Goodwinds

Rossy’s Jet Pack Made from Carbon Composites

amelia — Wed, 09 May 2012 19:26:12 +0000

In a realization of every child’s dream, Yves “The Jetman” Rossy flew around Rio de Janeiro using a jet-propelled composite wing. The wing is made from a carbon-kevlar composite and is powered with four jet engines. Yikes! He cruised at speeds between 120 and 180 miles per hour and his flight looks exhilarating.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Goodwinds Turns 4!

amelia — Wed, 02 May 2012 19:09:52 +0000

On April 28, Goodwinds turned four years old.

Now, you might be thinking, “But wait! Goodwinds Kites has been around for ages!”

True, but Goodwinds LLC, the composite rod and tube company, is a company that grew as an offshoot of Goodwinds Kites- an offshoot purchased by Leland Holeman, Roger Holeman, and Amelia Cook four years ago.

A lot has changed in those four years. We still supply American-made carbon and fiberglass rods and tubes at the very best retail and wholesale prices. We still are happy to custom cut every order. We still enjoy working in this industry. But also, we have hired four staff in addition to the owners. We’ve added another website, www.gwcomposites.com, to appeal to engineers and industrial companies. And, we’ve expanded our product offerings and our on-hand inventory four-fold.

In the coming year, you’re going to see a few great changes to Goodwinds. Chiefly, we will be redesigning our website, www.goodwinds.com, to be easier to navigate and to facilitate ordering. We would love to hear from you – any suggestions or feedback on the current website and how it can be improved would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you to all our customers, employees, and friends for a great four years!

Blue Line Blowout – All Sets and Rolls ONLY $10

amelia — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 19:20:08 +0000

Now is your chance to get some of the finest kite line ever made for a ridiculously low price! That’s right, we’re discontinuing Blue Line and ALL Blue Line sets and rolls are now on sale for ONLY $10 EACH. For some rolls, this represents savings of over $100!

The dual and quad line sets include sleeved, pre-stretched lengths of 100% Spectra, 2000 fibers per line, with tight, flawless braid structures, straps for flying, and a winder. Also known as Berry Blue Line, Blue Line kite line sets have been sold for years by Avia Sport Composites.

The rolls are the same great kite line, but in lengths of 1500 or 3000 feet, so you can cut your own custom-length lines.

Don’t delay because these will not last! You can find our entire stock here.

GWComposites.com: Your Composites Resource

amelia — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 17:56:03 +0000

Ever wondered about pultrusion and how we get unidirectional carbon rods and tubes? Do you understand how roll-wrapping works? Which material is best for your project, carbon or fiberglass? How closely can Goodwinds measure straightness in a rod?

Goodwinds has just launched our sister website, www.GWComposites.com, where you will find the answers to these questions and so much more. Meant to be an informational website with lots of specifications for engineers and inventors, GW Composites gives you information on how composite rods and tubes are created and how they can be used in a variety of applications. Check it out today!

2012 – A Great New Year at Goodwinds!

amelia — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 19:17:13 +0000

As January rolls to a close, Goodwinds wants to say to all our customers, suppliers, and friends, happy new year!

We’ve had a crazy few weeks, and it already seems as though 2012 is busier than last year. We’re settled into our new space at 2629 Henson Road in Mount Vernon and we have experienced an increase in productivity and precision far beyond our imaginations. The new saw room is pristine and really allows us to make accurate cuts to our carbon and fiberglass rods and tubes. Having our total stock in one big room makes it easy to keep track of it, and we are able to better anticipate inventory needs, which, of course, means that we can fulfill orders faster and more completely.

Well, the move wasn’t the only trick we had up our sleeve for bringing you better service in the new year; oh no, we’re about to launch a new website that will allow you to access information and specifications about our American-made carbon and fiberglass! We’re calling it our “industrial website” because it’s goal is to provide information for engineers and tinkerers to allow them to better build their products with Goodwinds’ rods and tubes. You can look for more information about this new website here as soon as we are live – within the next two weeks! Of course, you’ll always be able to access our large line of carbon, fiberglass, line, connectors, tapes, fabric, and other accessories at www.Goodwinds.com.

In short, we think 2012 is going to be a great year! Drop us a line to find out how we can help you with your composite rod and tube needs.

Meet our Inventory Manager

amelia — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 19:27:57 +0000

We hired her for the summer (while Amelia was on maternity leave) and we loved her so much, we begged her to stay! Meet Andrea, our part-time Inventory Manager.

When she’s not at Goodwinds, she’s finishing her MBA at Western Washington University.

Goodwinds has moved!

leland — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 17:47:21 +0000

Goodwinds LLC has officially moved to 2629 Henson Road, Mount Vernon, WA 98274! We are excited to be in a bigger and better warehouse to better serve our customers! Our new place will allow us to expand our business while still maintaining our exceptional level of customer service!

View Larger Map

Meet Baby James!

amelia — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 17:53:25 +0000

Congratulations to Amelia and Tony on their beautiful baby boy James DeWiley Cook! Born on Tuesday, June 28, 2011. He will join his big brother Charles at home!

Here he is!

Hammocks and Other Interesting Ways to Use Composite Rods and Tubes

amelia — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 18:10:57 +0000

In addition to all of the really cool industrial customers with whom we work (Boeing, Blimpworks, NASA, and so many more), we supply composite carbon and fiberglass rods and tubes to a variety of small businesses and manufactures making some really interesting stuff. Did you know that you can use Goodwinds carbon and fiberglass as framework for your backpacking hammock? Check out hammockforums.net for more inspiration. There are lots of ways to use composites in RC cars, helicopters, and airplanes (especially foamies!). You can find some really neat RC projects at rcgroups.com and rcuniverse.com. Some of our customers are also active with LARP, archery, spear fishing, hiking (using composites for hiking sticks), puppet making, and other great hobbies. How do you use carbon and fiberglass?

Carbon Prices on the Rise

amelia — Mon, 09 May 2011 16:33:59 +0000

One of the great advantages to buying carbon rods and tubes from Goodwinds is the absence of minimum orders. We have fantastic prices for low quantities, and quantity discounts when you order more. The reason we are able to do this is that we purchase large quantities of rods and tubes at long lengths and then cut them to spec for our customers. Recently, our carbon manufacturer has raised the prices of carbon rods and tubes – twice within the past 6 months! The reason for this is a global increase in the price of carbon fibers.

It is possible to still purchase inexpensive Chinese carbon rods and tubes. Chinese carbon is made with fewer carbon fibers and more vinylester or epoxy (the glue that binds the carbon fibers together) than American carbon, and is less strong as a consequence.

Because Goodwinds supplies many industrial companies with carbon, we have chosen to continue to supply high-quality, American-made carbon rods and tubes to our customers. We understand that quality is important to our customers, whether you are a hobbyist or one of our industrial partners or an engineer. You will see prices rise at Goodwinds, but hopefully not very much as we work with these new price fluctuations. And we will always offer quantity and wholesale discounts. Please contact us with any questions.