Blue Spot Power Kites
What are they?
Briefly, a family of (relatively) high performance inflatable, valved, power
kites designed primarily for use on or near water. The plans for each and
every one are provided free for non-commercial use by anyone who wants them
.
Why are they?
- There were very few free, good, non-copyright infringing plans out there for
power kites.
- The ones that there were, were not designed for on-water use, and didn't
'push the envelope' as much as I want to (they tended to be too 'thick' and
/ or have lowish aspect ratios. I want thin, high AR kites).
- I like designing and building kites. I like the thrill of not knowing if all
the work I put in was totally in vain. I have too much time on my hands.
Of course, with the introduction of the rather groovy 'Foilmaker' program for
Windows, much of this is now untrue. There are now many plans out there, some
of which have been well-received and tested. Doesn't help me, of course, as
I have no windows machine. Whatever. The original plans for the first blue spot
prototype were made with a combination of Excel
and a CAD package, plans for the
second with Gnumeric, some ingenuity and my own
skin-plotting software
.
Individual Details
Blue Spot 1 - Genesis
| Area | 5m^2 |
| Span | 4.5m |
| Aspect Ratio | 4.5:1 (ish) |
| Planform | Truncated bielliptical (squared tips) |
| Bridling | 3 (eventually 4) point primary, non-cascaded non-crossed
'standard' bridle, quadlined, bridled every 3rd rib |
| # Cells | 45 |
| Shaped Skin | No |
| Dribs | No |
| Other features | Internal valving, internal cross-vent tube,
original prototype made with shitty ripstop seconds and useless near
water :-( |
| Stop Press | An 8.2m^2 version of this kite has been made, but not by me |
Description Plans, latest measurements Flight reports Photos Others
Blue Spot 2 - Refinement
| Area | 3m^2 |
| Span | 5.1m |
| Aspect Ratio | 6:1 |
| Planform | Bielliptical with pointed tips |
| Bridling | 3-point primary, modified
arch-bridle, quadlined with AoA adjustment on brakes |
| # Cells | 36 |
| Shaped Skin | Yes |
| Dribs | Yes |
| Other features | Fully taped construction, Free-floating tube valves. |
Description Plans Flight Reports Photos Others
Blue Spot 3+ - Project 'Mental Floss'
Tentatively planned as an AR 10+ kite, probably in the 1-2 m^2 range.
Last modified: Sun Feb 4 11:08:10 GMT 2001