Liam Nason

I think we can all agree that a kite is cool, but... The Yokaichi Giant Kite Festival is held every July in Higashiomi, Shiga, Japan.[1] Various kites being flown Star-shaped kite above a meadow south of Hockenheim. This sparless, ram-air inflated kite, has a complex bridle formed of many strings attached to the face of the wing. A kite is a tethered heavier-than-air or lighter-than-air craft with wing surfaces that react against the air to create lift and drag forces.[2] A kite consists of wings, tethers and anchors. Kites often have a bridle and tail to guide the face of the kite so the wind can lift it.[3] Some kite designs don’t need a bridle; box kites can have a single attachment point. A kite may have fixed or moving anchors that can balance the kite. One technical definition is that a kite is “a collection of tether-coupled wing sets“.[4] The name derives from its resemblance to a hovering bird.[5] The lift that sustains the kite in flight is generated when air moves around the kite's surface, producing low pressure above and high pressure below the wings.[6] The interaction with the wind also generates horizontal drag along the direction of the wind. The resultant force vector from the lift and drag force components is opposed by the tension of one or more of the lines or tethers to which the kite is attached.[7] 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[8][9] or vehicle).[10][11] The same principles of fluid flow apply in liquids, so kites can be used in underwater currents, but there are no everyday uses as yet.[12][13] Man-lifting kites were made for reconnaissance, entertainment and during development of the first practical aircraft, the biplane. Kites have a long and varied history and many different types are flown individually and at festivals worldwide. Kites may be flown 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 which can be used to power activities such as kite surfing, kite landboarding, kite buggying and snow kiting. Contents 1 History 2 Materials 3 Practical uses 3.1 Military applications 3.2 Science and meteorology 3.3 Radio aerials and light beacons 3.4 Kite traction 3.5 Underwater kites 4 Cultural uses 4.1 Asia 4.2 Europe 4.3 Polynesia 4.4 South America 5 World records 6 In popular culture 7 General safety issues 8 Designs 9 Types 10 See also 11 References 12 External links History Woodcut print of a kite from John Bate's 1635 book The Mysteries of Nature and Art in which the kite is titled How to make fire Drakes Kites were invented in Asia, though their exact origin can only be speculated. The oldest depiction of a kite is from a mesolithic period cave painting in Muna island, southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia, which has been dated from 9500–9000 years B.C.[14] It depicts a type of kite called kaghati, which are still used by modern Muna people.[15] The kite is made from kolope (forest tuber) leaf for the mainsail, bamboo skin as the frame, and twisted forest pineapple fiber as rope, though modern kites use string.[16]