D R A G O N T A I L

A long rippling kite that looks restless around.


This kite is a relatively simple kite to make. Despite it is a one-line kite it isn't a simple kite to fly. A little too less wind and it won't stay up and with too much wind it starts to dive into a spiral. Nevertheless, this kite is an interesting kite to make and fun to fly.

Materials
Plastic bags in different colors.
1 wooden stick 40 cm long
1 fiber or other flexible stick
- of about 1 meter long
Cellotape
Rope
Scissors


Take one large bag that have a decorative drawing on it. I used a 40 x 50 cm sized bag. Bent the flexible stick into an 'U' shape and place this stick into bag. The force of the stick will keep the bag stretched and in shape. Secure the flexible stick on the inside with tape. Now cut of piece of the bag to make a nice round shape. Use again tape to close the bag and to ensure the round shape stays in model.


Place the center stick on the backside of the kite and secure it with tape. Make two small holes at each side of the center stick. Two at the top and two at the bottomside of the stick. These are the places to attach the bridle line to. Use for this a line of about 80 cm.


To make the long tail you can cut the other bags into pieces and tape them together to make one long colorful tail. You can also attach a few pieces of colored plastic to the sides of the kite to make it more stable.



Copyright © 1998, A.A. van Zoelen.
All rights reserved.
Updated: 21 September 1998