Light kite building materials
A non-profit special service: A small database with Materials for making light kites. Carbon tubes and rods, thin flexible fiberglass rods, Icarex kite fabric, special dacron, black bridle lines and other things.
Parts and materials used on light kites. Weights and dimensions are measured by the kite-lab.
1 hardware specials
Delrin ball end caps
An efficient solution instead of vinyl caps on any light kite: They glide smoothly on Icarex or kevlar, good for flexible wingtips. No punching through even in the hottest sun.
| ø 4.8 mm, 0.05 g, 10 balls | |
| ø 5.6 mm, 0.08 g, 10 balls |
Screwed standoff sail connectors for ul stunt kites
The polyamide screw is pulled into the sail, so it's impossible for the flying lines to get caught. The nut is pushed onto the bolt and then fixed with one turn.
| m5, ø 12 mm, for standoffs ø 2.0 mm, indoor, 1.0 g | |
| m5, ø 12 mm, for standoffs ø 2.5 mm, ultralight, 1.0 g | |
| m6, ø 15 mm, for standoffs ø 3.0 mm, heavy, 1.6 g | |
| m5 or m6, without drilling |
horvath.240
A minimal internal nock: for skysharks or avia skinnies with an internal diameter of 6.1 mm. Perfect for stunt kites with leading edges such as skysharks p200. Bungi and leechline are safe and well protected in this ultralight pe nock.
| outer ø 7.6 mm, 0.4 g, black |
2 hardware for kitemaking
These parts are also connectors and spare parts for light stunt kites.
fsd-plug
Connects 4 mm carbon tubes into skysharks or avia skinnies with an inner diameter of 6.1 mm.
| insert is 33 mm, yellow, 0.8 g |
fsd-hardtops
End nocks made of the just right hard plastic.
| micro, for 2 mm to 2.9 mm, conical drilling, 0.2 g | |
| small, 4 mm, 4.5 mm=avia 180, 5 mm, 0.6 g |
jaco-standoff-connector
On stunt kites: spreader max. 6 mm. We use this part as the shock absorbing nose on our smaller kites. Durable, soft synthetic rubber formula.
| for 3 mm tubes, lower spreader 4.5 to 6 mm, 0.7 g |
apa-standoff-connectors
On stunt kites: spreader max. 6 mm resp. 8 mm, the shock absorbing nose on our synergetic kites. Durable, synthetic rubber formula, nice look.
| bigger hole 5.1 mm, wing connectors urban ninja, 1.4 g | |
| bigger hole 7.6 mm, 1.7 g |
carbon-connector horvath.ch
For skysharks and avia skinnies with an inner diameter of 6.1 mm, smoothed ends for gentle load in the plugged tubes, two available lengths.
| 70 mm: 2.0 g, 90 mm: 2.5 g |
3 carbon tubes and rods
Tapered wrapped Skyshark carbon tubes, conical prepreg
With good reinforcements at both ends, especially at the larger end. The spine and the long section in the wings of "the long way home" are accurately balanced Skyshark 2pt's. The wingspan of the large kite is 2.76 m and the long wings are weighed in pairs.
Skyshark 2pt 825 — 32"
| thick end: ø inner 6.1 mm, d outer 7.1 mm, thin end: ø inner 4.2 mm, d outer 5.4 mm, length 825 mm, 8.4 to 9.8 g a tube |
Skyshark 2pt 1'016 — 40"
| thick end: ø inner 6.1 mm, d outer 7.1 mm, thin end: ø inner 4.2 mm, d outer 5.4 mm, length 1'016 mm, 10.0 to 11.8 g a tube |
Pultruded carbon tubes
With optimal wall widths, round and straight, light yet stiff enough, good pressure resistance and resilience, small tolerance in weight. An avia-sport mcr 070 1.8 mm solid carbon rod fits exactly into the 3.1 mm carbon-tube.
| carbon tube ul 3.0 mm 1'000 mm, 5.4 g/m | |
| carbon tube avia 3.1 mm 1'000 mm, 7.5 g/m | |
| carbon tube ul 4.0 mm 1'000 mm, 7.8 g/m | |
| carbon tube exel 4.0 mm 1'000 mm, 10.5 g/m |
carbon rods, solid
| carbon rod 1.5 mm 1'000 mm, 2.5 g/m, low tolerance | |
| carbon rod 2.0 mm 1'000 mm, 4.5 g/m | |
| carbon rod 2.5 mm 1'000 mm, 7.7 g/m |
4 fiberglass rods
Special: wrapped fiberglass with a smooth and clear look. Fine grades of diameter allow for a precise tuning of weight and resilience. The dimensions 2.2 and 2.4 mm are suitable for flexible standoff-solutions on light-wind stunt kites. European champion Stefan Furter is using our fiberglass to set up his kites for light breezes.
These fiberglass rods have a lenght of 2'000 mm.
fiberglass rod, wrapped, 1.5 mm, 3.6 g/m
fiberglass rod, wrapped, 1.6 mm, 4.0 g/m
fiberglass rod, wrapped, 1.7 mm, 4.4 g/m
fiberglass rod, wrapped, 1.9 mm, 5.4 g/m
fiberglass rod, wrapped, 2.0 mm, 6.2 g/m
fiberglass rod, wrapped, 2.2 mm, 7.4 g/m
fiberglass rod, wrapped, 2.4 mm, 8.6 g/m
5 fabrics for kites
Icarex
Tear resistant kite cloth, light, hydrophobic, dimensionally stable. Rather a polyester-fiber reinforced polycarbonate-film: roll width 1.40 m, 36 g/m2 weighed.
| Icarex pc 31 - 31 white or a lot of other colors. |
Chikara
Ripstop-nylon, 42g/m2: This nylon fabric is elastic and has a good resistance to abrasion, but is highly hygroscopic. It elongates when humid, therefore use it with caution.
| black: width 1.55 m | |
| silver: aluminum coated, width 1.55 m |
Ventex would be a sleek polyester kite fabric with nice flying characteristics. Unfortunately, the limited color palette is only randomly available. In addition, it's less precise in processing than icarex.
6 adhesive reinforcements
Adhesive Icarex
Coated with uv-proof and humidity resistant acrylic film. Little sticking while applying, after pressing extremely resistant particularly to shear forces. This taping film is very thin and long living, the best available.
| black, 100 mm x 210 mm | |
| black, 300 mm x 210 mm |
UL-kevlar
Coated with black Icarex, therefore can be cut with a scalpel or a fresh cutter.
| black, 40 mm x 210 mm | |
| black, 80 mm x 210 mm |
Adhesive Dacron
Coated with uv-proof and humidity resistant acrylic film. Little sticking while applying. Later, after pressing extremely resistant particularly to shear forces. This taping film is very strong and long living. This is not the "Insignia" cloth for sail numbers.
| 160 g/m2 net: black, 100 mm x 210 mm | |
| 160 g/m2 net: black, 300 mm x 210 mm |
Highly transparent uv proof acrylic adhesive film
Cut any width of handy tapes: 3 mm, 5 mm, 6 mm or areas. Pleasant to work with, while sewing, the needle stays clean without using any silicone. This is the best and longest lasting adhesive transfer film available, based on the expensive 3m 9460.
| transparent, 0.05 mm x 100 mm x 210 mm | |
| transparent, 0.05 mm x 300 mm x 210 mm |
7 kite construction lines
Bridle line 650 n
| 65 dan-kg, 140 lbs, by Level One, a popular bridle line on stunt kites: Dyneema-Spectra with dark gray shiny Dacron sleeve. |
Bridle line 320 n
| 32 dan-kg, 70 lbs, ø 1.0 mm: Dyneema-Spectra core, black polyester sleeve. Good for compact flanges. |
Bridle line 600 n
| 60 dan-kg, 130 lbs, ø 1.2 mm: Dyneema-Spectra core, black polyester sleeve. Good for compact flanges. |
How to make "the pen loop" with nice compact flanges at the end of the lines see chapter 6 of the urban-ninja-project.
Bungi cord
| Black polyester sleeve. Variable tension from very gentle (rubber) to hard (sleeve). ø 1.8 mm. |