Print PDF
Favorite
Email
Show your love with an arch of flying hearts.
Remove these ads by
Signing UpStep 1The basic concept and materials required.
What you are making is a kite arch.
A kite arch is a string of several tens of kites, all side by side. Instead of each flying from a line fixed to the front, they all fly "shoulder to shoulder" along a line fixed across where the horizontal spar usually goes on a lone kite.
You will need:
A heart template: Download the Word document I have attached (it will need to be copied up to A3), or find your own outline that you like.
Kite line: Something around 100lb test line should be fine. It doesn't need to be pre-stretched, and monofilament fishing line would probably work.
Sail material: Paper or mylar wrapping film will be easiest, unless you want to use the arch again next year, in which case use tyvek if you can get it.
Adhesive tape: If you're using paper, mylar or tyvek for the kites ordinary sticky tape is fine. If you're using something exotic, make sure your tape will stick to it.
Bamboo spars: Cheap barbeque skewers are ideal, the kind that you buy in packs of 100 for a pound from the supermarket. Otherwise, I've had great success with the matchstick-thickness bamboo from roller-blinds.
Tails: About 2 feet per kite, light ribbon, strips of plastic, anything that is light, flexible and complements your kites would be ideal.
A stapler.
A kite arch is a string of several tens of kites, all side by side. Instead of each flying from a line fixed to the front, they all fly "shoulder to shoulder" along a line fixed across where the horizontal spar usually goes on a lone kite.
You will need:
A heart template: Download the Word document I have attached (it will need to be copied up to A3), or find your own outline that you like.
Kite line: Something around 100lb test line should be fine. It doesn't need to be pre-stretched, and monofilament fishing line would probably work.
Sail material: Paper or mylar wrapping film will be easiest, unless you want to use the arch again next year, in which case use tyvek if you can get it.
Adhesive tape: If you're using paper, mylar or tyvek for the kites ordinary sticky tape is fine. If you're using something exotic, make sure your tape will stick to it.
Bamboo spars: Cheap barbeque skewers are ideal, the kind that you buy in packs of 100 for a pound from the supermarket. Otherwise, I've had great success with the matchstick-thickness bamboo from roller-blinds.
Tails: About 2 feet per kite, light ribbon, strips of plastic, anything that is light, flexible and complements your kites would be ideal.
A stapler.
Heart.doc35 KB| « Previous Step | Download PDFView All Steps | Next Step » |
Love it.. glad you are adding some kite building instructables.
Here is a shot of a diamond arch I built a couple years back. The album should give an idea of how they fly. (hope the weather clears so we can see yours :) )
Photo...
http://www.steadywinds.com/gal/harkarch/100_1788
Gallery
http://www.steadywinds.com/gal/harkarch
Since I decided to write this up, we've had fog, snow, rain, frost and no wind!
The image I nicked off the web gives an idea of what it should look like - imagine each diamond replaced by a heart.
(Sorry, everybody)