Hi all...

I fly model airplanes, and wanted a new project to work on, so I i decided to build a paraplane. I ended up sewing my own 1.5m foil for the project and it works great. I fly the foil as a kite more than I do as a paraplane.

Anyway, I have been enjoying the foil, so I decided to to build a larger one. I am building a 3m from a set of plans called a Firecrest. The construction is going good, and is almost done.

I need some advice on what to use for main lines. I have the bridles made up already, using 50lb test dacron fishing line. Anyone have a good recommendation on a commonly available line I can use for the main lines. What kind of tensile strength should I be looking for? What type of material?

I know I could order some spectra line from a kite supplier, but I prefer to use something available locally.

I have considered a few ideas, go ahead and let me know if they would be a waste of time/money. One idea was 550 paracord, but I figured it was too heavy, and much overkill. Another idea is some bowfishing line a found, I believe it is nylon, 200lb test, looks pretty thin and light. Finally I have been considering mason line, #18 is rated over 150lb tensile, made out of braided nylon.

any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks

Howdy,

I checked out the website for the kite that you are building and it looks pretty interesting. I would be curious to see pictures of your other kite. Anyway, to answer your question, you are building a good sized kite that is going to generate a fair amount of power. You are right abou the paracord, it is too big and too heavy. One of the advantages of Dyneema is its strength to weight ratio. Even though you don't want to order any online, it might be your best bet. I'm not sure where you live, but if you are bent on sticking with local companies, you can always try to find someone who can order it in. Check with military surplus or climbing stores if you don't have a kite store in your area. As for the tensile strength of the lines, the products that you are looking at are way to light. You need to be looking at least at 300 pounds. It would be better if you were closer to the 400 pound mark. Take a look at the different kite manufacturers and you will see that their trainers are all on lines around that strength.

I hope this helps and good luck.

-Mike

Nylon is way too stretchy. Under power, you'll pull back on a handle and nothing will happen!!! And that's when I tried using it on a 2 line stunt kite. Your foil will have far more power. If you managed to get 250lb - 300lb non-stretch spectra/dyneema fishing line, you'd pay a fortune for it. I can't think of an alternative - you need 300lbs at least and you need close to no stretch at all. And it wants to be thin and light to cut through the air.

I use mason's line when I'm bungee launching a glider (mono is better) , but there's no way you'd want to try it on a power kite.

Sorry, it's off to the kite shop for you!!!

Yep, Spectra or Dyneema. anything else is too heavy or like flying on rubber bands as John indicated.

Typical 3m 4-line kite comes with 220kg (main), 100 kg (brakes) x 65m Dyneema and are readily available.

Quote:

Originally posted by acampbell Typical 3m 4-line kite comes with 220kg (main), 100 kg (brakes) x 65m Dyneema and are readily available.

Angus do fly on really long lines or did you mean 65ft?
S

LOL, 65' (18m). FRIDAY!!!!

Hey Sailors,
I'm surprised nobody else caught this...
Using 50# dacron for the bridles?

While I appreciate the sentiment of buying locally, the physics of tethered aviation don't respond to sentiment.
The bridles need to be made from a non-stretching material.
Spectra or a good dyneema line for the bridles, as well as 300#/200# for the flying lines.

A 3m foil should have, depending on the rigging style of the bridle, probably 100#-150# spectra or dyneema.

Power is nothing without control.


Safen Up! Buggy On!

"Often wrong... Never in doubt"

the coreylama

Thanks for all the input. Seems I got the answers I needed, even though they are not what I wanted. That is OK.

Any suggestions on where to get a set of lines, and handles. I got a email from bigmikeskites.com suggesting i may be better off buying an inexpensive kite that comes with lines and handles. Any recommendations?

Thanks, Danowar

I got a hold of a line set and a bar, and have my new kite flying. It flies great, and has plenty of power. I only need to do some slight tweaking of the bridles, as the kite has a tendency to fly up over my head and lose power. My brake lines need some tweaking also, as the kite seems "bunch up" with the brakes, making relaunch sometimes difficult.

Thanks for everyone's advice.

Good job! Now, we need pics and video or we'll have to revoke your membership