How To Make a Simple Kite
You can find a lot of information on the Internet about making more complicated kites, but this is how to do it
the simple old-fashioned way with sticks, string, paper and tape. I made and flew a lot of kites like this when I
was about six years old, with my various siblings who were even younger than me. We even drew designs on the
faces with crayons. So if you just want to make and fly a kite, at any age, this might be a good place to start.
You don't have to draw on them with crayons (but it was fun).
Warning
Since I'm publishing this on the Internet, where any fool could read it, I'll spare a moment to tell you not to
be foolish. Of course, if you're a genuine, dyed in the wool fool, you're already skipping this section, and
trying to figure out how make a giant kite and go handgliding with it (while drunk), in which case you're
probably going to kill yourself in a leap-scream-crunch sort of way. But who am I to stand in the way of
Darwin?
The usual warning about scissors and knives should be considered to apply to this, as to any arts and crafts
projects, and since I live in a country where you can't sue me if you're an idiot, I urge to you take all
appropriate care with sharp pointy objects, and watch children carefully if they're the ones using the things. In
addition, this is the very same type of kite that Benjamin Franklin used to discover electricity, so in order avoid making any unpleasant
discoveries of your own, I urge you not to try flying it in a thunderstorm, or near electric lines. Also, your
kite will last longer if you don't fly it too near to trees.
Tools and Materials
You will need:
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Two light straight sticks; one longer stick for the vertical strut, and a stick about two-thirds the length of
that for the horizontal strut. I generally use thin pieces of willow (about 10mm or 3/8" across), but
bamboo would probably work just as well.
-
A sheet of paper a little taller than the long stick, and a little wider than the short one. Newspaper is fine
if that's all you have.
This is a fishing swivel - the rings at each end swivel independently. They're roughly 10mm - 20mm
(½" - 1") long.
-
String; about 2mm (a sixteenth of an inch) thick.
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Fishing twine; between 80-300m (a meter is little more than a yard).
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A fishing swivel.
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Adhesive tape.
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A pen.
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Scrap paper or long strips of cloth.
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Scissors (for cutting paper, and string).
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A knife or wood-file for scoring grooves into the wood.
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