No Travel Frames in the UK?

[JohnCr]

I have a couple of Rev 1.5 kites and have been looking for a travel frame so that I can take them on holiday with me. I have phoned around, but unfortunately nobody in the UK seems to have travel frames in stock.

Can I buy additional ferrules, and "carefully" chop up one set of my ultra-lights? I have a Dremel cutting wheel.

Could I make some with Skyshark P300 tubes? I think I know where to get those?

Maybe there is another solution?

All the best

John

[Terry Rankin]

Hi John I have 3 travel frames in stock you can email me if you want to know more my email is rankinterry@ymail.com happy to send one to you they are so nice to take along and fly great talk you soon Terry.

[miguel6797]

Hi John,

I have 29" Suit cases and the diagonal will allow a leading edge with one ferrule so I convert the two outside rods and everything fits. I use Velcro tape to hold the rods and the handles to the top of the suitcase. This saves all the extra pieces and the extra fracture points. I am reluctant to bring the kites on the plane as who knows what the security people will call a weapon.

[Hadge]

You have PM.

[The Kite Shoppe]

Hi John I have 3 travel frames in stock you can email me if you want to know more my email is rankinterry@ymail.com happy to send one to you they are so nice to take along and fly great talk you soon Terry.

Hi!!

Great! Another Kite Shop! Where are you located? Arkansas? Welcome to the forum!

[John Barresi]

Hi John,

I have 29" Suit cases and the diagonal will allow a leading edge with one ferrule so I convert the two outside rods and everything fits. I use Velcro tape to hold the rods and the handles to the top of the suitcase. This saves all the extra pieces and the extra fracture points. I am reluctant to bring the kites on the plane as who knows what the security people will call a weapon.

Sail, spars and handles, all no problem for TSA, etc... Nothing truly pointed in there.

Spoken from significant experience with kites on planes.

Just be sure to leave your ground stake (pointed) in the checked luggage.

[JohnCr]

Thanks for all your replies and suggestions.

I tend to use a soft bag when traveling, so there is not much hope of getting the spars in there.

I have taken the spars as hand luggage in a clear polythene sleeve, and security were OK about them. However, I was more worried that the budget airline staff were going to pull me over and demand payment for oversize luggage.

Anyway, I ended up getting some Skyshark P300 tubes, and ferrules, and cutting them to size with my Dremel. I am no expert (significant understatement), so I can't really say how they compare with the real thing, but they did take my vented 1.5 aloft in a 15 mph breeze.

BTW. How do you get them out of the leading edge ? Next time I am thinking that I will send a piece of string through with the first section so that I can use it to drag the whole lot out when I have finished flying, or maybe I will tape the pairs of sections together, so that while I am away i just treat them like normal spars.

All the best

John

[SparkieRob]

If they are joined by ferrules, just the normal way. Hard explain, for me, but there is a tutorial here about changing frames. You'll see it and think "derr that is easy, why didn't I know it!"