Weather Unit

Lesson 10 – Flying Kites

Standard 2 Earth and Space Science. Students will gain an understanding of Earth and Space Science through the study of earth materials, celestial movement, and weather

Objective 3 - Observe, describe, and measure seasonal weather patterns and local variations.

1. Compare and contrast the seasonal weather patterns during the school year.

2. Analyze and interpret data such as temperatures in different locations and different times.

Choosing a Place to Fly a Kite

Have you ever flown a kite? Kites need wind to fly, It’s fun to watch the wind lift a kite into the air and move at around in the sky.

Conditions have to be just right when you fly a kite. What should you consider when choosing a place to fly a kite?

Let’s use the tools we built to check the wind conditions at the spot where you want to fly a kite.

Choosing a Place to Fly a Kite

What tools could we use we to check the wind conditions at the spot where you want to fly a kite.

an anemometer

a weather vane

Let’s learn more about kites and their history.

An introduction to

kites

Prepared by

Arthur Dibble

Chairman WHKF(NOVEMBER 2003-????)

arthur.dibble@ntlworld.com

www.tedberets.co.uk

History

Kites are thought to have originated in China about 3000 years ago. One story is that a fisherman was out on a windy day and his hat blew away and got caught on his fishing line which was then blown up in to the air.

Bamboo was a ready source of straight sticks for spars and silk fabric was available to make a light covering, then in the 2nd century AD paper was invented and is still used to this day.

Scientist have used kites to study wind and weather.

From China kites spread to neighbouring countries and across the seas to the Pacific region. At the same time they spread across Burma, India and arriving in north Africa about 1500 years ago. They did not arrive in Europe or America until much later probably via the trade routes when these developed.

THE PHYSICS

Kites fly when thrust, lift drag and gravity are balanced. The flying line and bridle hold the kite at an angle to the wind so that the air flows faster across the top than the bottom producing the lift.

FISHINGTHE SOLOMON ISLANDS

Kites have long been used for fishing and these examples are made from leaves and are still used today in the Solomon Islands. A baited hook or lure is hung from the back of the kite that is then flown out across the water. This can be much easier than casting long distances with primative rods.

RESCUEKites have been used in many ways for rescue at sea. Here a ship stranded on rocks would fly a kite with a light weight line up to the cliffs where rescuers would use this line to pull up a heavier one and then the crew could be pulled to safety.

USES OF KITESFRANKLIN’S LIGHTNING EXPERIMENTS

Kites have long been used for lifting atmospheric monitoring instruments. By flying a kite in a thunder storm Benjamin Franklyn was able to prove that lightening was a form of electricity. Please do not try this as others were not so lucky and ended up being fried.

The Parts of a kite 1 The Sail

This can be made of any material such as paper, fabric or plastic.

It is used to trap the air.

The Parts of a kite 2 The Spars (sticks)

These are used to hold the sail in shape.

They can be made from wood, metal or plastic.

Sometimes a tube of material is used and the wind inflates it.

The Parts of a kite 3 The Flying line

(string)

This stops the kite just blowing away.

It can be made from cotton, string, rope or even wire.

The Parts of a kite 4 The Bridle

This can be made from string or sometimes material.

It is used to hold the kite at the correct angle to the wind.

The Parts of a kite 5 The Keel

This is made from the same material as the sail.

It stops the kite going sideways and can also form the bridle.

Curving the kite backwards can have the same effect.

The Parts of a kite 6 The Tail

This can be made from anything.

They can be bows, ribbons or in many shapes.

The tail is not decoration but keeps the kite in line with the wind.

TYPES OF KITE

Let’s Make a Sled Kite!

Materials:

1. copy of the sled pattern2. tape3. stapler4. 1 hole punch5. kite string6. 2 drinking straws per child7. crepe paper8. 1 paper clip

Let’s Make a Sled Kite!

Make a copy of the Sled Kite Template. Carefully cut out the sled kite.2. Decorate the top of the sled kite using crayons, markers, or other media.3. Trim the length of the two drinking straws so they will fit in the area marked for the straws. Tape them in place.4. Place two or three pieces of tape in the marked areas covering the black circles.5. Using a single-hole paper puncher, carefully punch the two holes marked by the black circles.

Let’s Make a Sled Kite!

6. Cut two pieces of kite string 45 cm each. Tie a string through each hole. Tie them tight enough so you do not tear the paper.7. Tie the opposite end of both strings to a paper clip.8. Pick up the 1 m long piece of string. Tie one end of this string to the other end of the paper clip. Your sled kite is ready to fly!9. Outside in a clear area, hold the 1 m length of string and run with the kite to make it fly.10. Run slow and run fast, and observe how the kite flies at different towing speeds.

BOX KITES

BELL TETRAHEDRAL

SLED KITE

LARGE LIFTER

SOFT KITES

KITES TODAY

DELTA KITES

MAN LIFTING

KITE TRAINS

If you want to see more

Please come to

WHKF Kite Festival

in May

At

A location near Swindon

www.whkf.org.uk

That’s all folksthank you for you attention