Kite facts for kids
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A kite is an object that flies by opposing the force of the wind with the tension of a string held by the operator. Kite flying is the hobby of flying kites. Those flown by American children are often shaped like a geometric kite. Kite flying is very popular in China，Japan, India, and many other countries. In some countries 'kite fights' are held, in which many people gather and fly kites and try to snag each other's kites or cut the other kite down.
History
Kite flying traces its roots back to early China, and the development of paper. Chinese kite designs particularly tend to ecopy flying insects, birds, and other beasts, real and mythical. The finest modern Chinese kites are made from split bamboo (usually golden bamboo), covered with silk and hand painted to form an overall artistic statement within a tradition of long standing.
For larger kites, clever hinges and latches allow the kite to be disassembled and compactly folded for storage or transport. Lower cost kites in quantity production may be made from printed polyester, which will have longer useful life if frequently flown.
Technology
Kite flying depends on lightweight, but strong twine. It also depends on the ability to produce paper or tightly woven cloth. Kites typically consist a one or more spars (sticks), that hold a sail of fabric taut. Classic kites use bamboo, rattan or other strong but flexible wood for the spars, and paper or light fabrics such as silk for the sails. Modern kites are made with synthetic materials: nylon or more exotic fabrics for the sails, and fiberglass or carbon fiber spars.
Kites are designed with different shapes, forms and sizes, from historic flat geometric designs, through box kites and other aerodynamic forms, to modern inflatable designs.
Modern acrobatic kites use more than one line to allow fine control in the kite's angle to the wind, in recent years, multi-line kite flying has developed into a sport, with competitions for precision flying and artistic interpretation of music.
Kite festivals are held where kites from around the world are displayed in the sky.
Practical & cultural uses
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Kites have been used militarily in the past, both for observation by lifting an observer above the field of battle, and for delivery of munitions. They have also been used for scientific purposes, for example Benjamin Franklin's famous (but very dangerous) electrical experiment. Kites are the precursors to aircraft, and were instrumental in the development of early flying craft. Alexander Graham Bell experimented with very large man-carrying kites.
The Indian festival of Makar Sankranti is purely devoted to kite flying. This spring festival is celebrated on 14 January (15 January on leap years) with millions flying kites all over India. The festival is a public holiday in the state of Gujarat.
Types of Kites
- flat kite
- bowed kite
- cellular or box kite
- diamond or 'geometric' kite
- scott sled
- rogallo wing
- power kite
- tetrahedral kite
- airfoil kite
- lantern kite
- weather kite
- trick kite
- stunt kite
- kite tugs
- rotorkite
Kites are also used in kite aerial photography.
Images for kids
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Star-shaped kite above a meadow south of Hockenheim. This sparless, ram-air inflated kite, has a complex bridle formed of many strings attached to the face of the wing.
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Woodcut print of a kite from John Bate's 1635 book The Mysteries of Nature and Art in which the kite is titled How to make fire Drakes
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Sparless styrofoam kites
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One of Cody's "manlifter" kites in 1908
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A quad-line traction kite, commonly used as a power source for kite surfing
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Kite maker from India, image from Travels in India, including Sinde and the Punjab by H. E. Lloyd, 1845
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Bermuda kite
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Chinese dragon kite more than one hundred feet long which flew at the annual Berkeley, California kite festival in 2000
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A man flying a kite on the beach, a good location for flying as winds travelling across the sea contain few up or down draughts which cause kites to fly erratically
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Making a traditional Wau jala budi kite in Malaysia. The bamboo frame is covered with plain paper and then decorated with multiple layers of shaped paper and foil.
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Various Balinese kites is on display in front of a store in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia
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A kite shop in Lucknow, India
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Traditional Japanese kites
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Māori kite
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Launch of ram-air inflated Peter Lynn single-line kite, shaped like an octopus and 90 feet (27 m) long
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This delta kite has a keel instead of a bridle
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Train of connected kites
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Kites fly on top of the Mitsui Store where the craftsmen are working on top of the roof, print by Hokusai
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Hiroshige II Enshū Akiha (1859)
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Illustration from the book Story of the mince pie by Josephine Scribner Gates, (1916)
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See also
In Spanish: Cometa (juguete) para niños
