R1 04

kitefighter@yahoo.com

The prices listed do not include mailing costs nor any cost for packing materials. All USA orders are mailed priority mail or first class unless you specify another mail class. The cost for mailing outside the USA must be calculated on an individual basis because the post office calculates the postage amount based on the country, weight and dimensions of the package.

Personal check, money orders and PayPal are all acceptable methods of payment.

All prices listed are in USA dollars. Prices are subject to change without notice. I work hard to keep the prices as low as possible, but when the cost of an item is increased by the source, usually I will raise the price accordingly.

Availability of each item is not guaranteed. Some items can not be replaced once they are sold, others may be back ordered at the source. I work hard to keep everything listed in stock, but occasionally, the item will not be available. If the availability of an item becomes uncertain, I will remove the item from the price list.

'NORTH AMERICAN FIGHTER KITES' This is a 400+ page book I wrote and published on a cd in December of 2003. It is compatible with pc's and mac computers. It covers both building fighter kites and flying fighter kites from the very beginning to the more sophisticated; including how to win at competitions, designing your own fighter kite from scratch, decorating fighter kite skins made from several popular materials, it also has full sized proven plans……it is very comprehensive and has many step by step photos about every aspect of fighter kiting in North America.

The unique aspect of Orcon plastic film is the inclusion of a ripstop grid or scrim of very fine nylon threads. This makes Orcon extremely strong and durable compared to its weight and thinness! It is a great material for making fighter kite skins! Orcon’s surface is NOT perfectly smooth. The ripstop grid can be felt and seen as tiny ridges in the fabric. Unlike other plastic and mylar-like films, Orcon will not continue to tear once a small nick or tear begins!! One side of Orcon is shiny; the other is dull or flat. It can be easily cut with a razor blade, rotary cutter, scissors or it can be hot cut.

I use original Weldwood contact cement, but various other glues and tapes can be used, just give them a try. So far, I haven't found any glue that causes any damage to or weakens Orcon.

Orcon's #AN36B is very light weight plastic film, a little thicker than plastic food wrap. It's black and almost opaque. This is one of the best fighter kite skin fabrics or films I have ever used! It is great for fighters you plan to fly indoors and in zero winds all the way to 25 mph high wind kites. I have flown fighters in 29+mph made of this ultra-lightweight Orcon. Although they did get a little more than normal shattering on the trailing edges, they still fly fine to this day! Orcon is a very durable material.

This tape is an ultra-lightweight Orcon type film with a strong adhesive on one side. It has a peel off paper backing. Although this tape is thin and lightweight, it is very strong because of the ripstop grid embedded in the tape. What I like best about this tape is it has great bonding strength. Much better than other tapes I have used. Orcon tapes work well on all fighter kite skin materials, smooth plastic films, nylon, Icarex, paper, Tyvek and of course Orcon.

I use it to reinforce various parts of the kite and as decorative accents. The tape is easy to cut with a hobby knife or scissors to the exact shape you need. Typically, only small pieces are used on a kite. It is indispensable as a field repair tape!

Although this is black, it isn’t the same color black as the Orcon fabric listed above.

Price: $2.00 for 5 linear feet; ( 2"x 5’ )

Price: $1.50 for 5 linear feet; ( 1"x 5’)

Polypropylene is a wonderfully soft, supple, strong, flexible & thin, plastic film. This polypropylene film and Orcon are my two favorite fighter kite skin materials and almost all my kites use one or the other.

This film is opaque. It is metallic silver on one side, and a metallic solid color on the other side. It looks like Mylar. It is 0.8 mil thick; this is thinner than most gift wrap films. This plastic film produces the great flying kites.

You can hot cut it or cut it with a hobby knife, rotary cutter or razor blade. This material is easy to decorate. Acetone will remove the color revealing silver. Or you can also remove the silver with acetone and have a clear area. Lots of design variation opportunities. Marker dyes work well on it as does Design Master brand spray paint.

Some solvent based contact cements will cause polypropylene film to bubble or wrinkle. Test your glue on a piece before beginning a kite. The wrinkling doesn't affect the flying performance of the kites.

Price: 24"x 50' roll - $6.00 each Colors: blue, red, gold or black and metallic silver on the reverse side of each. Each roll makes about 25-35 fighter kites, depending on the sizes of the kites.

This is similar to the film above except it has a silver prismatic pattern on both sides. It is a beautiful rainbow of colors when light reflects from it!!

This polyester film is 0.48 mil thick. It is very thin and lightweight. Like all polyester films, it is more 'crinkly', not as soft feeling, and gives a sense of a harder surface when compared with the polypropylene films above. Wrinkling and crumpling it does soften it, but because of its thinness, it is quite a good skin material. The kites I've made with this film fly great. The films have a brilliant metallic gold on one side with either metallic red or black on the opposite side. For decorating ideas; acetone will remove the color revealing metallic silver, acetone can also remove the silver and the gold on the opposite side of the film.

Price: 24"x 50' roll - $8.00 colors: black/gold or red/gold

The hand made bamboo spars listed below are imported. Each piece was made specifically for use as a fighter kite spar. They are all smooth and have NO knots or nodes along their length. They can be used without any shaping or shaving, but will be a little heavier than most kites need for a spine. Many kite makers shave them to a smaller cross sectional size based on the kite size and wind range of the kite. All it takes is a sharp utility knife to shape the spars; this bamboo is very easy to work with. Like all bamboo, each piece has a different degree of stiffness.

Imported from INDIA: Bamboo Fighter Kite SPINES.

Cut to length, shave with a utility knife if you want a smaller cross section and they are ready to install in your kite. They are wonderfully easy to use. They average about 4-6mm wide and about 3mm thick. Some are wide enough that I split them into two spines. They are 25" long.

These are 26" long and tapered along the last 8"+/- at each end. They are about 2.5-3mm wide at the center and about 2.5mm thick. If you enjoy making fighter kites with a bamboo frame, these bows will delight you. These are virtually ready to use, just a slight amount of bending or shaving to get the shape perfectly balanced and it's ready to install in your kite.

These carbon rods and flat stock are made by Avia in the USA. For carbon fiber rod lengths and diameters different from those listed, please call or email me for prices and availability. The actual diameters of these rods and flats are extremely close to the dimensions listed, but are usually slightly different when very precisely measured. The variance is the result of the manufacturing process of the carbon fiber rod itself. In December 2003, Avia increased the price of carbon fiber; these prices reflect that increase. The lengths of the carbon fiber rods listed are typical lengths used in fighter kite bows or battens. These shorter lengths minimize wasted carbon fiber and reduce mailing costs. The lengths of the flat carbon are the lengths usually needed for making a carbon fiber spine with minimal waste.

Diameter in " Length in " Price Each

0.030 36 1.20

0.030 5 0.17 (good for battens)

0.040 36 1.23

0.040 5 0.17 (good for battens)

0.050 30 1.04

0.050 25 0.87

0.060 27 1.03

0.070 28 1.13

0.080 30 1.56

Size Price each

0.019" x .118" x 20" $0.83 These pieces of carbon fiber are used for spines

0.350" x 0.106" x 20" 1.00 - These pieces of carbon fiber are used for spines

0.040" x 0.166" x 20" 1.18 - These pieces of carbon fiber are used for spines

0.570" x 0.177" x 20" 1.47 - These pieces of carbon fiber are used for spines

These smooth polished cotton flying lines are waxed with paraffin. Waxed line is easer to grip and reduces the tangles on the ground. Of all the flying lines, cotton is the safest flying line to use. If you get the line caught in your hands as you are pulling in line, it will break before severely cutting your hands. Waxed cotton also feels good in your hands, is easy to grip and it doesn't stretch.

T6 - Slightly larger in diameter and much stronger than cotton quilting thread. This is polished cotton industrial thread, made in USA. Recommend for flying indoors and in winds from 0 – 4 mph.

About 900 yards per spool. $6.00 per spool; waxed with 100% paraffin

T7 - Imported from India. This is official fighter kite flying line in India. It is white, polished, 6 ply, cotton made by Coats. Recommend for winds from 3 - 7 mph.

About 900 yards per spool. $7.00 per spool; waxed with 100% paraffin

T9 - Very slightly larger in diameter and much stronger than T7. A USA made polished cotton industrial thread. Recommend flying in winds from 5 – 12+ mph. The T-9 and T-13 are the most popular sizes of flying lines.

About 900 yards per spool. $7.00 per spool; waxed with 100% paraffin

T13 - A heavier and stronger polished cotton industrial thread than T9. Made in the USA. Recommend for flying in winds of 8 – 30 mph.

About 450 yards per spool. $6.00 per spool; waxed with 100% paraffin

GATOR REELS FOR FIGHTER KITE LINE - 6" diameter about 2" wide with a flat side and a flared side, black in color, made of a very strong plastic. This is the standard reel used by almost all North American fighter kite flyers.