March is also the time to start thinking about kites, and you’re probably thinking they’re something you’d like to make, but don’t know how. In addition to seeing the sites below, remember that kite clubs abound, and that a big business has popped up for high-performance, fairly pricey stunt kites. These clubs or businesses may be willing to put on a demonstration for your school or class.
* Hi Fly Kites‘ website offers free, well-documented tutorials that help you craft two different kites: Adam’s Paper Fold Kite and Dave’s Sled Kite.
* The classic Paper Bag Kite is a simple process that uses little more than a paper lunch sack and crepe paper streamers.
* Tetrahedral Kite Using Straws is more challenging to make than the other two examples. It is constructed of drinking straws, lightweight multi-filament nylon, hat elastic and shopping bags. (Note from Lee: After seeing examples of this kite constructed by Alexander Graham Bell, as a high school student I built tetrahedral kites using drinking straws, string, and actually stapled newspaper around the straws to cover it. My version was heavy to say the least, but flew very well in strong Kansas winds, and also was a good learning experience about the integrity of the triangle.)