Plans for a 6 foot Rokkau.

Welcome to the exciting world of Rokkaku Kites. The 6 foot version is the most popular version as it the most commonly accepted size for Rokkaku Battles.The smaller a Rokkaku is, the more maneuverable it is. Most Event Rules state that 6 foot is the minimum size. Larger sizes are commonly used for KAP (Kite Aerial Photography). A frequent comment on about Rokkaku kites is: The Delta is commonly called the easiest kite to fly. Once someone owns a Rokkaku, they never go back to a Delta.

The Rokkaku is also a very forgiving design, making it an ideal project for the first time kite maker.
Please remember it is a kite, not a curtain or a bedsheet. Accuracy counts. The more accurately it is made, the better it will fly.

These Plans assume making a Rokkaku out of Ripstop nylon.

Dimensions: Let's get this out of the way first. There are several 'commonly accepted' dimensions. Commonly heard versions are '4,5,6'  - meaning that the kite is 6 units tall, 5 units wide, and the main body is 4 units tall, which means the spreader sticks are 1 unit in from the ends; or '3,4,5', meaning that the kite is 5 units tall, 4 units wide, and the main body is 3 units tall, also meaning that the spreaders are 1 unit in from the ends.

Having said that, mine are 3.5, 5, 6. It is 6 units tall, 5 units wide, and the spreaders are 1.25 units in from the ends.
Bridle points are 1.25 units in from the ends, which is just another way of saying that they half way between the Spine and the edge.

Units: 'Units' are a simple way of expressing ratios. Since our kite is 6 feet tall, and 6 units tall, each unit is 1 foot or 12 inches.This means that *finished* dimensions of the kite are: The Main Body: (3.5 units times 12 inches per unit = 42", 5 units times 12 inches per unit = 60") Ends are right triangles that are 1.25 units tall and 2.5 units wide. (1.25 units times 12 inches per unit = 15 inches tall.) (2.5 units times 12 inches per unit = 30 inches wide. Bridle points are half way between Spine and Edge, or 1.25 units, or 15 inches away from the Spine.

FINISHED DIMENSIONS:
Main Body = 42" by 60".
End Triangles = Right Triangles 15" x 30"
To these dimensions add your favorite hem and seam allowances.

A Seam is where 2 Panels are sewn together. I use 1/2 inch Seam Allowances.
A Hem is where the raw edge of material is turned over to prevent it from fraying.
I use a 3/4" allowance and fold it twice for a very strong Hem.

To cut the parts using my allowances, the Main Body should be cut:
43" by 61-1/2"
(42" tall plus two 1/2" seam allowances = 43". 60 inches wide plus two 3/4" hem allowances = 61-1/2")
Some people prefer to work with smaller pieces, and make the Main Body in two pieces.
In this case, each piece should be cut 43" by 31.25". (30 plus 1/2" seam allowance, plus 3/4" hem allowance.

Construction Note: I find the easiest way to make the triangles for the ends is to make a template out of posterboard. Posterboard is available at most craft stores, even Wal-Mart. If you are using my seam allowances, start by measuring in a 1/2 inch along any 2 adjoining edges.Draw lines 1/2 inch in from these edges for the seam allowances. Along these lines measure the 15" and 30" for the triangle and draw a line between them. Then measure out 3/4" from this line and draw a line for the heam allowance. Cut out the template and use it to cut 4 end triangles. Cut 2 one way, then reverse it (flip it over) and cut the other 2.

Important Construction Note: It is important to know the fabric and to know the difference between Warp and Weft and to make sure the the Warp threads are aligned along the outer (hem) edges of the end triangles. Folks coming into kite making from other sewing disciplines like Quilting or making clothes know that the fabric has Grain. Warp and Weft are the grain, but the Warp threads are straight and run along the length of a roll, the Weft (or Fill) threads run across the roll and tend to be very wavy or curvy and therefore less stable, more apt to stretch. So put the longest edge of the Triangle Template aginst the outside edge of the roll, not across it. It looks like it uses more fabric, but it is well worth it in the long run.

Fabric Note: Common sizes of ripstop fabric are 41", 44", 54", and 58.5" The two most common are 41" and 54". 41 inch fabric is the cheapest (per yard) to buy. A yard of 41" is cheaper than a yard of 54". However, figuring by the square inch, 54" is much cheaper than 41".

The Main Body of our Rokkaku is 42", 43" with both 1/2" seam allowances. That is tough to get out of 41" fabric. The easiest cure for this is to change the dimensions. They are not carved in stone. If we use 41" fabric, this yields a 40" Main Body, so make the ends 16 inches instead of 15, and it is still a 6 foot Rokkaku. We did this for the NYKE kite club Rokkaku making workshop and it worked out just fine.

Materials List:

Kite Studio Catalog http://www.kitebuilder.com
3 yards of 3/4 ounce ripstop nylon (43" for Main Body. Both ends (4 pieces) may be cut from 1 yd of 41")
  Add any extra material for applique.
4 eyelets (Dritz), eyelet setting tool (Dritz)
4 inches each of male and female velcro (4" of hook, 4" of loop)
Dacron, 3.5 ounce, 6" x 18"
Webbing, 1" wide, 48" long.
50 feet of 150 pound line for bridle and tension lines.
FRAME:
I use the cheaper Pro Spar carbon tubes. They flex less than fiberglass (important in battles) and they are cheaper than the Pro Spar 'Comps'.
These are Kite Studio catalog numbers:
3 pieces of RPS 19 for the Spine
2 FET 291 to ferrule the Spine together
5 pieces RPS 15
4 FSF 229 ferrules for the RPS 15. Be sure to get end caps, the carcon is very sharp after being cut.

NOTE: Carbon doesn't like to be cut. It tends to splinter. Wrap the spot to be cut with masking tape and then cut with a hacksaw.
ANOTHER NOTE: It is important not to have a ferrule at a bridle point or where the spine and spreaders cross. An internal ferrule joint is weaker than the stick and tends to break in these spots. I used to just use a full stick, and a ferrule, and cut the second stick and left the ferrule where it ended up. And the kite had a severe lean because the spreaders didn't bend equally on both sides. So even though it is possible to make the spreaders out of only 4 sticks, it is better to cut one stick in half and use two ferrules and split the remaining distance between the remaining two sticks.

Tools:

Sewing machine that works.
Thread: HB (or HSB) -33 nylon, or V-30 polyester are preferred.
   If you MUST go to the fabric store, use Mettler's Metrosene, Gutermans, or Moelnlycke only.
   Friends don't let friends sew with anything by Coats and Clark.
Needle: #14 (90) Regular Point (I don't care what the folks at the sewing store say.)
Scissors
Seam Ripper
Straight edge (6 foot is best. Go to Home Depot and find some cheap aluminum flat stock.)
Measuring Device. I use a regular metal tape measure,
    not one of those stretchy plastic sewing measuring tapes.
Hot cutter. It is more accurate than scissors, but scissors will work if nothing else is available.
   The Woodburner from A.C. Moore or Wal-Mart works real good. And it can be made into a Tacker as well.
   Take the pointy tip to a hardware store and ask for a spring that just fits over it. Instant Hot Tacker.
   The spring steadies the tip and compresses the fabric together for tacking.
Hot Tacker really helps. 
Duct tape. I use it everywhere. It is a great way to hold parts in place for sewing.
Template for cutting End triangles.
Glass table for hot cutting and hot tacking really helps.
Saw (hack saw or Dremel wheel) for cutting spars.

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A brief review of Kite Sewing 101:

All sewing is Straight Stitch unless otherwise noted.
Stitches should be no closer than 1/8 inch. Or, 8 stitches in any inch. Or, one per tiny square in the Ripstop.
Any closer and it impairs the strength of the ripstop and it will tear like perforated paper.
Ripstop is very thin and the sewing machine tension must be to be very light or the stitches will cause the fabric to pucker. 
Adjust top and bottom tension on scrap before sewing the kite.
Best way of initially adjusting bottom (bobbin) tension is to loosen the tension screw until the bobbin race and bobbin just fall (with a little encouragement) under their own weight. Then install in machine and adjust top tension to match.

Flat Fell Seams: The Flat Fell is the most common seam used for kites. Sew the seam using your favorite seam allowance, then simply fold it flat and sew it down. Folding it twice (a Mock French Seam) looks nice, but isn't necessary. The added thickness can be a problem in many kite structures. Sewing a flat fell seam down with a straight stitch is easiest and strongest, but any irregularities really show up. Zig-zag covers a mutlitude of sins ....

The best way to sew an accurate allowance is to have a mark on the throat plate of the machine. If one doesn't exist, then drawing one with a pencil works, or using a piece of duct tape works too.

Finish all applique before assembly. It is much better done before than after. Trust me ...
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Assembly:

Find 2 complimentary ends (a left and a right). Put the 'good' sides together, match up, and sew along the shortest side, using your favorite seam allowance. The best way to sew an accurate allowance is to have a mark on the throat plate of the machine.

One of the things I look for as a Kite Making Judge is for the Flat Fell seams to be Felled in the same direction, so you might want to take that into account as you make your kite.

When the ends are sewn together, take the Main Body and fold it in half lengthwise and just pinch the fabric in the middle to have a place to line up the middle seam on the Ends. Place the End and the Main Body together, good sides facing, and align for sewing.  If you are using a Hot Tacker, start at the middle and tack along the seam to the outside, then go back to the middle and go the other way. This is the best way to make sure the End is centered on the Main Body.

Sew the Ends to the Main Body.
Trim off the little bits that stick out from the seams.

Mark all around the outside edge 3/4" in to form the hem. I draw a line 3/4" in from the edge using a #2 pencil ON THE GOOD SIDE. Sorry for yelling, but that always seems to be a point of confusion in the workshops I lead.

Now, don't get ahead of me here.... FOLD on the line, all the way around. STOP.

Fold again, bringing the raw edge of the fabric in to be just shy of the first fold. Ripstop has great 'memory' and holds a crease very well.When done, there will be a double folded hem that you haven't sewn yet !!!

Find the 3.5 ounce dacron. Out of this cut 2 circles, each having a 3" radius, or a 6" diameter. Place a circle under the corner of one END of the kite and mark a wedge on the circle, the point of which is at the center of the circle. This will be the reinforcement patch for one end of the kite. Take the remainder of the circle and fold it in half, and cut on the fold. These 2 pieces are for the 2 corners of the kite.

Place a patch on the kite so it is just inside the kite body from the folds for the hem. It shouldn't interfere with the fold. If it is 1/8 or 1/4 inch away, that's okay, it will be covered by the Hem later. Hold it in place with duct tape (DON'T sew over the tape) and sew only on the curved part. Do this with all 6 patches.

After the patches are sewn in place, then sew the hem over them for a real professional look. 

After the hem is sewn all the way around, it is time to install the webbing for the sticks. Find the webbing and cut 5 pieces that are 3 inches long. These are for the 4 corners and the top end. There should be 13 inches of webbing left over. Don't worry, we'll get there.

The top pocket is the easiest, so start there. Take a 3" piece of 1" webbing, and fold over a little over an inch. When making a pocket for a stick, it is important that the ends don't meet up. It is much easier to insert the stick that way. Place the folded webbing so that the opening is towards the body of the kite, and the webbing is centered on the pocket, and the corners of the fold are against the edge of the hem.

Corner pockets are tougher. The Rokkaku kite needs bow strings across the back to put some bend, or dihedral, into the sticks. So I leave a little space at the end of the pocket to slide the bowstring thru. If you think you will have a problem threading the string thru, perhaps it is best to put the string in the end before sewing. But then there is the problem of sewing the string to the webbing....

For the Corner Pockets, I bend over about 1-1/4 inches of the webbing that is 3 inches long. I start sewing from the open end of the webbing to the fold, but stop short, about the width of the presser foot away (from the needle to the side of the foot. It takes a little practice to judge the distance bfore turning the work). I then sew along about 3/16" in from the fold. Then turn and sew along the other side of the pocket, then across the end.

Now for the fun stuff. There should be 13" of webbing left. Cut off 4" so there is a 4" piece and a 9" piece. Find the velcro. Sew the 'loop' velcro to the 4" piece. Just lay it on there and sew around the outside. Sew the hook velcro to one end of the 9" piece. Lay the 9" piece down v elcro up. Put the 4" piece on the non-velcro end, velcro side up. Sew the 4" to the 9" as close to the edge as you dare. Then sew this assembly to the bottom corner of the kite. There should be about an inch of no-velcro, and this should be on the edge of the kite. It is better to have it too far onto the kite than not far enough. Too far makes it easy to tension the sail when the sail gets damp and stretches. Don't worry, it goes back to original size.

Tension Lines: (Bow Lines): On one side of the kite, tie a loop thru the webbing. I splice my loop. I start with 24" of string and end up with loop that is 12" around and with no knot. A simple loop thru and tied with a Grapevine Knot works just as well. Do you need to learn how to tie the Grapevine? Kite Knots

Some people use tensioners. I don't, only because it is one more thing to buy and to lose before I need. Or at least I can't find it when I need it. So I use knots instead. Prism has a neat way of splicing the line back thru itself. This works pretty well, depending on the line.

The best, easiest, most reliable way of doing the bow lines is to use a Trucker's Hitch. Where has this knot been all my life? I watched Jack Rogers help put up tents at Smithsonian one year and saw him use this knot. Fantastic !!! It is an ideal knot to tension everything from Rokkaku to tents to canopies.

I try to keep things simple. So I make all my lines 1-1/2 times the width of the kite. On a 6 foot kite, it is 5 feet wide, we need 7-1/2 feet for each bow line.

There are many scholls of thought about bowing. Less bow mwans less stability, so some people bow their bottoms less. I just bow them about the same and don't get too anal about it. Anal people can mark their bow lines so they can consistently return to the same amount of bow each time they assemble the kite.

Same thing for the bridle. 1-1/2 times the width of the kite. Since that is a 'finished' dimension, I tend to cut the lines at 10 feet (7-1/2 feet plus 2 feet for splices, plus a half a foot for fudge factor). There is a pirnciple to grasp here: The actual length of the bridle lines is relatively unimportant. They don't even really need to be all the same length. but it helps if they are close.The important part is: Tie or Splice the loops on the ends first. Put the looped ends over a nail to find the middle. Mark each of the 3 lines in the middle. One line goes across the top spreader, one line goes across the bottom spreader. The last line goes between them, secured at the middle marks of each line with a Lark's Head or a Prussik Knot. It is easiest to make up this bridle first, then pass the ends thru the eyelets and Lark's Head them to the spreader sticks. The way the kite is most commonly stored, the spreaders are left in and only the spine is removed, hence there is no need to 'secure' the bridle lines to the spreaders.

The bridle points, where the bridle passes thru the sail and connects to the spreader, are halfway between the spine and the edge, or, in our case, 15 inches (half of 30). Keep It Simple. Check to see that the sail is close to being 60 inches wide, and just make them all 15" away from the middle of the kite. Again, the distance is not critical, but consistency is. If one is 15 inches away, they should all be 15 inches away.

The last step is to make a Knotted Loop by taking 18" of bridle line and tying the ends together using a Figure 8 Knot. Then Prussik thsi to the main leg of the bridle about 6" above the middle mark. Go fly.

Mickey Mouse is 8 feet tall, 7-1/2 feet wide, and was made to match the sweatshirt.

Taz is 6 feet tall, 5 feet wide. He used up the last of my chocolate brown ripstop. He has been my individual battle kite for the last few years. Time to make a different one before he gets cut out and lost.

There is another web page that has a plan I wrote for an 8 foot Rokkaku. Try visiting there if anything is unclear.
http://home.attbi.com/~ddkites/Rokkaku1.html,  http://members.tripod.com/~verlin/Rokkaku1.html

Otherwise, please feel free to e-mail me with problems or complaints. Mail me: gengvall@aol.com

Good heavens;
Gary Engvall
http://members.aol.com/gengvall/index.html