After seeing some Flowform 16s flying at KAPiFrance125, I thought I'd make one.
I did a lot of searching on the internet and found these web sites useful

www.kiteplans.org/planos/flowform5/flowform5.html

www.hprinzler.de/ff03a_e.htm

www.kiteplans.org/planos/fform/fform.html

arch.ced.berkeley.edu/kap/discuss/index.php?p=/discussion/2776/flow-form-size/p1

www.hprinzler.de/ff03a_03.htm

www.kiteplans.org/planos/airmonger/airmonger.html

www.flickr.com/photos/dave_mitchell/sets/72157629489597258

www.flickr.com/search/?q=Flowform

www.kitebuilder.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=8712

www.gombergkites.com/faq/faq-t.html

m.flickr.com/#/photos/pe9ghz/4701352488/sizes/m/in/set-72157624276060120

I decided to have a Yorkshire rose on and found that the one on the flag I'd bought was just the right size. I tested a number of permanent markers with water and then washed them with washing up liquid and found that one with no name on was the best !
I used this one to draw the rose on to both sides of white ripstop using the flag as a guide. The sepals are green marker but the black and yellow centre is applique. I extended the centre up the keel in the marker so it looks complete in flight and the rose shows up well too.
I had enough Royal blue ripstop for the lower sail and sides and sent for some more white from GoKites in UK. Tel 00441670364789
The kite was cut out from a H Prinzler FF03 pattern kindly lent to me by Dave Mitchell. At 42" wide it seems to be 6" wider than the FF16 so I think it's a FF18/19 ish.
I also decided to applique "Fly High" on to the sides, testing out the size on various different size papers. The letters were spaced out and glued together then a long piece of white ripstop was drawn on in dressmakers washable blue ink and sewn on 'back to front' from the inside. I used the sewing machine foot at the edge of the letters so that they were fatter and then when it came to trim them from the outside, they were a bit fatter than the origional.
After cutting out the white top it looked blank so I decided to applique "Fly High" & "Sue" on it, to be seen by other KAPers and not many others. I used the Royal blue for the letters and made them a bit bigger than the ones on the side.
I was a bit worried about sewing it together but some of the above web sites were helpful in which order to do things and how to have all the seams on the inside. The bottom went OK but, reading about adding the top, the problem seemed to be that most of the kite would have to go throught the small space on the sewing machine. However. because I started at the front left hand side - as viewed from the front - only the top had to go through the hole and this became smaller with each panel. The last cell encloses the kite rolled up inside it, you sew along the last seam and then pull it all out and you've got the kite finished! This is called a "Burrito roll".
I was very relieved that it went together a lot easier than I thought it was going to.

I started laying it out and cut the lower sail to shape on 2 February and finished sewing on 24th, bridled it late last night, 25th.

Today 26 February 2014 it had its first flight of about an hour. In all that time it never even tried to fly badly. About 1/4 hour later, after taking lots of photos on my phone, I decided it was reliable enough for KAP. I walked it down, attached the picavet rig and Pentax W90 and sent it up. The wind wasn't that steady in direction or strength so the rig bounced about quite a bit. I moved it further down the line which steadied it a bit but I couldn't go really high into cleaner wind as the flying site was upwind of Skidby windmill and the safety box / playing field was only paddock size.
There was a fair pull on the kite but I didn't have a scale or my wind meter with me. It was probably a greater pull than the Power Sled 24 - difficult to wind in but easy to walk down. The wind seemed to be about F 3-4. Of course, after I'd packed away, the wind seemed less!
I'm really pleased with the way it looks and the way it flies. I'm glad that it flies well (and knows which way is up) without a tail as I don't really like KAPing with one. It's one more thing to keep a look out for and there's enough to do without that.

Anyway. There's a great big smile on my face still. :-))

Fly High

Sue