Power Kite Forum - My Home-made mesh kite.

My Home-made mesh kite.

riffclown - 7-7-2015 at 06:14 PM

I know it's not a power kite but I had to step up to the challenge. Planning Lime green for the leading edge.. Both sides of the mesh are sewn now. I have to figure out the Center Section, join the two sides, frame and bridles..

riffclown - 7-7-2015 at 06:21 PM

Here's what inspired me...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NWiWbaV9-E

ssayre - 7-7-2015 at 06:29 PM

That's cool. Is that for high wind flying I assume?

riffclown - 7-7-2015 at 06:39 PM

Most definitely..

soliver - 7-7-2015 at 07:24 PM

Looks cool Riff!... Looking to see the finished product.

3shot - 7-7-2015 at 07:48 PM

Looks great my friend!

Randy - 8-7-2015 at 04:50 AM

Wow - that is really interesting. Love to see how it flies.

povlhp - 8-7-2015 at 05:44 AM

Like the shook mesh from Revolution Kites.
Supposedly they have a larger wind range than the classical design, vented or not.

Polokites makes licensed Revs with different vent layout, and the clone I bought in China (Freilein) has more distributed vents than the Polo / Original, and I really like it.

BigMikesKites - 8-7-2015 at 07:23 AM

you would be surprised at how light a wind a mesh kite will fly in.

riffclown - 8-7-2015 at 03:57 PM

Mockup LE is done.. I still need to figure out a few items (attachment points and Middle Section) but I'm hoping to have this in the air at the Wright Kite Festival 18-19 july..

ssayre - 8-7-2015 at 04:49 PM

That thing looks sweet riff. I hope you have good wind. Rev is on my short list of must haves. I've sold or am selling all my stunt kites. I plan on a single rev to fill that void. They just look like a lot of fun.

PHREERIDER - 8-7-2015 at 06:20 PM

wow mesh , cool.

1oldkid - 8-7-2015 at 06:25 PM

That's really neat Riff! Good colors.
How may packages of tails did it take?
Will be fun to see a vid of it flying...

djsiryn - 8-7-2015 at 06:32 PM

Very cool! I still have one of the original Revs in my collection that I got as a birthday gift back in the very early 90's. Can't wait to see yours in the air!

riffclown - 8-7-2015 at 06:37 PM

Quote: Originally posted by 1oldkid

That's really neat Riff! Good colors.
How may packages of tails did it take?
Will be fun to see a vid of it flying...

One 45' black and one 45' blue. so far. The green is a different material.

riffclown - 8-7-2015 at 06:58 PM

Quote: Originally posted by djsiryn

Very cool! I still have one of the original Revs in my collection that I got as a birthday gift back in the very early 90's. Can't wait to see yours in the air!

An original might be worth some extra cash since a lot of folks seem to be collecting these days.
I'm anxious to see it fly as well. Thank you for the kind words.

soliver - 8-7-2015 at 09:08 PM

looking good Riff!

indigo_wolf - 9-7-2015 at 12:42 AM

Quote: Originally posted by riffclown

Mockup LE is done.. I still need to figure out a few items (attachment points and Middle Section) but I'm hoping to have this in the air at the Wright Kite Festival 18-19 july..

Riff,

As your kite hasn't been completed yet, you might want to read John Barressi's recent post about reinforcments for the LE mesh area, it might save you some grief in the long run.

You can read the entire thread, but this post by John makes things a lot clearer.

Kitelife Forum Thead on Reinforcement Patch

After seeing it, it's kind of makes you wonder why it's not standard on ALL Revs.

ATB,
Sam

riffclown - 9-7-2015 at 02:54 AM

Great Tip.. thanks..

ssayre - 9-7-2015 at 05:58 AM

Just saw the price for a mesh rev :shocked2: Good thing your making one.

riffclown - 11-7-2015 at 04:17 PM

All done except for the bridles..
I used arrow nocks with holes drilled through for the vertical attachment points. Tubing for the horizontal points so I can switch between a regular and SLE leading edge.. So about 8-10 hours invested and less than $50 worth of materials. Frame will move back and forth with my Rev's so no money spent there..

Devoted - 11-7-2015 at 04:35 PM

That is a great job. Did you build kites before?

soliver - 11-7-2015 at 04:41 PM

AWESOME!

T-Dot - 11-7-2015 at 04:42 PM

Very cool! :thumbup:

riffclown - 11-7-2015 at 04:43 PM

Quote: Originally posted by Devoted

That is a great job. Did you build kites before?

I did make a smaller test sail as a proof of concept before making this one but it is my first. My only other work was the Symphony Conversions.. (link in my signature)

3shot - 11-7-2015 at 04:44 PM

A fine Job Rob!!!!
Looks great. Looking forward to maiden flight review.

riffclown - 11-7-2015 at 04:48 PM

Thanks,, I think I'm on track to get it in the air next weekend.. Hopefully I'll get some flying video for you.. fingers crossed!!

ssayre - 11-7-2015 at 04:49 PM

Yeah man, good job. If you can make that there's really nothing stopping you from making any type rev is there?

3shot - 11-7-2015 at 04:55 PM

You need to bust out one of those massive Power Blast revs next!!!

riffclown - 11-7-2015 at 04:57 PM

My understanding is as long as I don't sell them, profit from them or publish plans, I can make whatever I want for personal use.. I don't think I'd be willing to buy the Chinese copies but I am willing to make whatever I feel I can successfully fabricate.. This build has really encouraged me to try new designs..

Next, I want to fabricate something with permanently embedded LEDs to fly at night..

riffclown - 11-7-2015 at 05:01 PM

Quote: Originally posted by 3shot

You need to bust out one of those massive Power Blast revs next!!!

Let me make sure this one flies first.

3shot - 11-7-2015 at 05:18 PM

Quote: Originally posted by riffclown

Quote: Originally posted by 3shot

You need to bust out one of those massive Power Blast revs next!!!

Let me make sure this one flies first.

I'm sure it will. You have a knack for kite tinkering.

riffclown - 11-7-2015 at 05:24 PM

Maybe I can start to make Nasa Stars.. HMMMM...

3shot - 11-7-2015 at 05:35 PM

:thumbup:

ssayre - 11-7-2015 at 07:58 PM

What about cquads? I think people liked those. Would those be hard to make?

riffclown - 11-7-2015 at 08:05 PM

Quote: Originally posted by ssayre

What about cquads? I think people liked those. Would those be hard to make?

I don't know. I have not personally ever seen one. Keep in mind this is my first attempt at this. I'm far from being the expert.

Randy - 12-7-2015 at 05:32 AM

There are plans for c-quads on kiteplans.org. To me they look much more difficult than an NPW. They have a frame and lots of seams. Plus, the plans are not in English and are not a easy to figure out as some of the NPW plans. Just getting the parts for the fame would not be that easy (or cheap). They do seem like very interesting kites, however. Since they are no longer being made, perhaps they just didn't perform as well as hoped, or not as well as newer designs.

ssayre - 12-7-2015 at 06:27 AM

Quote: Originally posted by Randy

There are plans for c-quads on kiteplans.org. To me they look much more difficult than an NPW. They have a frame and lots of seams. Plus, the plans are not in English and are not a easy to figure out as some of the NPW plans. Just getting the parts for the fame would not be that easy (or cheap). They do seem like very interesting kites, however. Since they are no longer being made, perhaps they just didn't perform as well as hoped, or not as well as newer designs.

Just guessing, but I wonder if part of their demise was safety concerns when flying around other people or events since it has a frame of sorts. Looks like the had something similar to the Playhut things that were popular in the late 90's which probably matches up close to when these were made.

riffclown - 18-7-2015 at 05:49 PM

And it flies!!!! I need a little stiffer frame and more wind than I had today but it FLIES!!!

http://youtu.be/zc15---VqNc

soliver - 18-7-2015 at 05:55 PM

good work Riff!... I'd call that a success... can't wait to see it in more wind!!!

3shot - 18-7-2015 at 06:30 PM

A great feeling when a scratch built flies. Looked great today.

1oldkid - 18-7-2015 at 06:40 PM

Awesome!
It looks great, good job!! :thumbup:

ssayre - 18-7-2015 at 07:02 PM

Riff that's great! What were the winds like and are you going to make a stack?

riffclown - 18-7-2015 at 07:13 PM

Winds were around 8 -10 when the video was taken but did pick up a bit later... We were up around 15 I'd guess before the day was done.
Probably won't make a stack or mesh kites but I will make another with smaller voids to give me additional wind range. I think the stacks I have are quite enough.. You can see the Rev Stack AND the Bolero stack both in the background on the video..

At first the only things that would even stay in the air were the 8M Toxic and a SUL tirips being flown by a fellow kiter..

Randy - 19-7-2015 at 05:55 AM

That is really cool. I would have never thought a mesh kite would fly, esp. in light wind. Great work. I love seeing new ideas. Hmmm - maybe I should try a mesh NASA once we start getting some wind around here.

riffclown - 19-7-2015 at 03:23 PM

I'd love to claim the idea as mine BUT, it's not. Eliot Shook is the pioneer behind the idea.. I merely made my own..

http://www.revkites.com/masterpiece-kite-artist/eliot-shook

A Mesh NASA however would be a new idea to my knowledge.

riffclown - 8-8-2015 at 02:36 PM

Finally had a little more breeze to fly it in..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sf-fwrCXLgE

3shot - 8-8-2015 at 02:50 PM

Looks good my man!!!!

ssayre - 8-8-2015 at 03:33 PM

Very nice riff, I like the music choice as well. Big fan of upright bass

riffclown - 8-8-2015 at 03:58 PM

Thanks, While I like it too, I must say, my daughter chose the music, recorded and edited the video for me.. I think she did a great job..

Randy - 8-8-2015 at 07:37 PM

Really cool. It flies really great and nice video as well. Two thumbs up!

Windstruck - 8-8-2015 at 08:04 PM

Riffclown - NICE! :thumbup:

It's great when our kids help us with music choices and stuff. I kept being torn as to whether your kite looked like a giant flying mustache or a bow-tie; both were great visuals! :D

riffclown - 10-5-2020 at 06:28 AM

Old thread resurrection alert!!! So almost 5 years later and I've made a few now. I've learned a lot along the way and I no longer use tails to make the mesh. I'm still learning new things with each kite. The Red White and Blue kite in the last picture was finished yesterday.

Randy - 10-5-2020 at 08:07 AM

Incredible work there riffclown!! :thumbup:

B-Roc - 10-5-2020 at 09:01 AM

Really cool

mougl - 10-5-2020 at 06:24 PM

Super cool!!!

riffclown - 12-5-2020 at 05:39 PM

Total of 71 kites including the first one that started this topic.

ColinW - 13-5-2020 at 04:20 PM

I'm impressed!