Making and flying kites has been practiced for twenty-five centuries for both recreational and practical uses, and is enjoyed by millions today. The basic principles have remained the same since ancient times, but today’s technology has made it more accessible than ever. Read on to learn about the fascinating history of kite flying, why people do it, how to make kites, and how to fly them.

A Brief History of Kites

The Chinese philosopher Mozi (Mo Tzu), who lived in the 5th to 4th centuries BC shortly after Confucius, is credited by later writers with making an early kite in the shape of a wooden bird. This is the earliest recorded usage of a kite. The Chinese general Han Xin developed military applications of the kite in the 3rd century BC, using kites to measure enemy fortresses and to conduct psychological warfare.

The Latin author Aulus Gellius, who wrote in the 2nd century AD, reported that kites and other flying machines were flown by the Greek philosopher Archytas, who lived in the 5th to 4th centuries BC a few decades after Mozi and was a friend of Plato. According to Gellius, Archtyas built a wooden pigeon that flew hundreds of feet propelled by “the secret of blowing air enclosed inside.” Historians of science believe Gellius was describing steam propulsion.

Windsock kites in the shape of animals were used by the Roman army, and the practice of making windsock kites persisted into medieval Europe. By the 14th century Europeans were making box kites in the shape of dragons.

Meanwhile the Chinese developed paper kite technology, and kites spread to other parts of Asia such as India, Japan, and Malaysia. Kites became so important in Chinese culture that kite flying was incorporated into an important annual holiday called the Double Ninth Festival, held the ninth day of the ninth month, and also celebrated in Korea and Vietnam. Kite flying also features prominently in Japan’s Children’s Day festival, held the fifth day of the fifth month.

The 13th-century traveler Marco Polo brought back stories of kites to Europe after his travels to China. European sailors brought kites back from Japan and Malaysia during the 16th and 17th centuries.

Isaac Newton did some boyhood experiments with kites, and by the 18th century, European and American scientists were using kites for scientific research. In 1749 Scottish scientists Alexander Wilson and Thomas Melvill fastened thermometers to kites in order to record the temperatures of clouds. This was the first recorded meteorological use of kites.

In 1750 American scientist Benjamin Franklin proposed an experiment to prove that lightning was a form of the same electricity that scientists were producing in laboratories. Franklin proposed attaching a key to a kite string and flying the kite during a thunderstorm to observe whether there were any electrical sparks. It is unknown if Franklin ever actually conducted his experiment, but his French friend Thomas-François Dalibard did conduct the experiment successfully in 1752.

Scientific kite applications flourished during the second half of the 19th century and the early 20th century, from about the Civil War to World War I. This led to a number of scientific, military, and commercial applications of kites. Since World War II, technological advances have increased the popularity of recreational kite flying.

Why People Fly Kites

Historically and today, there have been many reasons people have flown kites:

• The original inspiration for kites appears to have been the desire to unlock the scientific secret to imitating the flight of birds. Since then kites have helped scientists understand issues in aeronautics, electricity, meteorology, and other areas.
• Meteorological applications of kites began with Wilson and Thomas Melvill’s experiment to measure cloud temperature in 1749. In 1883 British meteorologist Douglas Archibald attached an anemometer to a kite to measure wind velocity 1,200 feet up. During the early 1900s the United States Weather Bureau used kites extensively for predicting forecasts.
• Scientists and engineers have found kites useful for solving various practical problems. In 1848 the builders of the Niagara Falls Suspension Bridge used kites to send suspension lines across the Falls. In 1901 inventor Guglielmo Marconi used a kite to elevate the antenna used for sending the first radio signal across the Atlantic Ocean. In 1907 Alexander Graham Bell used a kite to test an early prototype for the airplane, assisted by US Army Lieutenant Thomas Selfridge, who later died flying a plane with Orville Wright.
• Since Han Xin’s time, kites have been used for military applications, such as measuring distances, sending signals, guiding soldiers, and guiding artillery shooters. Han Xin used kites to measure the distances between his troops and enemy fortresses so that his sappers would know how far to dig under the walls. The ancient Romans used kites as military banners to help archers gauge the direction of the wind. During World War II kites were used to help ground-to-air gunnery practice, to conduct observations from platforms towed behind ships and submarines, and to help locate life rafts.
• Photographers have found kites useful for taking aerial photographs. Douglas Archibald took the first kite-based aerial photographs in 1887. In 1898 kite photographs of the Spanish-American War were taken by American inventor William Eddy, designer of one of the most widely used kites, which bears his name.
• Kites have religious associations in Asian festivals, where they symbolize carrying away bad luck and overcoming obstacles.
• Finally, kites are flown for fun and sport, as a recreational hobby and in kite-flying contests. In some contests, contestants compete in categories such as highest kite, strongest pulling kite, fastest kite, and best design. Some kite contests are competitive games where contestants try to knock each others’ kites down or cut them down. Variations of recreational kite flying include kite landboarding, where kite power aids an oversized skateboard; kitesurfing, where kite power aids a surfboard on the water; and snowkiting, where kite power pulls the participant along snow or ice.

Prism Jazz Stunt Kite

Making Kites

A typical kite consists of these major parts:

• A frame, composed of one or more vertical sticks, each called a spine, and a crossed stick or sticks, called a spar. (Some kites called soft kites lack a rigid frame.)
• A cover for the frame, usually made of paper, plastic, or a fabric like cotton or silk.
• A fastening to hold the cover to the frame.
• A flying line, which is the string used to hold the kite.
• A handle to hold the line, which can have a reel to wind it in.
• Some kites also have additional stabilizing and control features such as a bridle of strings attached to the frame or a tail of attached strips or ribbons.

The way these parts fit together varies from one kite design to another, but the basic procedure is illustrated by this example:

1. Notch the ends of the sticks composing the frame.
2. Lash the spine and spar sticks together.
3. Outline the perimeter of the kite by running string through the notches in the sticks and tying the ends of the string near the lower end of the spine.
4. Cover the outline with the kite’s cover and fasten it.
5. Attach the line and handle, along with any bridle or tail.

Flying Kites

With a simple single-line kite in moderate wind, you can usually self-launch a kite by following these steps:

1. Stand with your back to the wind, holding the handle in one hand and the kite in the other.
2. Hold the kite up at arm’s length and release it, unwinding line as you do.
3. Let out more line as the kite rises.

In a light wind, you may need a helper to assist you with a long-launch. Have your helper hold the kite and walk backwards 30 to 50 feet or so while you unwind line. Signal for your helper to release the kite while you pull in some line to help the kite rise.

If you need to gain height, let out some line to let the kite fall, then just before it hits the ground, quickly reel in.

If your kite starts to dive, let out more line, without pulling.

When flying kites, always obey safety rules. Never use metal in making a kite, fly a kite near electrical lines, or fly a kite in a thunderstorm.

Worthy Kite Resources

American Kitefliers Association
Kitelife
Blossom Kite Festival

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