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Torus34

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About Torus34

  • Birthday 04/25/1934

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  • Favorite Kite(s)
    Home-made.
  • Flying Since
    1940
  • Location
    Tottenville, S.I., NY USA
  • Country
    United States
  • Interests
    Kite making and kite flying, single and dual line. Other interests are many and varied, including cooking, gardening, music, writing and photography.

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  1. The Tyvek® Genki required a simple adjustment of the bridle on first flight. Two bottomless foam plastic cups in series were used as a drogue. The kite hunted for the first 20' up or so. Then, it found its feet and rose steadily. At about 200', it was nailed to the sky. I tied it off and forgot it while I flew a new fighter. On the way down, it was stable until the 10' point where it tried to play 'Lawn dart'. No damage. Next step is to make a couple of small [12" bamboo skewer 'bones'] Eddys and check them out.
  2. One of the nice things about making kites is that you can follow up 'what if?'s'. A 'what if'? It's the image that pops into your head when you look at a kite and mentally tweak it. Case in point. For years, I've looked at Genkis -- pictures, plans and even 'in the ripstop', as it were. All were huge, all were flat and many required complex bridles and drogues for stability. The design went into my mental 'Not for me!' folder. Then I ran into a Genki on the 'net. It was small [4' span] and it was bowed. A 'What if?' image popped up. What if a small, stable kite was attached by, say, 10' of line to each Genki wingtip? What would happen to the overall stability? Could the drogue be reduced or eliminated? What if the two small kites were of a bird-like planform? How could the main kite be decorated to enhance the effect of a kite being held up by birds? If a drogue was still needed, what shape could it be? Enter kitemaking, stage left. Tyvek® #10 and hardware store dowels are almost dirt cheap. In a couple of days, I hope to find out if this particular 'what if' is worth translating into ripstop. Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. Either way, I can quickly scratch this particular itch and increase my knowledge of kites. Like I said, making kites is a nice thing.
  3. Haven't had a chance to take any pics of the 'Bauhaus' square stunter yet. [i use the term 'stunter' to define any kite which can be steered by 2 or more lines, regardless of planform.] Flew it yesterday for the first time. [sidebar: Telescope makers, of which I'm one, speak of the initial observations with a new instrument as 'first light'. Can we speak of the first flight with a new kite as 'first sky'?] It self-launched nicely from a 45 degree 'on-edge' position. It flies, like a BASF, on the diagonal. The wind at the park was, as usual, highly variable - chock full of puffs and holes - so I didn't get a good opportunity to wring out the kite. It was one big grin, though. The kite is 36" measured diagonally, or approx. 25 1/2" on an edge. Area is 648 sq. in. Lines were 85' 50# dacron. The wind dropped a tad and I shifted over to flying fighters. Grin spread still wider. The crazier the wind, the more intricate the 'dance'. While I appreciate the advantage of 'clean' wind for line-touch competition, I much prefer flying solo 'in the rough', as it were. Spent a solid hour lost in 'Kiteland', that mystic realm we visit whenever we get the chance. I must admit that the controllable kites [fighters and the 2 and 4-liners] add something to the experience for me which I miss when flying a self-stable kite. Next, on to designing and making a 2-line buka-dako. The first 'trial' attempt will be a Tyvek® #10 sail on dowel 'bones'. My Lady has graciously agreed to do the decoration in acrylics.
  4. Hi right back! I made the first 2-liner I ever flew. It's still going strong -- pressed into service these days when required as a trainer for 2-line newbees. It's a simple Eddy, ripstop nylon with 3/16" FG spine and 1/8" FG bow. It's 33" long with a 33" span. Nice and docile. I fly it on 50# 85' dacron lines. I'd be pleased to send you a drawing and construction info. I'm sure that it would work out just as well if the sail were Tyvek® #10. I still get a great kick out of watching the grin spread on a new flyer's face when he starts to get the hang of flying it. If you want to get right into the 'V'-shaped wing kites, the book "Stunt Kites to Make and Fly" by Servaas van der Horst and Nop Velthuizen is a great help. I've built several of their designs. The instructions are very well detailed. Once you've built a couple of 2-liners, you're on your way to make whatever design strikes your fancy. Regards, and fair winds. Jim Tottenville
  5. What are your 3 most used kites? a. Several fighters, including original designs, BASF's, an F-3, etc. b. A two-line 'wing' type, original design. c. A two-line Eddy type, for training new flyers. What size are they? a. Areas range from 120 to 315 sq. in. b. 68" span. c. 36" x 36" What do you use them for? a, b & c. Personal pleasure. What length lines do you prefer? a. As needed. b. 110" c. 85" What strength lines do you prefer? a. 20# max, depending on wind. b. 100# c. 50#
  6. First, a confession. I'm far more interested in exploring the limits of two-line kite planforms than flying the latest and greatest stunt kite. This doesn't mean, btw, that I don't appreciate [and stand in awe of] the performance skills of fliers of 'standard' 2-liners and quads. I just have a somewhat different interest, is all. This being said, I've built [and flown] several 'V' shape 2-line kites, a standard Eddy planform as a 2-liner and a square 2-liner flown on the diagonal. [A yellow reference spot near the nose of this kite, with the main sail realized in black ripstop nylon, dictated the name 'Bauhaus', of course.] From here, it's into some of the more exotic shapes. Bukas, with their magnificent 'landscape' surfaces available for artwork, are next. Anyone else out there plowing this particular 'north 40' of the two-line acreage?
  7. Ordinary spiral-bound notebooks have springs which can be cut to size and which fit the Weller 25W soldering pencil barrel nicely. You can get two springs from a single notebook binding spiral. If you feed power to the pencil through a 120VAC dimmer switch, you can even control the temperature. Hot tacking ripstop nylon before sewing makes handling it a cinch. No more trying to juggle slippery panels as you feed fabric to the sewing machine. Once you've experienced it, you'll find that it's the way to go.
  8. Youtube is now the home to videos showing all sorts of 'how-to-do-it's. One of the latest is a series by Bruce Lambert [who, along with the rest of the NAFKA gang, are America's gift to the world of fighter kites] on working with bamboo to make fighter kite spines and bows. You'll find the first [on spines] at The techniques shown can be applied to all sorts of kites with bamboo structures such as bukas, sodes and surugas. Once you pick up the technique, you're off and rolling for all sorts of small [under, say, 400 sq.in. area] kites.
  9. The unofficial 'Club' that meets at Liberty Park, NJ [behind the Statue of Liberty] will have a get-together with an accent on fighter kites on July 19th. For those of you who've never been there, it's a very large grassy area with surprisingly clean wind. And a great group of kiters, too!
  10. I've now made a few fighters using the construction methods given with the plans for the F-3 fighter, available on-line. At present I'm just making 'trial' kites using paper sails [1.8oz/sq.yd.] and bamboo spines and bows ['Tiki torch' stock]. I'm really pleased by the speed of construction and the finished appearance of the kites. I've always had problems installing bows to my satisfaction. The photo corner method takes almost all the frustration out of the process. If anyone has considered making a fighter but wasn't sure how to proceed, do check out the F-3 plans. They're as well-documented as anything I've ever seen. Jim/Tottenville
  11. The photo was taken by Mike Gillard. You might try to reach him [the photographer] at mikegillard@KiteLife.com. He might be able to direct you to the kitemaker in the photo. I do not know if the address will work. Another route to consider is to make your own plans. There are several delta con plans available on the internet, some with a vent in the main sail. You could start with one of these plans and add the second sail to it. The amount of sail overlap will be up to you, but the photos will act as a guide. The wing edge spars and the wing spreader spars can be the same size as on the single kite. I would suggest going to at least one size larger for the three long front-to-back spars. These will have to carry the strain of two sails instead of one. The bridle lines and flying line should also be stronger, as the kite will develop roughly twice the pull of a single wing delta con.
  12. I've done a quick check to see if I could locate the source of the picture. I could not find it. The picture may show a kite made of two delta Conynes flown as a 'stack'. It may also be that the kites are commercial models and are not home made from a plan. Plans for a single delta Conyne with a scalloped trailing edge can be found in many places. I do not know where to find information on stacking them, though.
  13. A few years ago, the 'Project Runway' show had a group of clothing designers scavenge materials from a garbage barge and use them to create an outfit. It was a delight to watch this -- a fine lesson in ingenuity. Now, I'm not advocating a trip to a garbage barge. Not at all. But we can tap into the scavenge and ingenuity aspects without insulting our noses. Many of us live within easy reach of a 'Dollar' store. These stores have all sorts of, for lack of a better word, 'stuff'. Some of this stuff can be used in kitemaking. And while not as cheap as garbage, the purchase of a few items in such a store won't put the rent money at risk. So . . . is anyone out there in 'NetLand interested in building a kite from 'Dollar' store items? Would you like to try this and share the results? Should we try to make this into a contest? Should we limit the materials to, say, $5 worth, excluding tax? What say you, Kitebuilders?
  14. Fine craftsmanship is always in fashion! Thanks so much for posting the pictures. Living near several major airports, I can't fly deep sky. But as a flier of fighters, I do make reels. I've found pleasure in making Indian-style reels. Jim/Tottenville
  15. [background sounds of applause, cheers and occasional 'Bravo's . . .] Wow! Thank you so very much, John. A spot just for kitemakers to get together and chat, discuss problems and solutions and in general share their love of building kites. Heaven on a CRT screen! Right now I'm in a 'fighter kite' phase. I've just returned to kites after a long absence. One peek in the ol' fighter kite box and I was off and rolling. Several of the old kites have been re-bridled [i use a simple three-leg bridle with lark's heads for adjustments] and one has been re-bowed. I'll be scooting out the door in a few minutes to check the results. My old kite box is one solid, heavy, pain-in-the-neck-to-put-in-the-car monster. A stop at the local pizza parlor and I was richer by two nice new 18" x 18" pizza boxes. Many fighter kites will fit nicely in each box. I still don't quite know what I'll do for a box for those that are too large to fit, though. Along with the 'standard' fighters such as the BASF, Hata, Indian and other variation-on-a-square designs, I hope to build and fly bukas and maranhaos [bowed] in the coming weeks. Covering will probably be mylar, secured with rubber cement. The 'bones' will be bamboo split and shaped from 'Tiki torch' stock. In between the fighters I'll be building some non-standard two-line kites. The first will be a larger version of the Indian Square fighter, probably in ripstop nylon with a diagonal of about 36". I'm still considering the sail design. Something tells me it would be wise to make sure I'll know which corner of the kite is the nose when I'm flying it. A 6" circle or square of fabric in a contrasting color should do the trick. If you build kites, please do stop by and introduce yourself. And again, thank you, John. I never in my wildest dreams expected such a response. I'm [almost] speechless! Jim/Tottenville, NYC
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