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    25 Kites That Fly
    25 Kites That Fly
    25 Kites That Fly
    Ebook239 pages1 hour

    25 Kites That Fly

    By Leslie Hunt

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    About this ebook

    With this book by Leslie Hunt, kite-maker for the United States Weather Bureau, you can make your own, personalized kites that will fly in all degrees of wind, from the most imperceptible breeze to a gale. All that you need are some light wood (or substitute), glue, wire, hammer, and nails — plus the clear, concise explanations offered in this book.
    Twenty-five basic kites are covered in constructional details: standard two-stick kites; six-point stars; figural kites such as imps, fishermen, elephants, owls, shields; balloon kites; tetrahedral kites; various kinds of box kites with and without wings; really strong military kites; and many other varieties. Nor are you limited to the kites that are presented in detail: the carefully thought-out, complete instructions are meant to encourage you to experiment with more unusual effects, since they explain important points of design and operation that make all kites fly well.
    The author explains materials and methods quite thoroughly, with consideration of sticks and surface, types of glue, stringing, making composite sticks, tails, bridles, and many other elements, He also gives information on many of the fascinating accessories and concomitants to kites; messengers (or elements that move between ground and kite), parachutes, time releases, special effect releases, tandem kites, and kite photography. He also explains very clearly the method of getting a kite to fly, reeling and stringing, and determining altitude.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDover Publications
    Release dateJun 11, 2012
    ISBN9780486156071
    25 Kites That Fly

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      Book preview

      25 Kites That Fly - Leslie Hunt

      DOVER CRAFT BOOKS

      NATURAL DYES AND HOME DYEING, Rita J. Adrosko. (22688-3)

      BATIK AND TIE DYE TECHNIQUES, Nancy Belfer. (27131-5)

      THE COMPLETE BOOK OF SILK SCREEN PRINTING PRODUCTION, J. I. Biegeleisen. (21100-2)

      SILK SCREEN TECHNIQUES, J. I. Biegeleisen and J. A. Cohn. (20433-2)

      EASY-TO-MAKE DECORATIVE KITES, Alan and Gill Bridgewater. (24981-6)

      DESIGNS FOR GLASS ETCHING, Robert G. Bush. (26000-3)

      GLASS ETCHING, Robert A. Capp & Robert G. Bush. (24578-0)

      THE CRAFTSMAN’S HANDBOOK, Cennino Cennini. (20054-X)

      MAKING CHAIR SEATS FROM CANE, RUSH AND OTHER NATURAL MATERIALS, Ruth B. Comstock. (25693-6)

      THE COMPLETE BOOK OF STENCILCRAFT, JoAnne Day. (25372-4)

      BIRDS, FLOWERS AND BUTTERFLIES STAINED GLASS PATTERN BOOK, Connie Clough Eaton. (40717-9)

      VICTORIAN COLOR VIGNETTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS FOR ARTISTS AND CRAFTSMEN, Carol Belanger Grafton (ed.). (24477-6)

      PAPERCRAFT PROJECTS WITH ONE PIECE OF PAPER, Michael Grater. (25504-2)

      How TO MARBLEIZE PAPER, Gabriele Grünebaum. (24651-5)

      IT’S FUN TO MAKE THINGS FROM SCRAP MATERIALS, Evelyn Hershoff. (21251-3)

      CREATING WITH PAPER: BASIC FORMS AND VARIATIONS, Pauline Johnson. (26837-3)

      CREATIVE BOOKBINDING, Pauline Johnson. (26307-X)

      BATIK, TIE DYEING, STENCILING, SILK SCREEN, BLOCK PRINTING, Francis J. Kafka. (21401-X)

      LACY CUT-PAPER DESIGNS, Margaret Keilstrup. (29512-5)

      CLOISSONNÉ ENAMELING AND JEWELRY MAKING, Felicia Liban and Louise Mitchell. (25971-4)

      TECHNIQUES IN AMERICAN FOLK DECORATION, Jean Lipman. (22217-9)

      LIVING LIKE INDIANS, A TREASURY OF NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN CRAFTS, GAMES AND ACTIVITIES, Allan A. Macfarlan. (40671-7)

      THE COMPLETE BOOK OF RUG HOOKING, Joan Moshimer. (25945-5)

      OLD-FASHIONED RIBBON TRIMMINGS AND FLOWERS, Mary Brooks Picken. (27521-3)

      How TO MAKE MISSION STYLE LAMPS AND SHADES IN METAL AND GLASS, Popular Mechanics Company. (24244-7)

      EASY-TO-MAKE OLD-FASHIONED Toys, Eugene F. Provenzo, Jr. and Asterie Baker Provenzo. (25958-7)

      EASY-TO-MAKE DECORATIVE PAPER SNOWFLAKES, Brenda Lee Reed. (25408-9)

      OLD-FASHIONED RIBBON ART, Ribbon Art Publishing Company. (25174-8)

      JEWELRY MAKING AND DESIGN, Augustus F. Rose and Antonio Cirino. (21750-7)

      HAND PUPPETS: How TO MAKE AND USE THEM, Laura Ross. (26161-1)

      THE ART OF MAKING PAPER FLOWERS: FULL-SIZE PATTERNS AND INSTRUCTIONS FOR 15 REALISTIC BLOSSOMS, Constance Rutherford. (24378-8)

      MAKING DOLLHOUSES AND DIORAMAS, Robert Schleicher. (26335-5)

      BUILDING AND FLYING MODEL AIRCRAFT, Robert Schleicher and James R. Barr. (25801-7)

      AUTHENTIC AMERICAN INDIAN BEADWORK AND How TO Do IT, Pamela Stanley-Millner. (24739-2)

      THE ART & CRAFT OF HANDMADE PAPER, Vance Studley. (26421-1)

      MAKE YOUR OWN ARTIST’S TOOLS AND MATERIALS, Vance Studley. (27246-X)

      SUNDIALS: THEIR THEORY AND CONSTRUCTION, Albert Waugh. (22947-5)

      MASTERING COPPERPLATE CALLIGRAPHY, A STEP-BY-STEP MANUAL, Eleanor Winters. (40951-1)

      NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN BEADWORK DESIGNS, Clark Wissler. (40713-6)

      THE GREAT INTEREST OF BOYS IN KITES AND KITE FLYING IS QUITE EVIDENT FROM THE ABOVE, SHOWING A KITE-FLYING CONTEST HELD AT ORANGE, N. J , IN 1928 ( Wide World Photos)

      This Dover edition, first published in 1971, is an unabridged and unaltered republication of the work originally published by The Bruce Publishing Company in 1929.

      9780486156071

      Manufactured in the United States of America

      Dover Publications, Inc., 31 East 2nd Street, Mineola, N.Y. 11501

      To MY CHILDREN

      Whose assistance and enthusiasm have rendered the writing of this book a pleasure.

      PREFACE

      Some time ago, I was called on to instruct a number of young women in kitemaking, who, in turn, were to act as instructors in summer church schools. This book has been the outgrowth of my lecture-demonstrations.

      There are many excellent magazine articles and a few good books on kitemaking; but the articles are, for the most part, hard to find except in the larger libraries, and the books call for materials not likely to be had outside of manual-training supply houses or large lumber yards.

      Since only the commonest materials are required in making the kites herein described, it is felt that this book is not duplicating the efforts of others. It is hoped that this effort will find favor with the teachers in public and special schools, with playground instructors, and in particular with the boys and girls themselves.

      L. L. H.

      Harvey, Illinois,

      April 25, 1929

      Table of Contents

      DOVER CRAFT BOOKS

      Title Page

      Copyright Page

      Dedication

      PREFACE

      INTRODUCTION

      CHAPTER I - KITEMAKING IN GENERAL

      CHAPTER II - PLANE-SURFACE KITES

      CHAPTER III - TAILLESS KITES

      CHAPTER IV - COMPOUND KITES

      CHAPTER V - HINTS ON FLYING

      CHAPTER VI - KITE ACCESSORIES

      CHAPTER VII - USEFUL INFORMATION

      BIBLIOGRAPHY

      INDEX

      INTRODUCTION

      In preparing this book of kites, I have tried to make the directions as complete as possible without needless repetition. More details are given in the first group than in the others. After a successful two-stick kite has been made and flown, attention having been given to the lashing together of sticks, wrapping of stick ends, papering, etc., further kitemaking will resolve itself into following the patterns.

      There may be better ways of lashing and framing kites than those given here, and, no doubt, there may be objections raised to making large kites by these methods. But this book was designed as a guide to the making and flying of moderate-sized kites, and it is not planned to treat of knots and lashings, nor to go deeply into the professional aspects of kitemaking. On the contrary, everything else is kept subordinate to the idea of presenting such directions for making kites that fly as can be carried out, without previous kitemaking experience, in almost any home.

      I have rarely indicated the thickness of the sticks. Unless specified, the thickness is to be 3/16 inch which is about the thickness one is able to get from the material described. If one wishes to make a kite twice as large, it will be better to double the thickness of the stick instead of doubling the width. Of course, other material will have to be used, or the sticks built up as described in Chapter VII.

      I have allowed a liberal amount of the stick to project beyond the margins of the kites. Experience has taught me that a broken stick is easier to replace than it is to make extensive repairs in the paper or to repair both stick and paper. The projecting stick ends save the paper, and do not render the sticks any more likely to break.

      I have recommended slitting the ends of the sticks with a thin saw to receive the framing string. If no thin saw is at hand, the sticks may be notched with a sharp knife and lashed in place as shown in Figure 2.

      Some kites cannot be framed entirely with framing string without using too many sticks. I reduce the number of sticks to the minimum, and use a dark-colored framing string, letting it go where it will. A dark-colored string is not noticed when the kite is flying. If any sticks show, a little ink and chalk will tone the color of the wood to a tint that will be little noticed. Of course, there will be places in the kite that will need stiffening. I use trough-shaped papers like that shown in the central sketch in Figure 4 for such stiffening, and if such support is not easily fitted, I use shavings or slivers of wood glued to the paper as shown in the lower sketch of the same figure. When the papers or slivers are dried under moderate pressure, that part of the kite becomes quite rigid, and but little is added to the weight.

      Many methods of tying, stiffening, and trimming will suggest themselves to the kitemaker after the work is begun.

      CHAPTER I

      KITEMAKING IN GENERAL

      Is there anyone who has not felt the desire to fly a kite and feel it tug away at its string like a living thing? The joy of kiteflying is greatly increased when we make our own kites and have the satisfaction of seeing them rise gracefully on the lightest breeze, or soar swiftly to a great height with a stronger wind and cut capers in a bright blue sky.

      Many boys and girls do not make their own kites for fear they will not fly, but it is just as easy to make a kite that will fly as it is to make one that will not. In fact, most of the nonfliers can be made to fly with just a few minutes’ thoughtful work. If you have a kite that does not fly well, do not throw it away, but read the description of the kite most like it in this book and see whether you cannot correct its faults. If you do not already have a kite, you will be able to make any number of satisfactory fliers by following the directions in Chapters II, III, and IV.

      The author has made all the kites described in this book and rated them as excellent, good, moderate, and fair fliers. Even the fair fliers may be put up in a moderate breeze without a great amount of running, and fly high enough to show their decorative character to the best advantage. The kites rated as excellent, fly in the lightest breezes, and with a small, smooth string will climb quickly to a great height. It is impossible to say how high any of the kites will fly, as only 1,000 feet of string was used while testing them. Several of the kites have been at the end of the string pulling for more, and flying at an angle that showed them to be several hundred feet above the ground.

      Sometimes it happens that a good opportunity comes to fly a kite, but there is no time for experimenting. What is needed then is a kite that is sure to fly. This book describes various types of kites that are sure to fly and that can be made with common materials and gives directions for making them. I have had such splendid results with sticks cut from the boards of orange crates that I have decided to pass the good news on to others.

      Kites, varying in kind and size, but each the proud achievement of the boys who participated in the kiteflying contest held at Orange, N. J.

      (Wide World Photos)

      We may consider kites as either high-flying or decorative. Common flat kites, bow kites, and box kites are suitable for high flights, while the figure kites are designed more for decoration. There is no object in making a high-flying kite decorative since brilliant color combinations lose much of their near-at-hand vividness when high in the air. In making a high-flying kite, it is better to spend a little extra effort on neatness and on cutting down weight than

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