How to Fly a Kite


Flying a kite is great fun on a windy day. It's also very relaxing watching the kite flutter. The following directions will teach you how to fly a kite with a friend.

Steps

  1. Find a buddy to help you get the kite into the air.
  2. You should hold the ball of string and have your buddy hold the kite or vice versa. The kite should be facing you and the wind.
  3. Unwind about 30 yards (23 metres) of string.
  4. Signal to your buddy to release the kite. You should pull on the string to launch your kite into the air.
  5. Pay attention to the wind direction, here is a diagram:
    • Suppose that "I" is you and "U" is the other person holding the kite
    • Wind is blowing this direction: I ------------------------------------> U
    • "I" stands one end (with the string) ------> "U" stands other end ( with the kite)
  6. Make sure the wind is going in a straight line from you to the other person.
  7. To allow the kite to go higher, release lengths of string.
  8. To lower the kite, simply pull in the string.

Tips

  • It is best to fly a kite in an open field, such as a soccer field or a grassy field since it is wide open.
  • The best place to do this is on the beach/standing near a lake. Since out on the ocean there is nothing to block or divert the wind, it would make a better kite flying area.
  • To prevent a kite from crashing:
    • If there is very little wind: run (careful, watch where you are going), remove kite tails and anything that cause additional drag on the kite and try to make your kite as light as possible.
    • If there is plenty of wind the try the following: tug the line(string) with a pumping motion, let out more line... this works great if you are in a "dive bomb" and can help to recover from that, and if you already crashed consider putting a tail, frayed trailing edge or something to create drag on the kite. This will add stability especially in high wind.

Warnings

  • Avoid flying a kite on a road or anywhere near an electrical wire pole or trees, as a kite needs lots of space and moves around a lot on its way up and down.
  • Do not fly kites during lightning storms.

Things You'll Need

  • Ball of string.(Must be over 30 yards long.}
  • Kite

Related wikiHows

Sources and Citations

  • [1]
  • How to Fly a Kite Book

Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Fly a Kite. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.