Kites silent flyers

Kite-flying is an enjoyable and peaceful pastime, born centuries ago in China. Kites can be beautifully decorated, they have the great advantage of being totally silent and there is something magical about seeing them carried high by the wind like some legendary creature. Kite-flying is a hobby which engrosses adults just as much as children and if you get interested you will find that there are local clubs made up of enthusiasts who organize outings and competitions.

But to fly a kite successfully, you need to learn something about it and above all you need a kite that is correctly made. All too often kites bought from a shop are faulty. Sometimes the centre of gravity is wrong, or the tail is so badly made that it is not worth the bother of taking the kite out.

The answer is to make your own. It's fun, you can create imaginative and colorful designs and it's a job which children love to help with. Best of all, properly made your kite should reach a great height and balance properly. You will find a number of books on kites in libraries and bookshops, but to start you off, here are three simple designs and instructions on how to make them.

The old-fashioned children's kite
This is the simplest to make. The method of construction remains the same, whether you are making a round, square, four-sided or eight-sided kite. You need the simplest of tools: a sharp knife or a small saw, a ruler and a pencil, a pair of scissors, plenty of strong string, thin bamboo sticks, fine cane or pieces of thin wood, and glue. Most kites are made of paper; tissue paper is adequate and light enough for the kite to fly well; crepe paper is more resistant and comes in lovely bright colors. If you are going to paint your kite remember to use really strong color; it is going to go a long way up — we hope — and will need to stand out. An alternative to painting is to cut out shapes in brightly colored paper and stick them on. You will find all the material you need in most good handicraft shops.

To make the kite
Start with the framework, which consists of a cross of two pieces of thin wood held together with string. The point at which the two pieces of wood meet is of crucial importance. If the horizontal piece of wood measures 80cm (32in) it must be fixed 40cm (16in) from the top of the vertical stick. In other words at a point half its length from the top of the vertical stick; 40cm (16in) for a 80cm (32in) piece, 50cm (20in) for a 100cm (40in) piece, and so on. The sticks can be of any length provided the ratio between the horizontal and the vertical is 2 to 3 — for instance, if the horizontal stick is 80cm (32in) long the upright must measure 120cm (48in).

Before you tie the two pieces of wood together, cut a notch into each of the four ends, through which you will run the string. When you fit the framework together, make absolutely sure that the two pieces of wood are at right angles to each other so that the finished kite will be symmetrical.

String should then be tightened round the cross, starting at the bottom of the upright piece, then fixed around the three other ends, through the notches you have cut. Now place the completed framework on the kite paper and cut out the shape along the outside of the string, allowing an extra 2.5cm (1in) margin. Fold this edge round the string, cutting a notch to accommodate each of the four wooden ends and glue the paper down.

Now comes the trickiest part — to get the balance right. Tie a piece of string at each end of the strips of wood and gather the loose ends of the four pieces of string together. When you lift the kite it should lie flat, absolutely horizontal. If the tail end dips slightly, pull the relevant string until you get the kite as straight as possible. Make a knot with the four pieces of string and tie the long kite string to this knot.

The tail is made last— it is very important if the kite is to fly properly. It should be at least four or five times longer than the horizontal piece of the kite's framework and must not be made of odd bits of paper knotted at random. The pieces of paper should be pleated like an accordion and tied at short distances from each other. The tail should get "thinner" towards the end, which means the distance between the pieces of folded paper should increase and the paper get smaller, ending the tail with a piece of paper.

Now the kite is finished and you are ready to fly it. Choose an open field or hill with no trees, no telegraph poles and no high voltage electricity cables on which the kite may get caught.

If you are lucky the kite will rise quickly, the tail flapping when you pull really hard on the rope; if it does and the wind is carrying the kite well, then the end of the string can be fixed into the ground. Be careful, however, to secure it or you can wave the object of your hard work goodbye!

If the kite is flying well, you can play the letter game. Cut a number of "letters" (about half the size of a picture postcard) from firm card in bright colors. Make a hole in the middle and a small slit leading to it. Slide the string through the slit and into the hole and watch the wind push the "letter" up. You can send many different colored "letters" up, amusing the children for hours.

The heavier the kite, the stronger the wind needs to be, and also the string which carries it — if the string is too fine it will snap in a high wind. Very light kites need only the slightest breeze to rise, but they fall down again with equal ease.

To launch a kite proceed as follows. Hold the kite up with one hand, with the other hand hold the reel of string. When the kite starts to pull, let it go and release the string little by little; the speed with which you release the string will depend on the pull of the wind. If you have a large and heavy kite, you will need someone to help you by running fast with a long length of string released against the wind. The string must always be taut — beware of sudden drops in the wind. If this happens, pull the slack string taught by walking against the wind. As you do this, wind up the spare string, or you will end up with a mass of tangled string, which will take hours to unravel.

The box kite
The box kite was invented about 1892 by an Australian who hoped to develop the idea to lift observers. A triangular version of the box kite is used to study conditions of the upper atmosphere, but the square kind remains a great favorite for amusement. To make it you will need two pieces of very fine material measuring 165 x 100cm (66½in x 40in.); four pieces of thin wood, or thin bamboo canes which are stronger, measuring 150cm (60in) each, and four pieces of wood or bamboo measuring 55cm (22in) each.

Fold the material in half along the longer edge, leaving you with two pieces measuring 165 x 50cm (66½in x 20in). Sew the short sides together. Next sew four channels parallel to the stitched ends of the fabric and 40cm (16in) apart from each other. Make each channel 1.25cm (½in) wide. Do this in both pieces of fabric. Make four holes at the tops of each channel through the folded fabric so you can push the bamboo canes through. Now place both pieces of fabric on the table one above the other and push the four longer pieces of bamboo through both pieces of fabric, leaving about 2.5cm (1in) protruding from both ends. Fold the fabric over, with the sticks on the inside, and stitch the four short ends together to make a box shape. You will now have to stiffen the framework by means of two cross pieces. Make these by tying together the two shorter pieces of bamboo, making sure the two sticks are at right angles to each other; tie together with string. Repeat with the two other sticks. These two cross pieces should fit snugly inside the kite, about half way down each fabric piece. Cut small notches into the four ends of the cross sticks so they slot into the four vertical bamboo sticks which make up the kite's framework. Now tie the string firmly to one of the bamboo sticks. The other end of the string is wound round a holder made from four pieces of bamboo to avoid getting it snarled up. The kite is now ready to fly. When you are not flying it, remove the cross pieces and the kite will fold up neatly to be stored.

The caterpillar
This is based on the traditional dragon of Japanese and Chinese folklore. In Japan they usually depict carps, the fins made of Pampas grass, and little boys fly them on New Year's Day.

To make a caterpillar kite you will need very fine cane for the framework of the discs, thin wood strips for the cross pieces which strengthen the discs, brightly colored paper and crepe paper for the fins, glue and string.

Start with the disc for the caterpillar's head which is 35cm (14in) in diameter. The other discs (you will need about 7) are 32cm (13in) in diameter. Start by drawing circles in the right sizes on paper. Next cut pieces of very fine cane, long enough to go around the circles with an overlap of about 2cm (4/5in). Sharpen both ends of the cane with a knife, so that they fit snugly over each other when you fold the cane into a circle. Tie the pointed ends together firmly. Cut sections of thin strips of wood about 0.5cm (1/5in) thick to make reinforcing crosses for each disc. The cross piece of each should overlap the discs by 15cm (6in) on each side, so that you can hang fringes of colored paper on them for decoration. Tie the cross pieces together, making sure they are at right angles to each other, then tie them to the cane circles; the vertical pieces should just overlap the cane circles by about 2.5cm (1in). Before you tie the cross pieces on, put the cane circles on colored paper and cut out paper circles allowing an extra 1.25cm (½in) all around for sticking down. Cut notches all around, so the paper fits snugly and stick down. Now draw faces on the paper discs, or stick on features cut from colored paper. The discs are tied together at three points — through the top of the upright pieces and both ends of the cross pieces. The first two discs should be 28cm (11in) apart then shorten the distance between each of the following discs by l-2cm (2/5-4/5in). Finally decorate the ends of the cross pieces with colored crepe paper cut into fringes and glued to the wood; hang little tassels of fringed paper on the ends.