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KevinK · Posted: Thu Feb 17, 2005 9:04 pm Post subject: Rip stop Question

First off, I'm not a kite builder ( yet anyway) I plan on building some fighter.

Anyway I have several single line kites, if you look close at the fabric you can see little squares about a 1/3 of a inch or smaller, A friend gave me a fighter and the squares on this fabric is about 1/2 inch in size.

What are the differences Question

Are these fabrics called by different names.

Thanks.
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Kevin K
Commandant De Facto
Black Swamp Air Force

www.bsaf.org

Progcraft · Posted: Thu Feb 17, 2005 9:10 pm Post subject:

Hi Kevin.
This thread should help you.
The diffence in sie of the squares will be due to many factors. Manufactororer and weight of the fabric being the main two. If you peruse this link, you will see just a few of the many fabric choices available.
For fighters specifically though, you'll want the lightest you can get (I guess, I have yet to build a successfull fighter, but soon).
Anyways, others will surely arrive to provide more info.

Good luck with the fighters
Cheers
P.
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There is no box.
Children of the Wind Kite Festival
http://www.windykids.ca/

CJQ · Posted: Thu Feb 17, 2005 10:39 pm Post subject: Rip Stop Fabric

Hi KevinK , Prog gave you a good steer . Also go up in the fighterkite forum. There is a lot of discussion about fighter materials. I'm new to fighters and have built less than a dozen. Mylar is a popular material, 1/2 oz. polyester Ripstop is frequently used . A few people who make larger fighters may use 3/4 oz Ripstop.Weight is a big concern since speed and rotation are a priority. Dont hold back on the questions ,the fighter guys are a big help.

CLIFF

KevinK · Posted: Wed Feb 23, 2005 7:30 am Post subject:

Thanks for the information guys. Smile

_________________
Kevin K
Commandant De Facto
Black Swamp Air Force

www.bsaf.org

kiteguy · Posted: Wed Feb 23, 2005 1:58 pm Post subject: Re: Rip Stop Fabric

kiterpete · Posted: Wed Mar 02, 2005 12:15 pm Post subject: Fighter Material

I find the .50 once ripstops are the ones that come in the wider webbing, the .75 once materials mostly have a tighter web.

I only build fighters - and I have used the the .50 once white (seconds) Ripstop from Kite Studio with great success. Orcon which is considered the ultimate material, is harder to find and not as easy to work with but worth it's weight in 'lightweigth in gold' and probably comes in at around .40 or less.

Mylars also available from Kite Studio, just as light as the Orcon, you can use metal coated wrapping paper (usually mylar) to experiment with. When your kites fly and fight the way they should and you are comfortable with the building process you can then move on to the 'premier' materials. A word of advise 'newbie-fighter-builders' tend to over build/weight fighters. You can have the lightest material but have too much tape, glue and assorted goodies making the kite fly like a piece of flexiglass. Try keeping not just the skin, but everything about the kite low in weight. Fighters are rarely built to last - but more for speed and fighting ability.

Kiterpete
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Pete Rich