Kite

For other uses, see Kite (disambiguation).
Uplift Gaza - Solidarity Kites Fundraising event in Richardson, Texas (2024)
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 do not need a bridle; box kites can have a single attachment point. A kite may have fixed or moving anchors that can balance the kite. The name is derived from the kite, the hovering bird of prey.[4]

There are several shapes of kites.

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.[5] 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.[6] 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[7][8] or vehicle).[9][10]

The same principles of fluid flow apply in liquids, so kites can be used in underwater currents.[11][12] Paravanes and otter boards operate underwater on an analogous principle.

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.

  1. ^ Giant Kite Festival in HigashiomiNHK(video)
  2. ^ Kytoon
  3. ^ Eden, Maxwell (2002). The Magnificent Book of Kites: Explorations in Design, Construction, Enjoyment & Flight. New York: Sterling Publishing Company, Inc. p. 18. ISBN 9781402700941.
  4. ^ "kite | Etymology, origin and meaning of kite by etymonline". Etymonline.com. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
  5. ^ "Beginner's Guide to Aeronautics". NASA. Archived from the original on 2015-03-25. Retrieved 2012-10-03.
  6. ^ "Flying High, Down Under". Archived from the original on 1 December 2008. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ "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.
  9. ^ "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.
  10. ^ "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.
  11. ^ "Underwater kiting". 2lo.de. Retrieved 2012-10-03.
  12. ^ "Hydro kite angling device Jason C. Hubbart". Retrieved 2012-10-03.