1-make-a-buka-fighter-kite-with-photo-corners
1-make-a-buka-fighter-kite-with-photo-corners
1-make-a-buka-fighter-kite-with-photo-corners
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Rev 11 2004
The North American version of the buka is much smaller. . One of the most common sizes of
North American bukas is 10"/254mm x 15"/381mm. Bukas are competitive, highly
maneuverable, precise, fast, predictable and a fun fighter kite to fly.
Being a simple rectangle, a buka appears easy to make and it is. However it is quite time
consuming. This article shows an easy and quite quick technique for making a high
performance buka.
I suggest reading the article through a couple of times to become familiar with the flow of the
process before you begin making the buka. This should cut your building time and also
minimize frustrations.
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Rev 11 2004
Wind Range Height Width LE spar dia. Diagonal spar dia. Spine dia.
2-6 mph 11" 17.5" .05" .05" .05"
279mm 445m 1.27mm 1.27mm 1.27mm
5-10 mph 10" 15" .05" .05" .05"/1.27mm or .06"/1.52mm
254mm 381mm 1.27mm 1.27mm
7-15mph 9-3/4" 14.25" .06" .05" .06"
248mm 362mm 1.52mm 1.27mm 1.52mm
SKIN MATERIAL
In the photos I used black Orcon for the skin of the buka, however, any lightweight plastic film,
polyfilm gift wrap, ripstop or Icarex will work just as well. I used Orcon because I have it and it
shows up pretty well in the photos.
SPARS
All the spars in the kite for this article are made of 0.05"/1.27mm diameter carbon fiber rod.
The lengths of each of the spars for the kite in the article are:
Leading edge spar 14-7/8"/377.8mm
Spine 9-3/4"/249.2mm
Cross spars 17-13/16"/452.4mm
Cut your spars slightly longer than the dimensions and sand or cut them to fit when the time
comes. This is because the precise dimension of your kite skin and the location of the self
adhesive photo corners may be slightly different from mine. This will make a slight difference
in the exact dimensions of the spars as you'll see as you read further. The kite will perform
perfectly within a 1/4"/6.3mm dimension range. So don't worry about it if yours is slightly
different in final dimensions from the one in this article.
When bukas are made, they are flat. When they are flown, they must be bowed. Shortening
the adjustable tension line on the back of the kite creates the bow or bend in the leading edge
spar. Without a bend in the leading edge spar, the kite will not fly.
GLUE
CA glue or super glue and contact cement are the glues used to make this buka. You will only
need a few drops of super glue to secure the knots of the bridle and the tension line. The
contact cement is only used to secure the hem encasing the leading edge spar.
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Rev 11 2004
Then measure along the leading edge line 7.5"/190.5mm from the edge and make a mark. Do
the same along the trailing edge. Connect the marks to form the vertical spine line.
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Rev 11 2004
Also place one at each end of the spine line, unless you are going to use a piece of tubing for
the connection of the leading edge spar to the spine, (this option will be discussed a little later).
If you use tubing, then you will place a photo corner only at the trailing edge end of the spine.
INSTALLING THE SPARS
Once you have the photo corners
attached to the kite skin, it is time to fit
and install the spars into the photo corner
pockets. I use a toothpick to help open the
photo corner enough to easily insert the
end of a spar.
In the photo above showing all spars installed into the photo corner pockets you'll notice the
point where the spine meets the leading edge spar, there is a photo corner. This is where the
leading edge end of the spine is inserted.
There is an optional method that is slightly more secure at holding the spine and leading edge
in alignment; it uses a small piece of tubing. You
puncture one wall of the tubing with a needle at
about the 1/2 length mark of the tubing. Then insert
one end of the leading edge spar into one end of the
tubing and have the spar exit through the puncture
you made with the needle.
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Rev 11 2004
Decide which method you want to use, both work well, but using tubing as described is slightly
more durable.
As the spars bend, they will automatically rotate to their 'natural' bending position. This is how
you want the carbon fiber spars oriented. Once you have positioned the spars in this way,
carefully lay the kite back onto your work surface and begin taping the spars in place.
Place a piece of tape on the cross spars at two places. In addition, at the bottom or trailing
edge corners apply a piece of tape that is about 1"/25.4mm square to each cross spar. These
tape squares will cover the photo corner. You can see in the photos where the tape is to be
applied.
The spine is taped at both ends and in the center. The tape at both ends covers the photo
corners.
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Rev 11 2004
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Rev 11 2004
around
the spars
and poke
the
needle
from the
back of
the kite
through
to the
front.
Place the
needle's
entrance
and exit
so when wrapped around the spars and tied, the lower bridle line will secure both cross spars
to the spine.
Before tying the lower bridle line to the spine, pull the lower bridle line toward one of the
leading edge corners. The length of the finished bridle should prevent the bridle from wrapping
around the leading edge corners of the kite. After you've established the length of the bridle
line, tie the loose end of the lower bridle line securely and apply a drop of CA or superglue to
the knot to secure it to the spine.
Measure
¼"/6.35mm from
the leading edge
corner and make a
mark on the
leading edge. Do
the same on the
opposite leading
edge corner.
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Rev 11 2004
The tension line consists of 2 separate pieces of line. First, cut a piece of bridle line about
6"/153mm long, fold it in half and tie the ends together to
form a loop. Thread the loop into the needle eye. Poke
the needle through the corner tape, the kite skin and the
photo corner at the mark you made at one of the leading
edge corners. Create a larkshead knot with the two parts
of the loop and pull tight. Place a drop of CA or super
glue at the knot to secure it to the leading edge spar so it
is on the back side of the kite.
KNOT NOTE: If you are unfamiliar with knots, search Google for the specific name of the
knots you want to learn.
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Rev 11 2004
The simplest and easiest knot for securing line to spars is the double half-hitch, other knots
work great also, but this one is easy to tie. The other knots used in the bridle and tension line
are the larkshead knot and the tautline hitch.
PRE-TUNING
A good way to find an average starting
position bridle adjustments is to 'pre-tune' the
bridle before you fly the kite. Here's how:
position the lower bridle line's larkshead knot
in the center of the upper bridle yoke. Then
hang the kite by the tow connection loop
above a flat surface, indoors. The leading
edge spar should be tensioned as above so
the leading edge has a '3-finger' bend in it.
Slide the tow connection loop up or down
along the lower bridle line until you position it
at a point where the corners of the leading
edge of the kite are about 2"/51mm above the flat surface when the trailing edge of the kite is
barely touching the flat surface. The kite will be hanging at an angle. This adjusts the bridle at
a good starting point that allows the kite to fly well in 5-10mph winds.
After flying the buka, you will want to adjust the tow connection point location and the amount
of leading edge spar bend to best accommodate the wind conditions and your flying style or
what some flyers call their kite's 'sweet spot'. It may take a little experimenting to locate this
'sweet spot', but it will be worth it!
One aspect of bukas you should be aware of; they do not self launch after grounding. So
when your buka lands on the ground, plan to walk out to retrieve it.
Of all fighter kites I've flown, buka's are one of the most interesting, exciting and fun fighter
kites to fly! I hope you enjoy flying yours as much as I enjoy flying mine!
If after making and flying the buka you have questions about it, please don't hesitate to email
me. I'm eager to assist, if I can. BukaBuka!
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