the quattro station...
... after Maurizio Angeletti....
When browsing the homepage www.kite.builders is run by Ralf and Eva Dietrich from Denmark I'm on an interesting book by the Italian kite builder Maurizio Angeletti encountered. I then ordered the book directly and I received the number 76 with a signature from Maurizio.
Here you can find out more and order a copy. Maurizio wrote the book with a lot of passion and knowledge and lets us participate in his star book Star Kites
I decided to build the big Quattrostelle. In white and blue he shall stand in the sky. In 3 x 3 meters with a 10m tail made of stars and organza.
Here is an example of a Quattrostelle
Using the dimensions from the book, I first constructed the stars and made templates. The cloth should become the Eltext cloth.
First I built the stars with 4 white points and then sewed on the blue rays and cut them out afterwards. The tips then with blue and meadow Dacron reinforced, the loops are made of 5mm wide black roller shutter tape.
Key rings are later attached to the loops to hold the hose connectors for the spreaders.
After the 4 stars were sewn together, I used satin bias binding to hem the edges of the star. That was a tedious job as the 10m tail had to be hemmed.
A white dress ribbon was sewn into the inner corners of the star for reinforcement in front of the satin ribbon.
Of course, the kite also got the logo and the wash label like all kites I built.
Premiere, it's the first kite where Birgit's likeness is smiling down from above....
And this is what the finished star looks like. Four of those then result in the Quattrostelle.
The tail still had to be attached to the lower star. So that you can see the tip of the star, I have set it off with blue stripes.
Sew the 5 individual parts with the stars and then connect the individual parts with a 1 meter long white organza fabric.
And a first test in the yard. I wanted to know how the kite works then.
In the evening, sew the fringes for the end of the tail and attach with a felled seam.
After the 10, 8 and 6 CFRP rods were fitted, I once tried to set up the Quattro station in the kitchen...
The scales and a suitable bag are still missing to complete the maiden flight.
12/13/2020: The bag isn't finished yet, but we still have a big smile on our faces...
Maiden flight over the Ahr Valley. By the way, Maurizio has shown my Quattro position on his homepage. Here under Kitefriends. ..
First set up the big kite and attached the scales as specified. The middle limb could also be determined directly before the first flight.
Here is a size comparison of the kite to Birgit, who stood behind the Quattrostelle.
The scales were right from the start Well. The wind was between 1 and 2 bft, but closer to 1 bft... We were concerned that it would take off at all.
He pulled up willingly and developed a very good move... we were amazed at how well it flies.
The star
Would one have almost more sense
than the three wise men from the East
and it seems he would never be
followed the little star like she;
nevertheless, if now the Christmas festival
lets its little lights shine blissfully,
also falls on his understanding face,
he may or may not notice
a friendly ray:
Of the miracle star of yesteryear.
Wilhelm Busch
1832-1908
A beautiful picture in the sky. The large Quattrostelle with its 3 x 3 meters and 11 meter long tail shows its presence in the sky
We couldn't get the grin off our faces... and we are sure that the Quattro station will not be the last time we have flown over the Eifel hills.
But unfortunately the days in December are short and when the sun goes by, the cool wind picks up very quickly... so it's time to land the kite. When hauling in the line, we had tied a 50 daN with 100 meters, the two of us had to pull the cord quite properly so that the Quattro point came out onto the meadow. Noitz for us: next time, pack the vang.
The last few meters he floated willingly and easily on the ground... A good-natured dragon that we built there.,
At the end of February 2021 I was able to fly the Quattro station between Harscheid and Sierscheid. Unfortunately, the wind was rather weak and flattened out completely. But it was a beautiful picture in the sky.
In June 2021 in Sankt Peter Ording, the Quatrostelle was also allowed to go into the North Sea sky high above the stand.
It was wonderful how she stood there in the blue sky and looked down on us from above like a good star.
When small kite festivals were possible again at the beginning of October, we were able to place the beautiful Quatrostelle in the Westerwald sky.
Since the light wind sniffer phoenix was also in the sky, the wind was rather mild, but it was still enough for the big star.
It's always fun to put the kite in the sky and watch it.
Im Juni 2023 in der großen Sandkiste in St. Peter-Ording durfte die Quatrostelle wieder in den Himmel ziehen.
Auch mein Enkel war von dem Drachen fasziniert und wollte ihn auch einmal in der Hand halten, wie er so schön über den Herzen von Catty steht.