KiteJan

I decided I wanted to make a Synergy Deca before going on holiday partly because I didn't want to risk the original - they are really too hard to come by in the UK. And also I like the structure & guessed it might be useful to learn how it fits together, both for fixing my Deca 1 and for future kite designs.

The sail was knocked up out of left overs using a very basic template (after measuring the original). The sail was quickly glued, simply stitched, hemmed and then the attachment points reinforced with some reused bits of Dacron. Most of the spars were borrowed from the Kwat. A good number of hours were then spent in making the bridle and trying to make sure the kite was symmetrical - of course the bridle is the key part of the kite. Size and shape wise it ended up very close to the original.

Made: May 2003

Details

Good Things

• Flies more or less like the real thing.
• Seems to need slightly less wind than the Deca (but maybe because the original's sail is stretched?)
• Seems easier to do the rollup and down tricks.
• Plus all the good points of the real thing....

Bad Things

• Slightly more fragile that the real Deca (cheaper Carbon).
• A bit more heavier as it's using 6mm carbon rather than a mixture.
• Picks up sand & mud in the open end caps.
• Seems to be more prone to lines wraps around the spars than the original.
• Seems a little bit slower.
• Slightly harder to assemble (hard to believe!) due to the way I tied the bridle to the bow spar attachment points.
• Plus all the bad points..

Final Thoughts

Not too happy about the sail pattern, but that was governed by the fabric available - doesn't look as striking in the sky as the original somehow. However in flight I find this one more accurate than the original due, I think, to the old age of the original. Pleased? Yes, very. Could it be improved? Yes, better design and templates (ran out of card....) & better stitching (first time stitching a curved hem). 

Maybe one day I will remake it. In the meantime it does get a fair amount of airtime.

Packs up to 85cm x 7cm