Thursday, November 10, 2011

In a windy day, build a kite

The legend says that a chinese man, without any purpose in creating such an object, in a windy day; he must had failed because that’s the first reference to a kite. No one knows the exact date this episode occurs it happened about 2000 years ago.
To build one of these millenary toys it's a good way to enjoy a windy day. We found a lot of different ways to build a kite, this one seemed the cheaper, safer and easier.

What we need

  • trash bag, the biggest you can find, white ones work best to decorate, but the black ones are ok,
  • 2 wooden sticks, they should be thin and have about 20 and 23 in,
  • scissors,
  • exact-O knife,
  • string, with 0,05in diameter,
  • 1 small ring, 1/2 in diameter,
  • ruler,
  • tape,
  • Color markers, ribbons, and any other materials you wish to use.
How to:
  1. Open the plastic bag in order to get a plastic "sheet";
  2. Measure 1in in each of extremities of both wooden sticks;
  3. With the exact-O knife open a small cut, around the wooden sticks, on each one of the marks, those will be needed to place a piece of string;
  4. Measure 6in on the larger stick and 10 on the smaller;
  5. With the help of the adhesive tape attach both wooden sticks on those points, at the end you should have a structure in T;
  6. Place this T on top of the plastic sheet;
  7. With the marker and the ruler, draw 4 straight lines linking the 4 extremities of the wooden sticks;
  8. Now, get the scissors, and cut around the lines with a margin of 2in;
  9. Tie the string with a knot to the first cut on the wooden stick;
  10. Take the string to the second cut, repeat the action;
  11. Do the same to the 4 cuts, see figure;
  12. Place this T back on the plastic;
  13. Fold the 2in plastic margins to cover the string;
  14. Glue the plastic with the adhesive tape;
  15. The kite is ready; decorate it as you wish;
  16. Attach a ribbon to the larger end of the "t".
Placing the wire:
  1. Carefully make a small hole in each extremities of wooden sticks, about 1 1/2in from the end;
  2. Pass the wire through these holes and tie a knot, according to the figure, these knots must be strong and tight otherwise the kite can broke with the wind;
  3. Look to the image, attach the 4 wires at the center using the ring; 
  4. Wrap the remaining wire in a "reel", broom stick type, but smaller, about 8in wide;
  5. Tie the other end of the wire to the ring;
Et voilá!
Ready to fly! Watch out for electrical wires and trees.

Enjoy!

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