How to pack an inflatable tail?

[Materdaddy]

I started my flying with Trlby kites and recently bought a cheap diamond shaped stunt kite that also has a poly inflatable tail.  Both kite tails are very difficult to pack away.

ShirlySurely there's an easy way to roll these up for storage, right?  What's the trick?

Unfortunately a kitelife.com search and a google search didn't find anything other than this guy complaining about inflatable tails being difficult to put away: http://smile.amazon.com/review/RRTC0IB8P8PRH/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B001ULNHC6

[SHBKF]

You ought to try rinsing & drying one that has been in the ocean.  I was at the beach in a sandy campsite & had my area roped off like a crime scene.  The black & white tube tail was suspended off the ground about belly high.  I anchored the seventy-five footer to the picnic table & had it strung around the site boundary markers.  I could almost hear the neighbors saying "There's that weird kite nut doing another strange thing again."  I had previously entertained them with street flying dualies on short lines, night time Rev flying with tip landings on all surrounding tables, campers & posts.  Not to mention numerous conventional beach flights...  It's so much fun being loose on the beach with bit of wind.  Kind of makes the tail packing hassle something I don't mind.  I carefully roll mine up by hand after a day of playing.  It is my after flight therapy I suppose.   SHBKF

[RobB]

This is what 250' of flat tails looks like, wound up on a convenient piece of driftwood. You can do the same with a tube tail, or just jam it back into a stuff-sack. The Prism tube tails come with a stuff-sack, and I just put the end in, and then jam the rest on top of it. Once the bridle is in, I pull the drawstring closed, and bam... done !

[Materdaddy]

@SHBKF that's too funny!  I had a few looks the last couple days, but I think people liked seeing the kites in the air, rather than thinking strange things.  Probably because I wasn't rinsing & drying the tail strung around a campsite.

@RobB the poly tails I have on the cheap kites don't seem like they'd be forgiving of being jammed into a stuff sack.  I need to invest in a couple of better kites/tails.  I'm still a newb, in due time!  I do think winding around something flat (I'll probably make something with cardboard) will help, but the bad part is it takes a couple of passes and is easiest done indoors when out of the wind.  When trying to straighten end deflate the tail in the wind, it's nearly impossible to accomplish without looking like a bumbling fool for even attempting it.

[SparkieRob]

I only have one tail.

I ground the kite and take the tail off. I put the attachment point onto a stake. I go to the very end then "flatten" it out by untwisting it. Then just wind it up, hand over hand. The initial wrap is about 1/2 a foot long. Once I get to the mouth, I squish the tail and shuffle it so the mouth is uppermost in the bag. That way it doesn't get squished.

I don't unwind to inflate, just attach and it does it itself.

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[Wayne Dowler]

I'm thinking an old "Carey" winder would work and not take up too much room in a bag! Start from the end and wind back to the mouth!

If you're handy, make an "H" of 2 long pieces of 1"x 1" and a core of 1/2' plywood. Find some "t-nuts" and combo lag bolt/reg bolts that fit some 1" dowels for removable handles. Handles to wind/unwind and remove when done! Years ago when I flew SLKs, I made extra centers for my "Windbreaker" winder from oak and good marine plywood! Loaded them with different weights of line and I could use the handles for them all!

[SHBKF]

The flat tails on this Micron stack are 30' long.

 The kites spreaders are left in place when packing the kites flat in their triangular carrier.  This allows the tails to be wrapped around the tips of the kites neatly.  Note the Velcro straps holding the wing tips in position.

Sometimes, when flying flat tails, they get a spiral curl on the ends & sort of turn into tubes,  To flatten them out again I wind them up on thin flat boards about eight inches long & lay them on the bench with a weight on them to press them out. Tails really add visual effect to the zooming little kites.  Eight of them at once so much the better.  SHBKF 

[Materdaddy]

Wow, you have a lot of kites.

I love the look of that stack.  Do you have any pictures of those in the air?

[SHBKF]

I'll try to get a picture next time they are in the air.  I am just beginning to attempt pictures of dual line kites in the air as I fly them.  Just now finally getting enough confidence in my flying to risk it.  I am nearly always by myself when flying kites.  Rarely do I even have casual human spectators.  There are some local hawks that regularly fly by to check the kites in the air.  Hope to do some stack flying at the beach soon.  Maybe my Lady will snap a few for me.  If we get a decent image I'll post it in my KiteLife gallery.

Thanks for asking, thanks for the inspiration,  SHBKF

 

[Wayne Dowler]

Pretty Shook you got there Ralph!

[makatakam]

Lay the open end of the inflatable tail downwind, in other words turn 180 degrees from the direction it landed in. The wind will deflate it for you. Roll it onto heavy cardboard tube or wooden dowel rod about 1-1/2" in diameter.

[Materdaddy]

On 4/23/2016 at 9:47 PM, makatakam said:

Lay the open end of the inflatable tail downwind, in other words turn 180 degrees from the direction it landed in. The wind will deflate it for you. Roll it onto heavy cardboard tube or wooden dowel rod about 1-1/2" in diameter.

I made an "H" type holder out of cardboard for the tail and did a variant of this method.  I didn't have to rotate the tail as both ends are open.  I simply started at the far end, and worked my way toward the kite (so the part that attaches to the bottom of the kite is out-most on the holder for re-attachment).  Worked well and I think I'll make similar tail winders for other poly kite tails.

Thanks for the reply makatakam (nice palindrome username, too)!