A REVOLVING KITE

Evening Star, Issue 22448, 19 September 1936, Page 6

A REVOLVING KITE

The kite I intend to describe to you to-day is flown in the same way as an ordinary kite, but once it is in the air it will spin round and round like a merry windmill. The more wind there is, the fastei it will spin. It is very effective. The construction of the kite is very simple, and as it can be made in any size no measures are given here. The frame consists of three strips of wood of equal length. After having bored a hole in the centre oi each stick, place them on top of each other and press through the holes a little metal tube the ends of which have been notched (see fig. ill.). The tube must be just long enough for the flaps at the ends to project on either side of the wooden strips on the latter being pressed together firmly. Then bend the metal flaps outwards with a hammer on both sides of the strips, whereupon the latter can be rotated until the ends are at equal distances from each other before fixing them in position by a few more blows with the hammer on the metal tube.

Consult diagram I. On the sides marked with a cross m the illustration, cut the fabric with a straight margin overlapping the string by 3 or 4in or so. This margin is to be doubled over and securely stitched in position On the other three sides cut the cloth as shown by the dotted lines, then fold the cloth and stitch the upper straight edge around the string so as to make a kind of bag here. These are bags to be caught by the wind, thus causing the kite to rotate. The appearance of the kite can be brightened up by colouring the wind-pockets red or some other colour. Little remains now but to make the guiding-stick for the kite, which will bo a wooden stick of about the same length as the others, Mark it into three equal parts and make a hole at the first mark somewhat smaller than the centre hole in the kite. Then insert a bolt that can fit the metal tube in the kite perfectly. Diagram 11. shows a sectional view of the completed kite; the Hack line is the kite, the white one the guiding-stick. You will clearly see how tire axle bolt runs. Remember to fit spacing washers to it between the kite and the guiding-stick. Finally, the line is attached (see fig. II.), a tail is tied on, and the kite is ready to fly. The bolt should occasionally be smeared with vaseline to ensure easy rotation of the kite. You might paint a spiral figure on the kite, say a serpent, to heighten the effect.

Fix one small nail in the end of each of the frame-pieces and draw a piece of string from nail to nail,'taking care to keep the string tight and tying it to each nail with a secure knot,_ The frame is now complete, and you can proceed to cover it in thin cloth, white for preference. Place the material on a table, put the frame over it, and then cut the covering with a sharp pair of scissors.