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Kites, kites and more kites!. Where did the kite come from?.
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Kites, kites and more kites!
Where did the kite come from? • China may be the birthplace of kites since the earliest written records are from China. The famous General Han Hsin used a kite to defeat an evil emperor and establish the Western Han Dynasty in 206 B.C. One version of the legend says that he flew a kite over the walls of the well-fortified palace. Carefully he marked the line and reeled in the kite. His small band of soldiers dug a tunnel into the courtyard of the palace using the kite line to measure the distance. The General and his forces surprised the enemy and the kite entered recorded history. • Another version of this story says that General Han Hsin, being a small man, had his troops tie him to a kite and fly him over the enemy camp at night. Most of the enemy soldiers were startled by the strange object flying overhead commanding them, in a loud voice, to return to their families. Most of the enemy fled and the General and his forces defeated those who remained.
June 1752, Benjamin Franklin used a kite to determine that lightening really is electricity... PS...don’t do this in a real storm!
Samuel Cody and his kites1867 – 1913 (died in an air crash) His man-lifting kite, The Bat, below
Captain Baden-Powell’s “Levitor” man-lifting kite...1894-1900
William Eddy w/ “Eddy kite”, 1890’s First kite to employ dihedral for stability.
Lawrence Hargrave “Box kite”, 1893 Winged box kite
Weather kites…circa 1900 - On April 27, 1898, the first Weather Bureau kite was launched from Topeka, Kansas, and by the end of the year, 16 additional kite stations were attempting daily, early morning, simultaneous observations. The kites were large "box types" with dimensions of 8 feet long, 7 feet wide and 3 feet high.
Wright Brothers’ 1900 kite, no rudder and small elevator up front
Wright Brothers 1901 kite, larger elevator up front but still no rudder
Wright Brothers 1902 kite with the larger elevator and a rudder
The January 1948 kite contest to span Niagara Falls and link the two sides for a suspension bridge 15-yr old American Homan Walsh wins the contest!
Today’s modern kites Power kites Stunt kite