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Eolo Genesis facsimile build.

Sat Feb 21, 2015 5:55 pm

Hi all :-D

I did post in the for sale and wanted section, trying to source another Eolo Genesis.
I know it`s not a high end kite but after I bought a new (second hand) one off a "popular auction site" and flew it a couple of times I was kind of taken with the thing.

After a few bridle tweeks sourced through Bilboquet`s forum I found it a great little kite, flew it in next to no wind.
A few days later the wind was up (9 gusting to 15mph) and despite the 4mm carbon pultrude frame it survived some numpty attempts at a jacobs and subsequent hard landings (honestly they weren`t crashes per se, just un-authorised landings :wink:

Having looked around I`ve come to the conclusion I won`t be able to buy another one so have decided to build a version as my very first attempt at kite building. :-D

I have a kite to base it on so.......
I deframed the Genesis and traced the panel layout with the kite as flat as possible making note of the grid orientation and the overlap layout.
The panels were then traced onto 200gsm printer paper (laying around under my printer and a bit heavy stock for everyday printing) and cut out.
These patterns were then layed out onto Bockingboard (think thats the name! It`s from my old art stock and is basically a heavy duty board for watercolour painting).

When doing the final cutting out I discovered (in my opinion) that panel layout looked better for a small kite without the smaller "dart-like" panel in the top the Genesis has, plus less cutting and sewing for me.
This now "missing" panel has been incorperated into the lower panel so the layout remains the same with no change in dimensions.

This is a project so I`m not investing a huge amount of money in it (heck the original kite only cost 40 Euro`s!) but it will give me an idea of the time and effort taken by builders of kites. =D>

The original is in 42gsm polyester but I have found some 35gsm rip-stop nylon (parachute material) for this project.
I have never hot-cut anuthing before so have experimented with some 4oz! nylon I have laying arouns and the sharpened soldering iron worked a treat despite being only 20w (just cut slower!) however it should be even faster a smoother through the lighter rip-stop.

So..wish me luck and I leave you with an image of the panel lay-out :-D
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Re: Eolo Genesis facsimile build.

Sun Mar 01, 2015 10:07 pm

It`s not easy is it folks! :shock: :wink:

Sure the cutting and positioning of the panels was no problem for someone who designs and builds 2-stroke expansion chambers using the template method, practically the same process of fixing the template and cutting out the blank but this sewing malarky is a bit different to TIG welding and a lot more subtle.

One of the issues was the ancient Frister + Rossman was not sewing zig-zag anyway due to a broken gear so I had to order a new brass helical gear to replace the only nylon part in the solid iron machine! (Common fault apparently).
Once fixed I realise that it dos`nt do 3-step zig-zag (stretch stitch) anyway so I resign myself to using various widths and lengths of single zag-zig being as this is a first build and the material is cheap enough.

Then this 35gsm Parachute ripstop is gossamer stuff! It seems much more delicate and sheer than Icarex 31 just by touchy feely the kites I have in the bag constructed with Icarex.
It took me the best part of a morning fiddling with different needles, bobbin and top tensions, presser foot tensions plus testing contact glue vs double sided tape just to get a clean stitch without the material puckering under the needle.
In the end I found a decent combination for a good result taking into consideration my novice skills at a less than perfectly set-up machine.

Pic of the panels hot-cut and taped, the tape is 3mm double-sided sold for fixing I-pod and phone screens and is bloody strong! I`ve bought several different types to test including something listed as 3M and another that is a generic tape for card making ( I use this with the tack removed by a damp thumb to fix the material to the template)

I have been sewing the panels today and pics will follow.
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SteveC
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Re: Eolo Genesis facsimile build.

Mon Mar 02, 2015 8:42 am

I've built a couple of HQ Delta Hawk copies for a 3 stack I use. I bought 42grm ripstop from 'The Highwaymen' and found it was very easy to use - I didn't bother hot cutting it and it hasn't frayed yet. i use some light tack double sided crafting tape - you don't really need really sticky stuff as it gums up the needle - I have heard of people using Prit! just enough to hold the panels while you sew. I used straight stitch on mine mainly because I'm crap with a sewing machine. Make sure you leave enough room in the leading edge tunnels for the spars - first time I sewed too close to the edge and had to unpick it all.

There are some good threads on kite building on the GWTW forum.

http://www.gwtwforum.com/index.php?board=19.0
Current Bag:- HQ Shadow, Spiderkites Zodarion, Flying Wings Soul, Old blue HQ Jive , 'PAW' modded HQ Maestro II, Delta Hawk,
 
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Re: Eolo Genesis facsimile build.

Mon Mar 02, 2015 9:38 pm

Thanks for the link Steve, I have looked through most forums and You tube for building techniques and most seem to be a standard procedure with a few variations.
I would have used a less aggresive glue on the panels had they been 48gsm or even PC31 but the slipperyness of this 35gsm parachuite fabric meant I wanted it properly glued in place to save it slipping under the needle.
Yes I did experience gumming up on several occasions but a handy bottle of Iso Alchohol and kitchen towel solved that issue :) I just wiped down the needle after each pass or panel :)
I`ll get some pics up of the completed sail tomorrow and then it`s a wait for fixtures and fittings so I can frame it up.

Mean time I`m cutting plans and templates for a Nazko but down scaling it to 85% and thinking about making it in Skytex 27 or 32, also searching for a used machine that can do three-step zig-zag, actually my stitching on the old Frister looks quite sweet in simple zig-zag but I beileve using that stitch might have been part of the problem with the slippery material, although I overcame it with settings and strong fixing tape.
 
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Re: Eolo Genesis facsimile build.

Wed Mar 04, 2015 3:35 pm

Just an update of the finished sail.
As I said the old machine I`ve cobbled back together can`t do 3-step zig-zag so I`ve had to use a combination of different width and length generic zags and zigs as well as normal straight stitch :)
I`m pretty pleased with the over-all result although next time I may do things a tad differently having used this as the vertical learning curve it is!
Waiting on the sticks (4mm structil) plus the connectors,bridle line etc before I can put it together and see how it flys :D

I`ll post a pic of it when it`s finished.
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bryan beasley
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Re: Eolo Genesis facsimile build.

Wed Mar 04, 2015 5:22 pm

Nice work, well done.

Bryan.
 
Coogee
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Re: Eolo Genesis facsimile build.

Wed Mar 04, 2015 6:47 pm

Great work

What's next?

Mike
 
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Re: Eolo Genesis facsimile build.

Wed Mar 04, 2015 7:30 pm

Well Mike, first up is to see how it flys! ;) and check the integrity of my stitching before anything else.

Material wise it should be good, I used #70 sharp needle and Gutterman Mara 100 thread, changed the needle to #80 for the tougher stuff such as leading edges and nose etc.

The fabric is an unknown to me, parachute ripstop at 35gsm, some colours PU coated and others (the gold for example) uncoated and definately semi-porous!
It might be the ideal stuff for making a vented kite without the vents!! If nothing else I can do a ball park test on the low wind range by flying against the Eolo I used to base it on (constructed using 42gsm acording to all sources).

I`m looking at alternatives to Icarex (such as Skytex and Porcher PN9) due to costs and nothing else, and have finished templates and plans for a Nazko 0.85 scale down as my second build :)

One thing to note, I am not a kite builder :shock: I`m just having a go at building kites :D
 
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KaoS
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Re: Eolo Genesis facsimile build.

Wed Mar 04, 2015 11:24 pm

Coogee wrote:

What's next?



That's obvious... framing...

then bridling :P


Great job, Crafter!
Kevin Sanders

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Re: Eolo Genesis facsimile build.

Fri Mar 06, 2015 7:09 pm

Ok.... It`s finished :D

But I hav`nt had the chance to fly it yet as the wind was too strong today and I had to stake it down even to take pics!
Hopefully I`ll get the chance at some stage this weekend.

I am quite pleased with the way it turned out although under very close scrutiny there are some minor flaws with the stitching running out of line but that is just down to my lack of practice and I`m not blaming anything else.
It was a first build and done just to see if I could build something passable, I`m now confident enough to move on to a bigger project and have some Icarex on order knowing I won`t make a complete balls-up of it!

Framing was done in 4mm Structil all round, bridle is 35kg Climax grey, stand-offs 3mm carbon, fittings tiny APA and I made the centre T by cutting down a plastic 6mm item then sleeving with 6mm od/4mm id diameter carbon tube and pinning this through the centre to act as a stop for the lower spreaders and the stop it sliding sideways.

Span is 1.6m and the weight? Believe it or not around 80grams! My digital fishing scales work in 0.1 of a Kg ( or 10g ) and this tips the scales at 0.8. I have no reason to doubt them as I weigh all my kites and the Zephyr is 285g (about book spec) Shadow is 175g etc etc so that really is the all in weight of this little thing (give or take a few grams I suppose).

Anyway the finished kite, it`s been most interesting to build and I`ve learned a lot doing it and will have fun seeing what it can do :D
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Re: Eolo Genesis facsimile build.

Fri Mar 06, 2015 9:48 pm

As an aside....

I did mention above that some of the parachute ripstop I was using was rated (from the seller) as 35gsm.
Well I weighed a sq metre on my "medicinal" scales commonly known as dope scales! and the uncoated material is actually 28.2gsm.
This was the material I commented is more porous than the PU coated (which might actually measure up to 35gsm but it feels a lot lighter than that).

So.... I sprayed a swatch of the porous material with car clear automotive laquer!
Not as mad as it sounds as I used to custom spray and do airbrush work on cars and bikes and figured all I needed was a "sealer" that would not attack the material and modern aerosol clear laquer is acrylic based and not nitro-cellulose.

The result was quite amazing.
First I must say I just "misted" one side, let dry, then the other (called a kiss coat), I wanted the acrylic to penetrate the fibres and not create a gloss topcoat! :wink:
When dry the material was darker, felt a bit crisper but more important was the stretch across the cross-bias of the ripstop was 70% less than the unsprayed.
The porosity had greatly improved using the patent "blow through the bloody stuff" method, in fact enough to convince myself that if ever I use the uncoated material again it will have a misting of laquer before the pattern is cut out.

I can`t vouch for the longevity of the coating ( which is the wrong word as it dosn`t coat but is absorbed into the matrix :shock: and binds the fibres) but it is something I had to hand and wanted to try.
 
Stan Doff
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Re: Eolo Genesis facsimile build.

Sat Mar 07, 2015 9:44 pm

I am interested to hear how it flys in comparison to the original (Sounds as though it may be lighter) and in seeing a few pics of the details of construction. :cool:
 
Coogee
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Re: Eolo Genesis facsimile build.

Sat Mar 07, 2015 10:05 pm

looks good

So what is the next project?

Mike
 
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Re: Eolo Genesis facsimile build.

Sun Mar 08, 2015 9:31 am

Stan:
According to my scales it is around 20g lighter than the original, both have 5g of tail weight on and I`ve yet to have an oppertunity to fly it as the winds have been too high for this kite.
I did get out yesterday and tried to fly my modded Atomic (13g carbon shafts/stand-offs moved/bridle change) and it nearly dragged me across the field :-D so I resorted to spanking around an old `80`s nylon sailed stunter just to get it out of my system ;)

The construction is nothing fancy and "by the book" meaning the std tape material to template/hot cut/tape seams and sew.
Join both halves,glue then sew nose bag and stand-off points, fit trailing edge leaving room for leachline, fit leading edges having first folded and glued bottom 50mm as reinforcement and hot cut areas for APA`s, glue and sew nose reinforcement.
I`d be happy to post pics of any particular area you are curious about.

Coogee:
Next project is a Nazko downscaled to 85% of the original online plans :)
 
Coogee
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Re: Eolo Genesis facsimile build.

Tue Mar 10, 2015 1:13 am

Have not heard much about the Nazko. The sail layout does look very Atelier. Lots of plans for a self build around so it will be interesting to see how you go and what u think of the kite.

Mike