Eagle Kite

How To Assemble And Fly

Eagle kite in flight.A popular retail Eagle kite

So you've bought yourself an Eagle kite - and can't wait to fly it! Once you've put one of these together once, it's pretty easy to do it again. However, the process can be not at all obvious to the newcomer. In fact, let me tell you something...

Our club was putting on a display one day, with large inflatable show kites and sparred kites. A mother with young daughter approached a couple of us 'experts' to get some help with assembing the Eagle she had bought just minutes before. Wouldn't you know it, it took a few minutes for us to figure it out :-)  I had seen similar kites with the low-mounted bendy fiberglass rod before, so that was soon inserted into the appropriate pockets and through keel loops. A small white rod went into pockets in the head part. However, after sliding out (mistake) a longer white rod, it wasn't at all clear just where it could go!

So in case you have this exact kite, or even something similar, read on for some in-depth how-to... 

Eagle kite in flight.A popular retail Eagle kite

My Big MBK E-book Bundle is a collection of printable e-books, downloaded as PDF files. I've had positive feedback from visitors who have re-made some of these designs in rip-stop nylon - the same material as the Eagle sail. Including a guy who scaled up the MBK Octopus so it was many meters in length. He sent through some in-flight photos as proof!


First things first. Get the bits out and separated...

1. If the Eagle kite came in a shipping package, open up one end and pull out the cloth sleeve containing the kite parts...

Eagle kite - unpacking - 1Cloth sleeve

2. Open up one end and slide out the contents. My sleeve had a Velcro flap for this purpose, which you can see opened up at the top right of the photo below.

There's a plastic handle with some 30 pound nylon line wound on. And there's the kite itself with other bits either pre-attached or tucked in here and there. In my case there was also a business card from the kite seller...

Eagle kite - unpacking - 2Sleeve contents


Eagle Kite Assembly

1. Spread out the kite with the black fiberglass rod running through the bird's head on top. Find the little white rod that is about as long as the bird's head is wide...

Eagle assembly - step 1

2. Insert the little white rod into a pocket on one side of the bird's head. Although stiff, the rod will bend quite a lot as you try to get the other end into the other pocket. Fiddly. This is possibly the most difficult task since it all gets much easier from here on :-)

Eagle assembly - step 2

3. Down towards the tail end of the kite you will find a longer white rod that is threaded through a small white loop. That's a big clue as to what comes next, so don't pull it out! In the photo below the white rod has been rotated away from the vertical spar, while still attached...

Eagle assembly - step 3

4. Just like the smaller white rod, this one is inserted into small pockets as shown. Being longer, the rod bends very easily and hence is easier to get into the pockets...

Eagle assembly - step 4

5. Flip the kite over, so the graphics show and the black tubes with red tips are on top...

Eagle assembly - step 5

6. Both of those black rods have a small but thick black washer, one of which you can see next to the yellow arrow in the photo below. Push each washer firmly along it's black rod towards the red end, until it jams tight. The rods get thicker towards the red ends...

Eagle assembly - step 6

7. Insert one end of one black rod into the holder at one wing-tip, as shown...

Eagle assembly - step 7

8. Near the middle of the kite, feed the 2 white loops on the keel over the red part of the black rod...

Eagle assembly - step 8

9. Plug the other black rod in, so the red bits meet. Leave the white loops as they are, for now...

Eagle assembly - step 9

10. Insert the free end of the black rods into the holder near the wingtip. The black rods now take on a curve and sit away from the wing as shown...

Eagle assembly - step 10

11. Nearly there! At the middle of the kite, adjust the white loops to the middle of the red parts. Tie the free end of the flying line around the 2 white loops, between the red parts and the fabric below. Any secure knot will do, for this kite...

Eagle assembly - step 11

12. Finally, adjust the 2 side keels so each white loop sits against the thick black washer. Here's a close-up of 1 keel...

Eagle assembly - step 12


Flying The Eagle Kite

Now we get to the fun part - flying! The video below shows me launching the eagle kite in a light breeze. Just 3 steps to remember...

  1. Dangle the kite from your hand on a meter (several feet) of line.
  2. Wait for the breeze to catch the kite. Inland, you might have to wait a minute or 3 for a gust to come through!
  3. Let line out slowly and be ready to hold on or even pull it in a bit if the kite loses height.

OK, so the breeze was right there and there wasn't much dangling as such. But you can see line being let out, the kite climbing out of shot and then further line being unwound from the winder to let the kite up higher. It's pretty easy down at the beach :-)

I hope you enjoy flying your Eagle kite! It's even more fun to make your own kite though - why not give it a try some day...

The Big MBK E-book Bundle is a collection of my printable e-books, downloaded as PDF files.

I guess if a plastic creation really 'hits the spot' then it can be re-made in ripstop nylon and attached to the frame with nylon repair tape. It would then be a tad heavier but definitely more durable.

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Wind Speeds

Light Air
1-5 km/h
1-3 mph
1-3 knots
Beaufort 1

Light breeze
6–11 km/h
4–7 mph
4–6 knots
Beaufort 2

Gentle ...
12–19 km/h
8–12 mph
7–10 knots
Beaufort 3

Moderate ...
20–28 km/h
13–18 mph
11–16 knots
Beaufort 4

Fresh ...
29–38 km/h
19–24 mph
17–21 knots
Beaufort 5

Strong ...
39–49 km/h
25–31 mph
22–27 knots
Beaufort 6

High Wind
50-61 km/h
32-38 mph
28-33 knots
Beaufort 7

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