HOW TO - Turn an Umbrella into a Kite

Kitefromumbrella
Here's a fun Spring project from The Sampler's archives. Rose Travale shows you how to turn a rainy day umbrella into a spring kite with her "The Gentleman's Kite" how-to. Link.


Comments

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Posted by: Aleksi on March 15, 2007 at 7:56 AM

This howto looks very nice but it contains one big mistake which unfortunately is very common. On this type of kite the spars should be on the back side of the kite for stability and strength. If the spars are on the front like in the illustration, the kite won't fly much better than an umbrella on a string.
If you are going to build a kite like this, then check some other recipe for an "Eddy kite" or a "Malay kite". This howto is broken.

I recommend the "Seldom Fail" sled-kite that George refers to.


Posted by: rosered on March 14, 2007 at 11:48 PM

Hello! This was actually a project I had done for a class about learning how to illustrate information. My instructor was pretty surprised when I actually brought the fully made kite to class with me (and it actually flew too!)
And thanks again for posting another one of my projects (I also made the retro nintendo ds case from plastic canvas you guys mentioned a while back)! Long live CRAFT!
-Rosemary Travale
www.rosemarytravale.ca


Posted by: GeoBrett on March 14, 2007 at 12:54 PM

Many years ago I taught kite workshops for kids. With help of a teacher I could make 30 - 40 kites during one class period. I'd have skins, sticks, tape and string at the ready. See plans for Seldom Fail Kite.


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