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clear mylar or material for a stained glass kite


bikeboy
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Hello

I am planning on building a fairly large size single line kite. I want to have a stained glass kite.

Planning on a clear mylar or something that will allow light to shine through.

As for the color "Stained part" I'm thinking of a transparent self adhesive film of some type. this is in the early planning stage. Any suggestion or links would be appreciated.

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Sorry, not much of a SLK guy myself, and building isn't my thing!! But there are SLK guys here and you should find plans over on Kitebuilders website!! Don't have the link, maybe others will provide it to you!! Good luck with the project and post pix after you get it done!! Always interested in seeing others work!!

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Hello

I am planning on building a fairly large size single line kite. I want to have a stained glass kite.

Planning on a clear mylar or something that will allow light to shine through.

As for the color "Stained part" I'm thinking of a transparent self adhesive film of some type. this is in the early planning stage. Any suggestion or links would be appreciated.

Here's some mylar shown on Kitebuilder.com:

http://www.kitebuilder.com/catalog/index.php/cPath/24_174

Not sure what to do for coloring it.... The first idea that comes to mind would be to use a sharpie or some other colored perminant marker.

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  • 3 years later...

I'm gonna bring this one back to the top. I was wondering about Mylar, specifically the emergency blanket metallic Mylar. How is it for a sail material on small ultralights?

It is very light and it will work, but every time you pack it away it gets crumpled a bit more and eventually will look like a potato chip bag that's been crushed. It would have to rolled up on a dowel or cardboard tube if you want to keep it from getting crumpled.

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bookboy -- You may able to find dyes that the mylar panels can be dipped in prior to sewing. This would probably involve solvents, so adequate ventilation is critical. You can use the lighter colors of ripstop nylon or polyester. The lighter colors are nearly translucent, almost, kind-of. Take a trip to your local fabric store and look at what's available.

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Ok, I'm thinking about a train of small diamonds. They would be assembled and stored in a stack. That should alleviate the crunching.

I made a standard box kite from mylar many years ago. It does get attention, very showy!

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Ok, I'm thinking about a train of small diamonds. They would be assembled and stored in a stack. That should alleviate the crunching.

I made a standard box kite from mylar many years ago. It does get attention, very showy!

So forty 10" diamonds in a train is a good idea?

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Ok, I'm thinking about a train of small diamonds. They would be assembled and stored in a stack. That should alleviate the crunching.

I made a standard box kite from mylar many years ago. It does get attention, very showy!

So forty 10" diamonds in a train is a good idea?

Should be really cool. Just remember that 40 10-inch diamonds will pull like 1 400-inch diamond! (Area, not dimension)

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Ok, I'm thinking about a train of small diamonds. They would be assembled and stored in a stack. That should alleviate the crunching.

I made a standard box kite from mylar many years ago. It does get attention, very showy!

So forty 10" diamonds in a train is a good idea?

Should be really cool. Just remember that 40 10-inch diamonds will pull like 1 400-inch diamond! (Area, not dimension)

I've been thinking about that. I have more reading to do on it. Would I bridle the pilot and run the line through the cross of the rest or bridle them all?

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A friend of mine has a 25 train of diamonds and he has short tails either side of the kite with link lines between them. That way you can dynamically change number in train.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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The way to bridle and connect stacking lines is different for each type of kite there is: single, dual and (three or more) multi-line. Google "bridling a stack of kites" to see some fairly good photos that will help. One line through the cross would allow each kite to pivot independently of the others, all moving in different directions = huge tangled mess on the ground within a minute. Single-line kites need to have at least two points of connection to have the entire stack move as a unit. Dual and multi-line kites require more. All depends on the size and style of kite in determining how many and where to place them. In general, the same points that the bridle supports on the lead kite need to be supported on each kite in the stack. The bridle on the front kite needs to be strong enough to withstand the pull of the entire stack, and the stack lines need to be strong enough to support all the kites behind them.

But don't forget to have fun and breathe! You can do it by trial and error, if you want to have a truly deep understanding of the dynamics involved -- could be lots of fun if you are of the "techy" persuasion.

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