Jim,
thanks for even more pictures!...
What I loved about the plan I used (
www.tetralite.com) was that you could break the kite down and set it up in a matter of minutes... here's what the 34 cell looks like when it's broken down
[albumimg]651[/albumimg]
All you do is pop out the spreaders and push it together and you get that...
Also, the kite itself is very light... according to tetralite, it will fly in 2-3mph... of course, with the gusty winds we had here today, I wasn't going to chance it...
Also, the tubing that I used is something that we use at work so it was virtually free...
I am going to refine this plan once I fly the 34 cell and see how it reacts... One thing I didn't like was that everything is interconnected so making smaller sections and putting them together was out of the question... My intention has been to redesign the connectors to allow 4 cell sections to be put together in a variety of ways.... I'd also like to make the sails out of ripstop but thought I would just follow the plans to start...
Another interesting option they give you is to make the spreaders 18" rather than 12" in order to get some more dihedral on the smaller models and allow them to fly in lighter winds... Personally though, I have no doubt that the 34 will fly in really light winds... it damn near wants to fly just when I am walking with it in the house!
Specifically, I want to build one that spells "IKE"
