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Looking for stunt kite plans

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David Bingham

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May 26, 1992, 4:11:57 PM5/26/92
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Are there any plans/kits for stunt kites available? I'm looking for a
decent performer. Nothing extremely fancy but reasonable turning and
tracking. Does Stunt Kite Quarterly publish plans? What about any books?
Thanks.

David
************************************************************************
David Bingham * The power of faith and love
Hewlett Packard * Can change the stuff we're made of
bin...@hpnmqa1.sr.hp.com * Michael W. Smith

Jeffrey C. Burka

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May 27, 1992, 12:01:01 AM5/27/92
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In article <1716...@hpnmdla.sr.hp.com> bin...@hpnmdla.sr.hp.com (David Bingham) writes:
>
> Are there any plans/kits for stunt kites available? I'm looking for a
>decent performer. Nothing extremely fancy but reasonable turning and
>tracking. Does Stunt Kite Quarterly publish plans? What about any books?
> Thanks.

Many books have plans for simples stunters, but none of them are really
worth speaking of. The exception to this is Mark Cotterell's book on
swept-wing stunters (which I gather includes a design for the Lite Flite
S (a kite I don't think I'd buy, let alone to to the trouble to make; on
the other hand, having received one as a present, I don't really feel
inclined to sell it). I don't have the book, though, so I'm not in
a position to say much about it. And, unfortunately, the Kite Lines
bookstore doesn't seem to carry it (at least, it's not mentioned in
their most recent issue).

There _is_ a kit, though, put out by Hang-em High Fabrics. It's a 3/4
dart with a fiberglass frame. It comes with pre-cut fabric, pre-cut
frame, pre-tied bridle, all the various hardware, and step-by-step
illustrated instructions. The cost is $50. It's probably a good kite
to get started with.

If you're feeling adventurous, you might just try to borrow a kite you're
interested in from a friend and build a copy. My first "real" kite was
a copy of a Mirage (one of the easiest kites imaginable); I've also copied
the NS Extreme, the miniature Revs I've mentioned elsewhere, a
rather modified Bantam (much higher aspect ratio and a camber in the
leading edge), and a Jordan Pro. It's not _that_ hard, and it's a lot
of fun. If you know any local people who build kites, ask questions,
especially questions you can pose while pointing to specific aspects of
kites ("How do you do _that_"). Don't be afraid to make mistakes--the
kite will probably fly anyway. Everyone looks at my Pro and comments on
the addition I made to the graphic (arrowheads exploding out from the points
of the "star trek geeky thing" (as it's come to be called by local folks)).
Then it's my turn to look sheepish and say that I _had_ to add the extra
bits because I'd gouged the sail with my scissors while cutting some
loose threads. A mistake, sure, but one that seems to have worked out for
the best.

Jeff

Paul Crowley

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May 27, 1992, 8:11:20 AM5/27/92
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In article <13...@umd5.umd.edu> je...@syrinx.umd.edu (Jeffrey C. Burka) writes:

>Many books have plans for simples stunters, but none of them are really
>worth speaking of. The exception to this is Mark Cotterell's book on
>swept-wing stunters (which I gather includes a design for the Lite Flite
>S (a kite I don't think I'd buy, let alone to to the trouble to make; on
>the other hand, having received one as a present, I don't really feel
>inclined to sell it).

Hi Jeff,

I was intrigued by your comments on Cotterell's liteflite. Do I take it
that you're not impressed? In Britain, the original liteflite is reckoned
to be the best VFM mass-produced light wind kite available. I know it's
not a tremendous performer but it retails at around half the price of a
shadow phantom. In fact it's about the only low wind kite I can afford
( we don't seem to have as wide a choice as you do in the States) and was
next on my list. Should I think again? BTW the S version was supposed to
be a better performer but requires more wind.
I'd be interested to hear your comments on the liteflite, in fact the
newsgroup could do with a lot more kite reviews, where else can you get
unbiased opinions?


Paul.

Marty Sasaki

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May 27, 1992, 11:22:24 AM5/27/92
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In article <13...@umd5.umd.edu>, je...@syrinx.umd.edu (Jeffrey C. Burka) writes:
|>Many books have plans for simples stunters, but none of them are really
|>worth speaking of.

Along with the Cotrell book, there is a book by Wolfgang
Schimmelpfennig. The title is "Lendrachen: bauen und fliegen". Please
excuse me if I've botched the spelling, I know no German. This book is
entirely in German, but I've heard that there is a translation in
another language available.

The book has plans for a Spinoff, severval darts, a diamond stunter,
and the Paraflex, which is a soft stunter.

|>If you're feeling adventurous, you might just try to borrow a kite you're

|>interested in from a friend and build a copy...
|>... It's not _that_ hard, and it's a lot


|>of fun. If you know any local people who build kites, ask questions,
|>especially questions you can pose while pointing to specific aspects of
|>kites ("How do you do _that_"). Don't be afraid to make mistakes--the
|>kite will probably fly anyway.

Let me second Jeff's recommendations. As I've said before in this
forum, there is no magic in making kites. Most builders will be happy
to answer questions.

One warning though, don't copy kites and then sell them. In my opinion
that's unethical and in some cases illegal.

|>Everyone looks at my Pro and comments on
|>the addition I made to the graphic (arrowheads exploding out from the points
|>of the "star trek geeky thing" (as it's come to be called by local folks)).
|>Then it's my turn to look sheepish and say that I _had_ to add the extra
|>bits because I'd gouged the sail with my scissors while cutting some
|>loose threads. A mistake, sure, but one that seems to have worked out for
|>the best.

I've had people ask me the reasons for laying things out the way that
I do and usually I have a good explanation. Sometimes though the
reason is that I ran out of fabric of a certain color or I pushed my
hot knife through a panel.
--
Marty Sasaki sas...@tle.enet.dec.com
Digital Equipment Co. Sasaki Kite Fabrications
110 Spit Brook Road ZK02-3/N30 26 Green Street
Nashua, NH 03062 Jamaica Plain, MA 02130
603-881-0151 617-522-8546

Jeffrey C. Burka

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May 27, 1992, 1:54:54 PM5/27/92
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In article <1992May27.1...@aber.ac.uk> p...@aber.ac.uk (Paul Crowley) writes:

>I was intrigued by your comments on Cotterell's liteflite. Do I take it
>that you're not impressed?

Correct--I'm not impressed.

>In Britain, the original liteflite is reckoned
>to be the best VFM mass-produced light wind kite available.

Hmmm. This is where things get touchy. I assume by VFM you mean value
for money. Obviously, it's all subjective. If I pay as much as $290 for
a Phantom and only $170 for a LiteFlite, but fly the Phantom 500 hours/year
and the LiteFlite for maybe 10 hours/year, where have I gotten the best
value for my money?

>I know it's
>not a tremendous performer but it retails at around half the price of a
>shadow phantom.

Either the LiteFlite is a hell of a lot cheaper over there, or the Phantom
is a lot cheaper over here. Robbie Sugarman, who is the US importer/
distributer for both the Fizz Phantom (not Highfliers) and the LiteFlite
line sells the Phantom for $240 and the LiteFlite S for $170 (the LiteFlite
is $165). The Phantom is nowhere _near_ twice the price of the LiteFlite.

>In fact it's about the only low wind kite I can afford

Then perhaps it's worth saving up for? Just a thought...

>( we don't seem to have as wide a choice as you do in the States)

A pity. Is there some sort of tariff or tax that would cause less importation
of US kites to Europe than European kites to the US? We see plenty of
European kites over here.

> I'd be interested to hear your comments on the liteflite

I got my S back in fall '90 from my parents, who had been to England on a
vacation. To my surprise and joy, they'd stopped in at the Kite Store and
talked to one of the folks there for a while. After learning that I already
had a Phantom (since early July, '90), the guy recommended a LiteFlite S,
as the cut-out trailing edge gave it a higher wind range.

Overall, the kite is pretty well made. The leading edge of mine has some
dropped stitches in the zig-zag which to me implies lazy or cheap sewing--
you often get dropped stitches like this when you don't change your needle
often enough. Other than that, though, it's very well put together. The
spars are a 5.5 mm graphite, the same size as is used in the Phantom. The
spars are _not_ the Beman one finds in the Phantom, and the ones in the
LiteFlite seem more fragile. I broke both of my bottom spreaders within a
couple of weeks of receiving the kite. This was partially due to the
t-fitting, which is made of brass. My parents told me that they'd been told
that the makers were having trouble with that brass ferrule and were
considering switching to aluminum. I don't know if the ferrule was ever
changed. In general, the frame doesn't seem all that solid to me. You can
see the leading edges flex during turns even in extremely light winds.
Bridles are made out of unsleeved Spectra; I'm not sure how I feel about this.
Interestingly, the outhaul is of a much lighter test than the rest of the
bridle--I believe it's 80, compared to 200. I have to wonder if there's
really enough of a weight difference in a ~2' long piece of line to justify
this.

How does the kite fly? Moderately well. It does indeed go up in a breath
of wind. The problems occur when you want to do something ridiculously
uncalled for like, say, I dunno, maybe TURNING THE KITE. The thing lumbers
around turns as if it's got all day, and the turns are _huge_. You can
snap corners but it's not overly precise.

I suspect I'd like the kite more if the bridles had had an optimum point
_marked_ on them. As it was, the bridles had no marking, no reference
point to work from. The kite never feels tuned, and yet all attempts to
adjust the bridle, in any direction, in any increment, seems to make
things worse.

The kite is also pretty difficult to launch off the leading edge (as compared
to many other kites). It's doable, but don't expect to get it on the
first try. ;-)

All is not doom and gloom, though. My S _does_ fly in extremely light
winds, and it moves along at a nice clip even in those light winds! It's
very easy to run 360s with it, and it often seems like it takes less work
to keep up than my old, stretched-out Phantom (of course my S, while old,
isn't at all stretched, so this could be part it). Just don't expect to do
any fancy movement once the kite is in the air.

Also on the positive side is the way the kite looks. It's got an
extraordinarily boring, yet incredible effective graphic--black sail with
big triangles on each wing. The fabric is Carrington and my kite, black
and orange, looks spectacular when it's turning in the sun--the fabric
lights up and it just looks great.

Would I recommend in a LiteFlite? Maybe. If you're in a hurry and don't
have the money for something better, then yes, it's a good kite. It
flies in very low winds. If you're not in a hurry, save up for something
better, whether one of Tim Benson's creations, or any of the other
great ultralights out there. As with any kite though, if there's anyway you
can get a test fly before making a purchase, _do it_. Nothing will tell you
more about the way a kite flies than getting to fly it yourself.

(the converse is dangerous--try not to fly too many kites that you aren't
willing to buy or build--you'll just frustrate yourself...;-)

>in fact the
>newsgroup could do with a lot more kite reviews, where else can you get
>unbiased opinions?

Perhaps it's just a matter of people needing to post requests for reviews
of particular kites. I'm sure there are others out there beside myself
who are willing to write reviews, many of whom are more qualified to write
such reviews!


Jeff

Jeffrey C. Burka

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May 27, 1992, 9:07:24 PM5/27/92
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In article <1992May27.1...@e2big.mko.dec.com> sas...@tle.enet.dec.com writes:
>Along with the Cotrell book, there is a book by Wolfgang
>Schimmelpfennig. The title is "Lendrachen: bauen und fliegen". Please
>excuse me if I've botched the spelling, I know no German. This book is
>entirely in German, but I've heard that there is a translation in
>another language available.

Whoops. I should have checked in Kite Lines. They cary the Schimmelpfennig,
as well as a book in Dutch called _Stuntvliegers Bouwen en Besturen_.
There's no mention of the Schimmelpfennig book in a translation.

>One warning though, don't copy kites and then sell them. In my opinion
>that's unethical and in some cases illegal.

Another "whoops"--something I should have stated m'self. Selling copies
of kites without permission is _very_ uncool. To date, I've only built
copies of kites I myself own (or modifications thereof), with the exception
of my Pro (and I've been waiting 'til I have the money so I can buy one
of those as well). Kite makers work hard to put good kites on the market,
and while I don't really mind making my own stuff, I don't want to take
additional bread out of _their_ pockets.

>Or I pushed my hot knife through a panel.

Don't ya just _hate_ that? ;-)

Jeff

Bryce C. Burba

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May 28, 1992, 11:07:06 AM5/28/92
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Along these same lines, what is the typical price range for building
your own kites as opposed to buying them pre-assembled? Is there that
much savings involved?

John Nicoll

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May 28, 1992, 6:57:33 AM5/28/92
to
I'd agree with all those who recommend building
a kite. I, too, have built a LiteFlite from
Mark Cotterel's book. It was my first exercise
in sewing for a while, and although there are some
slight constructional `dodges', I'm pretty pleased
with the way it has turned out.

I have done very little flying with it, due to other
pressures, but I guess I have to agree with those
who express ... disappointment with it. This may be
simply because I originally flew a Peter Powell
oh, fifteen years ago, and guessed that this would be
in another league altogether. Perhaps I'm just jaded these
days... Since then, I built a `Flaix' 5-bladed single
line (non-stunter) kite, again from Cotterell's book.
Although I'm a bit unhappy with my standard of construction,
I'm pleased with the kite, and glad that two-string kites
haven't spoiled my enjoyment of single-string ones.

Wolfgang Schimmelpfennig's book is available in the UK, at least.
It's called `Making & flying Kites' (pub. Hamlyn). The Kite
Store has copies at UK L3-95. It seems a very good book to me,
with lots of constructional ideas, clearly proven in action.
Nice pictures too!

Now I've started making kites, I too hope to get hold of
a Benson Phantom to copy - I can't afford the real thing
just yet. If anyone out there has any sketches etc., I'd
be happy to turn them into a PostScript file for the net! :-)

john N

--
john nicoll (j...@ohm.york.ac.uk)
Department of Electronics University of York
Heslington YORK YO1 5DD U.K
Tel +44 (904) 432381 Fax +44 (904) 432335

Marty Sasaki

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May 28, 1992, 11:32:50 AM5/28/92
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In article <1992May28.1...@ohm.york.ac.uk>, j...@ohm.york.ac.uk (John Nicoll) writes:
|>I have done very little flying with it, due to other
|>pressures, but I guess I have to agree with those
|>who express ... disappointment with it. This may be

I've run into this with my kites, which is the reason that I designed
the Katana. My other kites are slow, turn slowly, have no oversteer
and don't do the tricks that are popular these days. These are the
traits that make it an almost ideal beginner's kite and a pretty good
team kite.

The Katana flys fast, turns fast, and can be set up with plenty of
oversteer. It does all of the tricks fairly easily. For now, the
Katana fits into what people are looking for in a ballet kite or an
all around fun kite. Things will probably be different next year.

On the way back from Wildwood I did a quick sketch of a new design for
a new team kite. The MDM-4 was an almost ideal team kite last year,
but with what teams are now doing in competition, it just doesn't hold
up. The new kite will have a slightly curved leading edge, and a
little more sail area for light wind flying. It will, hopefully, turn
faster with just a bit of oversteer to make stops/stalls easier and
steadier to do.

|>Wolfgang Schimmelpfennig's book is available in the UK, at least.
|>It's called `Making & flying Kites' (pub. Hamlyn). The Kite
|>Store has copies at UK L3-95. It seems a very good book to me,
|>with lots of constructional ideas, clearly proven in action.
|>Nice pictures too!

This is a nice kite book, but it's not the one that I was talking
about. The one that I was talking about is exclusively about stunt
kites, and is, as Jeff mentioned in his note, available from the Kite
Lines Book store.

|>Now I've started making kites, I too hope to get hold of
|>a Benson Phantom to copy - I can't afford the real thing
|>just yet. If anyone out there has any sketches etc., I'd
|>be happy to turn them into a PostScript file for the net! :-)

I know you have a smiley face on this, but please be careful about
this. I'm sure that I would not want one of my designs distributed on
the net. When I gave a workshop on building kites I made it a point to
distribute plans for one of my kites even though I had plans for a
North Shore Radical, a Spinoff, and a Fire Dart.

Jeffrey C. Burka

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May 28, 1992, 11:33:19 AM5/28/92
to

It depends on what kind of price you want to put on your time/labor...;-)

In terms of _parts_, I pay about $3-$4/yd for fabric (my club buys bulk
from a company in CT; it isn't _great_ cloth, but it's pretty good). Call
it 3-4 yards/kite with lots of scrap left over for applique, patchwork kites,
banners, practice, etc) -- $12-$16 in fabric. I pay $2.25-$3.00 for AFC
spars. Your average kite takes 8 sticks, so call that $24. Other bits only
cost pennies for kite (for instance, a kite might use 4" of seatbelt webbing
that costs $1.65 for 36"!). Vinyl is cheap at your local hardware store.
Ferrules you can often get at local archery places--they'll just give you
scraps of aluminum arrows. All in all, maybe $45 for a kite. Just about
_any_ kite, whether a Spin-Off or a Phantom or a Pro or a Big Brother.
Obviously, if you want to use better spars, you'll up the cost--I spent
$40 just to spar my Pro with Easton 3-30, so I doubled the cost of framing.

Obviously, though, you can save tremendous amounts of money this way.

Jeff

Esben Gorm Collstrup

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Jun 1, 1992, 4:52:07 PM6/1/92
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Here is a list of all the stuntkite plans I know of:


"Wind Shot"
KiteLines, Vol.8, No.3 (Spring '91)
A ultralight delta with a lot of battens and scalloped tailing edge.

"Hornet"
The Kiteflier, No.47 (April '91) (The Kite Society of Great Britains magazine)
Sort of 3/4 Spin-Off.

"Radido"
The Kiteflier, No.50 (January '92)
Looks like a cross between a 3/4 Hawaiian Team Kite and a Team High Fly
Pro/Am. Very brief instruction.

"Lenkdelta"
Drachen Magazin, No.1 (September '89)
Sort of Skynasaur Aerobat.

"High-Tech"
Drachen Magazin, No.2 (Nov/Dec. '89)
Looks like a 2/3 Spin-Off with a hint of dart-shaped tailing edge.

"Jet-Stream, 2fast4U"
Drachen Magazin, No.6 (Nov/Dec/Jan. 1990/91)
A 270 cm (9') delta with a low scalloped tailing edge. Fast like a Taifun/Hawk
(German kites), turns like a Fire Dart, pulls like a Hawaiian Team Kite,
good-natured (?) like an Aerobat.

"Hunter"
Drachen Magazin, No.10 (Nov/Dec/Jan. 1991/92)
Looks like a Action Kites Action 8.2 with scalloped tailing edge.

"Tango"
Drachen Magazin, issue 1/92 (Feb/March/Apr. 1992)
Looks like a high aspect ratio 3/4 Hawaiian Team Kite with scalloped tailing
edge.

"Success"
Drachen Magazin, issue 1/92 (Feb/March/Apr. 1992)
A 150 cm (5') delta with battens and scalloped tailing edge.

"Moskito 0.8/1.0"
Drachen Magazin, issue 1/92 (Feb/March/Apr. 1992)
Sort of 1/2 - 2/3 Spin-Offs, made of polyethylene film (trash bags),
fibreglass rods, ramin dowels and bamboo.

"Delta Force"
Drachen Magazin, issue 2/92 (May/June/July 1992)
A 180 cm (6') delta without spine, but two battens and scalloped tailing edge.

"Bat"
Drachen Magazin, issue 2/92 (May/June/July 1992)
A quadline kite shaped like the Batman logo.

"Dart 135T"
Dragesnoren, issue 7/91 (The Danish Kite Clubs magazine)
Looks like a 4/5 Team High Fly Pro/Am, but with a lower aspect ratio. Designed
as a team kite.


All the plans in Drachen Magazin are in German and easy to follow, and most
of the drawings are pretty easy to understand. I think "American Kite"
distributes Drachen Magazin in USA and the price is US$ 5, or you can contact
them directly (they do understand English :-)) for back-issues:

Drachen Magazin
Drachenverlag Axel Voss
Brahmsallee 8
D-2000 Hamburg 13
Germany
Phone: 040/418624, Fax: 040/440561
E-mail: wi.maus.de (Internet, I think)
Maus WI 2:242/2.6 (Fido Net)

If you are interested in the plans from The Kiteflier or the Dart 135T (I
can give you a brief translation) or you are having troubles getting back-
issues of Drachen Magazin, then let me know and I will send you a photocopy.


Books:

"Lenkdrachen, bauen und fliegen"
by Wolfgang Schimmelpfennig

In German, with very instructive drawings. Contains plans for: various
diamonds (including a Peter Powell), a Aerobat-type kite with some
modifications, a Sky Dart, a Hawaiian Team Kite, a Spin-Off and a Paraflex.
At least the plans for the Hawaiian Team Kite and the Spin-Off are slightly
different from the commercial versions
You can buy this book from KiteLines, price $13.95.


"Skywork Experience"
by Christiane Schertel

In German. I have not read this one, but according to the review in Drachen
Magazin, the instructions are detailed and easy to follow. Contains plans for:
a Speed Revolution (Rev II ?), a Phantom Bantam, a Spin-Off, a Hawaiian Team
Kite, a Fire Dart, a Sky Dart, a Razor Blade, a Jet and a Hawk 150.
You can buy this book from:

Wolkenstumer
Hansastr.52
D-2000 Hamburg 13
Germany
Phone: 040/454971

I think the price is about DM 20.


"Stuntvliegers, Bouwen en Besturen"
by Servaas van der Horst & Nop Velthuizen

In Dutch. I have not read this book either, so I can only tell what the review
in KiteLines wrote. Contains 10 plans for: four commercial designs, a high
aspect ratio diamond, a quadline kite, a Speedfoil (sort of Flexifoil) and two
soft stunters (sort of Paraflexs). I don't know what kind of kite the last
plan is for.
You can buy this book from KiteLines, price $21.95


Individual construction plans can also be bought from:

Drachendompteur
Alt Nied 4-6
D-6000 Frankfurt-Nied 80
Germany
Phone: 069/382021, Fax: 061/9225956
or
Elliot
Schulstrasse 30
D-4230 Wesel-Buderich 14
Germany
Phone: 028/034035, Fax: 028/038218

The price is DM 6 - DM 10 each, and they have plans for the following kites:
Jet, Hawk, Hawk 150, Bronto, Bronto Gross (sort of very large Aerobat), Razor
Blade, Spin-Dart, Hawaiian Team Chevron, 3/4 Hawaiian Team, Spin-Off, Fire
Dart, Sky Dart, No Na Me, Revolution, Speed Revolution, Phantom, Bantam, Spyro
Jet Freestyle.


Please, notice that of the mentioned kites I have only build a Paraflex from
the Schimmelpfennig-book, so I can not comment on the flight characteristics
of the other kites.


--Esben Collstrup
--e...@daimi.aau.dk (Internet)

Joost Wesseling

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Jun 2, 1992, 6:18:36 AM6/2/92
to
>
>"Stuntvliegers, Bouwen en Besturen"
>by Servaas van der Horst & Nop Velthuizen
>
>In Dutch. I have not read this book either, so I can only tell what the review
>in KiteLines wrote. Contains 10 plans for: four commercial designs, a high
>aspect ratio diamond, a quadline kite, a Speedfoil (sort of Flexifoil) and two
>soft stunters (sort of Paraflexs). I don't know what kind of kite the last
>plan is for.
>You can buy this book from KiteLines, price $21.95
>


The book mentioned above was published in Holland in may 1991 and is, as far
as I know, not available in english. It starts of with an extensive overview
of materials to use for building kites, discusses techniques like sewing etc.
It furthermore discusses flying stuntkites. The "build it yourself" section
contains detailed plans of 9 types of stunt kites:

1) Shuttle, a diamond type of kite, quite like an Ace or Acroracer,
easy to build and fly,
2) Speedwing, the well-known german stunter,
3) Teamlight, an ultralight Hawaiian,
4) Spin-off, well known,
5) Kwat, a peculiar design that consists of two adjacent diamonds.
It is flown with four lines, cheap and easy to build,
6) Cicade/Gizmo, they resemble the Phantom, VERY fast and accurate.
The Cicade is somewhat larger than the Gizmo. I have build a Gizmo
and it is one of the best stunters that I know,
7) Speedfoil, a very fast cousin of the Flexifoil,
8) Spoetnik I and II, two parafoil-type models, I is used when you
kneed a lot of "pull" while II will fly without many problems in a
storm (I tried one in windforce 7),
9) Dykehopper, a Dutch design which seems to be know as "the beast"
because it is very hard to build, harder to tune properly and
even harder to fly. Given its reputation I never tried building
one.

Many people in Holland use this book, together with the german book by
Schimmelpfennig, as guideline when building their own kites. I have never
spoken to anyone who was disappointed. If you want to know more about a
possible english translation you can try the publisher:

Uitgeverij Thoth
P.C. Hooftstraat 57-1
1071 BN Amsterdam
Holland.

Success,

Joost.


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Simo Salanne

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Jun 5, 1992, 1:52:24 PM6/5/92
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> Are there any plans/kits for stunt kites available? I'm looking for a
>decent performer. Nothing extremely fancy but reasonable turning and
>tracking. Does Stunt Kite Quarterly publish plans? What about any books?
> Thanks.

>David


I was away from my mail box for a couple of days, when I came back
it was interesting to read the discussion what David Binghams
request for stunt kite plans generated. Especially interesting
was the pros and cons which LiteFlite got. I like LitFlite but
I also agree with _some_ of the critique by Jeff.

One thing which Jeff forgot, is that David was looking for a
_design_ and Jeff was evaluating a _commercial_ implementation of
that design (although made by the designers company). LiteFlite's
commercial version has a frame with poor quality; Kite Store says
it is "RBJ" and admits it's tendency to split. Does this make the
price difference with Phantom?

I have rebuilt my LiteFlite-S: I made a new sail (because I
wanted my "own" graphics) and changed the frame to Beman.
I have not broken the unsleeved spectra bridle - not even in
20+ mph winds, so that's still left from the original setup.
If the knot will reduce the strength of spectra by 50%,
#200 has still a lot left for a lite wind kite.

By building LiteFlight yourself and selecting proper frame
material you will get better kite than from the shop.

I'll prefer LiteFlight-S to Phantom in precision, unless
compulsories have a landing, LiteFlight is not for them.

Anyway, the LiteFlight design is published the designer,
Mark Cottrell, and it is also awailable commercially.
Does any other kite manufacturer offer this "openness" in
design principals, construction details, etc?

Smooth winds

Simo Salanne
STACK, Finland

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