Back to intro page<

The Mantis By: Ruth Whiting and Tim Elverston

Video of a praying mantis kite that Ruth and I made back in 2000. It's actually 23 kites articulated together to fly as one. The control is extremely good once the giant carbon insect is in the sky. However, getting it up there is the challenge.

It's made from carbon fiber, old style icarex polyester cloth, and spectra bridle. It's like a single line kite, but actually has 4 lines that all come back to a section of bicycle rim for a handle.

The way I explain it is a marionette that, instead of using gravity, uses wind pressure. Wind pressure is also the final support for the structure. The 16 foot tall frame is mostly sections of .098 carbon and is actually too floppy to hold its own weight up until it has the wind and the support of its bridle to stabilize it.

We studied each piece of the real insect, and made a corresponding kite for each segment. Judging each piece as a kite on its own, we figured that when we connected all 23, we'd have a total that would fly. We were right. We also found out that it is very true, a praying mantis will eat your head.

Sorry for the shaky video, we were having to run to keep up with it.