Educational Hobbies » kite flying

How to Fly a Kite

Shari Voigt — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 19:19:01 +0000

Remember your first kite flying experience as a kid? Running down the open field with the kite bouncing along behind you? Maybe it took off; maybe it just bounced … and maybe that memory is keeping you from flying a kite as an adult. There is a better way!

To begin with, start off with a delta – a basic triangular kite, available in an assortment of sizes and colors. With the right wind, you can fly just about anything, but until you get your bearings, go easy on yourself and avoid anything more complicated than the basic delta.

A suitable kite can be found for around $25 and will need very little, if any set up. Then pick a wide open space, well away from other kite flyers and stand with your back to the wind. When you feel a gust of wind, release your kite and begin to slowly let out the line. If you have a companion, let him or her hold the kite about 100 feet downwind, letting go as the wind lifts the kite, while you keep the string taut and slowly let it spool out.

Now, if you’ll excuse me … it’s a beautiful day and I’m off to fly a kite!

Photo Credit: markus941 on flickr

Kite Flying – High Flying Physics

Shari Voigt — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 21:22:35 +0000

Mix McGraw, a competitive kite flyer known for flying 230 kites at once, says “flying a kite is more than flying a kite.” Humidity, the material the kite is made from, the altitude … all these factor into how high and how long it will stay in the air. The wind, itself, is temperamental. An avid flyer for 30 years, McGraw acknowledges kite flying as an ever-changing challenge.

Of course, not everyone works so hard to fly a kite. Most of us would be classed as “casual flyers.” We put a kite in the air for the fun of it, and just enjoy the wind and the sun our faces. In the northern states, kite flying is a right of Spring, a hobby enjoyed by young and old alike.

Whether you’re into casual or expert kite flying, Kites for Everyone: How to Make and Fly Them is an inexpensive (only $9.95) and helpful resource. It’s a thorough, expert guide with easy-to-follow illustrated instructions for creating more than 50 airborne objects, including everything from bag kites to Vietnamese, Snake, Dutch, Dragon, Bullet, Delta, and Flowform flyers, plus windsocks and toy parachutes. Science and Children says “It’s like having a veteran kitemaker in the classroom.”

Learning how to make a kite along with your children or grandchildren is time well spent. So, given the choice between picking up a pre-made kite at Wal-Mart or making one myself, I’ll choose the latter. Why not learn first-hand about how your choice of materials affects the flyability of your kite?

It’s a gorgeous Spring day in Wisconsin. Are you ready to go fly a kite?

Related Products: More Kite Flying Resources

Related Articles (Off-site): High-flying physics

All Ages Enjoy Kite Flying

Shari Voigt — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 17:02:24 +0000

Flying a kite is more than child’s play. Just ask Ray McCully, secretary of the New Zealand Kite Flyers’ Association. He has a collection of over 100 kites. On a good day, he and his wife Rosemary might have 50 – 60 of them aloft at one time. This educational hobby has even taken them around the world.

It all began 19 years ago when their daughters received a kite from grandma. Mom wanted to know why some kites flew and others didn’t. She found a book, made a kite and must have enjoyed the process. Kite flying became a hobby that the whole family could enjoy.

Read the entire story, “The wind beneath his wings.”

Photo Credit: luiginter on Flickr

Harnessing Wind Energy with Kites

Shari Voigt — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 20:15:41 +0000

Is it possible to generate electricity with a kite? California-based Makani Power is working toward that goal. They’re developing giant kites to harness high-altitude winds, expecting it will generate more than 10 times the energy of a wind turbine.

What does this have to do with educational hobbies? Like all great ideas, they have to start somewhere. This one began with an interest in kite flying and electricity.

What might we all accomplish, if from time-to-time, we’d simply “go fly a kite?”

Read more about high-altitude wind power on Red Herring.

Image Credit: ronnie44052 on flickr