Delta kite

The triangular shaped kite is probably the most common type of kite. And this is not surprising - they are easy to manufacture, can be easily and quickly disassembled, taking up little space, and unpretentious to the weather - flying well at any time of the year.

The Delta Serpent is made up of four elements. These are two side rails, a central rail, and a transverse one.

If you decide to design such a kite yourself, then start by completing the drawings.

First you need to determine the main dimensions - guided by one of the basic dimensions (for example, the length of the central rail), calculate all other sides.

The following are options for various relationships between sizes:

Please note: in the last diagram, the trailing edge is not straight. This is how it should be - the trailing edge can be of any shape.

Having marked the basic dimensions on the drawing, begin to create your own sail shape. Look at the drawing.

I prefer shape #2 because my Ligger kites look like this. Inexpensive plastic snakes, which are often sold in the markets, are usually found with form 3. Form 4 is a little more complicated in that an additional rigid element is likely to be required in the "tail" part. Form 1 is too trivial, probably because it is so rare.

Now you have all the necessary information in the form of numbers - experiment, choosing a good form. This is quite simple, but it is imperative to pay attention to this "turning" of the form and not save on this time.

Snakes of this type are disassembled by removing the cross rail from specially designed grooves or pockets. Note that the rail is made a little shorter than the distance across the surface of the sail - this allows the kite to "bent out" and thereby improve its stability.

Pockets for fastening the slats can be made from pieces of tubes or glued out of paper, or you can sew them to the sail from pieces of fabric.

"Kiel", freely dangling in the middle of the sail - replaces the bridle of the snake. If you are making a kite out of film, you can simply tape it on both sides. During the first test runs, you will most likely need to adjust the kite, so do not be lazy and make a few holes or eyelets for the lifeline so that you can find the best option.

In addition, I usually make a loop at the bottom so that I can easily tie / untie the tail.

And a small remark in the end. If you want a colorful snake from a few pieces of fabric, create patterns immediately for your drawing. To do this, as soon as the drawing of the sail is ready, divide it into parts. If you can't come up with a cute design right away, pick up a pencil and draw a few kite shapes on a piece of paper, then color them to your liking. Of the several options drawn next to it, it will be easy to choose the one you like the most. Transfer the lines to the kite drawing, then divide it into parts along these lines. For each piece, add seam allowances where needed. On the allowances, make notes on what each part is attached to. It is convenient to number each part - by the number on the pattern and on the diagram, you will quickly determine what kind of piece you have in your hands.