When was kites made

Maybe there were some simple kites flown by ordinary people in this period. However, the s are known for the introduction of silk-covered kites with beautiful and detailed hand-painted designs. These kites also carried many ornate accessories such as streamers and ribbons. So much went into these kites that it's likely they were only made and used by the royalty and aristocracy of the time. In a word, these kites were expensive. The history of kites after AD saw them becoming more popular in all levels of Chinese society.

If you couldn't afford silk, you could always use paper! Some time after this, kite flying became a seasonal activity. For some areas of China, the winds were better for kite flying at these times.

Finally, there sprung up a belief that kite flying was good for your health. This was around the time of the Qing Dynasty Other somewhat superstitious ideas were around at this time too.

For example, letting go of the kite string might get rid of back luck or illness as the kite drifted away. On the other hand, picking up a kite lost by someone else would bring bad luck! By the late s, the Chinese had organized large kite flying festivals where the whole range of kites were on show. The keenest kite makers would show off their best kites. Just like other kite festivals around the world. It's hard to beat large Chinese Dragon kites for sheer spectacle! One of these was over meters feet long and won first place in an International Kite Festival held in Italy.

The same kite can still be seen in the Weifang Kite Museum. Did you know that evidence exists of recreational Diamond kites being flown in the s? There is apparently an illustration in an old document that proves this. The book dates to , and shows children flying diamond shaped kites in the town of Middelburg, Holland now The Netherlands.

It's fairly safe to assume that such kites were being flown in various parts of Europe at the time. Most artistic Japanese kites were developed in the Edo period from to At this time, Japan was closed to foreigners. Different designs originated from different regions of the country, including the Sode Dako and Rokkaku.

The latter design is today much copied and adapted in the West. These early kites would have been decorated with scenes from Japanese folklore or mythology. Bright geometric patterns were sometimes used too, which makes you wonder whether some of those early designs would look out of place today, hanging in the local kite shop A lot could be written about the scientists in the s and s who used kites for various purposes.

Benjamin Franklin's famous experiments with kites and electricity were supposedly performed in the mid s. We know he suggested the use of a diamond kite from the text of a letter he wrote in October In it, he described how to make a kite from a 'large, thin silk handkerchief' and 'a small cross of two light strips of cedar'. Hence, crude Diamond kites were known and presumably flown as a hobby in the U. William Eddy, also from the United States, spent much of his life with a fascination for kites.

During the mid 19th Century, he spent a lot of time making and flying hexagonal Barn Door kites, which were popular in the U. Some people, including yours truly, continue to make and fly these '3-stickers'. By , Barn Door kites were being used for scientific purposes. That's when a scientist called Alexander McAidie used flat Barn Door kites with tails for lifting meteorological instruments. He had a few headaches with them apparently!

The tails kept wrapping around the flying line Later, in the s , Eddy made important contributions to the use of kites for scientific purposes. Eddy experimented with tail-less diamond kite designs, flown in trains. That is, all linked together in line.

These kite trains, or stacks as they are sometimes known today were used to hoist meteorological instruments to high altitude. By , all Eddy's kites featured the bowed cross-spar that enabled them to fly without tails. The 'Eddy Diamond' did a lot to make the diamond shape kite very popular and recognizable in the Western world at that time, and ever since.

However, the box kite and other related kite designs proved better for lifting work. Hence after Lawrence Hargrave from Australia invented his box kite in the late s, the diamond kite quickly faded away from the scientific scene. Early in the history of kites in the box style, they were used mainly for lifting.

Hargrave used to link several together and even hoisted a very trusting human under the largest of them! Samuel Cody, from the United States, later extended the rectangular box concept and made some winged box kites that were designed for the military. Cody patented his man-lifting system in The idea was that a human observer could provide an advantage on the battlefield, by observing the enemy from a great height.

The wings and vanes made the kites even more stable and suited to lifting heavy objects. Actually, somebody did once go up under a Cody kite to more than feet of altitude! Too bad the airplane was invented not many years later A whole bunch of perfectly good Cody kites ended up in moth-balls. On the topic of airplanes, notice how similar the oldest of biplanes were to box kites. The planes were basically box-kites with a tail and an engine added.

No coincidence. Take for example, the Bristol Boxkite, a famous old aircraft. The earliest plane inventors, including the Wright brothers, tinkered with kites while they planned and dreamt about what they really wanted to build!

Later in the history of box kites, during the early twentieth century, they were used for measuring atmospheric conditions such as wind velocity, temperature, barometric pressure and humidity at a range of altitudes. These were large, with oiled silk sails and steel lines. Nice and stable with great lifting power. The Roloplan was marketed by Steiff, a German toy manufacturer in the 's.

This kite became very popular in the U. Many people at the time thought it was actually a British design! Copying this kite accurately would have been a tiresome chore because of the fiddly bridling and multiple line connections between the upper and lower sails.

No wonder an Englishman decided to redesign it into a much simpler kite, while retaining the original outline and vented sail concept. Hence the Roloplan was the fore-runner of the much more well-known Pearson Roller kite, which came decades later. Another military application can be found in the emergency kits issued to pilots in the Second World War, in the s. Called the Gibson-Girl Box Kite, it could be flown by a pilot lost at sea, with it's line acting as the aerial for a radio transmitter.

So if there was no wind, I guess the pilot had to paddle his life raft like a lunatic, while trying to make the radio all at the same time. I'm getting exhausted just thinking about it. The Delta as we know it today had its origins in a copy of a Chinese bird kite, way back in the s.

The kites were exclusive to China for many years before the knowledge of how to make and use them advanced. The period saw many attacks from foreign powers, as well as civil unrest. Kites played a role in providing military intelligence for the Chinese forces. Mainly, they were used for military purposes. The first kites were what we today would call prototype kites: they were made of light wood and cloth.

They were designed to mimic a bird's natural flight. The f irst Chinese kites were used for measuring distances, which was useful information for moving large armies across difficult terrain. They were also used to calculate and record wind readings and provided a unique form of communication similar to ship flags at sea.

Chinese kites usually represent mythological characters, symbolic creatures, as well as legendary figures. Some have whistles or strings designed to make unique sounds while flying. We can divide them into two categories: large and small kites. In size they can range between meters and 30 centimeters across. Today, you will see people flying small kites with children in many Chinese parks. You can also see adults flying the larger kites and using more advanced methods with larger ropes to support the great size.

The earliest kites were made from light varieties of wood and later developed to included ornamental paper and fabric. Kites in China are typically broken down into three categories:. Wooden kites were called mu yuan. Mention of this prototype kite — the bird style referred above — stems from tales of Mozi BCE who was a philosopher. He wrote about the use of wooden bird kites in China during his lifetime.

Another source indicates that a paper kite, the zhi yuan, was used as an emergency warning device. This occurred a millennium later, when the kite was flown in order to appeal for help during the siege of Nanjing. Paper kites are still used in China, but are seen as more of a traditional art than a viable pastime. It was not until the Tang CE Dynasty that lighter kites made of first silk and then paper bamboo was a common material used for the ribs made their appearance.

It was at this time that the kite came to transcend its humble military, or functional, origins, becoming an instrument of pleasure. It was not long before artisans began to compete in creating the most artistic, the most acrobatic kites. Kites featured colorful decorations in the form of birds, flowers, blossoms, and of course, calligraphy.

The Chinese kite, not unlike the case of the Chinese lantern and the Chinese umbrella, became a vehicle of artistic expression — oftentimes with literary overtones. The construction of kites has changed over the years. New materials and better understanding of flight have given modern kites a serious advantage in flight. However the ancient methods are still interesting and worthy of note. One of the strangest uses of kite power was developed by schoolmaster George Pocock.

In , he used a pair of kites to pull a carriage at speeds of up to 20 miles per hour. Some of his kite trips were recorded at over miles. And because road taxes at the time were based on the number of horses a carriage used, he was exempted from any tolls!

The introduction of airplanes quickly made these units obsolete. The German Navy continued to use man-lifting box kites to increase the viewing range of surface-cruising submarines. Pilots lost at sea raised the Gibson-Girl Box kite so they could be found. As the airplane became firmly established the kite was used less for military purposes or scientific research and more for recreational flying.

The last 50 years has seen renewed interest in kiting. New materials like ripstop nylon, fiberglass, and carbon graphite have made kites stronger, lighter, more colorful, and more durable. In Peter Powell introduced a toy dual line stunter and the public began to fly kites not only for fun, but also for sport. Enthusiasts experimented with new designs that could fly precise maneuvers, go faster, or perform intricate tricks.

Competition where fliers competed to music became popular. In , a team used kite power to pull sleds to the North Pole.