Get ready for kite day— how to build a simple kite

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 3, Issue 47, 6 May 1986, Page 4

Get ready for kite day— how to build a simple kite

With the Waimarino kite day fast approaching on Saturday 17 May, kite-makers everywhere are flat out designing and building. We thought we would help you out with a design which has stood the test of time — the classic kite-shape that most of us think of when we think of kites.

Materials: 1 flat stick l/2 x Vs x 36 inches 1 flat stick y2 x 3/s x 30 inches 1 sheetof light paper or light plastic, 30 x 36 inches. Length of string, about 20ft Glue Construction: Cut a notch in each end of both flat sticks, deep enough to hold a width of string firmly. Wrap a few turns of string firmly around the sticks just below each notch and cover with glue, to prevent splitting. Place the 30-inch stick horizontally across the 36inch stick at a point seven inches below the top of the longer stick. The shorter stick should extend about 1 5 inches in either direction from the point where it crosses the longer stick. Tie the sticks firmly at that point with a short piece of string, and cover the tied string with glue. This is the frame of the kite. Next, run a length of

string around the perimeter of the kite frame, beginning at the top of the cross. The string should run through each of the notched ends of the sticks to form an outline of the kite. Be sure the string is fairly taut but not tight enough to warp the shape of the sticks. Tie a small piece of string around the outside of each stick end after the framing string is in place. Place the frame over the sheet of kite surface material and cut the paper or plastic with a margin of Vi to % inch around the framing string. The additional material is needed as a flap to cover the framing string. However, the surfacing material should be trimmed around the notched ends so they remain exposed at the tips. Spread glue or paste along the flaps and fold them over the framing string. After the framing string is completely enclosed, except for the tips of the sticks, let the glue dry. You can fly this kite without a bridle, simply by punching two holes through the covering where the sticks cross and tying your flying line there. Look at the diagram to see where to make the holes.

The kite will be steadier, however, if you use a bridle. Attach a string to thetwo notched ends of the short stick, running across the kite at the point where the sticks cross, so that the string has about six inches of slack. Then attach a second string running the length of the kite. Tie it to the notched ends of the long stick so that it also has about six inches of slack at the intersection of the sticks and can be tied to the cross string length of string at that point. The two strings, with lines running to the four corners of the kite, will form the bridle. The kite line will be attached to the bridle at the point where the bridle

strings cross and are tied together. Add a tail at the bottom of the kite, using scraps of cloth or similar light materials tied to a string. The tail can be lengthened, if needed, by adding more scraps of cloth, depending on how much length and weight are needed to achieve good kite performance and stability in the available winds of the day. The two-stick kite is a kite with considerable drag. Don't expect it to soar overhead. Its tendency is to fly outward, not upward. So be sure you have plenty of space in which to fly it, free of power lines and trees and not over any roads or highways.