For the same reason jets are black? But then again white planes (passenger planes) are white because white reflects more sunlight and keeps the plane "cooler"?

I was told by a kite repairer yesterday that black kites last longer because they are black and allow heat to pass through the canopy material better. However, white canopies heat up more because they reflect sunlight more and hence make the kites more "stiff" or "brittle" over time which takes away any flex in the material allowing it to take more knocks, water crashes, etc. He said older kites which are not black (or have mostly darker coloured canopies) are more prone to shock and will rip more easily. He said the common term "still crispy" is frustrating, because it implies the canopy has no more flex and hence is like dried up paper which can easily tear.

True or bull****?

I can smell it from here. Black absorbs IR to UV which is why it's... black. Absorption or reflection of UV would be a property of the material itself, not the color.

Someone trying to sell you a black kite? They sound like a used-car salesman...

The only black jets I can think of are things like SR71 or U2 which had special anti-radar reflecting coatings -- again, black absorbs.

From my technical textiles days..................one of the most significant enemies of outdoor fabrics is UV....

If you have unpigmented pure polymer without delustering agents (in case of nylon it looks a bit straw coloured, through can be silvery like fishing line, polyester looks silvery, opaque) the UV rays pass through the fibre and bust apart the chains of atoms that make up the polymer. It doesn't happen overnight but it happens eventually.

We've all seen plastic bags rot in the sun, get brittle, haze up and then rupture.

Polyester is inherently more resistant to UV degradation than most of the other synthetic fibres, ....certainly heaps better than nylon and others such as the lightweight modified polyethylenes that are sometimes used for depower ropes (spectra, Dyneema).

If you prevent or inhibit (depending on the shade/dyestuff u use) the UV rays from passing through the fibre by dyeing the fibre or the finished fabric you can further improve the UV resistance and slow the degradation.

Yes, black will probably be the best colour to prevent UV entering the fibre...

BUT

It will also cause the fabric to heat up (IR absorption) and elevated temperature increases breakdown of both the dyestuff that is used to colour the fabric (it fades!) and the fibre itself. UV is heavy stuff!

So, it gets kinda complicated.

U can put fancy UV stabilisers in the yarn (even polypropylene can be stabilised sufficiently to be used for automotive carpet....and the car makers are tough on fading and degradation) but it COSTS...

Its always a trade off between quality/expected lifespan/value of the fabric.

My advice, if you want to be particular, is get 'em out of the sun if they don't need to be there

And if you can stop them flapping in the wind when on the beach I'm sure they'll last longer.

And try not to worry about it too much, go kiting!

A friend and I both flew the same kite a few seasons: his was in black, I had the white. Didn't notice much difference in fabric degradation but never thought to check. I think flying a bigger kite OP and trimmed for depower is what causes that wear in the trailing edge area. Fly smaller kites and keep them powered, you don't see that buzzing going on. When I beach a kite I pack it away or cover it with so much sand that it stops moving, and is screened from the UVs. But for black vs. white I am going to check the 2 kites if possible. I flew the white one till it was a rag. I will also ask our busiest repair guy. It's a good question. Another factor is tar stains. There is a ton of it here and all my white kites get defiled instantly.

Loftywinds said..

brinm said..

And try not to worry about it too much, go kiting!

Oh not worried, just curious.

. So it would make sense to me, to have something in the trailing edge to reduce vibrations? Maybe another layer of ripstop tape? .

Back line pressure does it, pull on that bar and extract every last ounce of power.

Yes CTOz, I can relate to that kind of theory as it’s along the same lines to why a mate of mine brought a red car- they go faster…

black is easier to put a sneaky patch on that doesn't show. white or light colors show patches or repairs and get easily stained. Lighter colors look better new, but black looks better longer term. So I avoid white or light color kites. As for UV like everyone says don't leave kite in the sun when not being used, black absorbs more radiation but increased absorption possibly reduces UV degradation as the color dyes will absorb some of the UV.

black is the new black even if it adds a few mg of weight (in an aeronautical sense)