Product Code Database
Chapi-chapi is a small two-stick kite that can be quickly constructed from cheap materials such as newspapers, broom sticks, or discarded plastic sheet. It is very popular in the Philippines. A strong, straight stick is used for the vertical frame. The horizontal stick is tensioned into a bow in order to provide greater support for the paper or plastic sheet. A very long bottom tail is almost always necessary, while the side tails or fins are optional.
This kite, with a simple two-point bridle, has moderate lateral roll and flutter (oscillation), that some kite fliers prefer in kite fighting, over stable, quiet flight. Unlike the diamond-shaped Malay kite The Eddy and Malay Kites and Eddy, no extra strings are used in the edges for the frame, making the chapi-chapi easier and faster to assemble but relatively more fragile. The chapi-chapi is quite similar but not identical to the Thai "female" kite called pakpao, to the Patang or Patang,http://www.salome-online.com/manjha/indien.html Indian Fighter Kite and to the Nagasaki Hata or Matt Star fighter kite.http://www.salome-online.com/manjha/star.html Matt Star Fighter
The kite shown in the 1999 Philippines film Saranggola was a chapi-chapi.
|
|
