News for Schools from the Smithsonian Institution. Office of Elementary and Secondary Education. Washington, D.C. 20560 September1991 Kiting Up the Sky: The Vehicles of Understanding Written by Ann Bay After decades of being a toy that appeared for only a few weeks each spring, kites have made a comeback. In fact, some people are even talking of a "Kite Renaissance." Now you can-in your school classroom­ capitalize on this worldwide resurgence of interest in kites and kiting. This issue of ART TO ZOO is designed to give you and your students a perspective on the importance of kites, not only as toys but also as highly versatile and practical devices that have figured prominently over the years in many areas of human endeavor, from weather forecasting to bridge building, to military reconnaissance. We've included for class discussion an explanation of how kites fly, as well as an outline of the history ofkiting. In addition, there are directions (on the Pull-Out Page) for making a rather modem kind of kite known as a "sled." By following "ifo~~C'~y4i~cti(n:l,,:,~_~'Ou:r .stllMntS.' ca:n..;;der:n.o:n~tr..a:te..fc!" themselves LIFT, WEIGHT, THRUST, and DRAG, the basic principles underlying most kinds of flight, including the flight of airplanes and gliders, as well as kites. A collection of kite-inspired writing exercises by Tom Lowderbaugh serves to round out the issue. And now to begin at the beginning, with some important kite facts. Important Kite Facts: What is a Kite? ... and How Does It Fly? A kite is a tethered heavier-than-air craft that derives its lift solely from the air. A kite depends on the wind Sisters Jeannie (in front) and Meghann Long flying kites in front of the Smithsonian "Castle," on the Mall, in to overcome gravity ... and all kites, regardless of Washington, D.C. their size or shape, have these three features: wind). An airplane, on the other hand, is moving into activities have been developed involving flight­ • one or more surfaces to be acted on by the wind the air, powered by engines. including hot air ballooning, sky diving, hang gliding, • a bridle to hold the kite at an efficient lifting angle Once your students have a visual picture of the and the throwing of boomerangs, frisbees, and paper • a flying line to keep the kite from blowing away. forces enabling a kite to fly, they should be able to gliders. Older than any of these activities, however, is gr~sp the significance of the various developments in kite flying, which dates back to around 1000 B.C. The deltoid-shaped kite illustrated on this page shows kite design and application that have occurred over the China is usually considered the place of origin of the arrangement of these three features on a traditional years. Now, here for class discussion, is a brief, the kite. Although no one knows for certain when or kite with a wood frame. anecdotal history ofkites. how the world's first kite was flown, a favorite theory The basic forces enabling the flight of kites (and is that a Chinese farmer whose hat blew off in the also of airplanes) are these: LIFT, WEIGHT, THRUST, and wind was so fascinated to see that his hat could "fly" DRAG. Lift is an upward force. Weight is a downward that he later attached a string to it and launched it as a force. Thrust is a forward force. And drag is a Class Discussion on the kite. Silk, produced in China as early as 2600 B.C., backward force. Look at the two pictures below. may have been an important material from which early History of Kites kites were made, as most likely was paper. Broad The difference between the flight of a kite and the People have long dreamed of flying, and airplanes and leaves and frames of sticks or bamboo strips may also flight of an airplane is that a kite is held in position by spacecraft are direct results of this dream. Besides have provided the makings for early kites. the flying line and derives its life from moving air (the these history-making inventions, many recreational One of the earliest legends of kiting is that of General Han Hsin, who helped to establish the Han Dynasty as one of the most powerful dynasties in LIFT t Chinese history. In 206 B.c., the general and a small t LIFT band of soldiers camped outside the walls of a palace controlled by the enemy. The problem facing Han .e Hsin was how to conquer the well-fortified palace with C) only a few soldiers. After some consideration, Han '" +- DRAG THRUST 0+ DRAG THRUST ~ Hsin built a kite and sent it aloft until it flew over the "- Against Air +- Into Air 0+ 51 palace walls. Then he carefully marked the length of line that had been required for the kite to go that distance. This told his soldiers how long a tunnel they WEIGHT Ii WEIGHT would have to dig to get inside the palace walls and take the enemy by surprise-which is exactly what + II .+ 1 they finally did! Thus Han Hsin won his battle and the The same forces act on both airplanes and kites. (The airplane is a Grumman XF2F-1, a U.S. Navy fighter plane kite victoriously entered recorded history. dating from the mid-1930s.) Continued on page 2 continued from page 1 carriage with kites at speeds of up to twenty miles an ONE ANOTHER .•. OR ANY OF THEIR PETS ... INTO TIIB hour. AIR WITH KITES! As the next point in class discussion, tell the From that day forward, down through the centuries, Aerial photography. The first photographs showing children that some of the most significant of practical the kite has proven itself a highly versatile invention. the extensive devastation of the 1906 San Francisco kite experiments in history were conducted during the Here are just a few of the innovative-and often earthquake were taken by a giant camera-heavier 1800s in connection with the development of early useful-functions that kites have served over the than a piano-attached to a train of high-flying kites. airplanes. Those were the days when engineers, years! inventors, and adventurers were hard at work trying to Scaring the enemy and other military uses. From the make the dream of manned flight a reality. In their Lazy floating. Your students may be familiar with time that kites were first invented until the advent of Dayton, Ohio, bicycle shop, Wilbur Wright built a box Benjamin Franklin's famous kite experiment proving the airplane (and even since then), kites have been put kite, rigged it with four flying lines, and flew it in a that electricity provided by lightning produces the to all kinds of military uses by different countries. For nearby meadow. For several years, he and his brother same effects as electricity of human manufacture. example ... Orville built gliders and after testing them as kites, What the children may not know is that Benjamin piloted them from the sand .dunes near Kitty Hawk, Franklin also used a kite for fun, to tow himself across • An early Chinese legend tells of a general who North Carolina. From these experiments, the Wright a lake while floating on his back. attached lanterns and noisemakers to kites and flew Brothers leamed the elements ofairplane controL them at night over his enemy's camp. The enemy Even after the 1903 Wright "Kitty Hawk Flyer" was so frightened by the mysterious "spirits of the made the first controlled, powered, and sustained Boat towing. In 1903, Samuel F. Cody crossed the night" that it fled without a battle. airplane flight, the Wright brothers, along with others English Channel in a boat towed by kites. in the great race to develop the airplane, continued • For many centuries, manlifting kites were used in the their interest in kites. However, except for Orient to send up spies to observe the enemy. Much experimental purposes, kite design seemed to lose its later, in the late 1800s, this method of challenge and diversity for a while. For several reconnaissance was adopted in the West, when decades, only traditional deltoid-shaped kites, along British Captain B. F. S. Baden-Powell began to build with occasional box kites, were flown-and then and fly "Levitor" kites. Baden-Powell's system was mostly just "for fun." During World War II an capable of lifting a "spotter" about one hundred feet important revival of a serious interest in kites occurred into the air to observe and photograph the enemy. with the use of kites as targets for sea-to-air gunnery and other military purposes. • During World War II, U.S. Navy Lieutenant Paul Then, in 1948 a new era in kiting began. Francis Garber,* developed "target kites" for use by the and Gertrude Rogallo invented the Flexikite, which Navy and the Army. Manipulated by two flying lines used V-shaped longitudinal sections, rather than sticks, and a rudder, these kites could be steered through all to determine its shape. sorts of fancy maneuvers, such as loops, dives, and The Flexikite did not, however, immediately change the status of kiting; rather its real significance became apparent later on. Indeed, some of the impetus for the "Kite Renaissance" we spoke of earlier in this article came from the NASA space program. Mter the Russians launched Sputnik in 1957, Francis Rogallo, working as an aeronautical engineer, used the wind tunnels at Langley Research Center in Virginia to adapt his kite designs for use on returning spacecraft.