Author Archives: joel

My newest kite is a half-size Genki. Genkis are a high-aspect ratio kite, and fly really well in light winds. I built this one as a test, because I've got an idea for a kite of my own design that would use the Genki design as a leaping-off point. I tried it both with and without a drogue tail. I think I may have built the tail a little undersized for this kite though, as it didn't really change the flight angle at all. This kite is about 6 feet wide and 2 feet tall. The kite I am planning will probably be at least twice as big!

This was my second attempt to get this kite to fly. The first time I had to really struggle to keep it in the air, and it gave me a lot of grief. This time I was more careful setting it up and getting the bridle lines and tow point adjusted correctly, and it flew beautifully. But egads - those Roks can pull! I'm going to need to upgrade to a stronger flying line. Several times a gust caught the kite, and I could hear the line humming as it got near it's breaking point. If I can learn to set this kite up reliably, this will probably be the kite most capable of lifting a camera for some aerial photos. My camera rig is almost finished, and I hope to try it out for the first time this weekend. I'm very excited to see how it goes! By the way - it's tough to get a sense of scale in these pictures, but this is actually a pretty big kite. It is about 5 feet tall and 4 feet wide. Traditionally - in Japan - these kites are built 8 feet tall!