By Tim Parish
These tips on how to make a kite fly straight should be handy for anyone making simple homemade kites for the first time. These general points only relate to flat or bowed single-liners, like diamond kites. So much depends on symmetry of the kite materials. That is, how closely the left and right sides of the kite match each other in various ways.
1. Symmetry In Sail Shape
This is important. In other words, sail shape on one side is an exact mirror-image of the shape on the other side. This also guarantees that the sail area is precisely the same on both sides. In practice, we can't be perfect, but there are ways to do a very good job.
For example, by folding the sail material down the center-line before measuring and cutting, a kite can be made very symmetrical in shape. This gets you off to a great start, although other things can still go wrong. Some classic instructions on how to make a kite employ this technique.
2. Symmetry In Sail Billow
If you are a bit careless in attaching the sail to the frame, it's possible that one panel of the sail may billow out a little more than other panels, when in flight. Try holding the kite by its tail end and swishing it through the air, indoors. If the problem is significant, you can actually see the uneven billow this way.
If you make a fairly big kite, this is unlikely to happen. However, with a very small design, all sorts of inaccuracies can creep in. If necessary, remove and re-attach the sail to even up the tightness of the panels.
3. Symmetry In Flexibility
How to make a kite loop out of control when there is nothing visibly wrong... This might happen when flying in fresh or strong wind. The cause is that one side of the kite is bending more than the other.
Synthetic materials like fiberglass or carbon fiber aren't likely to give problems in homemade kites, but natural materials are. The solution is to do a quick check of flexibility when selecting material for the horizontal spars, or even just match spars by eye.
In light winds, this factor is not likely to be a problem since the spars will hardly bend at all.
4. Symmetry In Weight
When your kite is complete, there might still be a small imbalance for some reason. Suspend the kite from nose and tail to see if one wing-tip seems heavier than the other.
From my experience, this might be the least important aspect of symmetry. It seems to have the most effect at the bottom end of the kite's wind range. Anyhow, balancing the kite is easy to do with a few small bits of tape added to one wing-tip.
5. The Lighter The Better!
Hardly surprising, but did you know that this can have a big effect on stability as well as performance? If there is too much weight near the edges of the sail and / or the spar tips, the kite will want to keep going around, if it starts to rotate for some reason.
How to make a kite light? Pick sail material that is strong enough but light as possible. Use a minimum of tape or glue or whatever other means you are using to secure the materials together. Use spars that are only just stiff enough for the job.
6. Multi-point Bridle Adjustments
Some bridles have lines going off to the left and right of the kite. I've found it's very handy to make some of these bridle knots shiftable, so if the kite goes left or right, you have another option for correcting the problem.
Another reason for making them shiftable is so you don't have to be perfectly accurate with tying a permanent knot in the exact correct position. If a shiftable knot is off a bit, it's easy to slide it to the correct spot.
That's it for tips related to flying straight. Here's a bonus tip to help your kite fly as high as possible. Use the lightest flying line possible, while making sure it is still strong enough to avoid losing the kite. A rough rule of thumb is to multiply the sail area in square feet by 3, which gives the required breaking strain of the line in pounds.
The more flying line you let out, the bigger the load the kite is trying to carry, in addition to its own weight. Hence the lighter the line, the higher the kite can fly before it reaches its weight limit.
That's about it for how to build a kite which flies straight and high over a wide range of wind speeds. If you have already tried making a kite, and it has a disappointing wind range, check it off against all the points above. The solution might be simple, like tightening the sail a bit. Or you might discover you have a bendy spar on one side, and therefore have to make a new kite!
These tips on how to make a kite fly straight should be handy for anyone making simple homemade kites for the first time. These general points only relate to flat or bowed single-liners, like diamond kites. So much depends on symmetry of the kite materials. That is, how closely the left and right sides of the kite match each other in various ways.
1. Symmetry In Sail Shape
This is important. In other words, sail shape on one side is an exact mirror-image of the shape on the other side. This also guarantees that the sail area is precisely the same on both sides. In practice, we can't be perfect, but there are ways to do a very good job.
For example, by folding the sail material down the center-line before measuring and cutting, a kite can be made very symmetrical in shape. This gets you off to a great start, although other things can still go wrong. Some classic instructions on how to make a kite employ this technique.
2. Symmetry In Sail Billow
If you are a bit careless in attaching the sail to the frame, it's possible that one panel of the sail may billow out a little more than other panels, when in flight. Try holding the kite by its tail end and swishing it through the air, indoors. If the problem is significant, you can actually see the uneven billow this way.
If you make a fairly big kite, this is unlikely to happen. However, with a very small design, all sorts of inaccuracies can creep in. If necessary, remove and re-attach the sail to even up the tightness of the panels.
3. Symmetry In Flexibility
How to make a kite loop out of control when there is nothing visibly wrong... This might happen when flying in fresh or strong wind. The cause is that one side of the kite is bending more than the other.
Synthetic materials like fiberglass or carbon fiber aren't likely to give problems in homemade kites, but natural materials are. The solution is to do a quick check of flexibility when selecting material for the horizontal spars, or even just match spars by eye.
In light winds, this factor is not likely to be a problem since the spars will hardly bend at all.
4. Symmetry In Weight
When your kite is complete, there might still be a small imbalance for some reason. Suspend the kite from nose and tail to see if one wing-tip seems heavier than the other.
From my experience, this might be the least important aspect of symmetry. It seems to have the most effect at the bottom end of the kite's wind range. Anyhow, balancing the kite is easy to do with a few small bits of tape added to one wing-tip.
5. The Lighter The Better!
Hardly surprising, but did you know that this can have a big effect on stability as well as performance? If there is too much weight near the edges of the sail and / or the spar tips, the kite will want to keep going around, if it starts to rotate for some reason.
How to make a kite light? Pick sail material that is strong enough but light as possible. Use a minimum of tape or glue or whatever other means you are using to secure the materials together. Use spars that are only just stiff enough for the job.
6. Multi-point Bridle Adjustments
Some bridles have lines going off to the left and right of the kite. I've found it's very handy to make some of these bridle knots shiftable, so if the kite goes left or right, you have another option for correcting the problem.
Another reason for making them shiftable is so you don't have to be perfectly accurate with tying a permanent knot in the exact correct position. If a shiftable knot is off a bit, it's easy to slide it to the correct spot.
That's it for tips related to flying straight. Here's a bonus tip to help your kite fly as high as possible. Use the lightest flying line possible, while making sure it is still strong enough to avoid losing the kite. A rough rule of thumb is to multiply the sail area in square feet by 3, which gives the required breaking strain of the line in pounds.
The more flying line you let out, the bigger the load the kite is trying to carry, in addition to its own weight. Hence the lighter the line, the higher the kite can fly before it reaches its weight limit.
That's about it for how to build a kite which flies straight and high over a wide range of wind speeds. If you have already tried making a kite, and it has a disappointing wind range, check it off against all the points above. The solution might be simple, like tightening the sail a bit. Or you might discover you have a bendy spar on one side, and therefore have to make a new kite!
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