Single-Line Builders' Workshop

[Sep 14, 1999] Sorry, but the kite workshop page is currently suspended. Unfortunately, there was no feedback from the net. Also, with the advent of search machines for the WWW and USENET, it has lost some its appeal.

If you're curious, you can still read the introductory page below.
Otherwise, please visit the main site.

Your expertise is needed!

Please contribute to the Single-Line Builders' Workshop. Find out how, by reading the following introduction.

What is it?

The Single-Line Builders' Workshop is a resource for solving problems in designing, building and tuning single-line kites. It is an organised collection of building techniques, rules of thumb, tips, tricks and hints. It pools the expertise of kite-builders all over the world, helping you to build better kites.

When will it go online?

As soon as I have collected a minimal number of contributions.

Why bother?

There are plenty of books and online sites featuring kite plans. However, there are no books or sites specifically targeted at kite-builders wishing to design and build their very own kite. Pertinent information is scattered all over and thus hard to locate. Often it is merely passed on by word of mouth or languishes forgotten in the rec.kites archive.

The workshop aims to collect, summarise and organise this information, making it easy to find just the bit of information required to solve your specific building problem.

What does it cover?

The workshop is primarily concerned with - as the name implies - single-line kites. Of course, multi-line kite builders may also find it useful. However, it will not feature contributions which are unique to multi-line kites, e.g. how to bridle a Sputnik. Nor is it to be a collection of plans - link collections for plans already exist (e.g. by Peter Peters).

Here is a tentative list of categories I hope to address with the workshop. I will expand and refine the categories as necessary.

• spars
  • when to use which kind (material, diameter)
  • techniques for reinforcing spars
  • how to fix broken spars
  • working with bamboo
• connectors
  • solutions for connecting spars, especially in tricky constructions, e.g. box kites, multi-cell kites, tetrahedral kites
• frames
  • efficient configurations for various types of non-standard kites
• bridle
  • pros and cons of various bridling systems
  • tuning
  • bridling inflatable kites
• sail
  • pros and cons of different materials (Carrington, Icarex , Ventex, Polyant, Toray, Tyvek, Mylar, cotton, silk, plastic bags, ...)
  • useful techniques (cutting, sewing, taping, glueing, ...)
  • reinforcing (edges, corners, use of patches, tape or lines)
  • mending damaged sails
  • sail design for inflatable kites (profiles, air intakes, venting, ...)
  • sewing techniques for inflatable kites
• colors, patterns, motifs
  • applique
  • painting
  • dyeing
  • printing
  • weaving
  • quilting
• flight-tuning
  • how various parameters effect flight characteristics (bridle, centre of gravity, frame construction, flares, tails, drogues)
  • how to solve specific problems (e.g. "my delta dives")
• questions
  • problems not addressed by any of the existing contributions

How to contribute?

Send me your contribution as ASCII, HTML or simply a URL; I will incorporate it into the workshop. All contributors will be given full credit. If you wish, I will also feature your home page URL or email address.