The Ministry of Confusion

Construction (continued)

9. Cut a piece of fishing twine about three-quarters the length of the longest stick, and tie it around one of the grooves. Pass it through the tape reinforced hole, turn over the kite and loop it twice through one ring of the fishing swivel. Pass it back through the other hole, tieing it to the frame around the other groove. Slide the fishing swivel along the twine until it's over the frame cross joint (which should be on the other side of the paper). This string is called the bridle.
10. Take a piece of string, or long strip(s) of cloth about two to three times the length of the longest stick and tie it around the bottom of the longest stick, just above the string around the edge. This is the tail of the kite which stabilises it in flight, by keeping the bottom pointed downwards. If you used a piece of string, tie pieces of paper (or even supermarket bags, they're often bright and festive looking) into it like bow-ties every 20-30cm (or foot) to give it weight.
11. Tie the rest of the fishing twine to the the unoccupied loop of the fishing swivel. If you don't have a fishing rod lying around to wind the rest of the twine onto, you might make a winder like the one pictured (previous page) by nailing a couple of handles to a piece of board. The kite is now ready to fly!

Launch!

In a slow breeze, you might need to run the kite a while to get it into the air (somebody might need to hold the kite up at the base of the tail, and run with you while you run with the string), while in a stiff breeze it should trail back from your hand and launch pretty easily. This is where you will notice any design problems with the kite, that you might not have already taken into account...

Design Considerations

The kite loops and drives into the ground

This usually means that the tail isn't quite long or heavy enough to stabilise the kite in flight. Try lengthening it or adding more streamers or ties.

The kite just doesn't seem to get into the air.

The kite is probably too heavy for the wind conditions. You could try finding or waiting for stronger winds, or making a lighter or bigger kite (to catch more air). Alternatively, the tail might be too heavy

The kite slips vertically out of the air after launch.

The tail is too heavy, or the bridle is set too steep. In the latter case, you should shorten the top half of the bridle. However, it's more likely that you will need to lighten the tail, by shortening it or removing ties or streamers.

The kite broke up or broke away in the air

The kite is probably too flimsy for the conditions. Wait for a calmer day or build a smaller, or more sturdy kite. If the twine keeps breaking, use stronger twine.

© Simeon Lodge 2004. This document is licenced under the GNU Free Documentation License, and is for Laura who thought making kites sounded like fun. It probably contains numerous spelling errors.