riffclown Posted February 26, 2017 Report Share Posted February 26, 2017 Laid out #3 today. This is a very rough layout and will probably change quite a bit before sewing..This one uses Transition tails for the horizontals and solid black for the verts.. Black will always be in back so it doesn't overpower the sail color.. FWIW, This one may not make it to actual sewing since the transition tails vary quite a bit in width and straightness.. But that's what a proof of concept build is for right?? Worst case Scenario, I'll have a Mesh Flag.. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragonfish Posted February 27, 2017 Report Share Posted February 27, 2017 Wow, you're on a roll. Looks cool front lit. Hopefully black won't be overpowering when back lit, although maybe you'll end up with some unexpected cool effects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riffclown Posted March 2, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 2, 2017 Pattern Check.. I think it looks OK Front lit.. Won't know backlit until I remove the masking tape.. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riffclown Posted March 4, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2017 So this is a case of the kite making the decision for me. Forgot to account for the finsihed side and non-finished side of the transition tails.. After I made the diagonal cut I realized that those segments would each need to be flipped and reversed to put the finished side n the front.. This kite will have to be scaled down to somewhere between a Rev II and 1.5 size.. Custom Frame for this one.. No reusing what I have.. The panels are vertically sticthed right now.. Have to clean up and trim a bit.. Hopefully a mock-up picture this afternoon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riffclown Posted March 5, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2017 Mockup was encouraging.. This will be Rev II/B2 sized for framing purposes. I've had a B2 frame w/o a kite that was included with another buy some time back so perfect opportunity to take advantage of unused hardware. Time to join the panels, Sew on the Leading Edge and start adding the hardware.. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riffclown Posted March 5, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2017 All done except the bridling and flight testing. I've never tied bridles this size so will have to do a bit of measuring. Added some curve to the Leading Edge.. That was a first for me. I may have to play with overall sail tensioning a bit.. Hopefully will get a chance to fly it soon.. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
photomom Posted March 6, 2017 Report Share Posted March 6, 2017 I like the looks of this kite. Especially the apparent randomness of the colors. Can't wait to see it in the air. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul LaMasters Posted March 6, 2017 Report Share Posted March 6, 2017 Edge binding is just not your thing? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riffclown Posted March 6, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 6, 2017 3 hours ago, Paul LaMasters said: Edge binding is just not your thing? Actually in all honesty, it's that I don't have the tools or knowledge to do it correctly.. If I could sew a decent hem or piece fabric I'd be sewing some very different kites.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul LaMasters Posted March 7, 2017 Report Share Posted March 7, 2017 On 3/6/2017 at 3:10 PM, riffclown said: Actually in all honesty, it's that I don't have the tools or knowledge to do it correctly.. If I could sew a decent hem or piece fabric I'd be sewing some very different kites.. okay here's how you can practice, straight lines are easy peazy. buy some ripstop nylon in a inch width (or so bigger is easier but looks less professional) from someone like Phil Broder. It comes in all different colors but most folks use black as it buries and hides any flaws and makes a great contrast in the sky too. Pinch it in half and pull it against a stiff edge of a table glass top or the straight edged molding, so it's scored and folded TIGHTLY. Now you have to fold the two halves into the center at the tightly scored and folded edge from each side so the fabric is 4 thicknesses in the middle. You place that edge scored edge against the edge of the sail and you sew it on the better you fit it the more likely you are to capture all the pieces and make t look professional. Why am I stressing tightly against the leading edge?,... 'cause someday my friend, you're going to want to edge bind a curved surface. Oh now you're in trouble,... you have to stretch that edge binding to add a curvature as you struggle to hold it in place. Maybe you "hot tack" and chase the melted holes welding everything together with your sewing needle to hide those some holes (they'd better be super tiny too or you'll see 'em when back-lit. Or you could use painters tape and peel it up just before entering the jaws of the sewing machine. whatever works for you. Binding a straight edge is EASY but practice until you make it look perfect Trailing edge? Two rows of straight stitches are how you make it slice thru the wind in reverse, (also stronger like a parachute is built.) Most folks use a triple stitch zig-zag as it's easier to do. look at how Bazzer's efforts appear, it's done the best way possible and it flies like it too! You want a ribbon of material so it violates the wind in reverse flight, not just passing thru. Want to try a leach line? Now is the time to install it. It fits inside the center of the edge binding and make sure you don't sew it down either! It has to be allowed to be tightened or loosened to test the effects of flight. If you leave a tiny gap between the stitches and the center of your edge binding you could thread a micro carbon rod into the passageway to see how that effects flight. If you leading edge sleeve is composed of tabs instead of a solid sleeve all the way across you can experiment with the placement of the down spars and the angles, or even the lengths. Speaking of spars,...why would you want ANY stick showing beyond the sail? That is more surface area that could be used for flight. End the stick at the bottom or edges of the sail. a TIGHT sail has better performance, so use the best materials you can afford for it. P-31 Icarex from Tennepols or Cuban .4 ounce if you want a no wind/indoor monster. Nylon is okay if you are painting the sail or adding shadow details with an airbrush. Otherwise it stretches and gains water weight when wet, forget about it and stick with polyester. Think about your reinforcing patches, here's what my friend Dave Ashworth does,.. he builds a kite with tyvek (use fedex envelopes cut up if you want to save funds) and wooden dowels. He flies and it explodes but it shows him all the areas to beef up. Don't make a half saved prototype as all the framing must be multipled by 4 instead of simply doubled. About nothing is as rewarding as making your own kite and folks hearing the "men can sew". The experimenting is priceless knowledge unobtainable w/o you doing the work, maybe you get lucky and do a co-op with some friends and everyone grows faster as more variables can be compared to guide your design direction. After all, if you are building your own kite and putting all this love into it, don't you have expectations of increased performance too? Well experimenting can give you one of those objectives in spades and cheat the rest of your kite flying hand by denying something else. Want a perfect flick-flak, executed on the ground, no less?,... are you willing to give up an axel to gain that performance? What if I offered you a fantastic "falling leaf" but you no longer can throw and catch the kite? Want that still? (that is the difference between Bazzer's Phoenix and the B-series pro ~ it comes down to having the leading edge WRAP over the knots and form a curvature like on the Speed Series of kites vs. a rigid structure securing the end-cap BEHIND the sail. Same frame, same handles same bridle,... everything is identical except for how the end-caps and knots of elastic or lack thereof interact with the leading edge. enjoy and keep going, .... Alden Miller went home and told his wife that he'd met me and I told him he'd become a handy man kite builder. His designs are now offered by Revolution as Masterpieces. He doesn't fly like he can build a kite. Oh how he and the misses howled about my future cast that first day! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riffclown Posted March 7, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2017 I'll try that on a future endeavor..Thanks FWIW, I had good winds today and took the time to try it out.. Didn't have my phone or camera today so no proof. Hopefully proof soon. Very pleased with this project. Nice and quick with a decent touch. It floats better than I expected but the throw launch is more difficult. All in all, I'm pretty happy with it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riffclown Posted March 12, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2017 Looks like it will be Wed or Thur before I really get a chance to make decent video for this kite.. I'll keep you all posted.. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riffclown Posted March 15, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2017 Finally some video 20-25mph wind.. On short lines this kite was even quicker than I expected.. Pretty much raw footage.. Crashes and all... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riffclown Posted August 1, 2017 Author Report Share Posted August 1, 2017 This kite has a new home @SHBKF Please enjoy this kite to its fullest capability.. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_(on-light)110px.png.f871ac6915a5dfb149c2fb26bbaf0493.png)
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.