riffclown Posted December 8, 2018 Report Share Posted December 8, 2018 Started hemming some more strips. Starting with 2' Wide finished width and the 1.2 finished width I used on the Snowflake kite (Winter Jacket).. I'm thinking I'll experiment with orientation a bit more this time. Still using the Challenge PolyMax for this venture.. Great fabric without the cost of Icarex. I was able to choose from the wide variety of one color.. The key point here is if the experiment is a failure, it's not an expensive one. This image is about 80% Photoshop with just the base mesh and diamond filler panels in place for one side.. Then mirrored and a center panel drawn in to give me a bit of an idea of what it will yield. Opinions please?? Should I? build this, Go diamond Mesh without the filler panels something entirely different (suggestions are welcome.) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khsidekick Posted December 9, 2018 Report Share Posted December 9, 2018 I like the look of the bigger diamonds they should allow the kite to be flown in lighter winds. Sent from my iPhone using KiteLife mobile app 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riffclown Posted December 9, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 9, 2018 I'd have to agree.. i like the diamonds look. I started playing with the layout and used the two strip widths to skew the vertical pattern a bit.. The diamond panels can now mitigate the wear strips and give me a solid pattern vertically. It aligns the solid material with the spars. The center panel in this Photoshop mock-up will be a throwback to my diamonds patterns as well emphasizing the front side and backside of this fabric. One side is shinier that the other and depending on the light angle, looks either very dark blue or almost black. This is one where the entire pattern will have to be laid out flat and basted before doing any sewing.. A true mashup of both designs . The Diamonds have to be fully basted before sewing, the mesh kites have different requirements but this kite will need to have all the techniques done at the same time to keep the sail flat. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Breezin Posted December 11, 2018 Report Share Posted December 11, 2018 It almost comes across as denim like. Neon green or yellow 1/2 inch outlined bird wings in the center would pop. Maybe bright red or sky blue.Not like the Phoenix but a thin outline that goes edge to edge.Seagull? The Air Force insignia on the one kite was super cool.10 miles to the SSE of me is a military proving grounds. The Air Force Academy cadets fly past my place often for training. When out flying and they come past I'm reminded of that kite quite a lot. Makes me smile.Hey eyeballs always look cool too LOL. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayne Dowler Posted December 11, 2018 Report Share Posted December 11, 2018 A lightning bolt maybe?? Or 2 ?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riffclown Posted December 11, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 11, 2018 The pattern in the center of this one will be the panel.. No accents on this one except for the stitching... The pattern is busy enough I want to keep it completely clean.. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrfaosfx Posted December 12, 2018 Report Share Posted December 12, 2018 11 hours ago, riffclown said: The pattern in the center of this one will be the panel.. No accents on this one except for the stitching... The pattern is busy enough I want to keep it completely clean.. Or you can just go wild and crazy with the colors like I do 😉 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riffclown Posted December 12, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 12, 2018 2 hours ago, mrfaosfx said: Or you can just go wild and crazy with the colors like I do 😉 I've done a few of those.. Because this particular fabric comes in one color, I think the kite will too.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayne Dowler Posted December 12, 2018 Report Share Posted December 12, 2018 6 hours ago, mrfaosfx said: Or you can just go wild and crazy with the colors like I do 😉 Rafael - hee hee!! Not everyone has those "tastes"!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riffclown Posted December 12, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 12, 2018 Just mocking this up is proving quite challenging. This is by far more difficult than any other kite I've worked on.. One panel is partially assembled and taped but not sewn. The inserts are not in place yet. Keeping this sail flat for sewing and assembly is going to be an absolute bear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul LaMasters Posted December 13, 2018 Report Share Posted December 13, 2018 ah, so now you can see the consideration of a "Randy Tom" method of appliqué, yeah it wastes fabric (huge qty!) but nothing can slip! Physically draw on a white backer sheet, all the sewing lines required. hot tack or "edge weld" all the way around the fabric sandwich Sew thru all the layers and then carefully back-cut (and front cut out) pieces until a single layer of sail is finally revealed it might be easier and what it your time/labor worth? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riffclown Posted December 13, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 13, 2018 13 minutes ago, Paul LaMasters said: ah, so now you can see the consideration of a "Randy Tom" method of appliqué, yeah it wastes fabric (huge qty!) but nothing can slip! Physically draw on a white backer sheet, all the sewing lines required. hot tack or "edge weld" all the way around the fabric sandwich Sew thru all the layers and then carefully back-cut (and front cut out) pieces until a single layer of sail is finally revealed it might be easier and what it your time/labor worth? Definitely an option if i was just starting on this one but I'm far too far down the road now to change lanes. Perhaps on a future project. FWIW, scrap on this one so far has been nearly nil. The snowflake on Winter Jacket is the closest I've come so far to applique and that one isn't back cut. I'm a little more into the riffclown method. To adapt other's techniques extensively would run the risk of impinging on their stuff. I want my kites to be unique to me. So far that's working. I have far too much respect for Eliot, Randy, Bazzer and others. I like the Hadziki Wing design, the Eliot Shook old style LE and my own refinements in rigging and framing. Beyond that I don't mind doing it the hard way. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riffclown Posted December 13, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 13, 2018 About 25% done on the sewing. Sewn portions are marked with stars in the second pic. Left half of this image is photoshopped (mirrored from the right) to show the end goal.. Successful in staying flat so far.. The solid panels have not been sewn in yet. Only the mesh. The center panel is complete. Hoping to finish the taping tonight and sewing this weekend. This should be ready to fly before Christmas.. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrfaosfx Posted December 14, 2018 Report Share Posted December 14, 2018 I use a similar method mentioned by Paul LeMasters. I keep all the pieces under tension with double sided tape. I build the "skeleton" of the kite first, all of the initial pieces are hot cut and once the skeleton is completed, the double sided tape does all the work, allowing me to simply place more fabric while keeping everything neatly flat and then use curved sharp scissors to cut along the lines of the double sided tape, I get beautiful clean cuts that look like they were laser cut but it requires very sharp scissors. A few pictures of my recent build bellow illustrates the beautiful results! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riffclown Posted December 14, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 14, 2018 @mrfaosfx Beautiful work.. I use several similar techniques on my full sails and diamond constructions. The meshes are usually basically square and present little issues.. Making a diamond shaped mesh however gives me a much higher skew angle when not under tension .. I'm mitigating by pinning down to a surface and blue taping much as you described. Since I'm dealing with already hemmed edges for the strips, hot cutting and back cutting not very practical for my particular application.. As much as I'd love to buy in, no shortcuts for this kite. I found a workable solution. Seam tape will only be used for the panel inserts and final assembly. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riffclown Posted December 15, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 15, 2018 Both Mesh panels are sewn, Center is sewn. Center is not yet attached to the wings but that will be the next step. Now to align everything, trim to standard and edge bind.. Insert diamonds will be last step before assembly and attaching to LE. My workable solution was to take the screen from an old projection television and use it to lay the first panel flat. It allowed me to match the second panel very well since the screen was translucent and held everything below it very well. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riffclown Posted December 16, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2018 The leading edge assembly is complete. Decided on both Black and White for this LE.. Sleeve is White, everything else is black. Hopefully can attach to the kite this week and have ready to fly next weekend.. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riffclown Posted December 17, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2018 Edge Binding is done. LE is attached.. Only Framing and Bridling remain.. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riffclown Posted December 18, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 18, 2018 Framing complete.. Just need to pick up my bridle jig from storage to tie a bridle and I'm done. Will flight test before Christmas. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khsidekick Posted December 18, 2018 Report Share Posted December 18, 2018 I love the look of this one. I hope it flys well. Sent from my iPhone using KiteLife mobile app 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riffclown Posted December 18, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 18, 2018 13 minutes ago, khsidekick said: I love the look of this one. I hope it flys well. Thank You... Me Too I should know on Saturday.. Current Forecast, Sat DEC 22 Mostly Sunny H52° L35° 0% Precip W 15 mph 61% Humidity Sun and a few passing clouds. High 52F. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph. Almost ideal conditions for this kite and Winter Jacket. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riffclown Posted December 21, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 21, 2018 No wind today but a break in the rain so decided to do a bridle check 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riffclown Posted December 22, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 22, 2018 a bit of flying video.. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khsidekick Posted December 22, 2018 Report Share Posted December 22, 2018 Looks like it flys pretty well. Nice job. [emoji4]Sent from my iPhone using KiteLife mobile app 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riffclown Posted December 22, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 22, 2018 Thanks, First flight was encouraging. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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