Hey guys,
Been a while since I've posted. Winter is here and I'm getting into a project. I'm building a 7 foot wingspan power stunt kite out of an Older X-Ply windsurfing sail. I will pull the battens out of the sail, sand them to ideal diameter and use them as kite spars for the frame of the kite. I need to find out what fast drying glue or contact cement would adhere to the x-ply. I'm using glue because I don't have a sewing machine. Basically, I will be folding the leading edges of the kite wings over long ways and gluing the ends down to the back of the kite So it will make a small sleeve to insert the kite spars into. I will then fold the ends of the wings over and glue to prevent the kite spars from sliding out of the sleeve. I'll put a center spar in the middle of the kite and fold over the top and bottom of the kite a little to and glue it to keep that spar into place. I will then connect some spars crossways to keep the kite wing out in a fixed position. Sail tape will be used to lay over the area I glued to reinforce and protect the leading edges. Any advice is encouraged on this build. Thanks!
This is a free hand sketch of my kite design.
Do you think gorilla tape will work?
Searching some more, I found x-ply tape. Didn't even realise that was around. It's pretty expensive. Still wondering if gorilla tape will be just as good. There is a reflection tape called, "croc tape" that looked pretty cool looking and states to have a pretty nice adhesive bond. Any ideas with these items?
Select to expand quoteelmo said..
Sticky back fabric sail repair tape
Will any sail tape work?
These kites look like they are made from x-ply and sail material and some scrim perhaps.
Hey Magic, cool project! I've repaired old stunt kites using the cloth sailtape. But all seams were originally stitched. I guess if you had a big enough contact patch along the seam it'd work fine. I've used Xply sail tape sheets to repair a monster knee hole on one of my Ezzys. No sign of it peeling off, been there over 12 months now. I think the Xply stuff is stickier n thinner n pretty tough. Cant see why it wouldn't work.
Select to expand quoteBen1973 said..
This is how kite surfing starts, stop now before it's to late
Haaa! It's possible, but no
I love windsurfing too much, and learned to windfoil this year. I just love wind foiling now as much as windsurfing! Wind foiling opened up so many more days of being on the water. I'm out foiling in 10 mph winds and able to cruise too lulls in the 5-7 mph wind speed range and still be on foil. It's incredible.
I've been flying stunt kites on and off since I was a kid. I need a wind activity when the season is over, and stunt kite flying is doing just that. I have a smaller stunt kite I fly around now that I'm enjoying. Haven't used this kite in about 15 years. It was missing a spar for the left wing, so I took an old batten from one of my older sails, sanded it to the same diameter that the other spar is. It flyes great again. I'm kinda hooked with stunt kite flying now and want to build a super size kite.
Select to expand quoteTardy said..
one good thing about using sail X-ply .it will be easier to water start 
Hey there Tardy! Funny you say that, because some videos show kite flyers landing the kite on top of the water, then launching it off the water. Then some flip the kite back wards on the water, then flip it back the other way to launch again. My co worker's friend I just found out flyes kites .professionally, and is sponcered. I had no idea kite flying was even a sport, let alone getting paid to fly.
I made one a while ago and it was too heavy due to the battens.
If you have some small hollow carbon tube battens, that could work.
Select to expand quotejusavina said..
I made one a while ago and it was too heavy due to the battens.
If you have some small hollow carbon tube battens, that could work.
Do you remember what size diameter battens you used?
Select to expand quoteMagicRide said..jusavina said..
I made one a while ago and it was too heavy due to the battens.
If you have some small hollow carbon tube battens, that could work.
Do you remember what size diameter battens you used?
I didn't have any tubing , only yacht battens. The thing never took of the ground 
Depends what strength wind you wish to fly it. As a kid my Grandfather n I made a diamond kite from rooftop Tv aerial alloy tubing. Was about 1m at biggest dimension. Covered it in brown paper glued with flour n water. Used a strip of bedsheets as the tail.
This precambrian kite needed a solid 20kts to fly. Had it spooled up on a very heavy fishing rod using 80lb Dacron. We would stand at the surf edge n fly it over houses n Hedges Avenue at Mermaid Beach.
Select to expand quotejusavina said..MagicRide said..jusavina said..
I made one a while ago and it was too heavy due to the battens.
If you have some small hollow carbon tube battens, that could work.
Do you remember what size diameter battens you used?
I didn't have any tubing , only yacht battens. The thing never took of the ground
I'm using the upper half of windsurf battens off a severne 6.7 sail. They aren't hollow, but are round and tapered for the wings and not tapered for the rest of the kite frame. The battens used weigh in at 1.4 pounds and are 6.35mm in diameter. I am planing on Building the kite under 5 pounds.
Select to expand quoteolskool said..
Depends what strength wind you wish to fly it. As a kid my Grandfather n I made a diamond kite from rooftop Tv aerial alloy tubing. Was about 1m at biggest dimension. Covered it in brown paper glued with flour n water. Used a strip of bedsheets as the tail.
This precambrian kite needed a solid 20kts to fly. Had it spooled up on a very heavy fishing rod using 80lb Dacron. We would stand at the surf edge n fly it over houses n Hedges Avenue at Mermaid Beach.
I agree! If you look how heavy the kites are for kite boarding, they are heavy, but large enough to make up for the added weight, so they fly well. I think I just have to see if my kite at 7 feet long wing to wing and 2.5 feet tall will be enough sail to fly at under 5 pounds. I'm thinking it will be a med- high wind kite.
Select to expand quoteMadge said..
I recon it'll be too heavy, you want spinnaker cloth or kite cloth for it.
Madge,
You won! I was talking to a kite expert in designing and building kites and he was telling me the kite would be too heavy. I would need hallow spars which need to be carbon content.
We talked for a while, and I learned a lot from the guy. I like when people take the time to go over details with you.
Thanks guys for your input. Stay healthy!
Hey MagicR,
Any chance you could talk in metres and kilograms so it makes sense to everyone in the developed world 
?
Select to expand quoteCarantoc said..
Hey MagicR,
Any chance you could talk in metres and kilograms so it makes sense to everyone in the developed world ?
Sometimes I forget that I'm on an Australian web page. Here in the states, we're so use to communicating measurements in pounds, inches, feet, yards, miles, mm, mph, etc... But, thanks for the reminder.
