News for Schools from the Smithsonian Institution. Office of Elementary and Secondary Education. Washington, D.C. 20560

September1991

Kiting Up the Sky:The Vehicles of Understanding

activities have been developed involving flight­including hot air ballooning, sky diving, hang gliding,and the throwing of boomerangs, frisbees, and papergliders. Older than any of these activities, however, iskite flying, which dates back to around 1000 B.C.

China is usually considered the place of origin ofthe kite. Although no one knows for certain when orhow the world's first kite was flown, a favorite theoryis that a Chinese farmer whose hat blew off in thewind was so fascinated to see that his hat could "fly"that he later attached a string to it and launched it as akite. Silk, produced in China as early as 2600 B.C.,may have been an important material from which earlykites were made, as most likely was paper. Broadleaves and frames of sticks or bamboo strips may alsohave provided the makings for early kites.

One of the earliest legends of kiting is that ofGeneral Han Hsin, who helped to establish the HanDynasty as one of the most powerful dynasties inChinese history. In 206 B.c., the general and a smallband of soldiers camped outside the walls of a palacecontrolled by the enemy. The problem facing HanHsin was how to conquer the well-fortified palace withonly a few soldiers. After some consideration, HanHsin built a kite and sent it aloft until it flew over thepalace walls. Then he carefully marked the length ofline that had been required for the kite to go thatdistance. This told his soldiers how long a tunnel theywould have to dig to get inside the palace walls andtake the enemy by surprise-which is exactly whatthey finally did! Thus Han Hsin won his battle and thekite victoriously entered recorded history.

THRUST 0+Against Air

tLIFT

+- DRAG

People have long dreamed of flying, and airplanes andspacecraft are direct results of this dream. Besidesthese history-making inventions, many recreational

Class Discussion on theHistory of Kites

wind). An airplane, on the other hand, is moving intothe air, powered by engines.

Once your students have a visual picture of theforces enabling a kite to fly, they should be able togr~sp the significance of the various developments inkite design and application that have occurred over theyears. Now, here for class discussion, is a brief,anecdotal history of kites.

Sisters Jeannie (in front) and Meghann Long flying kites in front of the Smithsonian "Castle," on the Mall, inWashington, D.C.

THRUSTInto Air 0+

LIFTt

DRAG+-

A kite is a tethered heavier-than-air craft that derivesits lift solely from the air. A kite depends on the windto overcome gravity ... and all kites, regardless oftheir size or shape, have these three features:

.e'"C)

~"-

51

WEIGHT Ii WEIGHT

+ II .+ 1The same forces act on both airplanes and kites. (The airplane is a Grumman XF2F-1, a U.S. Navy fighter planedating from the mid-1930s.)

The difference between the flight of a kite and theflight of an airplane is that a kite is held in position bythe flying line and derives its life from moving air (the

• one or more surfaces to be acted on by the wind• a bridle to hold the kite at an efficient lifting angle• a flying line to keep the kite from blowing away.

The deltoid-shaped kite illustrated on this page showsthe arrangement of these three features on a traditionalkite with a wood frame.

The basic forces enabling the flight of kites (andalso of airplanes) are these: LIFT, WEIGHT, THRUST, andDRAG. Lift is an upward force. Weight is a downwardforce. Thrust is a forward force. And drag is abackward force. Look at the two pictures below.

Important Kite Facts:What is a Kite? ... andHow Does It Fly?

Written by Ann Bay

After decades of being a toy that appeared for only afew weeks each spring, kites have made a comeback.In fact, some people are even talking of a "KiteRenaissance."

Now you can-in your school classroom­capitalize on this worldwide resurgence of interest inkites and kiting. This issue of ART TO ZOO isdesigned to give you and your students a perspectiveon the importance of kites, not only as toys but also ashighly versatile and practical devices that have figuredprominently over the years in many areas of humanendeavor, from weather forecasting to bridge building,to military reconnaissance. We've included for classdiscussion an explanation of how kites fly, as well asan outline of the history of kiting. In addition, there aredirections (on the Pull-Out Page) for making a rathermodem kind of kite known as a "sled." By following

"ifo~~C'~y4i~cti(n:l,,:,~_~'Ou:r .stllMntS.' ca:n..;;der:n.o:n~tr..a:te..fc!"themselves LIFT, WEIGHT, THRUST, and DRAG, the basicprinciples underlying most kinds of flight, includingthe flight of airplanes and gliders, as well as kites. Acollection of kite-inspired writing exercises by TomLowderbaugh serves to round out the issue. And nowto begin at the beginning, with some important kitefacts.

Continued on page 2

The Wright brothers, Wilbur and Orville, learned the elements ofairplane control through experiments with kites and gliders.

ONE ANOTHER .•. OR ANY OF THEIR PETS ... INTO TIIB

AIR WITH KITES!As the next point in class discussion, tell the

children that some of the most significant of practicalkite experiments in history were conducted during the1800s in connection with the development of earlyairplanes. Those were the days when engineers,inventors, and adventurers were hard at work trying tomake the dream of manned flight a reality. In theirDayton, Ohio, bicycle shop, Wilbur Wright built a boxkite, rigged it with four flying lines, and flew it in anearby meadow. For several years, he and his brotherOrville built gliders and after testing them as kites,piloted them from the sand .dunes near Kitty Hawk,North Carolina. From these experiments, the WrightBrothers leamed the elements of airplane controL

Even after the 1903 Wright "Kitty Hawk Flyer"made the first controlled, powered, and sustainedairplane flight, the Wright brothers, along with othersin the great race to develop the airplane, continuedtheir interest in kites. However, except forexperimental purposes, kite design seemed to lose itschallenge and diversity for a while. For severaldecades, only traditional deltoid-shaped kites, alongwith occasional box kites, were flown-and thenmostly just "for fun." During World War II animportant revival of a serious interest in kites occurredwith the use of kites as targets for sea-to-air gunneryand other military purposes.

Then, in 1948 a new era in kiting began. Francisand Gertrude Rogallo invented the Flexikite, whichused V-shaped longitudinal sections, rather than sticks,to determine its shape.

The Flexikite did not, however, immediately changethe status of kiting; rather its real significance became

apparent later on. Indeed, some of theimpetus for the "Kite Renaissance" we spokeof earlier in this article came from the NASAspace program. Mter the Russians launchedSputnik in 1957, Francis Rogallo, working asan aeronautical engineer, used the windtunnels at Langley Research Center inVirginia to adapt his kite designs for use onreturning spacecraft. Rogallo's kites werewritten up in scientific journals, in kitemagazines, and in newspapers. Then otherpeople began to explore possibilities forflexible kites.

During the past twenty-five years, thebasic fashion in kites has changedconsiderably owing to the development offlexible kites and the appearance oflightweight "space-age" materials. The newflexible kites are more durable and moreportable than the traditional kites withwooden frames. Furthermore, the sheerflexibility of flexible kites enables them toadapt to a wide range of wind €onditions.

An important type of kite requiring norigid frame is the Jalbert FlexifoiL Inventedby Domina Jalbert of Boca Raton, Florida,the Flexifoil resembles a portion of anairplane wing and is composed of a numberof cells that are inflated to airfoil shape bythe pressure of the wind. Made in varioussizes ranging from about one yard to about300 square feet, the Jalbert Flexifoil iswidely used today for high-altitudemeteorological research.

Another form of modern kite is the so­called "sled," which is characterized by aconcave surface and two or three verticalsides. This kind of kite flies when air pushesup from underneath it to make a concaveshape. Various models of the sled kite were

developed by an inventor named William Allison overa period of approximately thirty years, from the late1940s to 1977.

In the Pull-Out Page, you and your students willfind directions for making a sled kite based on adesign patented by Allison in 1956. The children caneasily make and fly this particular model on their own,if they follow our instructions carefully. We suggestthe children work in pairs and that you photocopy orotherwise reproduce enough copies of the Pull-OutPage to enable each pair of students to have its own setofinstruction~

figure eights, thereby providing excellent practicetargets for aircraft gunners.

Once your students have been introduced to the aboveways in which kites have figured prominently in ahistorical context, the children may enjoy thinking ofsome ways that they themselves might use kites towardpractical (or frivolous) ends, such as sending secretmessages ... keeping picnic lunch bags out of thereach of ants and hungry dogs ... or visibly markingthe location of your house by flying a kite from theyard so that guests can easily find you next time youhave a party. Make a list of the children's ideas on thechalkboard and discuss with theclass whether they think each ideawould really work-and why orwhy not. If individual studentswant to later try out some of theirideas on their own, they should beencouraged to do so, with anemphatic caution from you thatNEVER, EVER, EVER SHOULD THEY

TRY LIFTING THEMSELVES . . . OR

• An early Chinese legend tells of a general whoattached lanterns and noisemakers to kites and flewthem at night over his enemy's camp. The enemywas so frightened by the mysterious "spirits of thenight" that it fled without a battle.

Scaring the enemy and other military uses. From thetime that kites were first invented until the advent ofthe airplane (and even since then), kites have been putto all kinds of military uses by different countries. Forexample ...

*Pau! Garber, the Smithsonian'sresident expert on kites, is now CuratorEmeritus of Aeronautics at the NationalAir and Space Museum in Washington, Rogallo Kite.D.C.

• During World War II, U.S. Navy Lieutenant PaulGarber,* developed "target kites" for use by theNavy and the Army. Manipulated by two flying linesand a rudder, these kites could be steered through allsorts of fancy maneuvers, such as loops, dives, and

• For many centuries, manlifting kites were used in theOrient to send up spies to observe the enemy. Muchlater, in the late 1800s, this method ofreconnaissance was adopted in the West, whenBritish Captain B. F. S. Baden-Powell began to buildand fly "Levitor" kites. Baden-Powell's system wascapable of lifting a "spotter" about one hundred feetinto the air to observe and photograph the enemy.

carriage with kites at speeds of up to twenty miles anhour.

Aerial photography. The first photographs showingthe extensive devastation of the 1906 San Franciscoearthquake were taken by a giant camera-heavierthan a piano-attached to a train of high-flying kites.

Antenna lifting. In 1901, Guglie)mo Marconi,inventor of the wireless telegraph, used a kite to sendup the antenna that received the first transatlantictelegraph signal.

Bridge building. When building the first railroadsuspension bridge over the Niagara River near NiagaraFalls, New York, a big challenge for the engineers washow to get a cable across the water. They finallysolved this problem by holding a kite-flying contest. In1846, young Homan Walsh made history when heflew his kite from the New York side of the river andsnagged the kite line on a tree on the opposite(Canadian) side. His kite line was then tied to a rope,and the resulting rig was used to pull the wire cableacross the river.

Fishing. For centuries, fishermen from certain islandsin the Pacific Ocean have used kites made of leaves tocatch a tasty fish called the needlefish, which swimsnear the surface of tropical waters. A lone fishermanpaddles his canoe out to sea, flying a kite high abovethe water. From the kite, a line extends to the surfaceof the water. At the end of this line is a lure made ofspiderwebs. When a needlefish strikes. this lure, itsteeth and gills become entangled in the web. Then thefisherman reels in the line and removes the fish.

Weather watching. An early use of kites formeteorological purposes occurred in Scotland in 1749,when Thomas Melville and Alexander Wilsonattached thermometers to kites. The thermometerswere outfitted with small parachutelike devices, whichslowed their descent to earth, preventing breakage ofthe thermometers when they were released from thekites at different altitudes. Readings of thesethermometers showed that air was cooler at higheraltitudes.

After that, kites were commonly used for weatherobservation. In fact, for many years, up until 1933, theUnited States Weather Bureau operated kite stations toobtain data on temperature, humidity, wind velocity,and altitude.

A kite designed by Samuel Cody carries a militaryobserver aloft in a basket. This picture was taken in1904, the year after Cody had crossed the EnglishChannel in a boat towed by kites of the same type.

Boat towing. In 1903, Samuel F. Cody crossed theEnglish Channel in a boat towed by kites.

continued from page 1

Horse power. In 1826, George Pocock, an Englishschoolmaster,. developed a method of pulling a

From that day forward, down through the centuries,the kite has proven itself a highly versatile invention.Here are just a few of the innovative-and oftenuseful-functions that kites have served over theyears!

Lazy floating. Your students may be familiar withBenjamin Franklin's famous kite experiment provingthat electricity provided by lightning produces thesame effects as electricity of human manufacture.What the children may not know is that BenjaminFranklin also used a kite for fun, to tow himself acrossa lake while floating on his back.

2

Kite Rites: Writing About Kites

Wrinen by Thomas Lowderbaugh

Kite Poems

Here is one example of a diamante written about akite:

Kites flying over the Smithsonian Mall, Washington, D.C.

KiteStrong, fragile

Soaring, diving, circlingFresh, free, tingling, delighted

Wind-lover

gjgE

i:i5e1::l

.:::Of course, the form is free for adaptation. You might, l;-

for example, want to insert between line 4 and line 5 g>an additional line giving two more words describing .~

c:lthe kite. Here is an example of this longer kind ofdiamante:

Poems are fun to leam about when students work fromthe inside, as poets. Poems are games: fun to write, funto read. Like other games, poems follow rules. It'sworking inside these rules--and even knowing how tobend them-that excites people when they writepoems. And it's recognizing the rules and how writerswork with them that excites people when they readpoems. (In this respect, poetry isn't really verydifferent from tennis or football or marbles.)

The rules of poetry are called form. And you canbest introduce the concept of form to your students­showing them how form works and why it matters­by having them actually write their own poems. To dothis, I suggest a simple form called a diamante (fromthe French word for "diamond") because of its shape.The diamante* is especially appropriate for kite poemsbecause most people still think of kites as having old­fashioned diamondlike shapes. The rules for thediamante are simple:

line 1: one word naming a thingline 2: two words describing that thingline 3: three words describing the thing in actionline 4: four words expressing a feeling about the thingline 5: another single word for the thing named ill lineone.

Once you've actually gone and flown a kite, whatcould be better than to write about the experience, orabout kites in general? Here are some writing activitiesthat can help your students take what they haveleamed about kites and pull it together in a way thatwill make sense to them. And in the meantime, thechildren will get the chance to exercise their abilitiesto work with words creatively. By letting theirimaginations soar, they will be able to sail away withtheir kites right in their own school classroom.

KitePlastic, tiny

Rippling, dipping, tearingCold, tense, shivery, scared

Crashed, smashedAdventurer

Kite StoriesEveryone loves a story. We love to listen to stories ...and to tell them. In leaming about kites, your studentsmust have gamered some real-life experiences or, atleast, had some fantasies and emotions relating to thesubject. What better way, then, for the children toexplore their feelings about kites-and maybe evenextrapolate from their actual experiences-than bywriting stories about kites and kite flying?

Here again the children will need a starting point;this time a "what if' situation is recommended as away to begin. For example ...

• the day my kite flew away with me• the first time the principal flew a kite• my little sister (or brother) flies a kite• the time I won a kite-flying contest• what happened to my kite the day it flew away all by

itself

*For a fuller discussion of diamantes, see James Moffett and BettyJane Wagner. Student-Centered Language Arts and Reading, K­13: A Handbook/or Teachers. 2d ed. (Boston, 1976), p. 263. I amindebted to Moffett and Wagner's discussions of writing narrativeand dialogue.

In developing these situations into stories, yourstudents will be leaming impohant writing skills andconcepts. For example ...

Reading stories always leads us to ask, "Whathappened next?" In writing stories, students musttherefore leam to answer that question. By thinkingabout what happens next, the child's attention isdirected to chronology as a means of putting the piecesof a narrative in order. Writing storie~ also introducesthe concept of character development. From whatsomeone says and does, we leam apout the kind ofperson he or she is. Storywritin~ helps studentsdiscover for themselves the range of materials thatwriters can and do use in character dejvelopment.

Your students might even borrow characters,actions, or events from books they hl,tve read and thenexperiment with this material to seel how it might beadapted to their own use. For exampl~, how might thisor that favorite fictional character fly a kite? Whatadventures might he or she have in the process? Howwould he or she act if the kite were to crash? Inborrowing material from other authors, students get tolook at books from the inside and to see what choicesthose authors have made. By this method, the childrenmay also begin to discover that being able to writewell is not a magical gift bestowed on just a few luckyindividuals, but rather a basic human skill that theythemselves can master.

Writing can also help students leam to pay attentionto real details and to discover the significance ofordinary events in their own lives. A way to give yourstudents practice in selecting and using such

meaningful details in their writing is to help themfocus their attention on their own personalexperiences. Point out to the children that real dailyexperiences are what capture readers' interest. Forexample, what exactly happened when your kite gotcaught in the tree? How did it happen? How did youfeel about it? What did you do?

Kite TalkWriting dialogue-concentrating just on talk ratherthan action-may provide your students with newinsights into how people communicate; and it may alsohelp to sharpen children's listening skills. Here, as afinal exercise, are some situations designed to giveyour students practice in this important kind ofwriting ...

• a conversation between my kite and me• a conversation between my kite and the tree it's

caught in• a conversation between me and a cloud• a conversation between two people flying kites• a conversation between two flying kites

As your students write about kites-whether in poems,stories, or dialogues-they can sail away with theirimaginations, no matter what the weather. In theprocess, they can relive, and often expand upon, theirown experiences. And best of all, they can make senseof what they have learned, transforming kites fromsimple toys into true vehicles of understanding.

3

Glimpse of the 1989 Kite Festival. National Air and Space Museum Historian Emeritus Paul Garber, who organizedthe original festival in 1967 and has served as master of ceremonies ever since, is wearing a tie.

Smithsonian Kite FestivalEvery spring around cherry blossom time, theSmithsonian holds a festival for kites: 1991 was thesilver anniversary of this free event, which is jointlysponsored by the National Air and Space Museumand the Resident Associates Program.

People from allover the United States and abroadattend the festival, which includes a kite display, fIlm,and tips on kite flying ... and a kite-flying contest.

Participants in the kite-flying contest must havemade their own kites. The kites have to be capable offlying at a minimum altitude of 100 feet for at leastone minute. Trophies and ribbons are awarded inmany age groups and categories, including "bird,""airplane," "funniest," and "team" (one kite flown bythree or more fliers).

////BibliographyBooks for teachers

Botermans, Jack and Alice Weve. Kite Flight: 40

Models Ready for Takeoff. New York: Holt, 1986.

Hart, Clive. Kites: An Historical Survey. New York:

Appel, 1982.

Newman, Lee Scott, and Jay Hartley Newman. Kite

Craft: The History and Process of Kite-making

throughout the World. New York: Crown, 1974.

Pelham, David. The Penguin Book of Kites. New

York: Penguin, 1976.

Rowlands, Jim. The Big Book ofKites. New York: St.

Martin's, 1988.

Yolen, Will. The Complete Book of Kites and Kite

Flying. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1976.

Books for children

Marks, Burton, and Rita Marks. Kites for Kids. New

York: Lothrop, Lee, and Shepard, 1980.

Moran, Tom. Kite Flying Is for Me. Minneapolis :

Lerner, 1984.

Schmitz, Dorothy C. Kite Flying. Mankata, Minn.:

Crestwood House, 1978.

Thiebault, Andre. Kites and Other Wind Machines.

New York: Sterling, 1983.

Wahl, Jan. The Wondeiful Kite. New York: De1acorte,

1970.

Yolen, Jane. The Emperor and the Kite. Cleveland:

Collins, William, and World, 1967.

4

High Time To Fly Your Own Kite

~..,.......,..

The inventor in this photograph put togethermany silk-covered triangles to make very largekites. These kites were so stable in flight that hethought perhaps he might build an airplane from asimilar design. In 1907, he lifted a man 168 feetin the air using a kite made from more thanlittle triangular cells! This photograph shows theinventor and his grandson landing one of thegiant kites.

You may know this kite maker as the inventorof the phonograph and the telephone. Can youguess who he is?

ART TO ZOO September 1991News for Schools from the Smithsonian Institution

Answer appears at end ofPull-Out Page.

Famous MysteryInventor:Can You GuessWHO?

•..• ~,.;",. ;.- - .......;,DuLI,TI.',sI':-:""IJ

ANSWER:'W)g llillqlJlD l;::lPUlJX;::lIY sr lOlUgAUr

Al;::llSAlli snOlullJ gql JO gllilJU gq.r

~3'').5

~

itil."

~~."

ffiE:J

~............... ~...:r:::

ffi:r:bc:.~

l~

1@

~~1J.1Ilc:

, --- =::::';;;"'f<?§ ...... -...,.... - ,~

"You'v BE TIRED,Too, IF YOU SPENT ALL DAYTRYING TO TEA04 ADUMB KITE HOW TO FLY. II

DENNIS the MENACE

Answer: Like many other people who fly akite for the first time, Dennis made themistake of running with his kite while tryingto launch it. This mistake is one of the mostcommon errors of kite flying. Here is what todo instead:

Choose a day when steady winds areblowing at speeds of between four andfourteen miles an hour. The day you choosecan be any time of year, as long as itraining or snowing and the wind conditionsare right.

Then find a safe, open space. Treeless!lHHU'p~, playgrounds, fields, and widebeaches are some of the best places for kiteflying. You'll want to avoid such hazards aspowerlines, trees, tall buildings, and traffic.

Stand facing your kite with your back tothe wind. With one hand, hold the kite by thetowing point. With the other hand, hold yourreel of flying line. When the wind begins to

against the front of your kite, let out alittle line and pull gently as the wind liftsyour kite into the air. Then gradually let outmore and more line, giving a little tug eachtime you do. Soon your kite will be soaringhigh in the sky. If it starts to dip, pull in·theline until it starts to rise again.

After a good day of kite flying, you'll wantyour kite to have a happy landing. In bringingin your kite, the important thing is to takeyour time. Wind in the string slowly andevenly. It may be easier for you totoward your kite as you reel it in. Once yourkite has returned to earth, treat it gently ...and you'll be able to fly it again and again.

Question: Why did Dennis the Menace haveso much trouble "teaching" his kite to fly?

Can a Trash Bag Fly?Turn one into a kite and find out. It really doesfly!You will need:• one plastic trash bag, 24" x 30" or larger• two wooden dowels, 1/4" in diameter and 16"

long• strong string: 3 feet for a bridle line; 60

for a flying line• one cardboard tube from a roll of paper towels• a red or yellow marker• a full sheet of newspaper• scissors• a yardstick• masking tape, 1 wide or wider

1. With a friend to help you, make a patternyour kite. Spread out the sheet of newspaper on atabletop or the floor. Then using your ruler and ared or yellow marker, draw on the newspaper arectangle measuring 25" x 16". Next measure 6"in from both ends of each of the two 25" sides ofyour rectangle, and place a big dot at each ofthese four points. Now using your ruler, connecteach top dot with the bottom dot directlyunderneath it by drawing a straight line as shown

Figure A.Now measure 5" in from the top of each of the

two 16" sides of your rectangle and place a bigdot at each of these two points. Draw a straightline from each of these two dots to the four pointson the 25" lines as shown in Figure A. .

This will give you the finished pattern for yourkite. Cut out the pattern to make a six-sided shapeas shown in Figure B.

2. Next tape closed the open end of the trash bag.Lay the trash bag out flat on the floor or table,and lightly tape the pattern to the trash bag (seeFigure B). Now with your scissors, cut throughthe tape all along the edge of the pattern. As you

remember that the trash bag has two layersand you must cut through both layers, beingcareful not to let the bottom layer slip. When youhave finished cutting, you will have made twosix-sided plastic shapes from your pattern. Eachone of these shapes will make a kite. Keep oneplastic shape for yourself and give the other oneto your friend.

3. Now attach the dowels and bridle suing to yourplastic shape to make a kite. Lay the dowels onthe shape, from top to bottom, as shown in FigureC. Tape down the dowels with 4"-long pieces ofmasking tape, as shown, sticking about 1" of thetape over the end of the dowel and onto the backof the kite. Then using two more 4" pieces oftape, cover points "A" and "B" (as shown in

Figure C) on both the front and the back of thekite. Punch a small hole %" in from point "A" andanother small hole %" in from point "B". Nextfold your 3-foot-Iong piece of bridle stringexactly in half. Rest your finger in the fold, andask your friend to tie a knot with the bridle stringaround your finger. Remove your finger from theknot to leave a loop in the center of your bridlestring. This loop is called the towing point.tie the two ends of the bridle string throughholes you have made near points "A" and "B" (asshown in Figure C).

4. Finally, tie one end of the flying line securelythe paper towel roll tube. Wrap all but the

last yard of line around the tube. Tie the loose endof the flying line securely to the towing point.

You are now ready to fly your kite!

••-

Traduccion de Teresa L Mora

Del Arte al Zoologico Setiembre 1991Noticias para las escuelas del Instituto Smithsonian

Elinventor que aparece en esta fotograffamuchos trhingulos cubieltos de seda para haeercometas muy grandes. Estas cometas vo1aban tanestablemente que 61 pens6 que quizas podrfaconstruir un avi6n con un disefio similar. En1907, levant6 a un hombre en el aire 168 piesusando una cometa heeha con mas de i3000triangulos pequefios!. Esta fotograffa muestra alinventor con su nieto aterrizando una de lascometas gigantes.

Quizas conozcas a este fabricante de cametascomo e1 inventor del fon6grafo y el telefono.l,Puedes adivinar qui6n es?

La respuesta aparece al final de la paginapara separar.

FamosoInventor deMisterios:LPuedesAdivinarQuien Es?

-----------------------------,..•••• ~I......."'.",

rUL'T"',s-I:,'ifD..4..

~

RESPUESTA:

lzaH tum/v.lD .lapUVX()!Vsv .101U()t\U! ap a.lqulOu za

~3,25

"TAMBIEN ESTARIAS CANSADA, SI HUBIERAS PASADOTODO EL DIA TRATANDO DE ENSENAR A UNACOMETA TONTA COMO VOLAR"

·1{J1w

~(L.

I~ res:::::~ I

DANIEL EL TRAVIESOPregunta: i,Porque Daniel el travieso tuvotantos problemas para "enseiiar" a volar sucometa?

Respuesta: Como muchas otras personasque vueIan cometas por primera vez, Danielcometi6 el error de correr con su cometamientras trataba de hacer su lanzamiento.Este error es uno de los mas comunes en elvuelo de cometas. Esto es 10 que hay quehacer:

Escoge un dfa cuando el viento sopleestablemente a velocidades entre cuatro ycatorce millas por hora. El dfa que escojaspuede ser cualquier dfa del afio, siempre queno este lloviendo 0 nevando y las condicionesdel viento sean correctas.

Encuentra entonces un espacio abierto ySeguro, Espacios sin arboles, el tope de unacolina, campos de juego, el campo y la playason los mejores espacios para volar cometas.Trata de evitar peligros como cables, arboles,edificios altos y trafico.

Colocate enfrente de tu cometa con laespalda hacia el viento. Con una manomanten la cometa hacia el punto deremolque. Con la otra mano, manten el riel detu cuerda de vuelo. Cuando el viento empiecea empujar el frente de tu cometa, suelta unpoco de la cuerda y empuja suavemente amedida que el viento eleva tu cometa en elaire. Gradualmente suelta mas cuerda dandoun tiron cada vez que 10 hagas. Pronto tucometa estara remontandose en el cielo. Siempieza a bajar, hala la cuerdaempiece a levantarse otra vez.

Despues de un buen dfa de vuelo decometa, querras que la tuya tenga unaterrizaje. Para hacerlo, 10 importante es quete tomes el tiempo suficiente. Enrollacuerda suavemente y en forma pareja. Es masfacil si caminas hacia tu cometa mientras 10haces. Una vez que tu cometa ha regresado ala tierra, tratala con gentileza ... y podrasvolarla una y otra vez.

Escoge un buen momentapara Volar Tu Cometa

l,Puede Volar Una Balsade Basura?Transforma una en una cometa y descubrelo,irealmente vuela!

Necesitaras:

• una bolsa plastica de basura de 24" x 30" 0 mas

• dos varillas de madera de 1/4" de diametro y16" de largo

• cuerda fuerte: 3 pies para la linea de freno; 60yardas para la linea de vuelo

• un tuba de carton de un rolla de toal1as de papel• un marcador rojo 0 amarillo• una pagina eompleta de periodico• una regIa de madera• cinta adhesiva de 1" a mas ancha

1. Can la ayuda do un amigo, haz un patron paratu cometa. Extiende la hoja de periodico sabreuna mesa 0 en el suelo. Usando tu regIa y elmareador rojo a amarillo, dibuja sobre elperiodico un rectangulo de 25" x 16". Luegomide 6" sobre ambos lados de 25" de turectangulo y coloca un punta grande en cade un ade las euatro marcas. Ahora can tu regIa, coneetacada punta del tope can cada uno de los puntas deabajo directamente dibujando una linea rectacomo se muestraen la Figura A.

mide 5" desde el tope de cada uno de loslados de 16" de tu rectangulo y coloca un granpunta en cada uno de estas dos marcas. Dibujauna !fnea recta desde cada uno de los dos puntashasta las cuatro marcas sabre las lfneas de 25"como se muestra en la Figura A.

Esto te dara el patron terminado para tucometa. Carta el patron para hacer una forma deseis lados como se muestra en la Figura B.

2. Luego pega el lada abierto de Ia balsa debasura. Coloca Ia balsa en el piso 0 mesa y pegasuavemente can la dnta adhesiva el patron a labalsa (ve Ia Figura B). Can tus tijeras carta ahara,a traves de la dnta adhesiva, a todo 10 largo delborde del patron. A medida que recuerdaque la balsa tiene dos capas y debes cortar ambascan mucho cuidado para que la capa de abajo nose deslice. Cuando termines de cortar habrashecho dos figuras de seis lados cada una. Cadauna de estas figuras haran una cometa. Guardauna de las figuras p1asticas para ti y dale la otra atu amigo.

3. Amarra ahara las varillas de madera y lalinea de frena a tu figura phistica para hacer unacometa. Coloca las varillas sabre la figura, desdeel tope hasta abajo, como se muestra enC. Pega las varillas con pedazos de 4" deadhesiva, como se muestra, pegando alrededor deI" de la cinta sabre el extremo de la varilla yhacia atras de la cometa.

Entonces usando dos piezas mas de 4" de cintacubre los puntas "a" y "b" (como muestra la

C) tanto en el frente como en la parte deatras de la cometa. Abre un hueco pequeno de

en el punta "a" y otro en el punta "b". Doblaahara tu pedazo de cuerda de 3 pies exactamenteen la mitad. Coloca tu dedo en el doblez y pidelea tu amigo que haga un nuda con la cuerda defreno a1rededor de tu dedo. Quita tu dedo delnuda de manera de hacer un lazo en el centro detu cuerda de freno. Este 1azo es llamado e1 puntade remolque. Luego ata los dos extremos decuerda de frena a traves de los huecoscerca de los puntos "a" y "b" (como muestra laFigura C).

4. Finalrnente, asegura uno de los lados de lacuerda de vuelo alrededor del rolla de papel detoal1a. Enrolla toda la cuerda menos una yardaalrededor del tuba. Asegura el lado suelto de lacuerda de vuelo en ellado de remolque.

jAhor{l estas listo para volar fn comela!