Kite

For other uses, see Kite (disambiguation).

Yokaichi Giant Kite Festival held on the fourth Sunday every May in Higashiomi, Shiga, Japan

A man flying a kite on the beach, a good location for flying as winds travelling across the sea contain few up or down draughts which cause kites to fly erratically.

A kite is a tensionally tethered object deriving a net lift in a material flow as a result of the tension from the tether and the dynamics of the flowing material in action with the shape of the kite's main body; the kite tether is fundamentally part of the kite, though sometimes the tether is neglected in speaking about the kite while focus is on the main body that interacts to get lift to move away from the flow lines of the material that forms the flow; a kite need not be made by a human; nature without a human forms kites also. When the material that flows is air and when the kite is a string with its tethered wing that effects lift while being tethered, then such is an air kite. When the tether is a chain and the wing is a plowing-slow wing, then such is a soil kite and the lift drives the plow into the earth. When a fishing fleet tethers a hydro kite to use its lift to down or up an end of a large fishing net, then such examples a hydro kite. This article is with the title of "Kite" and will so cover any and all objects that are kites. The "fly" part of a kite is the motion in the material flow away from material flow stream. Indeed, if the tether of the kite moves and creates a relative streaming of material past the wing of the kite, then there still is a kite occurring in such circumstance. "Fly" does not force the material flowing to be air; the material can be any fluid or even any material, even solids. The essence of the "fly" is the interraction of the shape of the kite's wing with the relatively moving matter surrounding the kite's wing. When the ambient material in which the kite "flys" is air, then airspeed is the term used or relative wind. One can run a stringed air kite in zero ambient wind and form a resultant relative wind of say 6 mph. There are some contemporary "no-wind" kite contests conducted indoors mostly, but not always. A great variety of other-than-air kites are used, for example, by industry for mixing materials. This article will cite many non-air kites, free-flying kites, free-flying dual-air kites. NASA studies kites flying in space plasma where air is not present. When a human pulls a short kiteline to a wing as she or he falls through the air, the kite line and kite and the tugging human may move so that the kite lift is enjoyed for a short while or for a long while; these kites are also called hang gliders; not all hang gliders are kites---the ones that do not use a kite line (hang line). The bridle to the wing part of a kite may be single or multiple pointed; some kites have just one bridle point; others may have hundreds of bridle points. The necessary lift that makes the kite fly is generated when ambient material flow over and under the kite's main body creates low pressure on a favored side of the kite and high pressure on the opposite side of the main body of the kite. The lift generates induced drag in the direction of the ambient material flow; additionally there are other sources of drag; a main drag is parasitic drag that relates to the overall shape of the main body of the kite. The part of the kite that is the tether also contributes at least two kinds of drag that adds to the tension (in Newtonian reaction) in the very tether. This drag is opposed with the tension of the one or more lines. The tether may be held by a human or robot or machine or vehicle or ground anchor or a drogue parachute or an asteroid or spacecraft or horse or other object in the universe. This article is not restricted just to toy or sport air kite; rather, this article is about "Kite" in any media. Sections of the article will face the great variety of kites found in human culture and in nature. There are separate articles being developed for many of the special activities that involve a certain kind of kite; see toy kiting, kiteboarding, powerkiting, hang gliding, soil kiting, plasma kiting, paragliding, parakiting, water-ski kiting, man-lift kiting, kite tugging, and even fictional kiting.

In addition to kites that are flown for recreation, art or practical use, there are sport kites and power kites. Sport kites are flown in aerial ballet. Power kites are multi-line steerable kites designed to generate excess force which can be applied in related activities such as kite surfing, kite landboarding or kite buggying.

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  Man flying a kite in two modes, one as a mobile-powered towing vehicle (powered airplane or grounded moving truck), and another when the mobile tug is the falling pilot pulled by gravity with the tug flowing up the solidized tensional tether hung fromthe center of pressure of the kite wing.
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  Eddy kite, Maylay kite, precursor to flexible-wing manned kites.
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  Hargrave-type scientific box kite carrying meteorgraph instrument.
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  Artistic abstract winged-figure kite, single-lined kite.

History of kite

History of air kites

Approximately 2800 years ago the air kite was first invented and popularized in China, where materials ideal for kite building were readily available: silk fabric for sail material, fine, high-tensile-strength silk for flying line, and resilient bamboo for a strong, lightweight framework. The kite was said to be the invention of the famous 5th century BC Chinese philosophers Mozi and Lu Ban. By at least 549 AD paper kites were being flown, as it was recorded in that year a paper kite was used as a message for a rescue mission. Ancient and medieval Chinese sources list other uses of kites for measuring distances, testing the wind, lifting men, signaling, and communication for military operations. The earliest known Chinese kites were flat (not bowed) and often rectangular. Later, tailless kites incorporated a stabilizing bowline. Kites were decorated with mythological motifs and legendary figures; some were fitted with strings and whistles to make musical sounds while flying.

After its appearance in China, the kite migrated to Japan, Korea, Thailand, Myanmar (Burma), India, Arabia, and North Africa, then farther south into the Malay Peninsula, Indonesia, and the islands of Oceania as far east as Easter Island. Since kites made of leaves have been flown in Malaya and the South Seas from time immemorial, the kite could also have been invented independently in that region.

One ancient design, the fighter kite, became popular throughout Asia. Most variations, including the fighter kites of India, Thailand and Japan, are small, flat, roughly diamond-shaped kites made of paper, with a tapered bamboo spine and a balanced bow. Flown without tails that would hinder their agility, these highly maneuverable flat kites have a length of cutting line coated with an abrasive attached to the bridle, which is then tied to a light cotton flying line. Although the rules of kite fighting varied from country to country, the basic combat was to maneuver the swift kite in such a way as to cut the opponent's flying line.

Kite flying began much later in Europe than in Asia. While unambiguous drawings of kites first appeared in print in the Netherlands and England in the 17th century, pennon-type kites that evolved from military banners dating back to Roman times and earlier were flown during the Middle Ages.

Hang gliders are based on the Rogallo wing, originally marketed as a mylar self-inflating kite named the flexikite.

During the 18th century tailless bowed kites were still unknown in Europe. Flying flat arch- or pear-shaped kites with tails had become a popular pastime, mostly among children. The first recorded scientific application of a kite took place in 1749 when Alexander Wilson of Scotland used a kite train (two or more kites flown from a common line) as a meteorologic device for measuring temperature variations at different altitudes.

Three years after, in June 1752, in what is the most famous of kite experiments, the American inventor and statesman Benjamin Franklin, with the aid of his son, lofted a flat kite fitted with a pointed wire and silk sail on a hemp line during a thunderstorm. Somehow both father and son avoided electrocution as a metal key attached to the flying line became electrified. Franklin proved that lightning was the natural phenomenon called electricity, not the wrath of the gods. One immediate and practical outcome of the experiment was Franklin's invention of the lightning rod.

History of mobile-anchor air kite

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  The Charvolant - a kite-drawn buggy.

When tension of the kite is anchored by a moving object (human, horse, dog, buggy, ship, machine, tractor, car, powered aircraft, another kite, parachute, falling payload, falling human, or other payload or resisting object, then there is extant a mobile-anchored kiteKite Tugand 1826 George Pocock (inventor) powers the Char Volant. This sector of kite history has a rich history and the contemporary scene is vast. Benjamin Franklin reportedly was himself a moving anchor as he was moved across a pond in a kite system where the air kite tugged him. Huge parafoil kites are being used to tug commercial cargo ships across the ocean; the ship is a moving anchor and the kiteline is not held by a human Kite tugs. Kites in free-flight anchored by a falling payload (human payload or non-human payload) were researched in the Paresev program Photos NASA. Kites in free-flight towed through a short hang line tether by a human anchor hang glider pilot are controlled frequently by a triangle control frame part of the main body of the kite; indeed many of these types of kite Two-kiting-sectored kite have a second kite sector to their experience when tow-launched to free-flight; now such launching is bridling the very human at his or her harness for the launch kiting experience; then at release of the aero-tow or car-tow or scooter-tow line, the hang line holding the human to the main wing of the kite is the new kite line anchored by the human pilot's falling body.

History of hydro kite

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  Underwater kite with ship anchoring kite's tether line.

Military hydro kites kite surveying and sounding instruments, surveilance instruments, weapons [1], observation bodies, and anchoring kitesUnderwater kite. Fishing industry kite parts of netsWater-borne kite. Hobby air kite fliers have used water based anchors that are hydrokites driving downwards while the air kite moves along with the wind. Hydro kites are being used to generate electricity in river and ocean flows; the green revolution is driving the development of such water-flying kites. Some sports fishing lures are little hydro kites that troll with a motion from the dynamics of lift in the water; various motions from buffeting to downward drive are designed into the little lures that are mechanically kites (the fishing line is the hydro kite line).

History of plasma kite

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When the flying media is plasma for a kite, then the kite is not an air kite, but a plasma kite. NASA has space-plasma kites in the the testing and planning stages. The plasma kites are variously tethered for reaction with the space plasma. Another sort of plasma kite is a kite depicted on a plasma-based visualizing screen; then the actuality typing of the kite explains the nature of such kite; the mimic depiction is often of air kites.

Materials

Art kites at a German Kite Festival

Kites typically consist of one or more spars to which a paper or fabric sail is attached, although some, such as foil kites, have no spars at all. Classic kites use bamboo, rattan or some other strong but flexible wood for the spars, paper or light fabrics such as silk for the sails, and are flown on string or twine. Modern kites use synthetic materials, such as ripstop nylon or more exotic fabrics for the sails, fiberglass or carbon fiber for the spars and dacron or dyneema for the kite lines.

Kites can be designed with many different shapes, forms, and sizes. They can take the form of flat geometric designs, boxes and other three-dimensional forms, or modern sparless inflatable designs. Kites flown by children are often simple geometric forms (for example, the diamond). In Asia, children fly dried symmetrical leaves on sewing thread and sled-style kites made from sheets of folded writing paper.

Chinese kite designs often emulate flying insects, birds, and other beasts, both real and mythical. The finest Chinese kites are made from split bamboo (usually golden bamboo), covered with silk, and hand painted. On larger kites, clever hinges and latches allow the kite to be disassembled and compactly folded for storage or transport. Cheaper mass-produced kites are often made from printed polyester rather than silk.

Tails are used for some single-line kite designs to keep the kite's nose pointing into the wind. Spinners and spinsocks can be attached to the flying line for visual effect. There are rotating wind socks which spin like a turbine. On large display kites these tails, spinners and spinsocks can be 50 feet (15 m) long or more.

Modern acrobatic kites use two or four lines to allow fine control of the kite's angle to the wind. Traction kites may have an additional line to de-power the kite and quick-release mechanisms to disengage flyer and kite in an emergency.

Practical uses

Chinese dragon kite more than one hundred feet long which flew in the annual Berkeley, California, kite festival in 2000. It is a kite-train of hundreds of linked circles (with outriggers ending in feathers for balance). The dragon's head is a bamboo frame with painted silk covering.

A quad-line traction kite, commonly used as a power source for kite surfing

Kites have been used for military uses in the past, both for delivery of messages and munitions, and for observation, by lifting an observer above the field of battle, and by using kite aerial photography.

Kites have also been used for scientific purposes, such as Benjamin Franklin's famous (but dangerous) experiment proving that lightning is electricity. Kites were the precursors to aircraft, and were instrumental in the development of early flying craft. Alexander Graham Bell experimented with very large man-lifting kites, as did the Wright brothers and Lawrence Hargrave. Kites had an historical role in lifting scientific instruments to measure atmospheric conditions for weather forecasting.

Kites can also be used for radio technical purposes, either by kites carrying antennas or by using a kite, which carries up an antenna wire ( for MF, LF or VLF-transmitters). This was done in the past, for the reception station of the first transatlantic transmission by Marconi. Captive balloons may be more convenient for such experiments, because kite carried antennas require a lot of wind, which may be not always possible with heavy equipment and a ground conductor. It must be taken into account during experiments, that a conductor carried up by a kite in the sky can lead due to a high voltage toward ground, which can endanger people and equipment, if suitable precautions (grounding through resistors or a parallel resonant-circuit tuned to transmission frequency) are not taken.

Kites can also be used as light effect carrier, for example by carrying lightsticks or battery powered light effects.

The German company SkySails has developed ship-pulling kites as an supplemental power source for cargo ships, first tested in January 2008 on the ship MS_Beluga_Skysails. Trials on this 55m ship have shown that, in favorable winds, the kite increases fuel-efficiency by up to 30%. This system is planned to be in full commercial production late 2008. Kites are also available as an auxiliary sail or emergency spinnaker for sailing boats. Self-launching Parafoil kites are attached to the mast.

MS Beluga Skysails is the world's first commercial container cargo ship which is partially powered by a giant computer-controlled kite (160sq. m. or 1,722 sq ft.). The kite could reduce fuel consumption by 20%. It was launched 17 December 2007 and is set to leave the northern German port of Bremerhaven to Guanta, Venezuela at 1700 local time (1600 GMT), January 22, 2008. Stephan Wrage, managing director of SkySails GmbH announced: "During the next few months we will finally be able to prove that our technology works in practice and significantly reduces fuel consumption and emissions." Verena Frank, project manager at Beluga Shipping GmbH, SkySails GmbH's partner further stated that "the project's core concept was using wind energy as auxiliary propulsion power and using wind as a free of charge energy".

A major research and development project called Makani Power, based in California and funded by Google, is investigating the use of kites in harnessing high altitude wind currents to generate electricity.

Launch of ram-air inflated Peter Lynn single-line kite, shaped like an octopus and 90 feet long.

Ancient military use of kites

Kites were often used in the military of China as signal equipment. Military adoption of this was more common in East Asia than in Europe. Much like modern flares, kites were flown engulfed in fire to provide a way to deliver messages to nearby or distant allies or soldiers.

Kites were also used by Admiral Yi of the Joseon (1392-1910) Dynasty of Korea. During the Japanese invasions of Korea (1592-1598), Admiral Yi commanded his navy with kites. His kites had specific markings directing his fleet to perform his order. Admiral Yi was said to have over 300 such kites. The war eventually resulted in a Chinese and Korean victory, and although kites played a minor role in the war's conclusion, they were by no means a predecessor to modern day radio and/or flares.

In more modern times the British navy also used kites to haul human lookouts high into the air to see over the horizon and possibly the enemy ships. The famed Cody Kite (named after the creator Samuel Franklin Cody) (see, for example, this webpage) is known for its classic beauty as well as its lifting abilities.

Cultural uses

Kite festivals are a popular form of entertainment throughout the world. They include small local events, traditional festivals which have been held for hundreds of years and major International Festivals which bring in kite flyers from overseas to display their unique art kites and demonstrate the latest technical kites.

Asia

Kite flying is very popular in many Asian countries, where it often takes the form of 'kite fighting', in which kite fighters try to snag each other's kites or cut other kites down. Fighter kites are usually small, flat, flattened diamond-shaped kites made of paper and bamboo. Tails were left off of the fighter kites so that agility and maneuverability were not compromised. The usual goal of a 'kite fighter' is to manoeuvre his/her kite to cut the opponent's string. In Afghanistan this is known as Gudiparan Bazi. Some kite fighters pass their strings through a mixture of ground glass powder and glue. The resulting strings are very abrasive and can sever the competitor's strings. The modernization of the sport of 'kite fighting' comes with newer technology, as canny arms dealers begin importing a flexible razor sharp wire from China, rather than the old, nylon fishing line used for kite string. However, this practice is dangerous since the abrasive strings can also injure people. During the Taliban rule in Afghanistan, kite flying was banned, among various other recreations.

In Korea kites were usually flown to make a wish or wish the person flying the kite good luck. The kites were usually flown on festive days and national holidays. In countrysides children used to take part in a fun battle where a person tried to disconnect the main bit of a kite of their opponent when the opponent tried to disconnect theirs. To disconnect an opponent's kite one would have to have a strong, steel-like thread to attach the main bit of a kite to the traditional Korean wooden reel, called Earl Leil

In Vietnam, kite flown by adults are "tail-less". Instead small flutes are attached allowing the wind to "hum" a musical tune. There are other forms of sound-making kites. In Bali, large bows are attached to the front of the kites to make a deep throbbing vibration, and in Malaysia row of gourds with sound-slots are use to create a whistle as the kite flies.

The Indian festival of Makar Sankranti is devoted to kite fighting in some states. This spring festival is celebrated every January 14 (or January 15 on leap years),from this year and onward festival will be celebrated on 15th of January, with millions of people flying kites all over northern India. The states of Bihar,Jharkhand,Gujrat,some part of West bengal,Rajasthan cities of Ahmedabad, Jaipur,Dhanbad and Hyderabad are particularly notable for their kite fighting festivals. Highly maneuverable single-string paper and bamboo kites are flown from the rooftops while using line friction in an attempt to cut each other's kite lines, either by letting the line loose at high speed or by pulling the line in a fast and repeated manner. The activity is not without risk as the line is treated to be abrasive and flyers can, and occasionally do, fall from the rooftops. In some Indian cities kite flying/fighting is an important part of other celebrations, including Republic Day, Independence Day, Raksha Bandhan, and Janmashtami.

Hyderabad is one city in India where Kite Flying is taken as a serious game. Kite flying starts a month before the official Kite flying Festival (Sankranthi). The thread with what people fly kites in Hyderabad is designated a 'Manjaa' in local terms and this thread aids in cutting others Kites in sky. The sharper and stronger the thread, the more shall be the chances of drowning others Kites. Even the Kite and Thread vendors make a great deal of money during this festival. Millions of Kites can be seen on this day in Hyderabed, each one fighting for their own survival. People usually spend all day on the terrace with their families, flying kites during this memorable day.

Making traditional Wau jala budi kite, Malaysia. The bamboo frame is covered with plain paper and then decorated with multiple layers of cut-outs of paper and foil.

In Pakistan, kite flying is a ritual for the spring festival known as Basant. However, kite flying is currently banned as some kite fliers engage in kite battles by coating their strings with glass or shards of metal, leading to injuries and death. Kite fighting is a very popular sport in Pakistan, mainly centered in Lahore people spend thousands of dollars in preparing different types of kites and threads best suited to battle. The kites that are manufactured for battling are very different from the conventional kites as they are especially designed and made for this purpose. Kup, Patang, Guda, Nakhlaoo, etc are some of the kites used in the battle and they vary in balance, weight and speed through the air. Threads for kite battling are manufactured using especial glues, chemicals and crushed glass and are numbered based on their ability to cut other threads and to handle kite's weight. Kite Battle is an art and the more experienced a person is in this art the more likely he is to win the battle. It is a very popular social event in Pakistan that happens once a year.

Weifang (Shandong, China) promotes itself as the Kite Capital of the World. It is home to the largest kite museum in the world, which has a display area of 8100 m². Weifang hosts an annual International Kite Festival on the large salt flats south of the city. There are several kite museums in Japan and others in England, Malaysia, Indonesia, Taiwan, Thailand and the USA.

Europe

In Greece, flying kites is a tradition for Clean Monday, the first day of Lent.

South America

In Guyana, on Easter Weekend thousands turn out for mass kite flying. In the capital city of Georgetown the massive sea wall protecting the city from the Atlantic ocean is filled with throngs of families picnicking and flying kites of all shapes and colors. Many participate in kite flying competitions. In certain South American countries the verb Kitar is used to describe the art of kite-flying.

Popular culture

• The Kite Runner, a 2005 novel by Khaled Hosseini dramatizes the role of kite fighting in pre-war Kabul.
• The Peanuts cartoon character Charlie Brown was often depicted having flown his kite into a tree as a metaphor for life's adversities.

General safety issues

There are safety issues involved in kite-flying, more so with power kites. Kite lines can strike and tangle on electrical power lines, causing power blackouts and running the risk of electrocuting the kite flier. Wet kite lines or wire can act as a conductor for static electricity and lightning when the weather is stormy. Kites with large surface areas or powerful lift can lift the kite flier off the ground or drag them into stationary objects. In urban areas there is usually a ceiling on how high a kite can be flown, to prevent the kite and line infringing on the airspace of helicopters and light aircraft. In Asia, specially in the Indian subcontinent the twine is coated with powdered glass to cut opponent's lines and these deadly strings known as Manja are reported to kill number of pedestrians or motorcyclists each year all over the region.

Types of kites

Kites can be typed in several ways:

• 1. Dominant material: By virtue of the dominant material that is used to make the main body of the kite (plastic, animal skin, wood, metal, composite, paper). Some kiters pride themselves for being successful in making the main kite body all out of exactly one type of material; a nutritional food kite that can be eaten, a styrafoam-only kite, an aluminum-foil only Rogallo kite, a paper-only kite, an ice-only kite, a balsa-wood only kite, for examples. However, mixed-material kites may have a dominant material but with some other secondary materials; these are more usual; a kite that is dominant with tissue paper may have various kinds of stiffening framing sticks that are not tissue paper but perhaps made of rattan, reed, bamboo, tree wood, fiberglass, carbon fiber, sandwiched aerogel, glass, metal, or other.
  
  

• 2. Wing character: By the nature of the main wing part (monoplane, flexible sail, rigid wing, biplane, multiplane, ram-air inflated, closed bladder gas inflated , object mimic (of animals, birds, boats, airplanes, insects, people, places, things)). For example, the inflated wings kited: ; and ; and
  
  

• 3. Dominant application: By virtue of dominant application (play, recreation, art, meditation, exercise, industrial, fishing, mining, electricity generating, underwater military, sport, advertising, transportation of passengers, cargo transport, seeding vehicle, tug, weapon, fighting, mechanical power for running machines or performing tasks, sport or survival fishing, aerial photography, taxi, competition over art or aerobatics, performance art, and more).
  
  

• 4.Life: By being manned or not. Is there life aboard the kite wing or not? Are there life animals or live plants on board? Is there virtual or remote life onboard?
  
  

• 5. Buoyancy: Lighter than air or heavier than air; lighter than the medium in which it interacts for lift or heavier than the medium in which it interacts. The kytoon is a kite that is lighter than air that in insufficient winds to stay aloft by its kite lifting qualities will nevertheless stay aloft by its lighter-than-are balloon qualities. Similar devices for other media like water occur (water buoys that water kite in stream while being anchor to the bottom of the stream or other submerged anchor)
  
  

• 6. Control: Kites can be typed by virtue of control method of the motion of the kite's wing body (single-line, dual-line, three-line control, four-line control, n#-line control, radio-controlled, mixed-type control, fused-controls, laser control, torque-line control, part-breakage control, powered controls, aerodynamic controls). Is there a robot onboard the kite main body that alters the bridle or kite's surface or kite's boundary layer flows to control the flying of the kite? Is there a person onboard the kite's main body to control the kite's motions; Dave Culp describes Kite Tugs with crews of people on the kite or kytoon to control the kite's tugging of commercial cargo ships to reduce fuel costs in shipping. Is there animal or plant life onboard the main kite body that are used to control the motion of the kite? Are there instruments onboard that react with wind, tension, sun, temperature, moisture, or ambient media density, or some other characteristics of the flowing medium (often air) in order to control he motion or shape of the kite for some special purpose? Hobby and science kiters have placed hundreds of devices on the kite line and kite body that are controllers of special actions (turning on lights, making electricity, dropping objects, moving an aerodynamic flap to give motion to the kite, taking aerial photographs, collecting air samples, for examples). Are there realtime video cams and other sensors onboard that feed data to a remote human or robot pilot for control purposes? Is there onboard an expert program servomechanism that controls the kite motion according to that expert program. Kite-based electricity-generating systems employ such expert programs.
  
  

• 7. Replica: Kites may be typed by which famous kite is being replicated. Is the kite a replica of the famous Garber Target Kite that may have helped win a war? Is the kite a replica of a particular Hargrave box kite? Or of a first Rogallo Flexikite? Or of an early Domina Jalbert parafoil kite? Or of a Wright glider kite?
  
  

• 8. Artistic quality: Kites are sometimes typed for their artistic quality. The artistic quality might be for the kite's artistic motions, artistic in-air appearance for shaped art or applied art. The art involved for non-flying art-use purposes attract people to decorate home walls and upper spaces in rooms with hung non-flying kite bodies...with or without the other kite part: the kiteline. Any level of visual art may be involved. Sound art made by the kite has been explored. Radiated sound art and artistic music coming from the kite body or kite line example a way to type kites.
  
  

• 9. Manufacturer: Kites are sometimes typed by who made the kite. Is the kite a collectible Hi-Flier kite? Is the kite an original one-of-a-kind William Eddy kite? Is the kite made in a selected country: Mexico, India, China, New Zealand, Russia, Japan, France, Germany, or other? Is the kite made by a homebuilder do-it-yourself hobbyist? Is the kite made by a certain tribe? Is the kite made by mass-producing machines that are computer controlled or by the loving and caring hands of a certain person?
  
  

• 10. Visibility: Are the essential parts of the kite visible or not or how visible? Is the kiteline visible or not? How visible is the kiteline? Is the kite wing visible or not? How visible is the kite wing?
  
  

• 11. Size: Is the kite "giant"? Is it a mega-sized kite? Is it a large kite? Small kite? Miniature kite? Tiny kite? Microscopic kite?
  
  

• 12. Ambient Flow media: A kite reacts with an ambient media, usually earth air; however, NASA is planning kites for non-air atmosphere on Mars and other planets. The ambient flow media for space kites is plasma or photo streams like the streams from the sun. Water or hydro kites have water as the ambient flow media. Soil kites have soil as the ambient flow media. Towed kites through solids or semi-solids bring other media into focus. If a kite "flies" in a food or chemical vat or a husbandry tank of bacteria or algae, then the chemical soup is the ambient media. So, a kite can be typed by its media; air kites are very common; but air certainly is not the only important ambient flow media that humans use for kite systems and applications.

• 13. Actuality level: Kites can be typed by the level of actuality involved with the kite. Is the kite only described in fictional literature? Is the kite only depicted in a drawing and not in any materialization? Is the kite only in the imagination of a person evidenced by talking or writing? Is the kite possible? Is the kite actualizable or not, feasible or not, possible or impossible? Is the kite finished or unfinished? Is the kite broken or with flying-potential integrity? Did the kite once materially exist, but not has no materialized samples? No one has yet built and flown a Domina Jalbert parfoil kite that is a square mile in bottom-surface area; such a kite is possible, but has not yet been actualized; the kite is in the imagination and can be visualized; the same can be drawn schematically or be illustrated in a computer program. Is the kite in a cartoon video with virtual presence? Is the kite living only in the dreams of a sports-kite competitor? Is the kite only on the drawing boards of a kite manufacturer? Is the kite a part of a fictional legendary story?
  
  

• 14. Price: Kites are frequently typed by price. Entry-level kites are often in a lower-priced category. Low-cost kites, medium priced kites, expensive kites, and priceless kites show up in the literature. Minimalist hobby kitemakers have published making kites at the right price: free...by using materials from the ambient environment of natural materials and human discards and trash. Over $100,000 commercial tug kite systems are now fact. NASA prided themselves for making a Charles Richard Paresev manned kite-hanging-pilot glider for a little over $4,000 in 1961 and respecting such as a low-cost success compared to other aircraft NASA had made.
  
  

• 15. Supplier-path:
  
  Kites are sometimes typed by the supplier path. Is the kite available by mailorder? Can the kite be ordered online? Must the kite be picked up at the supplier's place of business or home? Can the kite be paid for by a certain payment method? Is the kite supplied only by way of demonstration and instruction? Is training by the supplier required before the kite is released to the customer?
  
  

• 16. Mimic subject for kite appearance: When looking at the kite's main body, what is seen? Does the viewer see a mimic of an insect, butterfly, human figure, cultural scene, organization flag, national flag, mammal, bird, hawk, airplane, ball, flying saucer, alien, beverage container, house, sun, moon, star, famous cartoon character, or any other object. Want an insect kite for part of a grammar-school thematic lesson? Want a set of kites that look like the flags of the nations attending a big event?

A simple geometric kite with a tail.

A long kite in the air.

• Airplane mimic kite
• Aerogel kite
• Arch kite rotary two-anchor rainbow arch or/and static two-anchor rainbow arch
• Bow kite
• Bowed kite
• Cellular or box kite
• Delta kite
• Fighter kite
• Foil or parafoil kite
• Hydro kite
• Indoor kite
• Inflatable single-line kite
• Kytoon--shaped balloon that kites (lighter than medium in which it moves within a gravity field)
• Manned kite Man-lifting kite Manned kite. Kite having human as free-falling anchor (subset of hang gliders).
• Miniature kite
• Plasma kite
• Rogallo Parawing kite
• Rotary kite--vertical axis rotary, spanwise rotary, mixed rotary, streamwise axially rotary
• Rokkaku
• Soil kite
• Stunt kite
• Styrofoam kites
• Tetrahedral kites
• Zero-wind kite (kite pilot stays within a tight ground cirle)
• Tetrahedral kite
• Underwater kite

Types of kite line

A kite has its main body and its tether or "kite line"; frequently the kite line takes a secondary position, though it is an essential part of the kite; the main wing body cannot be a kite without its kite line being with enough resistance to have the kite react with the stream of some media (air, water, soil, plasma, even solids). Typing kite line occur in different ways:

• 1. Toy kite lines.
• 2. Sport kite lines.
• 3. Industrical kite lines.
• 4. Scientific kite lines.
• 5. Specific kite application kite lines.

Any kite line may be a source of injury to persons, animals, or property; care should be made to choose a kite line that safely fits the use of the kite.

Kitelines are also typed by quality, toughness, color, tensile strength, configuration of its sub-parts, twist, braided, elasticity, diameter, cost, vulnerability to chemicals, reaction with water, surface finish, availability, transparency, approval-for-contest parameter, safety, special purpose, electric conductivity, heat conductivity, melting point, aerodynamic drag, fluidynamic drag, media drag, density, stretchiness, stiffness, feel, ultraviolent ray damage resistance, chemical composition). Any chemical that can form an integrity in tension could supply itself as a special purposed kite line. Some particular kite lines are more popular than others; however, some special purposed rarely-used kite lines have proven to be significant for human culture. Toy and ordinary sport kiting usually stay away from piano wire or electrically conductive kite lines to avoid injury or death; yet there are scientific and military causes for using piano wire and electrically conductive kitelines.

• Cotton
• Dacron
• Dyneema
• Hemp
• Kevlar
• Linen
• Nylon
• Polyester
• Rayon
• Silk
• Manja or Manjha, Hindi word for the glass powder coated kite flying & fighting string from Indian subcontinent and surrounding regions

See also

• Bali Kite Festival
• Kitesurfing
• Kite buggying
• Kite landboarding
• Windsports
• Kite fishing
• Kite aerial photography
• Captive balloon
• Captive helicopter
• Captive plane
• Kite shape (geometry)
• Hang gliding
• Kite Wind Generator
• Uttarayan, The kite flying festival of northern India

External links

• Mathematics and aeronautical principles of kites
• Kitecraft and Kite Tournaments (1914) A free public domain e-book
• List of notable kite museums and international festivals
• The Virtual Kite Zoo descriptions and pictures of many types of kite
• Fighter kites of India
• Kite aerial photography USGS San Andreas Fault
• Kite history including timelines of kite history
• Kites pulling ships