Kites I have made

These are kites I have made mostly for my own enjoyment. Where I remember, I'll provide a pointer to the kite plan or credit the book that contained the plan. All of the images below are thumbnails, click on them to see the full size image. Some of these images are pretty large so please be patient.
 

Quads built in 2004

This kite is a set of 4 eddy kites connected by a common spreader. It was first made in Charlotte by Ray Riley and I always wanted to see if I could duplicate it. After seeing one of Ray's smaller version of this style at Beech Mountain, I decided to try my hand. It's flown as a quad line, will fly in fairly light winds and is really fun. I took it to Oak Island in October and flew it on this day for about 4 hours. It takes a little time to put it together, but it's worth it for the visual appeal.	When I started flying Revs earlier this year, I got a yen to build one. The Freedom 2000 is a French design that I adapted but modified. I didn't use the mesh at the leading edge and deepened the center for less wing-flip. I also used 1/2 oz polycarbonate fabric and a lightweight frame. I flies in pretty light winds but is fairly sturdy since I still "bang the ground", occasionally of course. It was a fun project and it actually flies pretty well.
The image is one I found on the net a long time ago. Some folks think they look like dragons. Sometimes it takes a little time to see what they really are.

 

Built in 2001

A 2 meter by 2 1/3 meter kimono kite - Swimmers in the Wind.	A British refinment to an original German design. Graphics inspired by The Book of Kells.

These are the first of my year 2000 kites. I started them in January to get me through the winter. These kites, and a couple workshops for the WACKOS,  made what we call winter in Charlotte bearable. The pictures below are thumbnails, click them to see a larger image. 

This image has fascinated me for a long time. It's based on a Chinese embroidery design for a dragon robe. The low aspect ratio "noodle" format has also held my interest for some time. I spent the last few months of 1999 putting the two ideas together before starting construction the first week in January. The maiden flight was on April 1st at "A bunch of WACKOS April-fooling around with kites" National Kite Month fun fly. With a minor bridle adjustment it flew beautifully. This picture is actually the second flight after adding two feet to the spine to tighten the sail in the corners; it seemed to add some stability as well.

I seem to have an interest in making box style kites as evidenced by the compound cody, delta box, tri-d and star box below. Additionally, I've built Margaret Greger's "Not a Peter Lynn" box and a couple others. I guess Carl Crowell's cross deck design was an inevitable choice as a project.  It is much easier to build that I first thought and very satisfying to fly. The color is based on a Calvin & Hobbs cartoon about the sky needing a "little red, right there".

Compound Cody

Early in the Summer of '98, I saw a picture of the Compound Cody in Pelham's Penguin Book of Kites and became intrigued with it. I looked all over the net and even exchanged mail with the Drachen Foundation trying to find some dimensions or proportions. I really wanted to build this kite! Finally, I found a page by following links from the US to Brazil which pointed me back to the US again. There I found much more than I had expected to find. The link to the plan for this kite is Musings..... Kite Plans of the Cody Compound. Thanks to John Maxworthy for his work to put the plan on the net.

gFighters: These are little fighters I have made purely for fun and enjoyment. They are basically hata fighters that can be flown singly, in pairs, or more on a single line. These things are a blast! 

	These gFighters are called Round Boy Fighters. They were custom made for Gary Resnick in Tampa, Florida.
	This is 'Lucy'. I picked up the image sometime ago and had always wanted to put it on a kite. Lucy is pretty sedate when flown with a 10 foot tail but gets very devilish once the tail is removed.
	Rick and Velma with their 4 Welsh dragon kites at Indian Rocks Beach, Fla. "Y Ddraig Goch Ddyry Cychwyn"

	Cameron's Pikachu - Happy Birthday, Cameron! The picture on the far right was taken at the "Art & Wind" Festival in San Ramon, Ca.
	The Taz fighter - he's as aggressive in the air as his character.		Reid's special birthday fighter, called Cherry Swirl.
	Kathren wanted a Jiggly Puff 'something' from her Dad for Christmas. Since she had done so well with fighter kites in November, '99 at Tybee Island, guess what she got. This is Kathren and her JP fighter at Tybee Island in March, 2000.

Delta Box: This is one of the first kites I made. It's from a plan in Maxwell Eden's Kiteworks. This was for a friend and fellow kite flyer, Michael Federal, done in Spring, 1998. This kite loves to soar at a high angle and flies well even in light winds. For stronger winds, I attach a 40 foot loop tail. The deep vee box in front keeps the kite close to the center of the wind.

The Tri-D is another of the kite designs that fascinate me. I culled ideas from Margaret Greger's More Kites For Everyone, a plan I found on an Italian web site (Thanks, Rod, for the translation.) along with some visual ideas from Michael Goddard. This kite is about 6 1/2 feet wide and 8 feet tall. It flies very well with either a triple or single tail. It was a lot of work to build but well worth it visually.

Other kites I have made

Everybody has to make a Rok! This is a 3-4-5 plan built from some sail scraps.	This is a star box kite, designed by Bill Goble. The plan is in Margaret Greger's book, More Kites For Everyone.