When I was growing up, one of the things we always did in the spring, was fly kites. Maybe I’ve just missed it, but kite flying doesn’t seem as popular these days — at least not for the “average” kid.
I know they still have the Kite Festival on the National Mall every year (this year it’s Saturday, March 30) but I don’t see many local kids out flying kites. Living overseas in Asia, kites were a big deal, kids flew them all the time… in the streets, off balconies, in the parks — just about anywhere you found kids, there were kites. I used to like to build and fly kites, but neither Dave or Kelly ever showed much interest and I’m pretty sure that goes for our grandkids so far.
A kite is a heavier-than-air craft that depends on the wind to overcome gravity to fly. All kites have one or more surfaces to be acted upon by the wind, a bridle to hold the kite at an efficient angle into the wind and a flying line to keep the kite from blowing away.
In the history of flight, the kite might be number one — existing long before other types of “flying machines.” I couldn’t find any information about when the first kite was flown, but I’m pretty sure they originated in China. I found some information indicating that they were flown in China more than two thousand years ago. One legend suggests that when a Chinese farmer tied a string to his hat to keep it from blowing away in a strong wind, the first kite was born.
One of the earliest written accounts of kite flying was about 200 B.C when the Chinese General Han Hsin (of the Han Dynasty) flew a kite over the walls of a city he was attacking to measure how far his army would have to tunnel to reach past the defenses. Kite flying eventually was spread by traders from China to Korea, and across Asia to India. Each area developed a distinctive style of kite and cultural purpose for flying them.
Over the years, kites have served all sorts of useful purposes — Benjamin Franklin and Alexander Wilson used their knowledge of kite flying to learn more about the wind and weather. The Wright Brothers experimented with kites that contributed to the development of the airplane. During World War I, the British, French, Italian, and Russian armies all used kites for enemy observation and signaling. The US Weather Service flew kites to raise meteorological instruments and cameras. A guy by the name of George Pocock came up with one of the strangest uses of kite power. In 1822, he used a pair of kites to pull a carriage — at speeds of up to 20 miles per hour. Some of his kite trips were recorded at over 100 miles. Because road taxes at the time were based on the number of horses used to pull a carriage, he was exempted from any tolls.
Gas doesn’t seem to be getting any cheaper and the wind seems to blow continuously around here — maybe it’s time to hook a couple of kites to the front of my car….
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