The T I T L I S
The Titlis is a full size high aspect kite with a 3m span, meant for nothing but serious fun. Not for traction, nor ballet, which doesn't mean that it won't perform tricks or pull your arms out at 5+ Bft. It can even be used to pull a buggy. Don't let its span misguide you: the Titlis has a reduced sail area and strong frame, so it is not meant to perform in very small breezes. It comes out of the bag when the tree leafs start making noise.
Its name originates from Mount Titlis in Engelberg - Switzerland, an area known for its outstanding snowboard resort in winter and great thermal winds for paragliding in summer.
The Titlis is built from Carrington K42 sail and has an Exel RCF8 frame with glass fiber reinforcements in the lower spreaders. The sail is fully battened (Exel RCF3) like a delta glider and has two RCF4 whiskers. The batten angle is calculated (double rotation in 3D due to close up and sail depth) to have all battens run parallel to the spine, once the kite is assembled. Trailing edge is shaped concave and has a leech line all along plus vented wing tips to prevent flutter. This setup works great for medium to high winds (>=4 Bft.) and is as quiet as can be. The only thing you'll hear is the soughing of the delta penetrating the air. This design refutes the idea that large high aspect kites are more vulnerable than others. My first Titlis that's conform to the listed specs already had its share of strong wind time at the Belgian coast and is still in one piece.
There's a miniature A4 picture as well as a full size plan available. The latter should be printed on A4 sheets and then glued together. The pages are numbered from 1 to 6 (left to right) and a to e (top to bottom). If you have difficulties printing it in the correct size, send me a prepaid envelope (for 25 A4 pages) and I'll mail it to you.
The dynamic bridling system consists of 15 different sections...
Added to a standard 6 bridle/5 point system are:
A complex dynamic bridling system gives extra drag and weight, but keeps the kite (certainly this high aspect model) in shape, thus adding to performance as well. This kite hardly deforms in fierce gusts. You will spend some time tuning it though, but that's all part of the game right!
I designed the Titlis completely from scratch, so any resemblance to another kite is completely coincidental. Some influence might come from big brother delta glider...
Feel free to build the Titlis and distribute these pages, as long as no commercial profit becomes involved. I do ask that its name is kept AND that you send me a picture of the finished kite in its home environment along with some personal data.
You can send it electronically to "hpeeters@vub.ac.be", or by snail mail to:
