Kites & kiting

[Turtle]

___This topic has aspects of physics but also social/cultural context so I though I'd start it off in the Watercooler.

___So, do you have a kite? What kind? Where do you go to fly? Who do you go with? Other kite info you have?

___I currently don't have a working kite, but I always favored box kites & their variations. I also enjoy flying the 2-line stunters, especially the flexi-foils.

___My interest in kiting has waned, but for many years I was an avid enthusiast & participated in the Washington State International Kite Festival at Long Beach Washington USA for a number of years as an official & as a contestant. It all started getting a little too much about business forme, but it still is an outstanding festival where one can see more types of kites than just about any other venue. (The festival is held the 3rd week of September every year)

____Well, I don't care for long posts, so I'll curtail my ramblings to allow you all to post up your kiting adventures! :)

:eek: :eek: :eek: :rant: :bat: :bat: :bat: :bat: :bat: :bat: :bat: :bat: :bat: :bat: :bat:

[Buffy]

___So, do you have a kite? What kind?

Right now, just a couple of the uber-popular triangular parafoil kites with a single line. They're easy to fly and fun. I built one of those WWI balsa and tissue kites once, mostly as an art project (it was the Fokker Triplane one, but painted psychedelically), it was unbelieveably hard to fly and very delicate, so it was repaired three or so times before it went back to simply being a piece of ceiling art in the living room. I also once built one of those tetrahedral kites: they're really great, but they require a *very* windy day.

Where do you go to fly? Who do you go with?

Berkeley Marina or Stinson Beach with my daughter.

Other kite info you have?

Its not even a hobby for me, just a fun thing to do a couple times a year. I know nothing about these things and am in awe of those people who do the stunt stuff.

 

Cheers,

Buffy

[Turtle]

___Sweet Buff! Sounds like a bridle problem with the Folker kite. They say you can fly a barn door if you bridle it right.

___Anyway, I found in the garage I still have the box kite I used for aerial photography___I will locate the link for the camera carriage & the last photo I can find from the kite.

[Queso]

when i was little i was flying a batman kite at the Capitola beach near santa cruz. the beach was packed with people and the wind was sparatic. my kite began to fall, so i ran backwards as fast as i could to try and pull it and get it back in the air again. it fell straight down and as soon as i caught it, it skimmed a bald guys head. an inch lower and it would have smacked him, it just skimmed right off of his shiny bald-ness.

 

fly.

[Turtle]

___Pow! Crash! Boom! Holy Bat Kite Robin!

___You bring up a serious point though, that of safety in kiting. From contacting electric wires, to hitting someone, to being hauled in to the air, it has some potentially fatal consequences. Part of the draw for me; the element of risk that is & taking steps to lessen it.

___Keep these kite stories coming! :eek:

 

PS The camera carriage & aerial photo are attachments to posts #17 & #18 in the thread "Minimalist Multifunctionism..." in the Lounge.

[C1ay]

It's been years since I've been kiting but you've stirred an old memory so perhaps I'll pick one up to spend a few days with. We used to go down to the river to fly where the wind was strong. We would attach a flag or banner to the string below the kite to fly as well. One I will always remember is the one that went up to the end of a second roll of string. We could not see it anymore as it was only a speck in the binoculars. We turned it loose to see if anyone would ever call us from the numbers we had written on it but no one ever called. I still wonder wherever it went.

 

I am thinking of something else now as I am writing. I wonder if there is any size limit here in the U.S. for them. I am also a rocket hobbyist and any rocket that weighs more than 3.3 pounds or has more than 62g of propellant requires FAA approval before flight because of the potential danger to commercial aircraft. Thus I wonder, if I could bridle a barn door correctly would it be legal for me to fly it?

[Turtle]

___You made my day today C1ay! What an enjoyable kite story!

___As to the FFA, I am not aware of a size limit but the law says no one may fly a kite or tethered balloon above 500 feet without a conditional permit. I have never heard of anyone getting ticketed however.

___They flew a parafoil at Long Beach that was 115' x 114' & it would hold the World Record except a guy got caught in the lines as it went up & then he fell from 100ft & died. With everyone checking the dead guy, no one bothered to get the kind of evidence that Guiness wants & the kite never made it in their book. Then it was later set afire while in storage. I Googled 'Worlds largest kite' yesterday & while many have large kites they claim are the record, none are as big as this one was.

___On that note, I have a newspaper article with a photo of it but I don't know if it's OK to post it because of copyright; anybody know?

___Great kite story again C1ay! Keep flying.

[Turtle]

___I recall meeting an older guy at one of the kite festivals back in the 80's who related a neat story. Seems it was back in the 1920's before widespread electrification of the rural areas, ie. no overhead wires, & this guy & his friends took a kerosene lamp & tied it inside a large box kite. Then they tied the kite to the bumper of their Model T Ford & took off driving through the countryside. The old man said the whole countryside was in an uproar over the 'mystery' lights in the sky!

___One of the neat things about it all was how this old fella's eyes lit up as he relived his youth in that story. Now I'm wondering what is the oldest example of a kite known? Mmmm...

[Buffy]

... this guy & his friends took a kerosene lamp & tied it inside a large box kite. Then they tied the kite to the bumper of their Model T Ford & took off driving through the countryside. The old man said the whole countryside was in an uproar over the 'mystery' lights in the sky!

Now, THAT my dear Turtle, is a UFO!!! :circle:

 

Klaatu Barata Nikto,

Buffy

[gubba]

G'day folks'

some of us downunder occassionally have a go at training sugar gliders and stuff to fly for us, send messages and such, does that count? Not much good it did. Dem little fellas are shockin spellas and ya can't unnerstand a ting dey say! Greater gliders are a better bet, but ya need a hell of an arm ta fling 'em in the air. cheers gub.

[Turtle]

___'Sup Gub!? Are sugar gliders birds & yer pullin' my leg? Even since their pour spella's, how they at countin? :)

___I have had birds chase & attack kites before. :)

[gubba]

G'day Turtle,

 

Don't you need a sense of humour to be pulling someone's leg? According to the kids there's not a funny bone in my body, but, what would they know?

 

Do you have o'possums in the States, or they only found further south? Gliders are close cousins to our marsupial possums, some of whom hold an ecological niche similar to your little masked bandits rac-hoons, where-as the gliders are mainly nectar and/or pollen/blossum feeders. Now, these omniverous possums brushies, short for brush-tail possums,they sure can count! When her kids come back from raiding MY FRUIT TREES, mama brushie will send them straight back to get my last bXXXXy PLUM!!! if they're even just one measly piece of fruit short! cheers gub.

[Turtle]

G'day back at ya Gubba! Roight yoou ahr mate!

___We have opposums, but I live in the city & they mostly get in garbage that I know; we have racoons too here. (Pacific Northwest US) We have plenty of orchards round about though; hazel nuts (filberts), apples, cherrys, & plums, but I don't know any growers or if opossums are a problem for 'em.

___I have experience in using remote control to drop teddys from a kite, but never dropped a bushie mate! Good luck. :)

[Turtle]

___I have put into the Gallery an aerial photo I took from my big box kite back in the 80's. I ended up buying a used Nikon SLR because the 1/200 limit of my twin lens reflex often gave blurry results, as this photo exhibits. In this case, the blurring actually adds some dynamic to an otherwise potentially ststic scene. If you look carfully you can see the hard blowing sand streaking along the beach.

Aerial Kite Photo

___Where are all you closet kiters hiding? :hihi:

[Turtle]

___As we don't have a history forum yet & in the interest of keeping this topic alive, here is a combination post.

___Not only did Alexander Grahm Bell have a hand in inventing the telephone & the first practical hydro-plane, he did extensive experimenting with kites. Remembering he was active before the Wright brothers flew, he like many others were seeking military contracts for kites to lift observers.

___Large kites are necessary & Bell favored designs based on clusters of relatively small tetrahedral cells. If no one beats me to it, I'll look for some photo links.

___What kind of kite do you have? ;)

 

PS Here is link:

http://www.design-technology.org/bell.htm

;)

[Turtle]

___The topic of how long a kite's line is in relation to the kite's altitude came up here at Hypography:

http://hypography.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3005

 

___A quick search of "world kite altitude record" turned up this interesting article:

http://hypography.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3005

 

___The reported 10,000+ feet is much lower than I recall reading; more research! :hihi:

 

PS Because of the many parameters affecting a kite line, no expression extant describes the relation of string length to kite altitude.

[Turtle]

___While scavenging files from old 3 1/4 floppies, I found an aerial shot I took in the Vancouver Lake area near Vancouver Washington. I estimate the altitude at 250 feet. Note that is the camera altitude, not the kite. In practice, I put the kite up first & when it stabalized, I hauled the camera up the flying line. :)