What could be more fun than flying a kite on a windy day! Below you will find some great tips and how to information that could make flying a kite a great idea this summer. Take a look and go grab your family and friends and enjoy this great summertime activity!
1. Find a buddy to help you get the kite into the air.
2. You should hold the ball of string and have your buddy hold the kite or vice versa. The kite should be facing you and the wind.
3. Unwind about 30 yards (23 meters) of string.
4. Signal to your buddy to release the kite. You should pull on the string to launch your kite into the air.
5. Pay attention to the wind direction, here is a diagram:
- Suppose that "I" is you and "U" is the other person holding the kite
- Wind is blowing this direction: I ------------------------------------> U
- "I" stands on one end (with the string) ----> "U" stands other end (with the kite)
6. Make sure the wind is going in a straight line from you to the other person.
7. To allow the kite to go higher, release length of string.
8. To lower the kite, simply pull in the string.
TIPS:
It is best to fly a kite in an open field, such as a soccer field or a grassy field since it is wide open.
The best place to do this is on the beach/standing near a lake. Since out on the ocean there is nothing to block or divert the wind, it would make a better kite flying area.
To prevent a kite from crashing:
If there is very little wind, run (careful, watch where you are going), remove kite tails and anything that cause additional drag on the kite and try to make your kite as light as possible.
Also, if your kite is going downwards, make the kite's point in up direction(by releasing the string slowly) and pull the string as fast as you can.
If there is plenty of wind the try the following: tug the line(string) with a pumping motion, let out more line...this works great if you are in a "dive bomb" and can help to recover from that, and if you already crashed consider putting a tail, frayed trailing edge or something to create drag on the kite. This will add stability especially in high wind.
WARNINGS:
Avoid flying a kite on a road or anywhere near an electrical wire pole or trees, as a kite needs lots of space and moves around a lot on its way up and down.
Do not fly kites during lightning storms.