Kitebuilder.com

[msyed]

I was just making a list of items parts, measurements etc (basic blue prints and stuff i need b4 sewing). And i came to the topic of Graphite rods..

Now making kites seemed fairly inexpensive till that point or am i missing something?

Can someone explain the following terms to me?
Pultruded
Wrapped
Solid (well duh i guess, solid is solid Carbon)
with respect to graphit rods.

2nd. Avia and SkyShark two makers of rods that are well known--strengths and weaknesses or there arent any ?

3rd. How do you know what diameter rods to order, what weight, and im guessing you can order rods only in set sizes? i.e. 32.5" size of rod.

4th Ive looked through sooooooo many different rods, now my heads spinning with names and descriptions, and many sound the same!
Are there certain types of rods that people use in general for your regular freestyle dual line (made to fly in moderate winds? 3-4 mph +)?

Thanks

[Progcraft]

Those are all very good questions. But alas, I have no answers.
But, there is info available.
Here: http://www.kitebuilder.com/inventory/spargrap.htm
Here: http://www.nic.fi/~sos/spars/spars.htm
Here: http://www.kitebuilder.com/techsheets/rokkaku.htm
Here: http://www.kitebuilder.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=414
Here: http://www.kitebuilder.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=615

I hope something there can help.

P.
_________________
There is no box.

[Spence602]

msyed,

You sound just like I sounded a few years ago - adrift in a sea of manufacturers names and numbers and how they all relate to one another. And that's just the tubes/rods. Then there's the nocks, c-clips, spreader connectors, ferrels, center tee's, End Caps, etc. and what fits on what. Whew!

Just keep asking questions!

Here is another spar chart with relative strengths and weights. It's a little dated (there are SkyShark P-90's (10.5 grams) and P-400's (21 grams) out now).

Here is also some more info on Avia rods, and here is more info about Skyshark tubes.

1) I know KiteSquid can wax eloquently on the subtle (and not so subtle) differences in Pultruded and Wrapped. He can probably point you to a place where he's already explained it.
2) Neither manufacturer is better - each tube/rod has its own place.
3) If you're building from a plan, it'll probably have recommended spars. If not, it's whatever you want. Weight vs strength (vs availability vs cost vs accessibility!)
4) It all depends. I've seen kites for 3-4MPH with .196 CFR (solid rod), some with P-100's, some with mixed G-Force tubes, and some with 6mm/.230 spines and the rest Excel tubes, etc.

Personally, I started out building a freestyle stunt kite with .230 tubes all around. Since that time, I've used G-Force, Excel, Skysharks P-xxx and tapered, Structil, and other Avia tubes/rods. I still like the feel of .230/.240 Avia.

HTH
_________________
Spence
www.kiteshark.org

Air: Refreshing when stirred up and served cool on a hot day.

[msyed]

appreciate the input! yah, and spars seem to be the most expensive part too

[Stan]

To grossly generalize, I'd guess that 6mm or 2300 pultruded spars are the most versatile and economical spars to start out with. Smaller spars and rods will suit UL kites, and fancier kites can be sparred with wrapped spars to get more stiffness at a lighter weight. It all depends on the kite, and after you make a few, changing incrementally to other sizes will show their strengths and weaknesses.

[KiteSquid]

[Fred]

...this topic seems close enough.

Hi folks,

If I wanted to beef-up the framework of an existing wooden framed kite that utilized 1/4" wooden dowels, would a fiberglass A20 be a good upgrade, or should I be looking at Carbon fiber?

I've blown out a few 1/4" spans of the wood . . . figuring I need somthing more robust, but I don't want to add weight if I can avoid it. I tried 5/16" doweling, and the kite developed some odd behaviors that I *think* is related to a weight-forward increase.

The kite in question is an 8' Double French-Military that I scaled up from my old "White Bird's" designed kite, and the spans in question are the upper spreaders. They fail in strong breezes on this kite, but work fine on the smaller White-Bird version.

It was one of my first attempts at scaling, and works fine in light wind, but I've grown fond of being dragged around the field and now fly it in stronger breezes regularly...untill it explodes that is. I thought about carrying a quiver of 1/4" shafts that I can swap in but I'd much rather ruggedize the thing.
_________________
Kiting since 1964...
TreeProof since 1979.

[Progcraft]

Maybe somthing here can help you:
http://www.kitebuilder.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=391

1/4"(6mm) wood=5mm fiberglass;

P.
_________________
There is no box.

[Fred]

I use Dan Leigh's data for my deltas, and it seems to work well. But what isn't conveyed is the relative 'durability' of the material, but rather the relative stiffness.

This would work if the following could be said:

For Stiffness: 6mm wood = 5mm fiberglass
For Durability: 5mm fiberglass = 6mm wood

Intuitively, I'd expect this to be the case given some of my unrelated experience with fiberglass constructions (non-kiting), but I have no experience specifically with spars, so ordering some blind would be a calculated risk.

Is it safe to assume that 5mm fiberglass will withstand more than 6mm wood?
_________________
Kiting since 1964...
TreeProof since 1979.

[KiteSquid]