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High Flyers Different Types of Kites Kites are made of think materials such as paper, silk, or other thin material spread over a framework. Kites require flexible tails for lateral and directional stability because they have only one plane surface. Popular kite making destinations are China and other East Asian countries. This practice of making kite is centuries old. Alexander Wilson of Scotland first tried to use a kite in 1749. He used it to store meteorological data. Lightening was studied by Benjamin Franklin in 1752, with the help of kites. In 1893, Lawrence Hargrave, an Australian, used box kite to carry out the studies related to meteorology and aerodynamics. To make experiments, Alexander Graham Bell used tetrahedral kites. Kites are of many types: Bowed kites are stretched to form a bow like a Japanese Rokkaku kite. This improves their strength to a point where a tail is not required. Foil kite are soft kites consisting of numerous cells spread uniformly in which some or all are open at the front for enabling air to inflate the kite taking on an aerofoil section. Some kites are made, for use on water, having limited air inlets present in the centre of the foils' leading edge. This allows the air to go in and water out. Internal hole in the sides of the cell help the entire kite to inflate. Thus this kite gets inflated very slowly in comparison to other kite having open fronted foil. Stunt kite are of special type as these fly high into the sky on two lines. The flyer can enjoy acrobatics such as flips and twirls while he is flying the kite. Stunt kites can fly with the maximum speed of 100 MPH. Airfoil kite has an airfoil shape to lift the kite upwards. It is also known as parafoil kite. These kites have chambers filled with air that provide shape to the kite at the same time lift the kite up into the sky. They do not use the conventional frame of sticks that is rigid. The name "parafoil" is given because they have "parachute" and "airfoil". The absence of frame allows them to be folded and stored in packs. Power kite is a classic example of airfoil kite.
This article was posted on January 10, 2006
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