History In the history of flight balloons and powered aircraft are recent compared to kites It is believe that kites were flown in China more than two thousand years ago One legend suggests that the first kite was invented when a Chinese farmer tied a string to his hat to keep it from blowing ID: 391645
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Slide1
KitesSlide2
History
In the history of flight, balloons and powered aircraft are recent compared to kites.
It is believe that kites were flown in China more than two thousand years ago. One legend suggests that the first kite was invented when a Chinese farmer tied a string to his hat to keep it from blowing away in a strong wind and it stayed up in the air.Slide3
History, continued…
The earliest written account of kite flying was about 200 B.C. when a Chinese general flew a kite over the walls of a city he was planning to attack. He used the kite string to measure how far his army would have to tunnel to dig under the wall. Knowing this distance helped his army surprise the enemy and they were victorious!Slide4
History, continued…
Kites were brought to Japan in the 7
th century by Buddhist monks who used them to avert evil spirits and ensure rich harvests.During the “Edo” period in Japan all people below Samurais were allowed to fly kites, but the government tried to dissuade them because they were worried it took their minds’ off their work.Slide5
History, continued…
About 300 years ago a Japanese man used a kite to carry himself to the top of the Nagoya Castle to attempt to steal a golden statue. And while he was able to remove a few small pieces of the statues, he was captured and punished when he landed and bragged about his exploits.Slide6
History, continued…
The U.S. Weather Service flew kites to raise meteorological instruments and cameras up into the atmosphere.
During WWI many countries used kites for enemy observation and signaling.In WWII the U.S. Navy used kites to prevent enemy airplanes to fly too low over targets. American pilots lost at sea were trained to fly a box kite so they could be found.Slide7
Benjamin Franklin
There is no proof that Benjamin Franklin
flew a kite during a thunderstorm in the year
1752, but he may have. A full-on lightening strike would have killed him.
Historians believe he attached a key to the string to have something to attract the lightning to and that he flew the kite in the rain but kept the last few feet of the string dry to insulate himself.
Mythbusters
(and others) have tried to duplicate the experiment without luck. The myth was declared “busted”.
Franklin did, however, invent the lightning rod, which is used to
this day
to direct lightning strikes safely into the ground.Slide8
Kiting Today
The last 50 years has seen a renewed interest in flying kites, or “kiting”.
New materials, like
ripstop nylon, fiberglass, and carbon graphite have made kites stronger, lighter, more colorful, and more durable.New designs include stunt kites with dual lines and kites strong enough to pull vehicles, wakeboards, snowboards, and ice sleds.Slide9
Types of KitesSlide10Slide11
Build a Box kite!Slide12
Materials:
(20) 24” 1/8” x 1/8” balsa sticks.
White glue or glue sticks.Tissue paper.String.ScissorsSlide13
8”
6”
24”
Build four (4)Slide14
Cross Brace Support
TOP VIEW
Two pieces of string
Tied at each corner
AND together, in
The middleSlide15
“Bridle”
Tie one string to the top corner of one side.
Tie a second string ¾ of the way down
From the first string.
While holding both strings together, adjust
The angle of the kite until the top leans forward at
About a 45 degree angle.
Tie both strings together about 6’ from the kite.Slide16
GO FLY A KITE!