Date: Fri, 28 Apr 1995 04:57:39 -1000 From: Robert Christianson Message-Id: <3nqvp3$rv1@Owl.nstn.ca> Organization: Nova Scotia Technology Network Subject: Re: Fighter kites - Marks Comments > Do it! I started building fighters a couple or three years back and > absolutely love them. My favourite is a small Indian fighter I made > last year using the plans and advice in Phillipe Gallot's book Subject: Re: Fighter kites From: oakden@vo1.ph.liv.ac.uk (Mark Oakden) Mark your experience has been so much like mine! I started making fighters in August when I found a copy of Gallots book. So far I have made about 5 of the large fights and two (my favoriates) of the small Indian fighters. I use ripstop (both regular and Icarex) and bamboo. I like working the bamboo as well. So far the winds this spring (in Nova Scotia) have been very strong. I made a high windlarge Indian fighter that does quite well in high winds. The nose has extra weight and strenght. I used Dacron Mesh on the nose, and i have very two small bamboo sticks sewn on the sail about half way between the wing tips and the tail. These sticks keep the material from flaping. Gallots book is great, I use the metric mesurements. I have not tried tissue paper yet ( for those real light wind days I have had great sucess with the Deluxe Indian Fighters 3 for $19.50, Into the Wind). Are you using regular tissue paper? I am looking for a kite festival on the east coast (Maine, Mass. area) where I could fly with other fighter kites. So far I have never had the chance to fly/fight with others. Bob = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Date: Mon, 8 May 1995 22:51:01 -1000 From: oakden@vo1.ph.liv.ac.uk (Mark Oakden) Message-Id: Organization: The University of Liverpool Subject: Re: Fighter kites - Marks Comments In article <3nqvp3$rv1@Owl.nstn.ca> Robert Christianson writes: > I have not tried tissue paper yet ( for those real light wind > days I have had great sucess with the Deluxe Indian Fighters 3 > for $19.50, Into the Wind). Are you using regular tissue paper? Yep, just use regular gift-shop tissue paper, although I gather that Indian kites tend to be made from a specific (Madras?) tissue paper, which I haven't any experience of. The paper I buy here in the UK is manufactured by the company "Nigel Quiney" and looks at first inspection to be a bit too flimsy for kites. I have found it to be fine though (apart from one unfortunate incident with a tree). I tend to make a folded and glued "hem", about 5mm wide along all external edges of the kite to increase the strength and tear resistance. My kites even stand up to my leading edge launches so the paper must be more sturdy than it first appears :) Cheers, Mark. -- oakden@dice2.desy.de oakden@hep.ph.liv.ac.uk | Rock azaleas, I'm not politically incorrect, | flushed red I'm just differently articulate. | by cuckoo's cry. = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =