I think I developed a love for kites a long time ago. I'm 72 now, so who really knows. My Dad would take my brother and I out to a hill in Bethlehem, PA and bring along a kite or two. They were usually the typical diamond or box kites, make by Hi-Flier. But we always got it up in the air, and he even let us hold the string after a while. We'd rip a hole in a piece of newspaper and send a message up to the kite. It was always simple, but always fun. That started me on a lifelong love of kite-flying.
Now, if you all are the type that buy or make very complex kites, spending a lot of money, I'm not that guy. I do have many kites and enjoy flying them all, especially now that I have grandkids. I'm trying to keep this love going. My four sons all like kites, and remember our times at the Jersey shore (not the TV show) flying many kinds of kites.
One year, in the 60s, I was spending a few days at the shore with my (future) wife's family. We were in JrHS. One day, it was rainy. There weren't many things to do and my wife's brother was along. He was five years younger than me. So, I said, "Let's make a kite and fly it tomorrow when it's sunny." He agreed. Now, to be sure, I had never made a kite from scratch, I only had the store-bought Hi-Fliers. So, I figured out what we'd likely need and we gathered the materials. Newspaper, string, glue (maybe tape), and some sticks. I roughly calculated the dimensions of a diamond kite and cut the sticks down to the approx measurement. I cut notches in the end and ran a string around the perimeter. I laid this on top of the newspaper, and cut out the diamond, leaving room for the flap to be glued around the string. (This was before trash bags, and other simple things that might have made it easier.) We cut out the diamond, glued the flaps around the string, tied a cross string at the joint of the sticks and added a bow string. I found an old sheet, and we tore up some material for a tail. The next day, we took it to the beach and flew it. Seeing it take off was one of my finest moments.
Another time, again at the shore, I brought along my Tetra Kite. You probably know what this is... if not, google it. My first Tetra Kite was the typical orange and red plastic sails. It made a fine looking tetrahedron, when assembled. I also had one of all silver mylar. It was also fun to see in the air. So, I went down to the beach (this is many years later, I was married to the girls in the first story and we had two sons by then). We flew the orange/red Tetra, and it was waaaaay out there. It was a good evening for flying, the wind was off-shore, so the kite was over the water. I had a lot of string out... and the wind picked up. You can probably guess what happened next... the string broke, maybe a 1/4 of the way from me to the kite, closer to me. The only way I figure what happened next was that enough string came into contact with the ocean water that it created sufficient drag so that the kite stayed aloft. For. A. Long. Time. The kite took on a course of its own, moving South parallel to the beach. We were at the North end of the island. I got the boys into the car and we drove South, trying to stay in view of the kite. It was difficult to do. We finally lost sight of it when we go to about 24th St or so. The kite had drifted much further out to sea and was disappearing from view. I like to think it's still up there today.
Over the years, I've made many homemade kites. I love having kids "help" me... they have such unconventional ideas, and we try them all. How else would they learn?
Well, that's it for now. I hope I'll fit in. I do have a post in the Single String section... looking for info on an old kite I have. It's here -
Please visit and answer if you know anything about the kite, or if my geometrical calculations seem correct. It's one of those subject we all said, "Why do I have to learn this, I'm never going to use it."
Have fun, all, and never lose your childhood zeal or imagination.
Jim
Author: The Grandpa Book https://www.amazon.com/Grandpa-Book-Are-you-ready/dp/1502579049
Owner: www.littlethinkeradventures.com Kids Adventure Stories.
