Benjamin Franklin

The most famous kite flyer of all, Benjamin Franklin, conducted his big experiment in June of 1752 in secret with only his son as an assistant because he loathed the ridicule that he would have to endure if the experiment failed. He flew a silk kite (more durable than paper) with a line of hemp and held by a silk ribbon into an approaching storm over Philadelphia. A brass key was attached to the end of the line and a wire was attached to the top of the kite. At first nothing happened, but as lightening flashed and the rain wet the line, loose filaments extended outwards.

    Benjamin Franklin used a kite to demonstrate that lightning was similar to the static electricity that scientists were experimenting with at the time. By flying a kite in an electrical storm he was able to observe sparks coming from a key he had suspended from the flying line. Franklin touched his knuckles to the key and felt a shock. He then charged a Leyden jar (a sort of primitive battery) with the key proving his theory. Several people who tried to duplicate this experiment were killed, and Franklin, himself, was knocked unconscious in another attempt.

     Until that time there had been no direct evidence that lightning was an electric current travelling from the ground to the storm cloud. Franklin's experiments led to the development of the lightning conductor, and placed him so high in the regard of the French people that he was able to travel to France during the American war of independence and obtain financial and military aid for the Americans.

     In a much earlier and less dangerous experiment, Franklin used the power of a kite as he swam. In his own words: “…I found that by laying on my back and holding the stick in my hands, I was drawn along the surface of the water in a very agreeable manner.” -It could easily be argued that this was the first instance of traction kiting.