WHY CAN A KITE FLY ?

A kite is a tethered craft with wing surfaces that react against the air to create lift and drag forces. [1] A kite consists of wings and anchors. Kites often have a bridle and tail to guide the face of the kite so the wind can lift it. [2]  A kite may have fixed or moving anchors that can balance it. Kite is the common name for certain birds of prey in the family Accipitridae.[3]

Star-shaped kite

The lift that sustains the kite in flight is a generated one. When air moves around the kite's surface, producing low pressure above and high pressure below the wings. [11] The interaction with the wind also generates horizontal drag along the direction of the wind. There is a resultant force vector from the lift and drag force. The opposing force is the tension of one or lines or tethers to which the kite is attached. [12] The anchor point of the kite line may be static or moving (e.g., the towing of a kite by a running person, boat, free-falling anchors as in paragliders and fugitive parakites[13][14] or vehicle). [15][16]

The same principles of fluid flow apply to liquids, so the use of kites in underwater currents. [17][18] Paravanes and otter boards operate underwater on an analogous principle.

Man-lifting kites were for reconnaissance and entertainment and during the development of the first practical aircraft, the biplane.

Kites have a long and varied history. Many different types are flown individually and at festivals worldwide. Kites are for recreation, art, or other practical uses. Sport kites can be flown in aerial ballet, sometimes as part of a competition. Power kites are multi-line steerable kites designed to generate large forces. They are for power activities such as kite surfing, landboarding, kite buggying, and snow kiting.

History

Woodcut print of a kite from John Bate's 1635 book, the Mysteries of Nature and Art. The title of the kite is How to Make Fire Drakes.
A claim exists that the kite was the invention of the 5th-century BC Chinese philosophers Mozi (Mo Di, or Mo Ti) and Lu Ban (also Gongshu Ban, or Kungshu Phan). Materials ideal for kite building were readily available, including silk fabric for sail material, fine, high-tensile-strength silk for flying lines, and resilient bamboo for a lightweight framework. By 549 AD, paper kites were popular. That year, they sent the message in a paper kite for a rescue mission. Ancient and medieval Chinese sources describe kites as applied 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. They decorated the kites with mythological motifs, legendary figures, and some with strings and whistles to make musical sounds while flying. [19][20][21]
After its introduction into India, the kite further evolved into the fighter kite, known as the patang in India, where thousands are flown every year at festivals such as Makar Sankranti. [22]
Kites were known throughout Polynesia, as far as New Zealand, with the assumption being that the knowledge diffused from China along with the people. Anthropomorphic kites made from cloth and wood were used in religious ceremonies to send prayers to the gods. [23] Anthropologists use Polynesian kite traditions to get how early primitive Asian traditions existed in Asia. [24]
Kites were late to arrive in Europe. Stories of kites were first brought to Europe by Marco Polo towards the end of the 13th century, and sailors brought back the kites from Japan and Malaysia in the 16th and 17th centuries. [25][26] Konrad Kyeser described dragon kites in Bellifortis about 1400 AD.[27]  initially, kites were a curiosity, but by the 18th and 19th centuries, they had a place as vehicles for scientific research. [27]
In 1752, Benjamin Franklin published an account of a kite experiment to prove that lightning was due to electricity.
Kites were also instrumental in the research of the Wright brothers and others, as they developed the first airplane in the late 1800s. Development of several designs of man-lifting kites happened. The period from 1860 to about 1910 became the European golden age of kiting.[27]
In the 20th century, many new kite designs, including Eddy's tailless diamond, the tetrahedral kite, the Rogallo wing, the sled kite, the parafoil, and power kites. [28] Kites had a place for scientific purposes, especially in meteorology, aeronautics, wireless communications, and photography. The Rogallo wing is for stunt kites and gliding, and the parafoil is for parachuting and paragliding.
The rapid development of mechanically powered aircraft diminished interest in kites. World War II saw limited use of kites for military purposes (survival radio, Focke Achgelis Fa 330, military radio antenna kites).
Kites are now mainly used for recreation. Lightweight synthetic materials like ripstop nylon, plastic film, carbon fiber tubes, and rods were popular. Synthetic rope and cord (nylon, polyethylene, kevlar, and Dyneema) are for bridle and kite lines.

Delta kite

The lift that sustains the kite in flight is when air moves around the kite's surface, producing low pressure above and high pressure below the wings. [4] The interaction with the wind also generates horizontal drag in the direction of the wind. The resultant force opposes the vector from the lift and drag force components by the tension of one or more lines or tethers. [5] The anchor point of the kite line may be static or moving (e.g., the towing of a kite by a running person, boat, free-falling anchors as in paragliders and fugitive parakites[6][7], or a vehicle). [8][9]

                                                                       Delta kite

Exactly what makes a kite fly?

• A kite deflects the moving air (wind) downward, resulting in a lift.
• Lift is due to the change in momentum.
• The air above the kite travels faster than the air below, thus creating a pressure difference.
• Fast-moving air creates less pressure above the kite, so it rises upwards.
• Airflow on the top is faster than the air underneath, thus creating lift.

You can feel the force pulling on the string tied to the kite.

The four forces of flight (Lift, Weight, Drag, and Thrust) affect kites, the same as airplanes and anything that flies.

•  Lift is the upward force that pushes a kite into the air because of the differences in air pressure created by air motion over the body.
• The design (shape and angle) is suitable for the air moving over the top of the kite to be faster than the bottom.

We know that the pressure of a fluid (like air) decreases as the fluid speeds up.

• Since the speed of the air above the kite is greater than the speed below.
• The pressure above is less than that below, resulting in lift.

Weight is the downward force, mass multiplied by the acceleration due to gravity (m*g).

• This force pulls the kite toward the center of the Earth. Thrust is the forward force that propels a kite in the direction of motion.
• A kite must rely on tension from the string and moving air created by the wind or the forward motion of the kite flyer to generate thrust.

 Drag is the backward force that acts opposite to the direction of motion. Drag is due to the difference in air pressure between the front and back of the kite and the friction of the air moving over the surface.

• To make a kite fly into the air, the force of lift must be greater than the force of weight.
• If you want to keep a kite steady, the four forces must be in balance. Lift and weight must be equal, and thrust and drag must also be equal.

The kite flyers create lift, drag, and thrust through various walking patterns, arm movements, and spinning to make the indoor kite flying experience feel like a dance[10].

World records

There are world records involving kites. [29]  The world record for the large kite flown for at least 20 minutes is The Flag of Kuwait. [30]

The world record for kites flown in 2011 with 12,350 kites flown by children on Al-Waha beach in the Gaza Strip. [31]

On 23 September 2014, a team led by Robert Moore flew a 129 square feet (12 m2) kite to 16,009 feet (4,880 m) above ground level. [32]  After eight attempts over ten years from a remote location in western New South Wales, Australia, they attained the record altitude. The 9.2 feet (3 m) tall and 19.6 feet (6 m) wide Dunton-Taylor delta kite's flight was controlled by a winch system using 40,682 feet (12,400 m) of ultra-high strength Dyneema line. The flight took about eight hours from the ground and returned. The height measurement was with onboard GPS telemetry transmitting positional data in real-time to a ground-based computer and backup GPS data loggers for later analysis. [33]

A kite in the shape of the flag of Kuwait. [10]

 

References:

1.  Kytoon

2. ^ Eden, Maxwell (2002). The Magnificent Book of Kites: Explorations in Design, Construction, Enjoyment & Flight. New York: Sterling Publishing Company, Inc. p. 18. ISBN 9781402700941.

3. ^ "kite | Etymology, origin and meaning of kite by etymon line". Etymonline.com. Retrieved 14 December 2021.

4. ^ "Beginner's Guide to Aeronautics". NASA. Archived from the original on 2015-03-25. Retrieved 2012-10-03.

5. ^ "Flying High, Down Under". Archived from the original on 1 December 2008. Retrieved 14 December 2021.

6. ^ Woglom, Gilbert Totten (1896). Parakites: A treatise on the making and flying of tailless kites for scientific purposes and for recreation. Putnam. OCLC 2273288. OL 6980132M.

7. ^ "Science in the Field: Ben Balsley, CIRES Scientist in the Field Gathering atmospheric dynamics data using kites. Kites are anchored to boats on the Amazon River employed to sample levels of certain gases in the air". Archived from the original on 14 March 2008. Retrieved 14 December 2021.

8. ^ "The Bachstelze Article describes the Fa-330 Rotary Wing Kite towed by its mooring to the submarine. The kite was a man-lifter modeled after the autogyro principle". Uboat.net. Retrieved 2012-10-03.

9. ^ "Kite Fashions: Above, Below, Sideways. Expert kite fliers sometimes tie a flying kite to a tree to have the kite fly for days on end" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 July 2011. Retrieved 14 December 2021.

10 Wikipedia

11  "Beginner's Guide to Aeronautics". NASA. Archived from the original on 2015-03-25. Retrieved 2012-10-03.

12^ "Flying High, Down Under". Archived from the original on 1 December 2008. Retrieved 14 December 2021.

13^ Woglom, Gilbert Totten (1896). Parakites: A treatise on the making and flying of tailless kites for scientific purposes and for recreation. Putnam. OCLC 2273288. OL 6980132M

.
14^ "Science in the Field: Ben Balsley, CIRES Scientist in the Field Gathering atmospheric dynamics data using kites. Kites are anchored to boats on the Amazon River employed to sample levels of certain gases in the air". Archived from the original on 14 March 2008. Retrieved 14 December 2021.

15^ "The Bachstelze Article describes the Fa-330 Rotary Wing Kite towed by its mooring to the submarine. The kite was a man-lifter modeled after the autogyro principle". Uboat.net. Retrieved 2012-10-03

.
16^ "Kite Fashions: Above, Below, Sideways. Expert kite fliers sometimes tie a flying kite to a tree to have the kite fly for days on end" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 July 2011. Retrieved 14 December 2021.

17^ "Underwater kiting". 2lo.de. Retrieved 2012-10-03.

18^ "Hydro kite angling device Jason C. Hubbart". Retrieved 2012-10-03.

 19 Needham (1965), Science and Civilisation in China, p. 576–580

20^ Sarak, Sim; Yarin, Cheang (2002). Khmer Kites. Cambodia: Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts. ASIN B005VDYAAW

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21^ Kite Flying for Fun and Science, 1907, The New York Times.

22^ Tripathi, Piyush Kumar (7 January 2012). "Kite fights to turn skies colorful on Makar Sankranti - Professional flyers to showcase flying skills; food lovers can relish delicacies at snack huts". The Telegraph. Calcutta, India. Archived from the original on August 13, 2013.

23^ Tarlton, John. "Ancient Maori Kites". Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 19 October 2011

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24^ Chadwick, Nora K. (July 1931). "The Kite: A Study in Polynesian Tradition". Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute. 61: 455–491. doi:10.2307/2843932. ISSN 0307-3114. JSTOR 2843932

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25^ Jump up to:
A ^b Anon. "Kite History: A Simple History of Kiting". G-Kites. Archived from the original on 29 May 2010. Retrieved 20 June 2010.

26^ Needham (1965), Science and Civilisation in China, p. 580

27^ Ley, Willy (December 1962). "Dragons and Hot-Air Balloons". For Your Information. Galaxy Science Fiction. pp. 79–89.

28^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-06-30. Retrieved 2018-06-12.

29 "Search Results". Guinness World Records. Retrieved 15 December 2021.

30^ "Largest kite flew". Guinnessworldrecords.com. 15 February 2005

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31^ "Most Kites Flown Simultaneously". Guinness World Records. Retrieved February 2, 2024.

32^ "Highest altitude by a single kite". Guinness World Records. 23 September 2014. Retrieved 14 December 2021.

33^ Moore, R. "Untitled Page"Kitesite.com.au.