(First post so I don't know if this is formatted correctly)
Hello all,
I don't even remember why but earlier this summer I decided I would like to build my own foil kite (I’m aware of how much time it’s going to take) but because I didn't think it would be any good, I wanted to make an unconventional kite.
That’s when I decided I wanted to take not only the wings of a bird but the entire thing (maybe plane), a little bit more like a show kite/single line kite but I actually plan to use it for kitesurfing (and maybe let my brother use it on hydrofoil) if it works.
Inspiration:
- 3D-Plane-180-Kids-Stunt-Kite-Adventure-Colours.jpg (10.34 KiB) Viewed 5187 times
Now that the origin of the kite has been established I would both like to get a bit of advice on where I can find certain pieces of information and maybe just general feedback on what I’ve already done/decided because I’m completely inexperienced with building and designing kites.
Information
Is there anywhere where I can get a list of tested airfoils that work for kites?
I’m currently using the profile PW104, I found it when looking for things about foilmaker and the website (
https://members.tripod.com/daniel_gagnon0/id19.htm) said it was great for kitesurfers because of stability (which I think is especially important for my kite and the gusty conditions we often have).
Current (awful) design
Alright, now don’t laugh at how stupid it is and, of course, I know it’s not efficient at all.
So this is currently what it looks like, it’s a very rough paint job but I feel like it sells the bird better than the standard red colour.
Size (might not be completely accurate or useful because of the dumb design):
Flat area: 10.02 m^2
Flat AR: 4.9
Flat wingspan: 6.7
Cells: 25 (Was a bit low I thought so it does have 40% miniribs)
Profile:
Centre, PW104 17.586 at 17.91
Tip, PW104 13.586 at 17.91
These are once again standard values because I don’t think randomly changing them would be a good idea but tip should be less than centre as far as I know so even though it contradicts the page I found the profile on.
Arc:
Arc of 112° even though that is more for a race kite than one I hope would fly.
Billow:
3.5% front starting at 15%
4% rear starting at 90 and 95% for upper and lower skin respectively.
I believe the billow settings are from Niklas’s tutorial because I didn’t really know which settings would be best and these are in line with the 3-5% I believe this thread said were okay settings.
Bridle:
I think it’s quite standard again.
AoA: 3% for both centre and tip
- Screenshot 2021-08-05 21.26.58.png (60.41 KiB) Viewed 5187 times
Tow point at 30% because of the weird shape, I think, it seems to be at about 20% of chord if it was in a standard position.
I think those are the most important parts of the design. My idea on why it may work is that if the “body” doesn’t help anything (which it most likely won’t) the rest of the kite should still be strong enough to kite with. The main problems I would think of are front stalls because the “body” would deform the kite too much, the kite being ripped apart because the upper and lower skins don’t follow a smooth line (could be solved relatively easily by having “strings” where the upper and lower skins would’ve normally been maybe) or that the body would be flattened making it into a “standard” foil kite (which would actually be solved by the solution above as well I think.).
And if you would have to rate the chances of success, does it have a larger chance than 1% or is it just so incredibly dumb that I should give up on it?