LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Kites
built 660 days ago
Research balloons and aircraft gradually displaced the more romantic kites as experimental vehicles... and they faded into memory by the onset of World War II. But the allure of kites as effective research tools -- especially their ability to hover in one location for long periods -- was not lost on Balsley, a fellow at CU's Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES).
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Triangular box kites can be made, but if you then add wings, the result is the Conyne kite. The pronunciation is disputed in kiting circles. (For what it's worth, I pronounce it as "co" to rhyme with "snow", "nyne" as in three threes.) But if you prefer, you can ... refer to it as the French Military Kite since it was used by the French army for reconnaisance. It is also known as the Pilot Kite. Silas Conyne, an American, patented it in 1902. Not only do the box sections form a dihedral but they also result in the centre of lift being somewhat above the attachment points of the bridle.
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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
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The most recent development in kites has been the reintroduction of kites with four lines. These "quad line" kites can be flown forwards, backwards, or sidewards, and may even be made to hover. The space-age materials are new, but the idea isn't; the Wright brothers used four lines on the models they built to test their ideas about wing warping. The flier holds two handles with lines attached to the top and bottom of both of them. Twisting the handles forwards or backwards alters the angle of the kite, and it is possible to use the whole kite as a sort of combination elevator and aileron, and so alter the angle that one or both sides of the kite meets the wind. By pulling the top of the kite further into the wind, the kite will fly forwards.
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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.[2]
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"Come in and see my sketches and descriptions of kites of every shape and size, many of them ... including historical, anecdotal, allegorical or aeronautical snippets of information." The Virtual Kite Zoo categorizes more than fifty types of kites. Start with the terminology page (unless you already know your longerons from your spreaders) and then take the guided tour. You can finish with the JavaScript kite quiz.
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