Flying a Box Kite is always something special. Lets be honest, they do not look like they should fly, yet they do! The history of the box kite dates back to 1893 when it was designed by Lawrence Hargrave. He was working on developing a flying machine capable of being occupied by a person. Several box kites in combination allowed him to be lifted upwards in the neighborhood of 16 feet off the ground, which is an incredible accomplishment in the day. Future versions of this lifting kite can be seen in as influences in the well recognized Cody Kite which was used to lift cargo and people back in World War I.
The lifting characteristics of this type of kite are interesting. Lift, of course, is an aerodynamic force acting on the fabric of the kite which is wrapped around the square ends. This fabric, acting as a flying surface, is positioned in such a way the wind flows across it and it acts as a wing, lifting the structure upward. The other observation here to be noted is, the string of the box kite, is the opposing force, or drag, keeping the kite from just flying away. Holding the string in your hand, you can feel this drag force and it is what makes kite flying so fun. You are part of process of this kite flying!
So, grab a box kite and some string, go and find a field to fly in and find some wind and have fun!
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