Progcraft

Those are pretty cool. Very nice. What did you use for the spars? P.

Oh, the bolt that holds the front wheel on. Yeah, that's important I think I guess it's an axle. Some time ago while I was kite boarding, one of the bolts holding the foot straps on came out. THANK GOD it came out when I picked the board up and NOT while I was riding it. That would've sucked big time Nice to see you still have good enough weather that you can ride a buggy. I'm ankel deep in snow here. Can't wait to get out for some good Kite snow boarding. Hopefully this weekend I'll be able to crank out some surfing with my new kite P

Not really sure what's next. Likely a really big Flowform. About 4 meters long, 3.2m wide. That's about 135 square feet (calculated for bottom skin only) Also working on archs. I recently completed another one. I want to make two more yet this winter and that will double the overall size of my Crazy Eddy arch, takeing it up to 208 kites. I also will be building 3m traction kite. Not right away, but soon. And, I also need to get to work on an arch train. I have this idea for turning Crazy Eddy into a giant dome of kites. But, that'll be a long time in comeing as I calculate I will need approx 6 arch trains for a total of 400 - 600 kites. So, I think I'll start with just a short train. Maybe 50 kites or so. Then, there's a big chain sock which I'll turn into a tail for the flowform. Maybe a largish Delta. Say 20 feet wide or so. Maybe a few other things before spring Cheers, P.

Patience is something you learn on a kite like this. Sewing the upper skins and ribs together was a pretty painstaking process due to the fact that the three pieces that have to be sewed together all have curved edges, and the curves are contrary (because your sewing good side to good side, the curves on the fabric get reversed so that they end up the right way when the fabric is laid out flat).. But, it was a lot of fun too. Yeah, I'm weird, I know. P

Yes, he is that fella Penny. Here's an excerpt from Gary Mark's posting on this: Dr. Mervin L. Cooper, Merv was a very close personal friend whom I shared many experiences with and I, as many of you who know him, am particularly disheartened by his sudden and unexpected passing. Merv had recently retired from a lengthy practice as a Toronto dentist and had been participating in many more kiting activities, particularly those in the Kite Aerial Photography (KAP) interest. Merv will be known as a cornerstone for many of the events he attended because of his extensive and whimsical kite collection, including his recent acquisitions of show kites. He was an avid Rokkaku competitor and personal benefactor to Lam Hoac, multiple champion kite competitor. P

Which bolt are your referring to? I hope you weren't going to fast when it fell apart on you P

G'day. Just thought I 'd share my latest project with ya'll. It's a 5 square meter Junkie traction kite made from foilmaker plans. It's taken just under two weeks to make the kite including three days I spent makeing a small mock up so I could learn the intracicies of makeing the cells.. 297 printed sheets of paper made up the templates. They had to be glued to posterboard then cut out. 28 sheets of posterboard were used to make all the templates. Fabric used is 14.5 meters of 140cm wide fabric. This is the current state of the kite: Tonight I'll trim the trailing edge and add on the edge binding. That will complete the kite itself. I should also be able to get all the bridle lines measured and cut tonight. I'll spend tommorrow morning attaching the bridle. Then, barring any problems or bad weather, I'll take it out in the afternoon for it's first test flight. If all goes well on that test flight, Saturday and Sunday will see me burning up the fields on my snowboard It's gonna be a good winter Cheers, P.

Does anybody talk about kites on this forum anymore???

Hi Wen. The IMG button doesn't actually upload pictures. It's used to link to existing pictures on the web. The picture you want displayed in your post must already be available on a website. When it is available, then just stick the url of the picture in that box and click ok. The URL is the address to the picture. When viewing the picture in your web browser, the 'Address' line at the top of your browser contains the URL. Just copy it and paste it into the IMG pop up box. Hope that helps. Cheers, P.

G'day. So, I had some fun over the last week and did some experimenting with little mylar kites. I think they came out quite nice Hope you like 'em Cheers P.

You'lll never believe this but, I'm watching 'The Magic Show' right now. A Doug Henning and Didi conn movie from 1983. I forgot just how much a hippy that guy really is. And skinny too. Fun, entertaining, but hippie all the way. Doug is about to Saw Didi in half. Great illusion. I love Doug. He's cool Cheers, P.

Hi. To fly right, the Eddy kites need a dihedral and tails. The dihedral is a bend in the cross spar. About 30 degrees. The tails a a must have and will help stabilze the kite great deal. To make the dihedreal, soak your cross spar in warm water for a while. Then, bend it at the center point to about 40 degrees and hold it in place till it dries. It will straighten out a bit after your finished. For tails, surveyors tape works great. Use multiple tails instead of just one long one. 3 tails, each one about 1.5 times the total height of the kite works quite well. The hornbeam sled will also need tails I believe. Try the Barn Door kite from Maxwell's book. It's a small, simplish kite. And they look good in trains Box kites are great too. I think you could do well with one Good luck, I hope that helps some Cheers, P.

Wow, that's a heck of a sock I like it. First thing I'd suggest is to make the bridle longer. I'd double it. As for the spinning, I think you might have a tough time stopping it. I think part of the spinning comes from the fact that the sock is not too symmetical around the opening. I mean, there's a lot of sock below the opening, not much above it. I think this is likely causeing the wind to apply uneven pressure and starts some movement, Then, that movement just turns into spinning. A longer bridle may help a little bit, but the important part will be to make sure they are identical in length to start with. Then, shorten the top line a bit to see what effect it has. Doing this should help keep more pressure on the top of the sock, while the weight of the sock (below the opening), holds it upright. Just a whimsical thought. P.

So what are you going to do? And when will we get to see pictures of the completed kite? What are you basing the plans on? Will you be sharing your plans when your finished? P.

I didn't make them. Switzerland is a pretty free and open country. Even though I didn't make the kite, I agree. I, too, love Switzerland. Great place P.

Going back to the original question, I have a few more kites for you to help in decideing what you should do P

Windspeed conversion table Bft MPH km/h Knots Name Description 0 <1 <1 <0.54 Calm Sea: Like a mirror Near Land: Calm On land: Smoke rises vertically Kiters: Grrrr... 1 1-3 1-5 0.54-2.97 Light air Sea: Ripples with appearance of scales no foam crests Near Land: Small sailboat just has steerage way On land: Smoke drift indicates wind direction vanes do not move 2 4-7 6-11 2.97-6.21 Light Sea: Small wavelets crests of glassy Breeze appearance, not breaking Near Land: Winds fill the sails of small boats which then travel at 1 - 2 knots On land: Wind felt on face; leaves rustle vanes begin to move 3 8-12 12-19 6.21-10.53 Gentle Sea: Large wavelets; crests begin to break, Breeze scattered whitecaps Near Land : Sailboats begin to heel and travel at about 3-4 knots On land : Leaves, small twigs in constant motion; light flags extended 4 13-18 20-28 10.53-15.39 Moderate Sea: Small waves 0.5 - 1.25 meters high, Breeze becoming longer; numerous whitecaps Near Land : Good working breeze, sailboats carry all sails with good heel On land : Dust, leaves, and loose paper raised up; small branches move 5 19-24 29-38 15.39-20.79 Fresh Sea: Moderate waves of 1.25 - 2.5 m. Breeze taking longer form; many whitecaps; some spray Near Land: Sailboarts shorten sail On land: Small trees in leaf begin to sway Kiters: Probably too much wind for most people 6 25-31 39-49 20.79-26.73 Strong Sea: Larger waves 2.5 - 4 meters forming; Breeze whitecaps everywhere, more spray Near Land: Sailboats have double-reefed mailsails On land: Larger branches of trees in motion; whistling heard in wires Kiters: Not for the weak of heart. 7 32-38 50-61 26.73-33.21 Near gale Sea: Sea heaps up, waves 4 - 6 m; Gale white foam from breaking waves begins to be blown in streaks Near Land: Boats remain in harbor; those at sea heave-to On land: Whole trees in motion; resistance felt in walking against wind 8 39-46 62-74 33.21-40.23 Gale Sea: Moderately high (4 - 6 m) waves of greater length; edges of crests begin to break into spindrift; foam is blown in well-marked streaks Near Land: All boats make for harbor, if near On land: Twigs and small branches broken off trees; progress generally impaired Kiters: Probably shouldn't be out 9 47-54 75-88 40.23-47.79 Strong gale Sea: High waves (6 m); sea begins Gale to roll; dense streaks of foam; spray may reduce visibility On land : Slight structural damage occurs; slate blown from roofs Kiters : Get off the beach and take cover. 10 55-63 89-102 47.79-55.35 Storm Sea: Very high waves (6 - 9 m) with overhanging crests; sea takes a white appearance as foam is blown in very dense streaks; rolling is heavy and visibility is reduced On land: Seldom experienced on land; Trees broken or uprooted; considerable damage occurs 11 64-72 102-117 55.35-63.44 Violent storm Sea: Exceptionally high (9-14 m) waves; Storm sea covered with white foam patches; visibility still more reduced On land: Very rarely experienced on land; usually accompanied by widespread damage 12 73+ 118+ 63.44+ Hurricane Sea: Air filled with foam; waves over 14 meters; sea completly white with driving spray; visibility greatly reduced Kiters : Perfect time to try out that new stack of Flexi's. :-)

A picture would really help in this instance. How long are the bridle lines, and how long are the fish? Spikey Balls are a great magnet for kids. They just magically appear when the Spikey is near Here's mine: Crazy Spike Cheers P.

Yeah, it's trait that often gets me into trouble with others. Although, I've found it to be a driving factor in my kitebuilding Building kites seems to lend itself quite well to that attitude P

You lucky, lucky man you. Lance was a great inspiration to me. One of my specialties was with silks. After seeing Lance perform (on tv) one of the greatest combined silk/fire routines I've ever seen, I re-doubled my efforts to increase my own skills in that area. He also does one of the slickest mask routines (way better then that japanese chick) and an incrediable mutliplying ball. But, last I saw, his escapes needed a bit or work I'd give my left arm for a peek into Copperfields warehouse. Going back to my previous post, the reason why brain-dead-blaine has been blacklisted is because HE is the idiot who did the 'unknown magician' sh_t on TV and gave out all those secrets. That's also one of the reasons he has had to resort to such pointless crap as sitting in a glass box. He's a talentless hack who's been unable to get REAL accreditation and so resorted to childish, petty antics in order to get attention. He was unable to get the respect he thought he deserved, so he sold out his profession. P.

Doug Henning was great and could've been so much greater. If memory serves, he turned into a mystic/spirutalist and moved somewhere. I think he tried to give re-birth to the 60's, but instead the 60's reincarneted in him alone Anyways, he's dead of cancer. Mike is right. Stage and close-up really quite different. Generally, magicians specialize in one or the other. Stage magis try to cross into close-up more often then the other way around, but it's a different discipline all together. My shows were always smaller parties so my 'stage' show was really not much more then large scale close-up (with a few exceptions) Did you know: Doug Henning ran for Canadian Parliment? Yes, he's a Canuck. nuff said P

David Blaine is a loser who has been blacklisted from just about every respectable Magic organization on the planet include S.A.M. (I'm not dissing you or your opions Llamaguy, just Mr. Sit-in-a-glass-box-cause-I'm-Brain-Dead-Blaine) Copperfield is a showman first, magician second. And his wife is one of the hottest models ever And, he is very, very good at both stage and close-up. He can spin the oldest tricks in the world and present them in a way that is still new and never been done. Quite an accomplishment considering some of his standard stage illusions have been around in one version or another for hundreds of years. I've never seen anyone else be able to take a 3 second trick and turn it into a 7 minute show. Close-up magic (yes, that's it's official term) is quite fun and is a disipline that takes a great deal of practice. Hundreds of hours of practice for even the smallest trick must be put in before ever showing it to anyone. But, dont' ever try to do card tricks for Hutterites. They just don't get it P

I spent about 5 years or so as a magician. About 2 of those years were as a professional clown. I haven't performed or even practiced in many years now though, but I still have my clown outfit and most of my illusions. It was a lot of fun. P.

Found the Mermaid (this should generate some more discussion ) P.

Oh, I forgot to mention. Don't feel that you have to follow some standard or norm. Kite flying is a personal experience and you should do what you feel comfortable with. Get as much advice as you can, but use it as a starting point to find your own norm Cheers, P.