http://www.history-of-kites.info http://www.history-of-kites.info/Wind.html Modern kites of today are made to fly in a variety of wind ranges. There are many different types of kites, from ultra-lights to power kites. http://www.history-of-kites.info/Wind.html http://www.history-of-kites.info/Record_Kite_Flights.html At the time of this writing, the record-setting kite for highest single kite flight is naturally a Delta configuration, flown by Richard Synergy. His kite has 270 square feet of nylon kite skin, measuring 30 feet from wing tip to wing tip. http://www.history-of-kites.info/Record_Kite_Flights.html http://www.history-of-kites.info/Kite_Safety_rules.html The following rules have been compiled using AKA rules, and input from various members of the Fly Pittsburgh Kite Club, OSEK, AKA and International fliers. Feel free to print & distribute them for your next kiting party or festival. http://www.history-of-kites.info/Kite_Safety_rules.html http://www.history-of-kites.info/Types_of_Kites.html Instead of simply telling you the names of some kites like most other kite resources would do, we want to show you the whole family tree, with all the major classifications and differences, put together in a way that will help give you the "Big Picture" about kites. http://www.history-of-kites.info/Types_of_Kites.html http://www.history-of-kites.info/Kite_History_Timeline.html The following timeline is an amalgomation of many different sources, but sufficiently shows the long and varied history of Kiting all on one page by putting the most important developments in chronological order. Our thanks go to "Kites in the Classroom" for the majority of the work in producing this volume. http://www.history-of-kites.info/Kite_History_Timeline.html http://www.history-of-kites.info/Modern_Quad_Liners.html 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 sideways, and may even be made to hover. http://www.history-of-kites.info/Modern_Quad_Liners.html http://www.history-of-kites.info/New_uses_for_Kites.html Larger and more powerful kites were designed and in the 1980's, and Traction Kites were born. Anytime you see a Kite being used as propulsion, that's a traction kite, and it is usually more powerful than you'd believe. http://www.history-of-kites.info/New_uses_for_Kites.html http://www.history-of-kites.info/The_Modern_Kite.html Since the development of the Peter Powell kite there have been many other innovations. One style of kite that has developed is called the Flexifoil, basically a kite shaped like an aeroplane wing. http://www.history-of-kites.info/The_Modern_Kite.html http://www.history-of-kites.info/Peter_Powell.html The oldest form of maneuverable kite was developed in Asia, and uses one string rather than two to control it. Traditionally this sort of kite is made from tissue paper and bamboo. http://www.history-of-kites.info/Peter_Powell.html http://www.history-of-kites.info/Fighting_Kites.html The oldest form of maneuverable kite was developed in Asia, and uses one string rather than two to control it. Traditionally this sort of kite is made from tissue paper and bamboo. http://www.history-of-kites.info/Fighting_Kites.html http://www.history-of-kites.info/Military_Kites.html Kites were used as an observation device during both the first and second world wars. They were used as a means of increasing the range of visibility by German submarines during both of these wars. http://www.history-of-kites.info/Military_Kites.html http://www.history-of-kites.info/Paul_Garber.html During World War II, Paul Garber, who would eventually be historian emeritus at the Smithsonian Institution, was a Lieutenant on the carrier USS Block Island. http://www.history-of-kites.info/Paul_Garber.html http://www.history-of-kites.info/Alexander_Graham_Bell.html Although now best known for inventing the telephone, in the early twentieth century many people believed that Alexander Graham Bell invented the first airplane. His first flight, in fact, was in 1908, five years after the Wright brothers’. http://www.history-of-kites.info/Alexander_Graham_Bell.html http://www.history-of-kites.info/Samuel_Cody.html Well known in American history as a Wild West showman, Samuel Cody, (no relation to William Fredrick Cody, A.K.A. Buffalo Bill) was a very successful Kite and Aeroplane Designer at the turn of the century in England. http://www.history-of-kites.info/Samuel_Cody.html http://www.history-of-kites.info/Wright_Brothers.html Avid kite flyers as children, Wilber and Orville Wright developed this love into the first successful airplane. In August of 1899, building on Hargrave's wing, they built a biplane kite and discovered that by varying the position of the four lines that they could simulate the twisting wings of a soaring bird. http://www.history-of-kites.info/Wright_Brothers.html http://www.history-of-kites.info/Lawrence_Hargrave.html Lawrence Hargrave is without a doubt the man behind the largest discoveries in heavier-than-air flight. He experimented near Sydney, Australia in the 1890s with a number of kite designs. http://www.history-of-kites.info/Lawrence_Hargrave.html http://www.history-of-kites.info/Industrial_Age_of_Kites.html By the late nineteenth century kites were being seen as serious scientific instruments. Kites were seen as a good starting point in the development of powered, heavier-than-air flying machines. http://www.history-of-kites.info/Industrial_Age_of_Kites.html http://www.history-of-kites.info/Homan_Walsh_.html Without a kite and a ten-year-old boy named Homan Walsh, the Niagara Falls Bridge would not have been built in 1847. The problem the engineers of the day faced was how to get the first line across the steep cliffs, rapids and swirling winds. http://www.history-of-kites.info/Homan_Walsh_.html http://www.history-of-kites.info/E_D_Archibold.html In 1833, a British meteorologist, E. D. Archibold, started using kites to lift anemometers to measure wind speed at various altitudes. http://www.history-of-kites.info/E_D_Archibold.html http://www.history-of-kites.info/George_Pocock.html One of the strangest uses of kite power was developed by schoolmaster George Pocock. In 1822, he used a pair of kites to pull a carriage at speeds of up to 20 miles per hour. Some of his kite trips were recorded at over 100 miles. http://www.history-of-kites.info/George_Pocock.html http://www.history-of-kites.info/Sir_George_Cayley.html Sir George Cayley experimented with kites between 1799 and 1809 in the quest to develop a heavier-than-air flying machine capable of carrying a passenger. http://www.history-of-kites.info/Sir_George_Cayley.html http://www.history-of-kites.info/Benjamin_Franklin.html 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. http://www.history-of-kites.info/Benjamin_Franklin.html http://www.history-of-kites.info/Kites_in_the_western_world.html Several forms of kites and windsocks appear in writings and drawings as far back as 105 A.D. when Roman soldiers used them as military banners, but flying kites on a line was unknown. http://www.history-of-kites.info/Kites_in_the_western_world.html http://www.history-of-kites.info/Japan_And_Korea.html Through the centuries, no nation has embraced kites more enthusiastically than Japan. Buddhist monks probably brought kites to Japan from China and Korea between the sixth and eighth centuries. http://www.history-of-kites.info/Japan_And_Korea.html http://www.history-of-kites.info/the_history_of_kites.html The History of Kites section that you are now reading is the largest compendium of Kite history online. Although no record could ever be complete on this vast subject, we have worked hard to put together one of the most wide and full versions known. http://www.history-of-kites.info/the_history_of_kites.html http://www.history-of-kites.info/index.html There are many varied websites about the large & exciting world of Kiting. Until now though, there's never been on that covers all aspects of it, including kiting's exciting and turbulent history. http://www.history-of-kites.info