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Zippy8
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Project kite - T(alo)NT Zero

Sat Jan 21, 2012 4:13 pm

I thought I'd spend a little time over this winter cobbling together a kite more my own than just the usual off the shelf sort of thing. Back in The Day™ I used to reframe and rebridle kites a lot, more in a spirit of investigation than any real expectation of turning out something better than the professionals, so this isn't totally new to me.

I picked up a not-ready-for-prime-time Talon SUL sail and the intention was to combine it with my favourite SUL of the moment, the TNT Zero. How "favourite" is this kite ? I reach past a Cosmic Ghost to get to it.

So the frame and construction details of the TNT with the sail shape of the Talon - nitro and glycerine ! How could it go wrong ? :wink:

The framing is Skinny UL for the whole LE, Skinny SUL (that's a heavier, stiffer spar) for the LS, a P90 spine and a 4mm tube US.

One of the more obvious construction details is the bridle line centre T. In all honesty it's barely lighter than a plastic part so it's not there for SULiness but it is neat and shows no signs of moving. I glued a nitrile o-ring to the long centre ferrule and fixed it around that. More o-rings on the spine to keep it all positioned.
Image

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On the 4 spars I had to cut (ULE, LS) I've injected the thin, cut end with hot glue. This gives them a slightly better chance of making it through the flying day. The cut end of wrapped spars can easily splinter.
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The other really standout construction detail lifted from the TNT is the attachment points of the bridle - the attach to the LS, not at the centre T. Now this has been done before but with cross-bridles. I was a little concerned at first but neither my Zero nor a standard TNT have shown any drawback to this so.... also lifted. A couple of glued on o-rings keep the lines in place. Position for these was arrived at by a combination of ThatLooksAboutRight and mathematics.
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I've stuck with yoyo stoppers rather than rollbars 'cos I'm not willing to subject Skinny ULs to too much abuse. I'm still playing with the fitting of these but they are behind the LE tunnel.
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And a bit of cord at the wingtips.
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The result is quite nice to look at, even though I say so myself, and tips the scales at a gentle 184 grammes. This is allegedly 11 grammes heavier than the official Talon SUL and I'll happily take that. Flying so far has been limited but it does fly. Some bridle tweakery and even <shudder> weight games lie ahead for sure but that was always what I was looking for in a project kite. It might not end up a particularly good kite but it'll hopefully end up good enough for me.

A tip o' the hat to Jest of Eve and Alphakites for inspiration.

Mike.
 
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fworley
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Re: Project kite - T(alo)NT Zero

Sat Jan 21, 2012 7:39 pm

Nice work, interesting project no doubt.

I once bought a Wayne Knott said and framed / bridled it up.

I was well chuffed then it flew well, hats off to these *clever* chaps who design these new kites.

-Frazer
 
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Re: Project kite - T(alo)NT Zero

Sat Jan 21, 2012 9:54 pm

Veeerrry cool, hybrid vigour and all that widening of the gene pool stuff.
As for the weighting can you now put tip weights in the LLE or has the glue made that not possible? The bridle attachment on the LS is a thought provoking idea, especially on the SUL. A groovy fusion of kite and ideas, hats off to you Mike, as well as JOE and Alphakites.
Mike
 
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Zippy8
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Re: Project kite - T(alo)NT Zero

Sun Jan 22, 2012 8:08 am

Coogee wrote:
As for the weighting can you now put tip weights in the LLE or has the glue made that not possible?

No more room for anything internal at the wingtips but if I were to put weight there then firstly, the sail feels pretty heavy there already with piles of dacron reinforcement, and secondly, I'd just put a sliver of soft copper tube around the nock. I'd prefer to add as little weight as possible either way.

The bridle attachment on the LS is a thought provoking idea, especially on the SUL.

It is thought provoking and I'm not sure that I've come up with a coherent one yet. Answers on a postcard please.

I will get some footage up at some point. It is floaty. 8-[

Mike.
 
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Re: Project kite - T(alo)NT Zero

Thu Jan 26, 2012 5:03 pm

Update !

Well so far nothing has fallen off or apart, so I'm quite happy with that. I have added a smidge o' weight to the base of the spine (2.5g) that has just given it a nudge in rotation so that full moves happen more regularly. The position and fitting of the yoyo stoppers need a little work but nothing major - it's not "a yoyo monster !!1!!" and was never intended as such. I've made use of the original Talon bridle, tweaked to fit the new attachment points on the LS, and the upper outhaul has needed a little shortening.

What I have at the moment is a quite passable impression of A Good Kite. It certainly isn't something I'd choose to fly indoors or in totally still air outdoors (I've had quite enough opportunity recently to try that out) but it gets moving in a suggestion of air movement and is quite capable of entertaining me. It's a credit to the Talon design that even my ham-fisted attempts at modifying it and indeed flying it haven't managed to completely ruin it.

Once the lakes here are frozen I'll be able to get some footage.... hopefully.

Mike.
 
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Re: Project kite - T(alo)NT Zero

Thu Jan 26, 2012 5:06 pm

Looks great, haven't re-modeled a kite in ages, used to do it all the time, quite envious!
 
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Re: Project kite - T(alo)NT Zero

Sun Jan 29, 2012 11:01 pm

Sweet .... it's nice to put your own stamp on stuff. I have been doing a bit of this too recently. Nice photos documenting it too ! =D>