AEROSPACE AT THE END OF A STRING

History of Kites The earliest known kites date back more than 2000 years. Though the exact origin is debated, it's believed the home of the first kite was Shandong, the eastern most province of China. One legend suggests a Chinese farmer tied a string to his hat to keep it from blowing away in strong winds, and from this concept the first kite was born.

Using Kites to Measure Distance General Han Hsin of the Han Dynasty flew a kite over the walls of a city he was attacking to measure how far his army would have to tunnel to reach past the defenses. Knowing this distance, his troops reached the inside of the city, surprised their enemy, and were victorious.

Popularity of Kites Spreads The idea of kites spread along the trade routes to Korea, India, and Japan.

Korea They arrived in Korea in the period of the Three Kingdoms (4-645 A.D.). During the Silla dynasty ( A.D.), General Gim Yu-sin was order to subdue a revolt. However, his troops refused to fight after a large shooting star appeared to have fallen from the sky. It was believed that this was a bad omen. To regain control, the next night the general had a kite carry a fire ball into the sky where it disintegrated. His troops, seeing the shooting star returning to the sky, rallied and routed the rebels.

Japan Kites arrived in Japan around the 7 th century by Buddhist monks. They were used as magical figures or “talismans” to avert evil spirts and as invocations for a rich harvest. In the Edo Period (1603 – 1868), kite flying became very popular when, for the first time, Japanese people below the samurai class could fly kites. The Edo (now Tokyo) government tried unsuccessfully, to discourage this pastime because “too many people became unmindful of their work.” In 1712, a thief named Kakinoki Kinsuke is said to have used a large kite to carry himself to the top of Nagoya Castle. There, under the cover of darkness, Kinsuke stole the scales from a pair of golden dolphin. The luckless Kinsuke boasted of his exploits and was captured and boiled in oil.

In 1295, European explorer Marco Polo was among the first people to document the construction of kites and how to fly them. By the 16th century, the popularity of kites grew exponentially because books and other literature publicized kites as children's toys. Marco Polo Flew Kites

Timeline 1899 James Banning is born in Oklahoma The Wright Brothers used kites to test their theories for the first flying machine (airplane) Guglielmo Marconi used a kite to lift an antenna to make his historical radio link between America and Europe The French Military (Conyne) kite raise military observers The Wright Brothers flew the first manned flying machines.

Timeline 1903 A kite train towed S.F. Cody across the English Channel Dr. Alexander Graham Bell lifted his wife off the ground using a kite made of over 3,000 tetrahedral cells James Banning and his co-pilot became the first black pilots to fly from coast to coast Domina Jalbert designed the parafoil. His concepts have been adapted for parachutes and kites.

James Banning

Using Kites for Science In 1749, a Scottish meteorologist named Alexander Wilson used a kite with a thermometer attached to measure air temperatures at 3000 feet. Three years later in 1752, Ben Franklin and his son William conducted their famous experiment designed to prove that lightning was indeed electricity. Kites were also instrumental in the research and development of the Wright brothers when building the first airplane in the late 1800's. By the 1950's, NASA had begun to use kites to help in spaceship recovery missions.

Other Uses for Kites Fishing with Kites – Micronesia used kites for fishing for centuries. A leaf kite allowed bait, made from a thick loop of spider’s web, to be placed on the surface of the water where the gar0fish fed. A fish was snared when its long snout became entrapped by the loop. Dueling with Kites – In the 15 th century, in Malay, Rajah Ahmad, the eldest son of Malacca’s Sultan Mahmud, once cut all the kites from the sky with a large kite flown from strong fishing twine. The next day the Rajah went through the same process until he found Hang Isa Pantas’s smaller kite. Unknown to the Rajah, Hang had applied jungle gum and powdered glass to his twine. When the two lines crossed, the Rajah’s parted and his kite tumbled to the ground. Kite Power – In 1822 George Pocock, a U.K. schoolmaster, created a carriage that was pulled by a pair of arch top kites. His “char-volant” was capable of speeds of up to 20 miles per hour. The kites were flown in tandem and steered by four independent lines. Since the road toll was based on the number of horses pulling a carriage, this horseless rig was ruled exempt from road tolls because no animals were used.

What is a kite? Work with a partner to come up with a definition of a kite. A kite is a heavier-than-air craft that depends on the wind to overcome gravity to fly. All kites have one or more surfaces to be acted up by the wind, a bridle to hold the kite at an efficient angle into the wind, a flying line to keep the kite from blowing away.

Parts of a Kite

Types of Kites

Forces at Work on a Kite

Forces

Show off your Artistic Side Art submissions: -Design an innovative kite.

Show Off Your Writing Skills Writing submissions: -Write a 6 WORD essay on James Herman Banning. OR -Write a poem about kites. Dot in the sky. Beautiful pixel.

Do the Math! -Draw a diamond shape kite on a piece of paper. -What is symmetry? -Why do you think symmetry is important? -Can you make your kite design symmetrical? -Measure: -Perimeter -Area -Angles of corners

Forces Acting on a Kite

Let’s Go Fly a Kite! Xan Black, Program Director | TulsaSTEM.org