Skewer Kite Posts—Dopero

MBK 2-Skewer Dopero

All the same, the venerable 2-Skewer Dopero kite held up well in the fan-forced oven that was the weather this afternoon. It wasn't the hottest we've had over the last week or two but at over 35 degrees C it was quite warm enough! I was curious to try the quite small dopero right up near the top of its wind range.

On selecting the kite from a few other 2-Skewer Series designs displayed around our house, I noticed something. The kite had been somewhat refurbished with clear tape over all the spar tips. Good! The only question was—how would the old sail plastic hold up under high wind-pressure?

A bit of flying on a short line revealed a slight tendency to turn left during gusts. With the tiniest of adjustments to the upper bridle knot, the kite was away again. This time I let out over 30 meters (100 feet) of 50-pound line. Normally this kite is flown on 20-pound line but today it had no trouble pulling the heavier stuff straight!

The kite's trim turned out to be almost spot on, with the kite being forced all the way to the ground first in one direction and then in the other. That's flying on the edge! Contacts with the ground were fairly soft though, right at the sides of the flying window. But for much of the time, the little dopero darted about most impressively—at high angles—soaking up fresh bursts of very thermally active air.

The sails? Ummm yes, short splits had appeared in a couple of places, so I called it quits rather than do more damage. I suspect the main sail corner-ties had pulled through a little as well, about the same amount on each side.

Here at home, an online check of wind speeds returned 22 kph gusting to 35 kph at a location not far from the field. So that was one light-wind dopero tested to the very limit!

MBK 1-Skewer Dopero

Down at a local elementary (primary) school field, the dopero was easily popped up into the moderate-strength gusts blowing across the grass. It soon became clear that the kite was looping to the right under pressure. Hence a minuscule adjustment was made, shifting the upper bridle knot to the left. But it was not by more than a couple of millimeters.

With better trim, the 1-Skewer Dopero sailed around happily on about 15 meters (50 feet) of 20-pound Dacron line. A prolonged gust then sent the tiny black craft all the way to the grass in a graceful wide arc. Surprisingly, another gust cartwheeled the kite sideways for a few turns before it took off again, soaring high!

There was a large bushy tree not far away, just waiting to trap the kite. So it was decided to move across to a more open section of the field. This time, around 50 meters (160 feet) of line went out, as the tiny kite raced around the sky, often disappearing as it aligned with the late-afternoon sun. Much of the time, high up in smooth air, the small black craft hung off to the left. So yet another very tiny adjustment of the sliding bridle knot was required to get perfect balance. With kites this size, knots are shifted a mere millimeter or two to make a big difference to the flight characteristics.

With the knot done and the winder trapped behind my kite bag, the dopero was lifted up to catch the breeze. Soon the kite was straining away and climbing like a lift, on the full length of the line.

What followed was the most amazing flight I think this little kite has ever displayed! It raced left and right, climbed to high angles, and descended tail first, depending on the breeze strength. Due to its small size though, the dopero never quite straightened out the line—despite pulling its hardest.

No wind-meter readings were taken; I was far too engrossed in watching the aerial action! :-)

Diminutive Dopero Delivers

It delivered some material for a short-format flight report, that is! After a few unsuccessful launch attempts in tricky light air, the tiny 1-Skewer Dopero kite finally put on a nice climb and float for the camera.

It'd been a while since this kite had flown, and one of the upper sail ties had to be repositioned. That's not to mention a layer of fine dust which had to be blown off the black plastic.

Being such a small kite, these very minor changes managed to put the trim off somewhat, causing a pull to the left in gusts. Or perhaps the bamboo frame had warped slightly from so many months sitting on a shelf.

The trim problem was enough to foil the first few attempts to get more than several meters of 20-pound Dacron out. After a couple of little tweaks of the bridle Prusik knots, the little black kite was left with just a hint of a pull to the right. This was close enough, though, to get some useful video of a half-minute flight on perhaps 15 meters (50 feet) of line.

I can recommend black-plastic sails teamed with yellow keels for any homemade delta, roller, or dopero kite. It looks good, and the kite is highly visible against just about any skyscape—cloudy, gray, or pure blue.