Circoflex

I built my first Circoflex according to a nice plan published in Drachen Magazin. It has a circumference of 7.5m; I used 3mm fibreglass and Tyvek.

(7K)

Unfortunately, this is not an ideal choice of materials. Tyvek is really too heavy, since it turns out that a Circoflex is more of a light wind kite: too much wind and the frame is prone to irrecoverably twisting out of shape. I suppose that in ideal wind conditions without any gusts my Tyvek Circo would fly nicely - but that's a pretty rare thing in these parts.

There are 2 possible solutions: use a stiffer frame, e.g. a composite carbon frame as suggested in Anthony Thyssen's construction notes; or use a lighter material for the sail, e.g. Mylar or Ripstop ... or combine these for optimum results. It looks like this was not the last Circo I built ...