The Box Kite- History, How they Work, How to Make One and Spectacular Designs

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A simple Box Kite

Box kites haven't been around for as long as many people think, The Chinese were using single sail kites 2.800 years ago. The box kite though, was only invented about one hundred years ago by an Australian called Lawrence Hargrave. He wanted to use them for manned flight.and managed to get about 16 feet into the air by using a series of linked kites.

The Wright Brothers were also influenced by the box kite in their design of the first manned plane, The way that box kites are made means they can be very light, rigid and strong. They also give more lift than a single sail kite and most altitude flying records are held by box kites

A kind of box kite called the Cody Kite was used for observation of enemy positions in The Boer War. Box kites were given to pilots in World War 2 who were at risk of ditching in the ocean. They could run up the kite and use the cable as a radio aerial to transmit a distress call.

The Wright Biplane. A box kite with an engine!

Different air speed above and below a wing or kite surface means lift.

How does a Kite Work?

The kite flies in amost exactly the same way that an aircraft flies. The difference is that an aircraft's engines force it through the air but a kite is tied and held still while air (wind) rushes over it.

When air flows over an aircraft wing or a kite surface, it will flow more quickly over one surface then the other.The difference in air speed between the upper and lower surface means there will be a pressure difference and this means lift. The picture explains it better than words!

If you want to understand how all the forces in a kite work, this page from NASA will tell you: http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/airplane/kitefor.html

How do You Make a Box Kite?

You need light, rigid struts and a material that won't stretch too much even if it gets wet. This meant bamboo and silk for early Chinese single surface kites.

Nowadays, there are space age materials that are super strong and light like Dacron and carbon fiber struts. This means ever better performances from all kinds of kites. There are even radio controlled kites available!

The video below shows you how to assemble one kind of box kite.

Different kinds of Box Kite

It is posssible to design all kinds of kites with the basic box kite structure. The video below shows a twisted box kite which has a spectacluar appearance in the air. Equally spectacular are some of the designs on the Rei camping and hiking site- like the one to the right

http://www.rei.com/product/753085

Kite Fairs Conventions and Meetings.

One of the biggest kite fairs in the world is held every year at Long Beach in Washington State

http://www.2camels.com/international-kite-festival.php

Lincoln City Kite Festival

The Pacific Coast also offers the Lincoln City Kite Festical, Why is the Pacific coast so blessed with festivals? The wind off the pacific is usually steady and true as well as strong enough to mkae it one of the best areas to fly a kite in the world.