Kites are ingenious contraptions that are intended to be flown high in the sky at the end of a string. Building kites and flying kites is an informal pastime, as well as a competitive sport in many parts of the world. In fact, nearly all kite flying festivals all across Asia have "kite fights," which is a venerated and ancient custom where participants try to down their opponents' kites by cutting their lines. This is accomplished by using small, highly maneuverable "fighter kites" that are connected to glass-coated "cutting lines." These specialty "cutting lines" are used to cut the lines of competing kites.

In Korea, men, women and children fly kites all throughout the opening days of the New Year. Kite flying is also something to look forward to, and an essential component of the boys' festival, which is held each May in Japan, and in China, one day each year is celebrated as Kites' Day. On those days, thousands of kites fashioned like fish, butterflies and dragons take to the air and float over the cities and towns. Thailand also supports an International Kite Festival in which all kites fall into one of two classes: chula (male) or pakpao (female) kites. The kites are immense and require several people to fly them. There are also kite-flying competitions held yearly in the United States and Canada.

Types of Kites

There are numerous assorted forms of kites. The basic kind of kites is the two-stick solitary plane bow kite. It can be purchased ready-made or it can be assembled from do-it-yourself kits or made completely by hand. For simple kites the sticks can be of any strong lightwood with a straight grain. The covering material can just be regular brown wrapping paper, or a wispy, light cloth, such as silk or nylon. Plastic sheets of different kinds are also used. In addition, cloth is used for the tail and a string for the flight line. There are also more sophisticated kinds of kites that can be assembled.

The box kite consists fundamentally of two rectangular boxes, open on two parallel sides each and connected by a common framework. Lawrence Hargrave invented it in the 1890's. Box kites are more difficult to build than stick kites, but they are excellent flyers and will maintain their position for long periods. Box kites also adapt well to changes in the wind, and they do not have need of a tail.

How to Fly Kites

Kites fly, like airplanes, on the aerodynamic principle of wind pressure against a heavier-than-air item. The motor and propeller of the airplane create a wind pressure as they move the plane through the air. When the pressure is great enough to overcome gravity, the plane is pressed up and permitted to stay in the air. The similar consequence of wind pressure is created by the kite flyer as he runs across an open field. As the kite moves in opposition to the wind, the string tips the face of the kite onward. The wind pushes up on this tipped face and raises the kite, just as a wedge pressed beneath an object lifts it up.