Year after year, I built kites for the 3 to 6 Beaufort wind range. The models of kites I could find in the magazines, or in the books didn't necessarily fit with the criteria I was looking for. So I tried to imagine models which could give me better satisfaction. And therefore came the Calomil, the Crico, the Waco and the Yakamate. Some of them have been built in several sizes or versions. Others, like the Delta, the Dopero, the Flowform or the Rokkaku are well-known kites.

 

The Beaufort scale shows the wind range:

 

Wind speeds are those measured in the air near the kite, not on ground which is absolutely irrelevant. On weather forecast, the wind is given at 10m elevation.

 

My criteria:

 

Pulling: We can make action on the bridle, or increase the size of the kite, but some models are more efficient than others with a better aerodynamic output.

Stability: No "pump effect", no roaming in the air.

Angle of line: The higher it is, the easier it is to lift the rig for the same pull, but too much usually means flying problems.

Sound behavior: No risk of fall under the effect of a  gust or a lateral blow.

Easiness: for transportation and for assembly of the kite on the field

 

For each kite, the plan is available:

   in gif file

f   in pdf file.

All units are given in the International System.

The additions to the kites

These are the tails, the windsocks like the fukinagashis, but also the devices on the bridle.

The anti-draft bridle is designed for the kites flying in light breezes where thermal drafts are often flowing up. It set the kite an higher incidence angle when the wind dropped.

The compensators ae doing the contrary, they decreases the incidence angle of the kite to lessen its pull in stronger winds.a