Help in Assembling this Two-Line Kite

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[TromboneAl]

Hi,

I found this kite on the side of the road (in a case):



And I was able to fly it OK.  However, I noticed that the main plastic rod that goes from the tip to the rear, had broken through it's pocket (or perhaps it isn't supposed to be a pocket -- is it supposed to just slide through that part??).



I've found that there is no way this rod can go into the pocket without major, major bowing of the rod.  It is just too long.

Also, the tip of the rod has a plastic piece on it which is obviously designed to take a cord (as in the wingtips).  However, there are no grommets in this area of the kite.

So, can any of you tell me how I should assemble this?

Thanks in advance!

- Al

[ancnthiflr]

maybe that's why it was on the side of the road.
seriously though, the tail pocket or whatever reinforcement is at the tail end, should have two holes in it, so a short length of bungee cord can anchor the tail of the sail to the spine rod.
If it doesn't, and considering your investment into this kite, you can create your own holes by poking a hot rod ( a heated wire at least the thickness of a clothes hangar). The heat is needed to seal the cut holes so they don't fray under the stress caused by the anchoring.
But if the pocket or the tail reinforcement is made of the same material as the sail, that is a clue that no matter what you do, the kite will not withstand  any holes in it for very long. You could get the same result with punching two holes in a piece of duct tape or sail cloth tape affixed to the tail.
maybe you should put it back where you found it.

[TromboneAl]

Thanks.  It's funny, I can see no evidence of holes, but perhaps someone repaired by putting some new fabric over the tip.

I'm tempted to just cut the rod so that it fits in the pocket, but I might try putting the holes and using a cord.

I'm guessing this is a pretty cheap kite, right?  It was on the side of the freeway, so I'm sure it fell off some tourist's car.

[ancnthiflr]

The spine length helps to keep the sail tensioned. If the pocket has an open bottom end, just run the bungee cord through it instead of creating holes somewhere.

[Ca Ike]

That is a $5-$10 cheap china kite.  If its the one I'm thinking of there should be a strip of cloth about 1/4 inch wide on the tail that hooks over the nock.  There is pretty much no QC done on these so rods are often too long.

[fidelio]

A few close up pics of the tail area might help us get you back in the air.

[TromboneAl]

Thanks guys.  I "soldered" a hole, added some string, and it worked great.



I just flew it on the beach with a 15-20 MPH wind, and it worked great.

[Ca Ike]

With that shot I can see where the tail pocket tore.  Your fix is ok but if I were you I would burn another hole so you have a hole on both sides of the spine.  Then use some 1/8 " bungie cord (hair elastic works well) to make a loop to hook into the rod end. Just thread it through both holes and tie a knot in it making it long enough to just barely fit over the rod end.

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