Pirate Rokkaku

A new kite, very exciting.

Size comparison: PFK Nighthawk        9ft Levitation Delta                      7ft Pirate Rok

The rok almost didn't get delivered due to a couple of crucial typos in the shipping address. Luckily I knew in advance and retrieved it from the post office before it was returned to the sender.

This is a 7ft rokkaku made by SkyDog Kites and sold by Picture Pretty Kites. Cost US$99 with $40 delivery. I would have preferred a single colour kite but there wasn't much choice for this size and price.

First flight of the Pirate Rok in about 6kn

It is very well made from good quality ripstop and has fibreglass spars. More expensive roks have carbon fibre spars and so are a little lighter and stiffer. Fibreglass spars may extend the upper wind range being more flexible.

I'm hoping this kite will have more lifting power than my Levitation and PFK deltas and will lift the D80 in lighter winds.

First flight was in perfect light breeze and it behaved beautifully with very little movement. Line pull was 2 to 4lb and lifted the 300g Canon S100 manual rig with ease.

Tensioning of the upper and lower spars tunes the flight characteristics. In the video I tried 10" of curve in the lower and 8" in the upper, which is a good starting point. Flattening out the curves produced more side to side swaying.