we also wanted to have a “Brasington” ....
... a replica of Lysithea....
We are always amazed by the designs of Tasmania-based Robert Brasington. They are beautiful dragons that shimmer in all colors.
Unusual flying machines that are very different from others.
so we tried to recreate the Lysithea
A paper model with the calculated data shows that we are on the right track.
As an assumption for the angle of the sails, we calculated the whole thing with 45°, which makes things a lot easier.
the dimensions were determined using a wooden frame and string and then transferred to paper.
Transfer one of the front parts to Japanese rice paper and already cut it out.
And stretched on the frame.... the model looks really tasty from the front.
The cutting sheets for the individual wing parts were created in the same way. Here you can see the two outer wing parts.
The lines for the later color panels are discernible. The dragon will shine in a neon yellow to dark green.
And again the view from the front into the curvature of the wings. They are not flared as far as the mainsails.
Before being transferred to the spinnaker cloth, the individual color panels were cut out of the rice paper and glued onto a thicker cardboard.
Since each part is needed several times, we needed templates that were a bit more stable.
Then use these templates to transfer the individual parts to the spinnaker and cut them out, taking into account the pulling direction
Now the individual color panels are sewn, now attach the dark green edge strip and hem the whole thing with hem tape.
We used around 200 meters of hem tape on our kites.
The whole thing was sewn with a transparent sewing thread
The dark green edge is sewn on.
Sabine did this with calmness and perfection.
My work extended to cutting and construction.
An exciting moment:
The first time the sails can be pulled onto the batons. And the whole play of colors can be examined. The lateral rounded wings and the long tail are still missing.
Finally, the maiden flight pending:
It's a great feeling when the dragon rises into the air after the long construction period over the winter and, after fine-tuning on the scales, can also fulfill what you dreamed of during the planning and construction phase.
But the pictures speak for themselves:
Gorgeous, satisfied and happy when he was lying next to our BOW again
Today, September 25, 2016 , the Lysithea was allowed to fly again and flew more than satisfactorily in the steel-blue sky with warm winds. I was happy that I took her to the meadow again.
and here a view through the Lysithea to the heights of the Eifel...
Kite Festival Malmsheim on October 8th and 9th, 2016 the Lysithea fascinated many visitors and was allowed to fly on Saturday. Unfortunately, the rain soaked the cloth and the two fiberglass rods in the "wings" bored through the hem. I have to go there now...
At the Wolsing flies from July 19th to 21st, 2019 I had the Lysi in my kite bag. It was an excellent wind that afternoon, only the sky was gray and the sun didn't really want to come out. Alex and Marcus helped me set up the kite.
A touching moment for her too, as it was the last dragon that Sabine sewed. Also for this reason I wanted to put him in the sky at her beloved North Sea.
It is always a very beautiful sight when such structures rise into the air
And what happened next made a few tears roll down our cheeks. The further the Lysi rose into the sky, the more the clouds made room for the sun and we said that Sabine laughed at us from above for this moment. We really enjoyed this moment.
So we were allowed to fly the Lysi against a blue sky in a fresh sea breeze.
After we had the kite back in our pockets, the clouds closed again and we enjoyed this moment where we could feel that Sabine is always very close to us..
Also at 11. Wolsing flies in July 2020 the Lysi was allowed to fly again over the North Sea in a steel-blue sky. It's always an uplifting moment when we can admire them from below.
between my long dart team, which Daniel flew and the black and red Delta of Marcus and our black and green T_Delta, she colored the sky a bit more colorful.
