Sled kites rely on wind pressure to keep the sail in shape, some not requiring
spars at all, making them very cheap, and almost indestructible, except by
dragging them through a convenient gorse bush after the wind dropped! They
usually fly reliably in a light wind, though a poorly designed sled can
deflate if hit by a sudden side wind, falling in a heap to the ground (or
a gorse bush).
The first completely soft kite was the
Rogallo, developed in the late 40's
and the 50's by Francis Rogallo, following the theory that it would be
better to make an aircraft which
conformed to the flow of wind around it rather than expecting the wind to
conform to the aircraft (or kite). It can be made out of a square of suitable
material held in shape by a six-legged bridle. If you notice any similarity
to a hang glider or to the delta sports kite, you'll realise that Rogallo's
ideas have not simply been relegated to a backwater of kiting history.
Both Eden and
Pelham have plans for a rogallo.
He continued his developments under the auspices of NASA, and the
culmination was the NASA Parawing Model 5,
of which are available. It's very easy to build in sizes ranging from a
pocket kite to one that would pull like a train, given a bit of
patience with the bridle. It can also be flown as a 2 or 4 line
kite. Here is a picture
of one built by Buck Childers.
The basic sled
has two longerons and a two-legged bridle. The two sides to
which the bridle is attached act as keels, but even so, a tail or vents in
the rear of the sail may be required for stability. The sled kite is a
relatively new invention, dating back only to 1950. The original idea came
from William Allison of Ohio with a tapering design, but a modified version
was introduced in 1964 by Frank Scott, also of Ohio, who added vents in a
parallel-sided design. The sketch shows Ed Grauel's version with trapezoidal
A very simple basic sled can be built out of a supermarket bag with
drinking straws for spars, using Kel Krosschell's
Mini Sled plan. (Children can use sticky tape instead of the
suggested heat gun.)
Another plan is a
replica of Grauel's sled, drawn from an example that was given to me.
The ram-air sled
dispenses with the longerons, replacing them by two
air-inflated tubes. Having no rigid parts, this is a favourite design for a
small child's first kite, but this is no reason why anyone young at heart
can't stuff one in a pocket to fly whenever a breeze picks up.
Buck Childers' plans (see my plans
archive for a copy)
make a good first kite to construct with a sewing machine. He and
his wife make them for everybody for Christmas - hardly economic if you
realistically cost your time, but there's something different about a
present you made yourself. (I made 4 myself one Christmas
- they take 3 hours each including an appliquéd
initial). Alternatively, the
kite, which consists of 7 air-inflated tubes, is a bit different.
Anthony Thyssen has a
of one he made. Or if you want something big,
a plan was published in Kitelines Magazine in Fall '94, for a double
ram-air sled, shown in this
are also available online, in a somewhat downsized version.
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Copyright © 1999 Philip Le Riche