Welcome To My Kite Page

One of my hobbies is building kites and doing kite aerial photography (KAP). This page contains pictures of my kites and some links to web sites that I visit regularly.

My Kites

KAP Foil, 5m^2 (April 2016)


IMG_3357	IMG_3315	IMG_3369	IMG_6598	IMG_8000

Dimensions: 2.40m x 2.24m (7'10" x 7'4")
Weight (no tail): 1071g (2lbs 5.7oz)
Weight (with tail): 1291g (2lbs 13oz)

This kite is a KAP Foil, designed by Ralf Beutnagel from Germany. I followed his plan except for the bridles where I divided them in 3 layers to allow me to make quick adjustments and fine tune them using Prusik knots between each layer.

Modified Blue Delta, 12 feet wide (October 2013)


IMG_7216	IMG_7217	IMG_7246	IMG_7247


IMG_7253	IMG_7255	IMG_7259	IMG_7260

Dimensions: 3,7m x 1,65m (12' x 5'5")
Weight: 660g (23.2oz)

I built this kite hoping that it will be more stable in gusty winds for kite aerial photography.

So far, it has been flying very well. It is very easy to transport, assemble and is very stable in gusty winds.

I tested it in a 35km/h wind gusting at 44km/h without problems. The kite flew straight and stable.

Modified FLED - Solar System View from the Moon (August 2013)


IMG_3781	IMG_3835	DSC09497m

Dimensions: 2,21m x 1,65m (87" x 65")
Weight: coming soon (Very light :-))

I built this kite for the Dieppe, NB 2013 International KITE Festival creation contest. The theme for this year was:"The Solar System". I decided to draw a view of the solar system from the moon.

I reused my "Pocket Fled" plan (October 2012) and modified it. For example, I removed the 2 keels and modified the bridles like a Rokkaku (4 points, ajustable).

I experimented with different colours of fabric for the stars so we can still distinguish the constellations when flying in sunlight.

The graphic contains a lot of details visible when close to the kite but they are still visible even if the kite is flying higher. All the graphic is made of appliquee. No paint nor marquers have been used.

With this kite, I won 2nd place at the creation contest. Axel Kostros from Germany won 1st place and Ralf Dietrich from Danemark won 3rd place.

Black Delta (March 2013)

Dimensions: 3m x 1,5 m (10' x 5')
Tails: 9.1m x 1,5 m (30' x 5')
Weight: Coming soon

During winter and spring 2013, our kite club organized a workshop where each participant would built a Delta kite like this one. These kites are also called "Pyro" or "Ghost". The "Ghost" trademark is owned by Gomberg Kites.

Pocket FLED (October 2012)


IMG_6498	IMG_6517	IMG_0352	IMG_1161m


IMG_0262	IMG_0264	IMG_0265	VerticalSleeve

Dimensions: 2,21m x 1,65m (87" x 65")
Weight: Coming soon

The "FLED" kite was designed by Michael Anderson and Brooks Leffler. The FLED needs a tail to keep it stable.

I built this FLED kite with 2 pockets at the trailing edge to try to make it fly stable without the tail. Based on my experience with the Olympic Maxi-Dopero, I decided to make a sleeve for each spar and also I added a sleeve on each side of the sail to store the two piece spreader when the kite is put away. These storage sleeves prevent from loosing the spreader rods in the field and allow to assemble and disassemble the kite very rapidly event when it's windy.

I also made several modifications to try to stabilize it but it didn't work. It flies well in light wind but it moves too much for aerial photography.

I cut a "V" shape at the sail leading edge like suggested by the FLED design but combined with the pockets, the kite kept turning upside down and falling on the ground nose first. I closed back the "V" cutout and the kite was flying back ok.

I added a ripstop rectangle between the keels at the pockets level to create more drag but it didn't work.

I changed the bridles from 2 to 4 branches to allow to change the angle of attack but that didn't work neither.

Olympic Maxi-Dopero - August 2012


IMG_6810	2012-15-2 Doug Isherwood Front	2012-16-2 Doug Isherwood Back	IMG_6325	Bow Line Loop

Dimensions: 3.7m x 2,5 m (12' x 8')
Weight: Coming soon

I built this kite for the Dieppe (Canada) International Kite festival creation contest where the theme was "The Olympics".

I won first place with this kite. 2nd place was won by René Maier from Switzerland and 3rd place by Barbara Meyer from United States.

Symbolic Aspect

I choose to make a large kite to represent a large event such as the Olympics

The Olympics are such a huge event that it doesn't matter how we look at it, we can never see everything at once (the rings extend beyond the sail

The Olympics covers a wide variety of sports in the summer and winter games.

This is an event that brings together athletes from all countries, of all races, men and women (the pictograms represent everyone)

One aspect of the Olympics that we hear less but is equally important are the Paralympics (winter and summer). The two events are not at the same time but are connected and follow each other such as the kite both sails

The tails represent the olympic flame

Technical aspect of the graphics

The graphics is made of appliquee (sewn ripstop fabric). The threads used are the same color as the fabric to make it invisible and better see the graphics.

I choosed to design pictograms rather than use existing ones. This makes the design of the kite insensitive to time and represents the Olympics regardless of the year.

The sleeves hide the spars and allow to better see all the graphic design in front and rear of the sail. This was an important for me because I wanted the people to better see the design no matter where they are on the ground.

The graphic design is large enough to allow to see it well even when the kite flies higher.

I hid the reinforcement patches between two layers of fabric to avoid compromising the graphic design on both sides of the sail

The tow points are almost invisible to not interfere with the visual aspect of graphic design.

I modified the two keels at the kite trailing edge to minimize the interference with the graphic design

Quick and Simplified Assembly
Assembling a large kite with several long spars is often a challenge, especially when it's windy. I made several changes to the Maxi-Dopero to allow quick and easy assembly.

I added sleeves to insert the spars rather than pockets and attachment points. The rods are simply inserted into the sleeves

I slightly adjusted the size of the kite to allow use of three 48" carbon rods for the horizontal spars and two 48" carbon rods for the vertical spars . Using the same rods everywhere allows simpler assembly and requires less spare rods.

The ends of horizontal spars and the upper end of the vertical spars don't exceed the sails edge. This helps the assembly by minimizing the risk that the bridles get caught around the corners. Also, I find it more aesthetically pleasing.

The vertical spars extent beyond the sail trailing edge to make it easier to hold the kite standing before takeoff or landing, especially where the ground is not flat. Also, it protects the sail trailing edge while on the ground.

I spliced almost all the strings on the kite. This minimizes the risk that the lines get tangled during assembly. Only the short tension lines between the 2 sails have a knot. Also, in addition to giving a more aesthetic appearance than knots, splices maintain almost the original strength of strings compared to knots that can reduce the strength of the line by up to 50%.

Bridles are made to be adjustable in all directions, allowing easily adjustments if necessary

The 4 loop strings on the back of the sail prevent the bow lines from going in front of the sail while the kite is being assembled. They also serve as a guide to adjust the bow lines.

Spars are made of carbon fibers to be minimize weight and be rigid at the same time

Blue Maxi-Dopero (January 2012)


IMG_6403	IMG_6405	IMG_6406	IMG_6392

Dimensions: 3.7m x 2,5 m (12' x 8')
Weight: Coming soon

I built this kite for two reasons:

Prototype in preparation for my Olympic Maxi-Dopero for Dieppe (Canada) International kite festival creation contest in August

For aerial photography

The original plan of the Maxi-Dopero was designed by a German named Ralf Beutnagel.

On this kite, I put sleeves for the spars instead of pockets. This allows for faster assembly and disassembly of the kite, especially when it's windy. The spars are inserted at one end of each sleeves while holding the sail with the other hand compared to trying to assemble the kite on the ground while the wind tries to lift it.

Another advantage with the sleeves is that during assembly, the bow lines or bridles can't be caught between the spars and the sail.

After many experiments, I concluded that the vertical sleeves must be in the front of the sail and the horizontal sleeves on the back. The sewing must be done is a specific order where the sleeves crosses (See photo IMG_6392).

The horizontal sleeves are longer than the spars to allow the fold the ends and prevent the spars from coming out. A piece of velcro at each end is also important to prevent the horizontal spars to slide out while flying.

I also added a small retention strings at the back of the sail to avoid the bow lines from going in front of the sail while assembling the kite. These strings are also use as a guide to adjust the proper bow line tension ( see photos IMG_6405 and IMG_6406 ) .

On this kite, I tried to remove the 2 keels on the back in anticipation of my Olympic Maxi-Dopero where I wanted to use 2 sails for the graphic design. Without keels, kite was not stable enough.

January to March 2009
This new kite is a Pit-Bulldog. I built it for the creation contest at the International Kite Festival 2009 in Dieppe, NB. The contest theme was "Welcoming skies of Acadie". This kite was a cooperation project with my mother. We did not win but I received a lot of good comments from the other kite flyers and the judges. For more details click here.

The shape of the kite was designed by the American John Waters. This kite is designed to fly in strong winds. It is very stable, even in gusty winds.

On the www.kitebuilder.com forum, Barry Ogletree, an American, organised a project where he prepared 50 kits to build Pit-Bulldog kites. Each participant chose their color pattern. Barry and his team ordered the material, cut all the pieces and sent all the kits by mail to each participant. On the forum we could discussed the building details and exchange tips and pictures.

Dimensions: 3m x 2,31m (10' x 7'6")
Weight: Coming soon

May 2006
I've decided to build an inflatable Sponge Bob to learn new technics in kite building. This kite does not contain any rigid framing. I have to thank all the people who help me on the forum www.kitebuilder.com and my family and friends with their useful suggestions.

Dimensions: 2,65m x 1,62m (8'8" x 5'4")
Weight: 0.91kg (32oz)

November 2005
November 5, 2005, our kite club has organized a workshop to build a Circoflex kite of 1.85m (6feet) diameter. The workshop was prepared and presented by Peggy Macdonald and Bernie Houle; two very active members of our club. There are pictures of the workshop in my photo album.

Dimensions: 1.85m x 0.45m (6' x 18")
Weight: 0.34kg (12oz)

May 2005
I fabricated a Dopero kite. This kite is mainly for lifting my camera in light winds. The kite was invented by a german named Ralf Beutnagel. He has merged two "Peason Roller" kites to make a Dopero (DOuble PEarson ROller).
This kite flies at an angle of about 80 degrees as the flowform (see below) flies between 45 and 60 degrees most of the time. A higher flying angle permits to take pictures at a higher altitude for the same length of line.

Dimensions: 3m x 2,5m (12' x 8')
Weight: 2kg (72oz)

February 2005
I fabricated another flowform but this time, half the size of the previous ones. This kite is mainly to lift my camera in stronger winds and it will pull less on the main line.

Size: 1,4m x 1,12m x 32cm (55" x 44" x 12,7")
Weight: 312g (11oz)

October 2004
During the Summer, I started building a forth flowform using nylon ripstop. My mom took care of the sewing. This kite was completed in October 2004.

Size: 2m x 1,6m x 46cm (78" x 63" x 18")
Weight: 653g (23oz)

September 2004
In September 2004 I followed a sewing workshop for kite building. The workshop was given by Peggy and Bernie, two very active kitebuilders from our kite club. In this workshop we each built a 4foot Rokkaku.(1,2m).

Size: 1,2m x 1m (48" x 39")
Weight: 170g (6oz)

February 2004
In December 2003, I started to build a third flowform using nylon fabric. I built it with my mom who did the sewing. This kite was finished in February 2004. During the Summer, my mom built two inflatable Acadians to add to the Acadian Flowform. Since we were celebrating the 400th anniversary of Acadie in 2004, I flew this kite as much as I could everywhere I went this year.

Size: 2m x 1,6m x 46cm (78" x 63" x 18")
Weight: 1193g (42oz)

January 2004
My second kite that I built is another flowform but this time using red tape so we could see the kite structure while it flies. Harald Prinzler's has posted a copy of this kite on his web site. After, I built the "Garbage Man" using Tom White's Tom-EEE plan, garbage bags and packing tape.

Size: 2m x 1,6m x 46cm (78" x 63" x 18")
Weight: 1051g (37oz)

October 2003
I built my first kite using polyethylene and packing tape. It's a modified version of the American flowform. I used Harald Prinzler's plan to build it.

Size: 2m x 1,6m x 46cm (78" x 63" x 18")
Weight: 767g (27oz)