Rainbow Kites stunt kites

[Van]

I have a set of sport kites that I have not flown in 30 years.  They recently were returned to me from my sister whose children and grandchildren have had and used them during that time.  They are from Rainbow Kites which is no longer in business.  My question is that although I have 7 kites that stack one behind the other I have in my set only 2 cross members.  Does each kite need a cross member or only the lead kite as it has the most stress?  Any help would be appreciated.  Rick

[riffclown]

Welcome to KiteLife!  I added the pic you included in chat for you..

[makatakam]

Hi, Van, and welcome to the forum. You'll get the answers you need here. If not, the GWTW (Gone With The Wind) Forum is another good forum for all kite information. It's good to have you on board.

Did they originally look like this?

As you can see, if you click on the image, that each kite has a complete frame, both the upright and cross frame members. I don't know of any kite stack, other than the parafoil type, that would fly (well) without it, so I believe that you will need to acquire and install the missing spars. You don't necessarily need the same ones that originally were included with the kites, but if you can find them it wouldn't hurt. If you can't, you have two options. You can replace the missing ones with something that is of similar weight, diameter and flex characteristics as the originals, or replace all the frames so they are identical throughout the stack.

Please bear in mind that I am not the guru of dual line stack kites, as my passion lies with quads, but I've seen enough in my day to know just a bit about them. I'm sure that others here can and will chime in to either concur with what I've said or to correct it and steer you in the right direction.

Until then, hang in there. Most of them are out flying on weekends and you may not hear from them 'til Monday. I look forward to sharing the wind with you someday.

Have fun, smile and don't forget to breathe.

P.S. -- Now that I've looked more closely at the image I posted and compared it to the one you posted, I can see that I may have misunderstood what you meant by "cross member". Generally, only the leading kite, or perhaps the first two, need additional frame support as they bear the majority of the load. I don't see that cross member in the image I posted. Let's wait for the others to advise us further. It may be they are on the back side of each kite. They are most likely spreaders that keep the sides of the kite from collapsing, and required for each kite.

[Mickeymouse]

Good day. 

You only need the two spreaders for 7 kites. One lead kite and one half way through. If the lead kite pops out the nose piece, try using 4-5 of them. Rainbow made a heavy duty set for more than 6 at a time. 

Good luck. Happy flying. I’ve been flying them for years.