How to Make a Sled Kite

Step by Step—Page 2 of 3

The MBK 1-Skewer Sled

How to Make a Sled Kite
Spars

The 1-Skewer Sled - where the skeweras go.

For this sled, you need two 30 cm (12 in.) bamboo BBQ skewers.
Lay down and line up the skewers over the plastic as shown. Mark each skewer where it crosses the bottom edge of the sail.
Snip off the pointed ends with scissors, at the marks. These are the vertical spars.

How to Make a Sled Kite
Attaching Sail

The 1-Skewer Sled - how to attach the skewer to the plastic

Lay down the vertical spar skewers again, over the sail.
Wrap a short length of clear sticking tape around each of the four tips, securing them to the sail plastic. The top photo shows the top tip in closeup.
Next lay a short length of clear tape across each skewer and onto the plastic, at the center. See the next photo.

How to Make a Sled Kite
Towing Points

Here's how to reinforce the towing points:

First, stick down a length of tape that goes left to right and sticks out some distance from the towing point as in the photo.
Turn the sail over, and stick down another piece of tape exactly the same way so both pieces stick to the plastic at one end and to each other at the other end.
Finally, stick down another piece of tape at right angles to the first two. Fold the corners around the edge of the plastic sail so it looks like the photo.
Now go over to the right side of the sail and do exactly the same thing with another three pieces of tape. The pieces of tape that stick out are where you will attach the bridle line. This method is surprisingly strong and can take a lot of punishment in rough air, due to the kite's light pulling force.

How to Make a Sled Kite
Bridle

Dacron line in 20- to 50-pound strength is suitable for all the Skewer Series kites.

The 1-Skewer Sled - bridle knotted to towing point.b

Cut off some flying line to a length of six skewers, and put a small Loop knot into each end.
Using Double-Wrap Slip knots, tie one end of the line to one towing point tape and the other end to the other towing point tape. Try to get the knots tight enough to crush the towing point tape—see the photo.
Take the bridle line and suspend the kite from it so that the two sides line up exactly. The two spars should be right next to each other. Tie a small Loop knot into the bridle, taking care that the kite sides still align.

TIP: It's best to fold and twist the towing point tape before forming the knot. Otherwise, it's too easy to shear off the tape when attempting to tighten the knot!

How to Make a Sled Kite
Tails

The 1-Skewer Sled - attaching the twin tails.

Cut out two long thin rectangles of colored plastic for the tails. Mine are black to contrast with the orange sail. Make each tail 4.0 SL (116 cm, 46 in.) long and 0.15 SL (4.4 cm, 1 3/4 in.) wide.
Tie one end of each tail around a vertical spar, as close as possible to the bottom tip. See the photo. A single Half Hitch will do, since there are very low forces on the tails in flight.

At this point, you've finished making the 1-Skewer Sled!