Date:	Sat, 14 Aug 1993 14:32:19 -1000
From:	moishi@uoguelph.ca (Maurice Y Oishi)
Message-Id: <24k06j$nc8@nermal.cs.uoguelph.ca>
Organization: University of Guelph
Subject: l.e. spar and spine: best distance


I'm making a dual line stunt kite similar to a Top of the Line North Shore
Radical. The plans are vague as to how close the leading edge spars and
the spine should be at the nose of the kite. Depending on how I sew the
kite (wing span= 7'), the ends of a leading edge spar and the spine could
be as far apart as 5" or as close as 2" at the nose. (The nose
consists of a cloth tape with sewn pockets to hold the spars and spine
into place rather than vinyl hose). Is it better to bring the spars and
spine as close together as possible at the nose, or is there an optimum
distance?

moishi@vm.uoguelph.ca



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Date:	Mon, 16 Aug 1993 07:32:13 -1000
From:	sasaki@netop3.harvard.edu (Marty Sasaki)
Message-Id: <1993Aug16.173213.15605@das.harvard.edu>
Organization: Harvard University
Subject: Re: l.e. spar and spine: best distance


In article <24k06j$nc8@nermal.cs.uoguelph.ca>, moishi@uoguelph.ca (Maurice Y Oishi) writes:
>I'm making a dual line stunt kite similar to a Top of the Line North Shore
>Radical. The plans are vague as to how close the leading edge spars and
>the spine should be at the nose of the kite. Depending on how I sew the
>kite (wing span= 7'), the ends of a leading edge spar and the spine could
>be as far apart as 5" or as close as 2" at the nose. (The nose
>consists of a cloth tape with sewn pockets to hold the spars and spine
>into place rather than vinyl hose). Is it better to bring the spars and
>spine as close together as possible at the nose, or is there an optimum
>distance?

The answer is,

	It depends.

or,

	Try both and see.

Some kites come nearly to a point. Others are spread apart. Mike
Simmons claims that the Tracer flys better with a wide nose. Alan
Nagao says (and I agree) that with a wide nose, the length of the top
spreader can have a profound effect on the performance of a kite.

I believe that the North Shore Radical is on the wide side, but that's
>From memory...
--
Marty Sasaki            Harvard University           Sasaki Kite Fabrications
sasaki@noc.harvard.edu  Network Services Division    26 Green Street
617-496-4320            10 Ware Street               Jamaica Plain, MA 02130
                        Cambridge, MA 02138-4002     phone/fax: 617-522-8546



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