Design your own kite!

[OliverG]

Did your mom ever make clothes from patterns? You can make your own kites from them, too! This is the real deal. You can design your kites, rotate and shade them in real-time 3d views.

http://www.wirelessdatasys.com/dea/kites/surfplan/

Download Surfplan and whip yourself up a nice new custom kite. I made one, but then realized it was about 29m and had about 16 struts.

[Greg]

Ollie,
A 29m would work pretty good in San Diego! I say you give it a run,
L.M.G.

[charlie]

hay ollie
nice find
c

[tim_fred]

Hey, I've done this.

I took my home-made 14m out at 3rd on Sunday. First time I had it on the water.

The good news is that I got exactly what I designed.

The bad news is that my design had some problems.

I had a super small front tube and way too much profile depth too close to the tips. As a result it jellyfishes a little and the bar pressure is pretty heavy compared to modern front-line flyers. Next time I go out I'll move the front attach points back a little.

But it goes upwind like a rocket and has an immense amount of power. I can't oversheet it....the more I pull, the more it pulls. Turning speed and jumping are just so-so.

If any of you see me at the beach and want to try it out just gimme a holler. It's red with white ribs and tips.

I'm not ready to replace all my name-brand kites yet, but I'm hooked enough to have ordered more material for a 10m.

-Tim

PS - unless your time is completely worthless you won't save any money making your own kites. There's a reason these are all made in China.