KITES by CHRISTIAN. A. GRIMA
What is a KITE? A Kite is.. A toy consisting of a light frame with thin material stretched over it, flown in the wind at the end of a long string. OXFORD dictionary The Light frame can be made of wooden sticks / plastic rods/ bamboo The Thin Material can be cloth/paper/ plastic
KITES are made in all shapes and sizes.
What makes a kite fly? A kite lifts when wind pressure along the underside of the kite pushes the kite up into the sky. Without wind the kite will fall. At the same time, wind passing over the top of the kite creates an area of low pressure, like a vacuum, along the back of the kite. This sort of sucks up the kite from on top.
THE ORIGIN OF KITES The kite was most probably invented in China 2300 years ago.. However it is also known that people in the South Sea Islands have used kites for fishing since very early times. The earliest Chinese kites were made of silk and bamboo. Instead of being playthings, early kites were used for military purposes. These early kites were very large and able to carry men up in the air. Both Chinese and Japanese learned to use kites for raising soldiers into the air as spies or snipers. Some old Japanese and Chinese prints show warriors flying over their enemies' territory. The invention of paper made kites cost less and they quickly spread among the common people. Kites also played an important part in superstition. In China at one time it was believed that flying a kite and then letting it go might send off one's bad luck and illness.
Kites spread across Asia, and became, and remain to this day, an important part of popular culture and custom. Kites were unknown in Europe for centuries until Marco Polo brought them back from his travels to the East. Then Europeans, and later, Americans used kites for all kinds of scientific and military purposes. Benjamin Franklin showed that lightning was electricity using a kite.
Today kites are even used in sports such as Kite surfing...
...and hang gliding.
HOW TO MAKE A SIMPLE,SMALL, ECO-FRIENDLY KITE......IN 6 EASY STEPS.
MATERIALS YOU WILL NEED... 1. A piece of bamboo (about 1 cm diameter and 40 cm long) 2. A Plastic Rubbish Bag (bio-degradable, medium size) 3. String (50 metres) 4. Sticky Tape or Duct Tape
TOOLS YOU WILL NEED 1. Pencil 2. Scissors 3. Knife 4. Ruler 5. A Piece of Cardboard (40cm X 13cm)
1. Cut out the cardboard to this shape and size.
2. Put the cardboard on the closed plastic rubbish bag and cut out the shape.
(The shape of the plastic is now this.)
(When we open the plastic up we get this shape.)
3. Ask Dad to cut the bamboo to 40cm. Then get Dad to split the bamboo down its length so we get two pieces. Put the bamboo on the plastic like this...
4.Use sticky tape or duct tape to stick the bamboo pieces to the plastic. Stick some tape at this corner ------...and put some tape at this ----corner too
5. Make small holes and pass some string like in the photo.
6. Tie up the string and make a loop at its middle. The string to hold the kite when it is flying is tied to the loop.
TESTING the KITE To get the kite up in the air have someone hold the kite while you run off holding the string tied to it. I found that the best way to get it up in the air was by holding the kite up from the bottom ends of the bamboo like this...
..holding it in front..
or holding the kite above my head.
I could also get it flying on my own by standing it up against something.
I put some sticky tape at the front of the kite because I thought it would make it stronger for hard landings.
Getting ready to go. Sunday,17 th April 6:30pm in Grandma s field. Dads at the end of the string...mum has the Camera ready..
...the Project Manager (David) gives the go ahead...
Some curious bystanders..
Perfect launch the first time!
...15 metres up...
...30 metres up...
...I was very happy with the result...
WARNING #1 Do not fly the kite near houses.
WARNING # 2 Do not fly the kite near trees.
DISADVANTAGES of this KITE DESIGN This kite is not pretty......in fact it is rather UGLY!
ADVANTAGES of this KITE DESIGN 1. It flys! It can fly on very windy days or in a light breeze. 2. Its cheap to make.. costs almost nothing. 3. Tools needed are in every house 4. Most materials can be found in the house (bamboo mil ghalqa tan-nanna) 5. With all tools and materials ready it can be made in 20 minutes or less. 6. Its strong.. It crashes into stone walls without damage. But if its destroyed or lost.. just make another one.
8. Its small. You can stuff it into your pocket.
9. Its light! Weighs less than 20grams.
... less than the weight of two matchboxes (with matches)!
10. Its almost totally bio-degradable... Eco-friendly. But most of all...
...ITS FUN TO FLY!