Pop Kan Swarm

One day I read about the Goodwind Kites Pop Kan on the internet and was intrigued by the ingeniously simple design. So I built one for myself and had some fun with it. It is a very lively kite, given to sudden darting and swooping, but always righting itself and rising back up into the wind.

This bird-like flight reminded me of Rainer Neuner's swarm of bird kites (described in his book 'Drachen - Spiele mit dem Wind') and I decided to build a swarm of Pop Kans. Each kite is connected to a main line by a branch line approx. 7m long.

I was very pleased with the result. The darting Pop Kans are constantly changing formation in the sky, which is fun to watch. At the same time it is a very stable flier: at any time there are enough kites flying smoothly to counteract those which are temporarily instable.

Currently I have 11 Pop Kans. Launching and retrieving the train is quick and easy (I just pile the collapsed kites on top of each other in a cardboard box), provided the wind is steady. If it isn't, this can be quite a chore.

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