

Hi Edmond,

Thank you for the tips.  I'll post photos as I get closer to completing the kite.

[Bridling, Chinese circle/orange kite]

Hi everyone,

I'm not really a beginner at kite-making, but I've had consistent trouble getting my Chinese orange/circle kites to fly.  I've attached a front and back image of this type of kite, for reference.

 

I've made this type of kite twice, but flying has never gone well, and I think it's due to improper bridling. 

 

David Pelham's classic book, "Kites", specifies a 2-leg, vertically-oriented bridle (1 leg anchored at the center of the top circle, and 1 leg anchored at the center of the bottom circle).

 

Here's the observed problem during flight:  If the kite flies far to the right or left, the bridle will actually fold sideways, going flat against the kite face (like a keel folding flat against a delta kite).  As a result, the kite assumes a horizontal flight angle, the kiteline goes slack, and the kite dives.

Is this a bridle problem?  Should I try a 4-leg bridle?  Please help.

 

Thank you,

David

 

 

[Long-time paper kite guy]

Hi kite guys and gals,

I'm David - been making and flying kites off and on since 1979 or so.  I like all kites, but I enjoy making the paper-and-stick variety.  I've made Eddys, square box kites (with and without outboard wings), Bermudan kites with long tails, Korean fighter kites, Scott and Grauel sleds, Thai serpent kites, and Chinese circle kites.  I'm now getting back into kites for the first time in 10 years or so.  I'm looking forward to seeing everyone's kite photos, and reading the back issues of Kitelines magazine.

David