Kite train flying line

[Charlie]

How do you properly sew the flying line to each kite in a kite train?

[windofchange]

The easiest way is to just tie a loop into the line and larks head it on. If you want to sew the line then I would suggest sleeving the line, laying the line flat side by side and running a zig-zag stitch a couple times up and down the sleeving, then larks head the loop at the end to the kites. If you don't want to tie or sew you can splice the line. Here is a page that I put together on splicing spectra.

Kite Line Splicing - Knotless Loop.

Hope this helps.

[Charlie]

Thanks, I was hoping a larkshead would be satisfactory.

I'm thinking of a 20, 50cm, eddy kite train. Ideally I would like it to be easily disassembled, so each kite can be returned to its owner. So, I was thinking about using a standard eddy bridle and connect the kites w/a specified length of flying line using a Big Kite Bridle Knot to the frame and on the other end, a larkshead to the kites bridle.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[windofchange]

Just make a pigtail or pair of pigtails on each kite. The pigtail is a 1-2" piece of line that has a loop tied in one end (to larks head onto the frame of the kite) and a knot on the other end (to larks head the train line onto). This way you can simply larks head the pigtail on without having to take the kite apart and then you can connect/disconnect the kites very easily and leave the pigtail attached.

[Charlie]

Kent, thanks a bunch. That sounds simple enough. It'll be next spring when I hope to do this and I'll let you know how it goes.

[ant man]

like kent said pigtails are the best method for 2 reasons.. 1 because its eazy to do when adding kites to a stack and 2 necause if you want to remove kites from the stack for any reason you can do it at home or on the field.. the bestway to do it is to tie pigtails to all the kites towpoints and make sure the stack lines are all the same size.. the best way i did it was to make each line as long as the leading edge of the kite

[Charlie]

Thanks for all the info, I'll need it. I've met a fellow Kiter in Ruidoso, NM, Bruce DeFoor. Last April he held the first Kite Festival there and I've volunteered to help this year. I've suggested to him that we create kite trains made by kids from 5-9 years of age. The Festival would sell each participant a complete eddy kite kit for $15-20.00. The weekend before the Festival, the kids and their parents would attend 2 seminars, the first to decorate the sail and the second to assemble the kite. The weekend of the Festival, we would create a kite train of their kites and fly it for both days of the Festival. We would be able to tell each participant where their kite is in the train. At Festival close the train would be disassembled and each kite returned to its owner.

The purpose would be to raise kiting awareness with these youngsters and their parents while raising a few bucks to defray Festival costs.

Since I've never put together a train before, I'll be doing some experimenting and your advice will be invaluable.

Thanks again

[Penny Lingenfelter]

Make a few practice kites, rig them and fly them. Lay them out to look good if there is no wind. Let the kids feel the tug of the line. Have fun!

BB Penny

[TheKatKiter]

Five months later, numerous learning experiences, I finally flew my train at the 2nd Annual Ruisodo Kite Festival. I started w/ 10 kites on Friday and ended with a 41 kite train on Sunday. Included in the learning experience is a launcher that I designed and built. Most of the learning experiences revolved around it. I still have a couple of tweaks to do but it works well.

There was one learning experience that was upsetting. My wife went with me to fly a 37 kite train while experimenting with the launcher. At first there was no wind, so nothing was happening. Then a little wind came along and the train took off. I was happily watching it fly, the wind took a big surge (35+mph). A spar broke on one of the middle kites and 26 of them went flying off. I managed to salvage about 20 of the 37. But I did learn that I need to change the way I connect them.

That is until the wind would die and you can imagine me trying to get that 2/3rd's of football field from over the parking lot before it settled completely. Five or six times doing that might just get me in shape!

An odd thing happened on Sunday. A thermal hit the field and took the train vertical. I wish I had a camcorder instead of a still camara, because as the thermal left the kites started a neat spiral movement from the first kite to the last. It was quite a sight.

I've posted some pictures in the members' gallery of the train.

http://kitelife.com/forum/index.php?autoco...si&img=2334

I didn't have the time to get a lot of kids to decorate the individual kites, but I will next year now that I have the kinks out.

[TheKatKiter]

I need to add that I let my subscription expire so I am now TheKatKiter instead of Charlie.