Kites with an aspect ratio of larger than 8.
On smartphone: use finger for scrolling sideways to be able to see all pictures.
Ruler of the Sky
Ruler of the Sky | Highphen
Highphen | ||
SHARK III
SHARK III | SHARK IV
SHARK IV | ||
akka
akka | akka (c)
akka | akka (e)
akka - the flight | |
Niëlje
From SHARK IV to Niëlje | Niëlje
Niëlje | Niëlje experiments
Niëlje development | Niëlje - the result
Niëlje 2020 |
Many experiments were made to get rid of the wobbling in zenith and also to make the balance tuning more easy:
Hopefully #4 in the blue series will be the one that works!
Here is #1 in the blue series, with the second keel added.
Prototype 3 flew so well so I decided it was time to give a name. I gave the kite the name akka (with a lower case initial a not to disturb the balance) like the wild leader goose in The Wonderful Adventures of Nils Holgersson.
I had finished the first prototype late one evening: it was already dark, but there was a light breeze on my beach and I was anxious to see if this kite really could fly.
And it did! Not perfectly but well enough for me to tell me my thinking had not been all that bad.
Already in my second year of kite making I started to experiment with a single point wing. (I had this crush on single point and high aspect ratio quite early in my kite life). I had made one wing of IKEA bamboo and some porous material for garden use that did fly, but dived once in a while.
I had this idea of a self stabilizing wing, so I thought I knew how the wings should be made but I realized that I had not the skill to do that.
The sail ‘battens’ must be in fixed angles, both horizontally and sideways, and I thought that the only way to achieve this would be to drill through the spreader tube with a high precision. Which I knew I couldn’t do.
Furthermore I could not figure out how to make the centre section. Not until Henrik Fristrup Jensen showed me his wing kite in a hotel room in Beichuan, China, in March 2017.
Somehow I managed to find a drawing (on paper) of the wing shape I had in mind in 1993, worked with it a bit and started making the kite. I did the drilling that I thought I couldn’t do, and sure enough: the precision was not high!
Working ad hoc I made many mistakes and it didn’t turn out the way I wanted so I was doubtful that it would fly, but nevertheless I tested it and it actually flew! Not perfectly, but on a good angle and certainly well enough to prove that my original idea was correct. A good start for prototype 2.
The fourth SHARK I built (with a few changes from the Blue Wing) I had big problems getting airborne. I built it already in late 90’s (or possibly early 00’s), and over the years I made small changes, tested, failed and then let it rest. After moving into my house in Bali I made again changes on the bridle but didn’t have the wind to try it: it was hanging on my wall ready to go. One evening, just at sunset, I felt the urge to test it and though there only was a small breeze it flew!
The next day was wind better and I could finally see the kite steady high up in the sky.
As quite a long time had passed since I first built it I actually had learned a lot about making kites, and now I wanted to make it again but more simple. But that was not so simple: The crucial part of the kite is the sail that forms the in-sail dihedral; what I call Wipe (it has a wiping shape) and I did not have the drawing for this. However, by chance when I was rearranging the storage I found the template for the Wipe in a suitcase and could get going. Still, that simplification process went on for 2 years…
The result would be Niëlje, see further down.
In my first years of kite making I read that kites with a high aspect ratio usually fly at a higher angle. This intrigued me and I wanted to make a kite with a super high aspect ratio. In Sala Drak & Tangosällskap there was a ‘habit’ of making kites of daily life objects with a twist, and the first high aspect ratio object that came to my mind was a ruler so I borrowed from another member a ruler of that kind that I myself used in primary school: a 30 centimeter wooden ruler.
The design includes in-sail dihedrals by using a sail shape that I call Wipe.
It took some experiments to get it steadily airborne.
The SHARK was born: Super High Aspect Ratio Kite, a kite with an aspect ratio larger than 8.
Ruler of the Sky – Width: 415 cm Height: 42 cm AR: 9.9
Primary school wooden ruler
In my first years of kite making I read that kites with a high aspect ratio usually fly at a higher angle. This intrigued me and I wanted to make a kite with a super high aspect ratio. In Sala Drak & Tangosällskap there was a ‘habit’ of making kites of daily life objects with a twist, and the first high aspect ratio object that came to my mind was a ruler so I borrowed from another member a ruler of that kind that I myself used in primary school: a 30 centimeter wooden ruler.
The design includes in-sail dihedrals by using a sail shape that I call Wipe.
It took some experiments to get it steadily airborne.
The SHARK was born: Super High Aspect Ratio Kite, a kite with an aspect ratio larger than 8.
Ruler of the Sky – Width: 415 cm Height: 42 cm AR: 9.9
Primary school wooden ruler
In my first years of kite making I read that kites with a high aspect ratio usually fly at a higher angle. This intrigued me and I wanted to make a kite with a super high aspect ratio. In Sala Drak & Tangosällskap there was a ‘habit’ of making kites of daily life objects with a twist, and the first high aspect ratio object that came to my mind was a ruler so I borrowed from another member a ruler of that kind that I myself used in primary school: a 30 centimeter wooden ruler.
The design includes in-sail dihedrals by using a sail shape that I call Wipe.
It took some experiments to get it steadily airborne.
The SHARK was born: Super High Aspect Ratio Kite, a kite with an aspect ratio larger than 8.
Ruler of the Sky – Width: 415 cm Height: 42 cm AR: 9.9
Primary school wooden ruler
In my first years of kite making I read that kites with a high aspect ratio usually fly at a higher angle. This intrigued me and I wanted to make a kite with a super high aspect ratio. In Sala Drak & Tangosällskap there was a ‘habit’ of making kites of daily life objects with a twist, and the first high aspect ratio object that came to my mind was a ruler so I borrowed from another member a ruler of that kind that I myself used in primary school: a 30 centimeter wooden ruler.
The design includes in-sail dihedrals by using a sail shape that I call Wipe.
It took some experiments to get it steadily airborne.
The SHARK was born: Super High Aspect Ratio Kite, a kite with an aspect ratio larger than 8.
Ruler of the Sky – Width: 415 cm Height: 42 cm AR: 9.9
Primary school wooden ruler
In my first years of kite making I read that kites with a high aspect ratio usually fly at a higher angle. This intrigued me and I wanted to make a kite with a super high aspect ratio. In Sala Drak & Tangosällskap there was a ‘habit’ of making kites of daily life objects with a twist, and the first high aspect ratio object that came to my mind was a ruler so I borrowed from another member a ruler of that kind that I myself used in primary school: a 30 centimeter wooden ruler.
The design includes in-sail dihedrals by using a sail shape that I call Wipe.
It took some experiments to get it steadily airborne.
The SHARK was born: Super High Aspect Ratio Kite, a kite with an aspect ratio larger than 8.
Ruler of the Sky – Width: 415 cm Height: 42 cm AR: 9.9
Primary school wooden ruler
In my first years of kite making I read that kites with a high aspect ratio usually fly at a higher angle. This intrigued me and I wanted to make a kite with a super high aspect ratio. In Sala Drak & Tangosällskap there was a ‘habit’ of making kites of daily life objects with a twist, and the first high aspect ratio object that came to my mind was a ruler so I borrowed from another member a ruler of that kind that I myself used in primary school: a 30 centimeter wooden ruler.
The design includes in-sail dihedrals by using a sail shape that I call Wipe.
It took some experiments to get it steadily airborne.
The SHARK was born: Super High Aspect Ratio Kite, a kite with an aspect ratio larger than 8.
Ruler of the Sky – Width: 415 cm Height: 42 cm AR: 9.9
Primary school wooden ruler
In my first years of kite making I read that kites with a high aspect ratio usually fly at a higher angle. This intrigued me and I wanted to make a kite with a super high aspect ratio. In Sala Drak & Tangosällskap there was a ‘habit’ of making kites of daily life objects with a twist, and the first high aspect ratio object that came to my mind was a ruler so I borrowed from another member a ruler of that kind that I myself used in primary school: a 30 centimeter wooden ruler.
The design includes in-sail dihedrals by using a sail shape that I call Wipe.
It took some experiments to get it steadily airborne.
The SHARK was born: Super High Aspect Ratio Kite, a kite with an aspect ratio larger than 8.
Ruler of the Sky – Width: 415 cm Height: 42 cm AR: 9.9
Primary school wooden ruler
The fourth SHARK I built (with a few changes from the Blue Wing) I had big problems getting airborne. I built it already in late 90’s (or possibly early 00’s), and over the years I made small changes, tested, failed and then let it rest. After moving into my house in Bali I made again changes on the bridle but didn’t have the wind to try it: it was hanging on my wall ready to go. One evening, just at sunset, I felt the urge to test it and though there only was a small breeze it flew!
The next day was wind better and I could finally see the kite steady high up in the sky.
As quite a long time had passed since I first built it I actually had learned a lot about making kites, and now I wanted to make it again but more simple. But that was not so simple: The crucial part of the kite is the sail that forms the in-sail dihedral; what I call Wipe (it has a wiping shape) and I did not have the drawing for this. However, by chance when I was rearranging the storage I found the template for the Wipe in a suitcase and could get going. Still, that simplification process went on for 2 years…
The result would be Niëlje, see further down.
In my first years of kite making I read that kites with a high aspect ratio usually fly at a higher angle. This intrigued me and I wanted to make a kite with a super high aspect ratio. In Sala Drak & Tangosällskap there was a ‘habit’ of making kites of daily life objects with a twist, and the first high aspect ratio object that came to my mind was a ruler so I borrowed from another member a ruler of that kind that I myself used in primary school: a 30 centimeter wooden ruler.
The design includes in-sail dihedrals by using a sail shape that I call Wipe.
It took some experiments to get it steadily airborne.
The SHARK was born: Super High Aspect Ratio Kite, a kite with an aspect ratio larger than 8.
Ruler of the Sky – Width: 415 cm Height: 42 cm AR: 9.9
Primary school wooden ruler
The fourth SHARK I built (with a few changes from the Blue Wing) I had big problems getting airborne. I built it already in late 90’s (or possibly early 00’s), and over the years I made small changes, tested, failed and then let it rest. After moving into my house in Bali I made again changes on the bridle but didn’t have the wind to try it: it was hanging on my wall ready to go. One evening, just at sunset, I felt the urge to test it and though there only was a small breeze it flew!
The next day was wind better and I could finally see the kite steady high up in the sky.
As quite a long time had passed since I first built it I actually had learned a lot about making kites, and now I wanted to make it again but more simple. But that was not so simple: The crucial part of the kite is the sail that forms the in-sail dihedral; what I call Wipe (it has a wiping shape) and I did not have the drawing for this. However, by chance when I was rearranging the storage I found the template for the Wipe in a suitcase and could get going. Still, that simplification process went on for 2 years…
The result would be Niëlje, see further down.
In my first years of kite making I read that kites with a high aspect ratio usually fly at a higher angle. This intrigued me and I wanted to make a kite with a super high aspect ratio. In Sala Drak & Tangosällskap there was a ‘habit’ of making kites of daily life objects with a twist, and the first high aspect ratio object that came to my mind was a ruler so I borrowed from another member a ruler of that kind that I myself used in primary school: a 30 centimeter wooden ruler.
The design includes in-sail dihedrals by using a sail shape that I call Wipe.
It took some experiments to get it steadily airborne.
The SHARK was born: Super High Aspect Ratio Kite, a kite with an aspect ratio larger than 8.
Ruler of the Sky – Width: 415 cm Height: 42 cm AR: 9.9
Primary school wooden ruler
Already in my second year of kite making I started to experiment with a single point wing. (I had this crush on single point and high aspect ratio quite early in my kite life). I had made one wing of IKEA bamboo and some porous material for garden use that did fly, but dived once in a while.
I had this idea of a self stabilizing wing, so I thought I knew how the wings should be made but I realized that I had not the skill to do that.
The sail ‘battens’ must be in fixed angles, both horizontally and sideways, and I thought that the only way to achieve this would be to drill through the spreader tube with a high precision. Which I knew I couldn’t do.
Furthermore I could not figure out how to make the centre section. Not until Henrik Fristrup Jensen showed me his wing kite in a hotel room in Beichuan, China, in March 2017.
Somehow I managed to find a drawing (on paper) of the wing shape I had in mind in 1993, worked with it a bit and started making the kite. I did the drilling that I thought I couldn’t do, and sure enough: the precision was not high!
Working ad hoc I made many mistakes and it didn’t turn out the way I wanted so I was doubtful that it would fly, but nevertheless I tested it and it actually flew! Not perfectly, but on a good angle and certainly well enough to prove that my original idea was correct. A good start for prototype 2.
The fourth SHARK I built (with a few changes from the Blue Wing) I had big problems getting airborne. I built it already in late 90’s (or possibly early 00’s), and over the years I made small changes, tested, failed and then let it rest. After moving into my house in Bali I made again changes on the bridle but didn’t have the wind to try it: it was hanging on my wall ready to go. One evening, just at sunset, I felt the urge to test it and though there only was a small breeze it flew!
The next day was wind better and I could finally see the kite steady high up in the sky.
As quite a long time had passed since I first built it I actually had learned a lot about making kites, and now I wanted to make it again but more simple. But that was not so simple: The crucial part of the kite is the sail that forms the in-sail dihedral; what I call Wipe (it has a wiping shape) and I did not have the drawing for this. However, by chance when I was rearranging the storage I found the template for the Wipe in a suitcase and could get going. Still, that simplification process went on for 2 years…
The result would be Niëlje, see further down.
In my first years of kite making I read that kites with a high aspect ratio usually fly at a higher angle. This intrigued me and I wanted to make a kite with a super high aspect ratio. In Sala Drak & Tangosällskap there was a ‘habit’ of making kites of daily life objects with a twist, and the first high aspect ratio object that came to my mind was a ruler so I borrowed from another member a ruler of that kind that I myself used in primary school: a 30 centimeter wooden ruler.
The design includes in-sail dihedrals by using a sail shape that I call Wipe.
It took some experiments to get it steadily airborne.
The SHARK was born: Super High Aspect Ratio Kite, a kite with an aspect ratio larger than 8.
Ruler of the Sky – Width: 415 cm Height: 42 cm AR: 9.9
Primary school wooden ruler
I had finished the first prototype late one evening: it was already dark, but there was a light breeze on my beach and I was anxious to see if this kite really could fly.
And it did! Not perfectly but well enough for me to tell me my thinking had not been all that bad.
Already in my second year of kite making I started to experiment with a single point wing. (I had this crush on single point and high aspect ratio quite early in my kite life). I had made one wing of IKEA bamboo and some porous material for garden use that did fly, but dived once in a while.
I had this idea of a self stabilizing wing, so I thought I knew how the wings should be made but I realized that I had not the skill to do that.
The sail ‘battens’ must be in fixed angles, both horizontally and sideways, and I thought that the only way to achieve this would be to drill through the spreader tube with a high precision. Which I knew I couldn’t do.
Furthermore I could not figure out how to make the centre section. Not until Henrik Fristrup Jensen showed me his wing kite in a hotel room in Beichuan, China, in March 2017.
Somehow I managed to find a drawing (on paper) of the wing shape I had in mind in 1993, worked with it a bit and started making the kite. I did the drilling that I thought I couldn’t do, and sure enough: the precision was not high!
Working ad hoc I made many mistakes and it didn’t turn out the way I wanted so I was doubtful that it would fly, but nevertheless I tested it and it actually flew! Not perfectly, but on a good angle and certainly well enough to prove that my original idea was correct. A good start for prototype 2.
The fourth SHARK I built (with a few changes from the Blue Wing) I had big problems getting airborne. I built it already in late 90’s (or possibly early 00’s), and over the years I made small changes, tested, failed and then let it rest. After moving into my house in Bali I made again changes on the bridle but didn’t have the wind to try it: it was hanging on my wall ready to go. One evening, just at sunset, I felt the urge to test it and though there only was a small breeze it flew!
The next day was wind better and I could finally see the kite steady high up in the sky.
As quite a long time had passed since I first built it I actually had learned a lot about making kites, and now I wanted to make it again but more simple. But that was not so simple: The crucial part of the kite is the sail that forms the in-sail dihedral; what I call Wipe (it has a wiping shape) and I did not have the drawing for this. However, by chance when I was rearranging the storage I found the template for the Wipe in a suitcase and could get going. Still, that simplification process went on for 2 years…
The result would be Niëlje, see further down.
In my first years of kite making I read that kites with a high aspect ratio usually fly at a higher angle. This intrigued me and I wanted to make a kite with a super high aspect ratio. In Sala Drak & Tangosällskap there was a ‘habit’ of making kites of daily life objects with a twist, and the first high aspect ratio object that came to my mind was a ruler so I borrowed from another member a ruler of that kind that I myself used in primary school: a 30 centimeter wooden ruler.
The design includes in-sail dihedrals by using a sail shape that I call Wipe.
It took some experiments to get it steadily airborne.
The SHARK was born: Super High Aspect Ratio Kite, a kite with an aspect ratio larger than 8.
Ruler of the Sky – Width: 415 cm Height: 42 cm AR: 9.9
Primary school wooden ruler
I had finished the first prototype late one evening: it was already dark, but there was a light breeze on my beach and I was anxious to see if this kite really could fly.
And it did! Not perfectly but well enough for me to tell me my thinking had not been all that bad.
Already in my second year of kite making I started to experiment with a single point wing. (I had this crush on single point and high aspect ratio quite early in my kite life). I had made one wing of IKEA bamboo and some porous material for garden use that did fly, but dived once in a while.
I had this idea of a self stabilizing wing, so I thought I knew how the wings should be made but I realized that I had not the skill to do that.
The sail ‘battens’ must be in fixed angles, both horizontally and sideways, and I thought that the only way to achieve this would be to drill through the spreader tube with a high precision. Which I knew I couldn’t do.
Furthermore I could not figure out how to make the centre section. Not until Henrik Fristrup Jensen showed me his wing kite in a hotel room in Beichuan, China, in March 2017.
Somehow I managed to find a drawing (on paper) of the wing shape I had in mind in 1993, worked with it a bit and started making the kite. I did the drilling that I thought I couldn’t do, and sure enough: the precision was not high!
Working ad hoc I made many mistakes and it didn’t turn out the way I wanted so I was doubtful that it would fly, but nevertheless I tested it and it actually flew! Not perfectly, but on a good angle and certainly well enough to prove that my original idea was correct. A good start for prototype 2.
The fourth SHARK I built (with a few changes from the Blue Wing) I had big problems getting airborne. I built it already in late 90’s (or possibly early 00’s), and over the years I made small changes, tested, failed and then let it rest. After moving into my house in Bali I made again changes on the bridle but didn’t have the wind to try it: it was hanging on my wall ready to go. One evening, just at sunset, I felt the urge to test it and though there only was a small breeze it flew!
The next day was wind better and I could finally see the kite steady high up in the sky.
As quite a long time had passed since I first built it I actually had learned a lot about making kites, and now I wanted to make it again but more simple. But that was not so simple: The crucial part of the kite is the sail that forms the in-sail dihedral; what I call Wipe (it has a wiping shape) and I did not have the drawing for this. However, by chance when I was rearranging the storage I found the template for the Wipe in a suitcase and could get going. Still, that simplification process went on for 2 years…
The result would be Niëlje, see further down.
In my first years of kite making I read that kites with a high aspect ratio usually fly at a higher angle. This intrigued me and I wanted to make a kite with a super high aspect ratio. In Sala Drak & Tangosällskap there was a ‘habit’ of making kites of daily life objects with a twist, and the first high aspect ratio object that came to my mind was a ruler so I borrowed from another member a ruler of that kind that I myself used in primary school: a 30 centimeter wooden ruler.
The design includes in-sail dihedrals by using a sail shape that I call Wipe.
It took some experiments to get it steadily airborne.
The SHARK was born: Super High Aspect Ratio Kite, a kite with an aspect ratio larger than 8.
Ruler of the Sky – Width: 415 cm Height: 42 cm AR: 9.9
Primary school wooden ruler
Prototype 3 flew so well so I decided it was time to give a name. I gave the kite the name akka (with a lower case initial a not to disturb the balance) like the wild leader goose in The Wonderful Adventures of Nils Holgersson.
I had finished the first prototype late one evening: it was already dark, but there was a light breeze on my beach and I was anxious to see if this kite really could fly.
And it did! Not perfectly but well enough for me to tell me my thinking had not been all that bad.
Already in my second year of kite making I started to experiment with a single point wing. (I had this crush on single point and high aspect ratio quite early in my kite life). I had made one wing of IKEA bamboo and some porous material for garden use that did fly, but dived once in a while.
I had this idea of a self stabilizing wing, so I thought I knew how the wings should be made but I realized that I had not the skill to do that.
The sail ‘battens’ must be in fixed angles, both horizontally and sideways, and I thought that the only way to achieve this would be to drill through the spreader tube with a high precision. Which I knew I couldn’t do.
Furthermore I could not figure out how to make the centre section. Not until Henrik Fristrup Jensen showed me his wing kite in a hotel room in Beichuan, China, in March 2017.
Somehow I managed to find a drawing (on paper) of the wing shape I had in mind in 1993, worked with it a bit and started making the kite. I did the drilling that I thought I couldn’t do, and sure enough: the precision was not high!
Working ad hoc I made many mistakes and it didn’t turn out the way I wanted so I was doubtful that it would fly, but nevertheless I tested it and it actually flew! Not perfectly, but on a good angle and certainly well enough to prove that my original idea was correct. A good start for prototype 2.
The fourth SHARK I built (with a few changes from the Blue Wing) I had big problems getting airborne. I built it already in late 90’s (or possibly early 00’s), and over the years I made small changes, tested, failed and then let it rest. After moving into my house in Bali I made again changes on the bridle but didn’t have the wind to try it: it was hanging on my wall ready to go. One evening, just at sunset, I felt the urge to test it and though there only was a small breeze it flew!
The next day was wind better and I could finally see the kite steady high up in the sky.
As quite a long time had passed since I first built it I actually had learned a lot about making kites, and now I wanted to make it again but more simple. But that was not so simple: The crucial part of the kite is the sail that forms the in-sail dihedral; what I call Wipe (it has a wiping shape) and I did not have the drawing for this. However, by chance when I was rearranging the storage I found the template for the Wipe in a suitcase and could get going. Still, that simplification process went on for 2 years…
The result would be Niëlje, see further down.
In my first years of kite making I read that kites with a high aspect ratio usually fly at a higher angle. This intrigued me and I wanted to make a kite with a super high aspect ratio. In Sala Drak & Tangosällskap there was a ‘habit’ of making kites of daily life objects with a twist, and the first high aspect ratio object that came to my mind was a ruler so I borrowed from another member a ruler of that kind that I myself used in primary school: a 30 centimeter wooden ruler.
The design includes in-sail dihedrals by using a sail shape that I call Wipe.
It took some experiments to get it steadily airborne.
The SHARK was born: Super High Aspect Ratio Kite, a kite with an aspect ratio larger than 8.
Ruler of the Sky – Width: 415 cm Height: 42 cm AR: 9.9
Primary school wooden ruler
Prototype 3 flew so well so I decided it was time to give a name. I gave the kite the name akka (with a lower case initial a not to disturb the balance) like the wild leader goose in The Wonderful Adventures of Nils Holgersson.
I had finished the first prototype late one evening: it was already dark, but there was a light breeze on my beach and I was anxious to see if this kite really could fly.
And it did! Not perfectly but well enough for me to tell me my thinking had not been all that bad.
Already in my second year of kite making I started to experiment with a single point wing. (I had this crush on single point and high aspect ratio quite early in my kite life). I had made one wing of IKEA bamboo and some porous material for garden use that did fly, but dived once in a while.
I had this idea of a self stabilizing wing, so I thought I knew how the wings should be made but I realized that I had not the skill to do that.
The sail ‘battens’ must be in fixed angles, both horizontally and sideways, and I thought that the only way to achieve this would be to drill through the spreader tube with a high precision. Which I knew I couldn’t do.
Furthermore I could not figure out how to make the centre section. Not until Henrik Fristrup Jensen showed me his wing kite in a hotel room in Beichuan, China, in March 2017.
Somehow I managed to find a drawing (on paper) of the wing shape I had in mind in 1993, worked with it a bit and started making the kite. I did the drilling that I thought I couldn’t do, and sure enough: the precision was not high!
Working ad hoc I made many mistakes and it didn’t turn out the way I wanted so I was doubtful that it would fly, but nevertheless I tested it and it actually flew! Not perfectly, but on a good angle and certainly well enough to prove that my original idea was correct. A good start for prototype 2.
The fourth SHARK I built (with a few changes from the Blue Wing) I had big problems getting airborne. I built it already in late 90’s (or possibly early 00’s), and over the years I made small changes, tested, failed and then let it rest. After moving into my house in Bali I made again changes on the bridle but didn’t have the wind to try it: it was hanging on my wall ready to go. One evening, just at sunset, I felt the urge to test it and though there only was a small breeze it flew!
The next day was wind better and I could finally see the kite steady high up in the sky.
As quite a long time had passed since I first built it I actually had learned a lot about making kites, and now I wanted to make it again but more simple. But that was not so simple: The crucial part of the kite is the sail that forms the in-sail dihedral; what I call Wipe (it has a wiping shape) and I did not have the drawing for this. However, by chance when I was rearranging the storage I found the template for the Wipe in a suitcase and could get going. Still, that simplification process went on for 2 years…
The result would be Niëlje, see further down.
In my first years of kite making I read that kites with a high aspect ratio usually fly at a higher angle. This intrigued me and I wanted to make a kite with a super high aspect ratio. In Sala Drak & Tangosällskap there was a ‘habit’ of making kites of daily life objects with a twist, and the first high aspect ratio object that came to my mind was a ruler so I borrowed from another member a ruler of that kind that I myself used in primary school: a 30 centimeter wooden ruler.
The design includes in-sail dihedrals by using a sail shape that I call Wipe.
It took some experiments to get it steadily airborne.
The SHARK was born: Super High Aspect Ratio Kite, a kite with an aspect ratio larger than 8.
Ruler of the Sky – Width: 415 cm Height: 42 cm AR: 9.9
Primary school wooden ruler
Prototype 3 flew so well so I decided it was time to give a name. I gave the kite the name akka (with a lower case initial a not to disturb the balance) like the wild leader goose in The Wonderful Adventures of Nils Holgersson.
I had finished the first prototype late one evening: it was already dark, but there was a light breeze on my beach and I was anxious to see if this kite really could fly.
And it did! Not perfectly but well enough for me to tell me my thinking had not been all that bad.
Already in my second year of kite making I started to experiment with a single point wing. (I had this crush on single point and high aspect ratio quite early in my kite life). I had made one wing of IKEA bamboo and some porous material for garden use that did fly, but dived once in a while.
I had this idea of a self stabilizing wing, so I thought I knew how the wings should be made but I realized that I had not the skill to do that.
The sail ‘battens’ must be in fixed angles, both horizontally and sideways, and I thought that the only way to achieve this would be to drill through the spreader tube with a high precision. Which I knew I couldn’t do.
Furthermore I could not figure out how to make the centre section. Not until Henrik Fristrup Jensen showed me his wing kite in a hotel room in Beichuan, China, in March 2017.
Somehow I managed to find a drawing (on paper) of the wing shape I had in mind in 1993, worked with it a bit and started making the kite. I did the drilling that I thought I couldn’t do, and sure enough: the precision was not high!
Working ad hoc I made many mistakes and it didn’t turn out the way I wanted so I was doubtful that it would fly, but nevertheless I tested it and it actually flew! Not perfectly, but on a good angle and certainly well enough to prove that my original idea was correct. A good start for prototype 2.
The fourth SHARK I built (with a few changes from the Blue Wing) I had big problems getting airborne. I built it already in late 90’s (or possibly early 00’s), and over the years I made small changes, tested, failed and then let it rest. After moving into my house in Bali I made again changes on the bridle but didn’t have the wind to try it: it was hanging on my wall ready to go. One evening, just at sunset, I felt the urge to test it and though there only was a small breeze it flew!
The next day was wind better and I could finally see the kite steady high up in the sky.
As quite a long time had passed since I first built it I actually had learned a lot about making kites, and now I wanted to make it again but more simple. But that was not so simple: The crucial part of the kite is the sail that forms the in-sail dihedral; what I call Wipe (it has a wiping shape) and I did not have the drawing for this. However, by chance when I was rearranging the storage I found the template for the Wipe in a suitcase and could get going. Still, that simplification process went on for 2 years…
The result would be Niëlje, see further down.
In my first years of kite making I read that kites with a high aspect ratio usually fly at a higher angle. This intrigued me and I wanted to make a kite with a super high aspect ratio. In Sala Drak & Tangosällskap there was a ‘habit’ of making kites of daily life objects with a twist, and the first high aspect ratio object that came to my mind was a ruler so I borrowed from another member a ruler of that kind that I myself used in primary school: a 30 centimeter wooden ruler.
The design includes in-sail dihedrals by using a sail shape that I call Wipe.
It took some experiments to get it steadily airborne.
The SHARK was born: Super High Aspect Ratio Kite, a kite with an aspect ratio larger than 8.
Ruler of the Sky – Width: 415 cm Height: 42 cm AR: 9.9
Primary school wooden ruler
Prototype 3 flew so well so I decided it was time to give a name. I gave the kite the name akka (with a lower case initial a not to disturb the balance) like the wild leader goose in The Wonderful Adventures of Nils Holgersson.
I had finished the first prototype late one evening: it was already dark, but there was a light breeze on my beach and I was anxious to see if this kite really could fly.
And it did! Not perfectly but well enough for me to tell me my thinking had not been all that bad.
Already in my second year of kite making I started to experiment with a single point wing. (I had this crush on single point and high aspect ratio quite early in my kite life). I had made one wing of IKEA bamboo and some porous material for garden use that did fly, but dived once in a while.
I had this idea of a self stabilizing wing, so I thought I knew how the wings should be made but I realized that I had not the skill to do that.
The sail ‘battens’ must be in fixed angles, both horizontally and sideways, and I thought that the only way to achieve this would be to drill through the spreader tube with a high precision. Which I knew I couldn’t do.
Furthermore I could not figure out how to make the centre section. Not until Henrik Fristrup Jensen showed me his wing kite in a hotel room in Beichuan, China, in March 2017.
Somehow I managed to find a drawing (on paper) of the wing shape I had in mind in 1993, worked with it a bit and started making the kite. I did the drilling that I thought I couldn’t do, and sure enough: the precision was not high!
Working ad hoc I made many mistakes and it didn’t turn out the way I wanted so I was doubtful that it would fly, but nevertheless I tested it and it actually flew! Not perfectly, but on a good angle and certainly well enough to prove that my original idea was correct. A good start for prototype 2.
The fourth SHARK I built (with a few changes from the Blue Wing) I had big problems getting airborne. I built it already in late 90’s (or possibly early 00’s), and over the years I made small changes, tested, failed and then let it rest. After moving into my house in Bali I made again changes on the bridle but didn’t have the wind to try it: it was hanging on my wall ready to go. One evening, just at sunset, I felt the urge to test it and though there only was a small breeze it flew!
The next day was wind better and I could finally see the kite steady high up in the sky.
As quite a long time had passed since I first built it I actually had learned a lot about making kites, and now I wanted to make it again but more simple. But that was not so simple: The crucial part of the kite is the sail that forms the in-sail dihedral; what I call Wipe (it has a wiping shape) and I did not have the drawing for this. However, by chance when I was rearranging the storage I found the template for the Wipe in a suitcase and could get going. Still, that simplification process went on for 2 years…
The result would be Niëlje, see further down.
In my first years of kite making I read that kites with a high aspect ratio usually fly at a higher angle. This intrigued me and I wanted to make a kite with a super high aspect ratio. In Sala Drak & Tangosällskap there was a ‘habit’ of making kites of daily life objects with a twist, and the first high aspect ratio object that came to my mind was a ruler so I borrowed from another member a ruler of that kind that I myself used in primary school: a 30 centimeter wooden ruler.
The design includes in-sail dihedrals by using a sail shape that I call Wipe.
It took some experiments to get it steadily airborne.
The SHARK was born: Super High Aspect Ratio Kite, a kite with an aspect ratio larger than 8.
Ruler of the Sky – Width: 415 cm Height: 42 cm AR: 9.9
Primary school wooden ruler
Prototype 3 flew so well so I decided it was time to give a name. I gave the kite the name akka (with a lower case initial a not to disturb the balance) like the wild leader goose in The Wonderful Adventures of Nils Holgersson.
I had finished the first prototype late one evening: it was already dark, but there was a light breeze on my beach and I was anxious to see if this kite really could fly.
And it did! Not perfectly but well enough for me to tell me my thinking had not been all that bad.
Already in my second year of kite making I started to experiment with a single point wing. (I had this crush on single point and high aspect ratio quite early in my kite life). I had made one wing of IKEA bamboo and some porous material for garden use that did fly, but dived once in a while.
I had this idea of a self stabilizing wing, so I thought I knew how the wings should be made but I realized that I had not the skill to do that.
The sail ‘battens’ must be in fixed angles, both horizontally and sideways, and I thought that the only way to achieve this would be to drill through the spreader tube with a high precision. Which I knew I couldn’t do.
Furthermore I could not figure out how to make the centre section. Not until Henrik Fristrup Jensen showed me his wing kite in a hotel room in Beichuan, China, in March 2017.
Somehow I managed to find a drawing (on paper) of the wing shape I had in mind in 1993, worked with it a bit and started making the kite. I did the drilling that I thought I couldn’t do, and sure enough: the precision was not high!
Working ad hoc I made many mistakes and it didn’t turn out the way I wanted so I was doubtful that it would fly, but nevertheless I tested it and it actually flew! Not perfectly, but on a good angle and certainly well enough to prove that my original idea was correct. A good start for prototype 2.
The fourth SHARK I built (with a few changes from the Blue Wing) I had big problems getting airborne. I built it already in late 90’s (or possibly early 00’s), and over the years I made small changes, tested, failed and then let it rest. After moving into my house in Bali I made again changes on the bridle but didn’t have the wind to try it: it was hanging on my wall ready to go. One evening, just at sunset, I felt the urge to test it and though there only was a small breeze it flew!
The next day was wind better and I could finally see the kite steady high up in the sky.
As quite a long time had passed since I first built it I actually had learned a lot about making kites, and now I wanted to make it again but more simple. But that was not so simple: The crucial part of the kite is the sail that forms the in-sail dihedral; what I call Wipe (it has a wiping shape) and I did not have the drawing for this. However, by chance when I was rearranging the storage I found the template for the Wipe in a suitcase and could get going. Still, that simplification process went on for 2 years…
The result would be Niëlje, see further down.
In my first years of kite making I read that kites with a high aspect ratio usually fly at a higher angle. This intrigued me and I wanted to make a kite with a super high aspect ratio. In Sala Drak & Tangosällskap there was a ‘habit’ of making kites of daily life objects with a twist, and the first high aspect ratio object that came to my mind was a ruler so I borrowed from another member a ruler of that kind that I myself used in primary school: a 30 centimeter wooden ruler.
The design includes in-sail dihedrals by using a sail shape that I call Wipe.
It took some experiments to get it steadily airborne.
The SHARK was born: Super High Aspect Ratio Kite, a kite with an aspect ratio larger than 8.
Ruler of the Sky – Width: 415 cm Height: 42 cm AR: 9.9
Primary school wooden ruler
Prototype 3 flew so well so I decided it was time to give a name. I gave the kite the name akka (with a lower case initial a not to disturb the balance) like the wild leader goose in The Wonderful Adventures of Nils Holgersson.
I had finished the first prototype late one evening: it was already dark, but there was a light breeze on my beach and I was anxious to see if this kite really could fly.
And it did! Not perfectly but well enough for me to tell me my thinking had not been all that bad.
Already in my second year of kite making I started to experiment with a single point wing. (I had this crush on single point and high aspect ratio quite early in my kite life). I had made one wing of IKEA bamboo and some porous material for garden use that did fly, but dived once in a while.
I had this idea of a self stabilizing wing, so I thought I knew how the wings should be made but I realized that I had not the skill to do that.
The sail ‘battens’ must be in fixed angles, both horizontally and sideways, and I thought that the only way to achieve this would be to drill through the spreader tube with a high precision. Which I knew I couldn’t do.
Furthermore I could not figure out how to make the centre section. Not until Henrik Fristrup Jensen showed me his wing kite in a hotel room in Beichuan, China, in March 2017.
Somehow I managed to find a drawing (on paper) of the wing shape I had in mind in 1993, worked with it a bit and started making the kite. I did the drilling that I thought I couldn’t do, and sure enough: the precision was not high!
Working ad hoc I made many mistakes and it didn’t turn out the way I wanted so I was doubtful that it would fly, but nevertheless I tested it and it actually flew! Not perfectly, but on a good angle and certainly well enough to prove that my original idea was correct. A good start for prototype 2.
The fourth SHARK I built (with a few changes from the Blue Wing) I had big problems getting airborne. I built it already in late 90’s (or possibly early 00’s), and over the years I made small changes, tested, failed and then let it rest. After moving into my house in Bali I made again changes on the bridle but didn’t have the wind to try it: it was hanging on my wall ready to go. One evening, just at sunset, I felt the urge to test it and though there only was a small breeze it flew!
The next day was wind better and I could finally see the kite steady high up in the sky.
As quite a long time had passed since I first built it I actually had learned a lot about making kites, and now I wanted to make it again but more simple. But that was not so simple: The crucial part of the kite is the sail that forms the in-sail dihedral; what I call Wipe (it has a wiping shape) and I did not have the drawing for this. However, by chance when I was rearranging the storage I found the template for the Wipe in a suitcase and could get going. Still, that simplification process went on for 2 years…
The result would be Niëlje, see further down.
In my first years of kite making I read that kites with a high aspect ratio usually fly at a higher angle. This intrigued me and I wanted to make a kite with a super high aspect ratio. In Sala Drak & Tangosällskap there was a ‘habit’ of making kites of daily life objects with a twist, and the first high aspect ratio object that came to my mind was a ruler so I borrowed from another member a ruler of that kind that I myself used in primary school: a 30 centimeter wooden ruler.
The design includes in-sail dihedrals by using a sail shape that I call Wipe.
It took some experiments to get it steadily airborne.
The SHARK was born: Super High Aspect Ratio Kite, a kite with an aspect ratio larger than 8.
Ruler of the Sky – Width: 415 cm Height: 42 cm AR: 9.9
Primary school wooden ruler
Prototype 3 flew so well so I decided it was time to give a name. I gave the kite the name akka (with a lower case initial a not to disturb the balance) like the wild leader goose in The Wonderful Adventures of Nils Holgersson.
I had finished the first prototype late one evening: it was already dark, but there was a light breeze on my beach and I was anxious to see if this kite really could fly.
And it did! Not perfectly but well enough for me to tell me my thinking had not been all that bad.
Already in my second year of kite making I started to experiment with a single point wing. (I had this crush on single point and high aspect ratio quite early in my kite life). I had made one wing of IKEA bamboo and some porous material for garden use that did fly, but dived once in a while.
I had this idea of a self stabilizing wing, so I thought I knew how the wings should be made but I realized that I had not the skill to do that.
The sail ‘battens’ must be in fixed angles, both horizontally and sideways, and I thought that the only way to achieve this would be to drill through the spreader tube with a high precision. Which I knew I couldn’t do.
Furthermore I could not figure out how to make the centre section. Not until Henrik Fristrup Jensen showed me his wing kite in a hotel room in Beichuan, China, in March 2017.
Somehow I managed to find a drawing (on paper) of the wing shape I had in mind in 1993, worked with it a bit and started making the kite. I did the drilling that I thought I couldn’t do, and sure enough: the precision was not high!
Working ad hoc I made many mistakes and it didn’t turn out the way I wanted so I was doubtful that it would fly, but nevertheless I tested it and it actually flew! Not perfectly, but on a good angle and certainly well enough to prove that my original idea was correct. A good start for prototype 2.
The fourth SHARK I built (with a few changes from the Blue Wing) I had big problems getting airborne. I built it already in late 90’s (or possibly early 00’s), and over the years I made small changes, tested, failed and then let it rest. After moving into my house in Bali I made again changes on the bridle but didn’t have the wind to try it: it was hanging on my wall ready to go. One evening, just at sunset, I felt the urge to test it and though there only was a small breeze it flew!
The next day was wind better and I could finally see the kite steady high up in the sky.
As quite a long time had passed since I first built it I actually had learned a lot about making kites, and now I wanted to make it again but more simple. But that was not so simple: The crucial part of the kite is the sail that forms the in-sail dihedral; what I call Wipe (it has a wiping shape) and I did not have the drawing for this. However, by chance when I was rearranging the storage I found the template for the Wipe in a suitcase and could get going. Still, that simplification process went on for 2 years…
The result would be Niëlje, see further down.
In my first years of kite making I read that kites with a high aspect ratio usually fly at a higher angle. This intrigued me and I wanted to make a kite with a super high aspect ratio. In Sala Drak & Tangosällskap there was a ‘habit’ of making kites of daily life objects with a twist, and the first high aspect ratio object that came to my mind was a ruler so I borrowed from another member a ruler of that kind that I myself used in primary school: a 30 centimeter wooden ruler.
The design includes in-sail dihedrals by using a sail shape that I call Wipe.
It took some experiments to get it steadily airborne.
The SHARK was born: Super High Aspect Ratio Kite, a kite with an aspect ratio larger than 8.
Ruler of the Sky – Width: 415 cm Height: 42 cm AR: 9.9
Primary school wooden ruler
Many experiments were made to get rid of the wobbling in zenith and also to make the balance tuning more easy:
Hopefully #4 in the blue series will be the one that works!
Here is #1 in the blue series, with the second keel added.
Prototype 3 flew so well so I decided it was time to give a name. I gave the kite the name akka (with a lower case initial a not to disturb the balance) like the wild leader goose in The Wonderful Adventures of Nils Holgersson.
I had finished the first prototype late one evening: it was already dark, but there was a light breeze on my beach and I was anxious to see if this kite really could fly.
And it did! Not perfectly but well enough for me to tell me my thinking had not been all that bad.
Already in my second year of kite making I started to experiment with a single point wing. (I had this crush on single point and high aspect ratio quite early in my kite life). I had made one wing of IKEA bamboo and some porous material for garden use that did fly, but dived once in a while.
I had this idea of a self stabilizing wing, so I thought I knew how the wings should be made but I realized that I had not the skill to do that.
The sail ‘battens’ must be in fixed angles, both horizontally and sideways, and I thought that the only way to achieve this would be to drill through the spreader tube with a high precision. Which I knew I couldn’t do.
Furthermore I could not figure out how to make the centre section. Not until Henrik Fristrup Jensen showed me his wing kite in a hotel room in Beichuan, China, in March 2017.
Somehow I managed to find a drawing (on paper) of the wing shape I had in mind in 1993, worked with it a bit and started making the kite. I did the drilling that I thought I couldn’t do, and sure enough: the precision was not high!
Working ad hoc I made many mistakes and it didn’t turn out the way I wanted so I was doubtful that it would fly, but nevertheless I tested it and it actually flew! Not perfectly, but on a good angle and certainly well enough to prove that my original idea was correct. A good start for prototype 2.
The fourth SHARK I built (with a few changes from the Blue Wing) I had big problems getting airborne. I built it already in late 90’s (or possibly early 00’s), and over the years I made small changes, tested, failed and then let it rest. After moving into my house in Bali I made again changes on the bridle but didn’t have the wind to try it: it was hanging on my wall ready to go. One evening, just at sunset, I felt the urge to test it and though there only was a small breeze it flew!
The next day was wind better and I could finally see the kite steady high up in the sky.
As quite a long time had passed since I first built it I actually had learned a lot about making kites, and now I wanted to make it again but more simple. But that was not so simple: The crucial part of the kite is the sail that forms the in-sail dihedral; what I call Wipe (it has a wiping shape) and I did not have the drawing for this. However, by chance when I was rearranging the storage I found the template for the Wipe in a suitcase and could get going. Still, that simplification process went on for 2 years…
The result would be Niëlje, see further down.
In my first years of kite making I read that kites with a high aspect ratio usually fly at a higher angle. This intrigued me and I wanted to make a kite with a super high aspect ratio. In Sala Drak & Tangosällskap there was a ‘habit’ of making kites of daily life objects with a twist, and the first high aspect ratio object that came to my mind was a ruler so I borrowed from another member a ruler of that kind that I myself used in primary school: a 30 centimeter wooden ruler.
The design includes in-sail dihedrals by using a sail shape that I call Wipe.
It took some experiments to get it steadily airborne.
The SHARK was born: Super High Aspect Ratio Kite, a kite with an aspect ratio larger than 8.
Ruler of the Sky – Width: 415 cm Height: 42 cm AR: 9.9
Primary school wooden ruler
Many experiments were made to get rid of the wobbling in zenith and also to make the balance tuning more easy:
Hopefully #4 in the blue series will be the one that works!
Here is #1 in the blue series, with the second keel added.
Prototype 3 flew so well so I decided it was time to give a name. I gave the kite the name akka (with a lower case initial a not to disturb the balance) like the wild leader goose in The Wonderful Adventures of Nils Holgersson.
I had finished the first prototype late one evening: it was already dark, but there was a light breeze on my beach and I was anxious to see if this kite really could fly.
And it did! Not perfectly but well enough for me to tell me my thinking had not been all that bad.
Already in my second year of kite making I started to experiment with a single point wing. (I had this crush on single point and high aspect ratio quite early in my kite life). I had made one wing of IKEA bamboo and some porous material for garden use that did fly, but dived once in a while.
I had this idea of a self stabilizing wing, so I thought I knew how the wings should be made but I realized that I had not the skill to do that.
The sail ‘battens’ must be in fixed angles, both horizontally and sideways, and I thought that the only way to achieve this would be to drill through the spreader tube with a high precision. Which I knew I couldn’t do.
Furthermore I could not figure out how to make the centre section. Not until Henrik Fristrup Jensen showed me his wing kite in a hotel room in Beichuan, China, in March 2017.
Somehow I managed to find a drawing (on paper) of the wing shape I had in mind in 1993, worked with it a bit and started making the kite. I did the drilling that I thought I couldn’t do, and sure enough: the precision was not high!
Working ad hoc I made many mistakes and it didn’t turn out the way I wanted so I was doubtful that it would fly, but nevertheless I tested it and it actually flew! Not perfectly, but on a good angle and certainly well enough to prove that my original idea was correct. A good start for prototype 2.
The fourth SHARK I built (with a few changes from the Blue Wing) I had big problems getting airborne. I built it already in late 90’s (or possibly early 00’s), and over the years I made small changes, tested, failed and then let it rest. After moving into my house in Bali I made again changes on the bridle but didn’t have the wind to try it: it was hanging on my wall ready to go. One evening, just at sunset, I felt the urge to test it and though there only was a small breeze it flew!
The next day was wind better and I could finally see the kite steady high up in the sky.
As quite a long time had passed since I first built it I actually had learned a lot about making kites, and now I wanted to make it again but more simple. But that was not so simple: The crucial part of the kite is the sail that forms the in-sail dihedral; what I call Wipe (it has a wiping shape) and I did not have the drawing for this. However, by chance when I was rearranging the storage I found the template for the Wipe in a suitcase and could get going. Still, that simplification process went on for 2 years…
The result would be Niëlje, see further down.
In my first years of kite making I read that kites with a high aspect ratio usually fly at a higher angle. This intrigued me and I wanted to make a kite with a super high aspect ratio. In Sala Drak & Tangosällskap there was a ‘habit’ of making kites of daily life objects with a twist, and the first high aspect ratio object that came to my mind was a ruler so I borrowed from another member a ruler of that kind that I myself used in primary school: a 30 centimeter wooden ruler.
The design includes in-sail dihedrals by using a sail shape that I call Wipe.
It took some experiments to get it steadily airborne.
The SHARK was born: Super High Aspect Ratio Kite, a kite with an aspect ratio larger than 8.
Ruler of the Sky – Width: 415 cm Height: 42 cm AR: 9.9
Primary school wooden ruler
Many experiments were made to get rid of the wobbling in zenith and also to make the balance tuning more easy:
Hopefully #4 in the blue series will be the one that works!
Here is #1 in the blue series, with the second keel added.
Prototype 3 flew so well so I decided it was time to give a name. I gave the kite the name akka (with a lower case initial a not to disturb the balance) like the wild leader goose in The Wonderful Adventures of Nils Holgersson.
I had finished the first prototype late one evening: it was already dark, but there was a light breeze on my beach and I was anxious to see if this kite really could fly.
And it did! Not perfectly but well enough for me to tell me my thinking had not been all that bad.
Already in my second year of kite making I started to experiment with a single point wing. (I had this crush on single point and high aspect ratio quite early in my kite life). I had made one wing of IKEA bamboo and some porous material for garden use that did fly, but dived once in a while.
I had this idea of a self stabilizing wing, so I thought I knew how the wings should be made but I realized that I had not the skill to do that.
The sail ‘battens’ must be in fixed angles, both horizontally and sideways, and I thought that the only way to achieve this would be to drill through the spreader tube with a high precision. Which I knew I couldn’t do.
Furthermore I could not figure out how to make the centre section. Not until Henrik Fristrup Jensen showed me his wing kite in a hotel room in Beichuan, China, in March 2017.
Somehow I managed to find a drawing (on paper) of the wing shape I had in mind in 1993, worked with it a bit and started making the kite. I did the drilling that I thought I couldn’t do, and sure enough: the precision was not high!
Working ad hoc I made many mistakes and it didn’t turn out the way I wanted so I was doubtful that it would fly, but nevertheless I tested it and it actually flew! Not perfectly, but on a good angle and certainly well enough to prove that my original idea was correct. A good start for prototype 2.
The fourth SHARK I built (with a few changes from the Blue Wing) I had big problems getting airborne. I built it already in late 90’s (or possibly early 00’s), and over the years I made small changes, tested, failed and then let it rest. After moving into my house in Bali I made again changes on the bridle but didn’t have the wind to try it: it was hanging on my wall ready to go. One evening, just at sunset, I felt the urge to test it and though there only was a small breeze it flew!
The next day was wind better and I could finally see the kite steady high up in the sky.
As quite a long time had passed since I first built it I actually had learned a lot about making kites, and now I wanted to make it again but more simple. But that was not so simple: The crucial part of the kite is the sail that forms the in-sail dihedral; what I call Wipe (it has a wiping shape) and I did not have the drawing for this. However, by chance when I was rearranging the storage I found the template for the Wipe in a suitcase and could get going. Still, that simplification process went on for 2 years…
The result would be Niëlje, see further down.
In my first years of kite making I read that kites with a high aspect ratio usually fly at a higher angle. This intrigued me and I wanted to make a kite with a super high aspect ratio. In Sala Drak & Tangosällskap there was a ‘habit’ of making kites of daily life objects with a twist, and the first high aspect ratio object that came to my mind was a ruler so I borrowed from another member a ruler of that kind that I myself used in primary school: a 30 centimeter wooden ruler.
The design includes in-sail dihedrals by using a sail shape that I call Wipe.
It took some experiments to get it steadily airborne.
The SHARK was born: Super High Aspect Ratio Kite, a kite with an aspect ratio larger than 8.
Ruler of the Sky – Width: 415 cm Height: 42 cm AR: 9.9
Primary school wooden ruler
