Chapter VIII

KITES AND AEROPLANES

The Ship Kite

The ship kite (Fig. 1) is an odd shape for a wind-toy but a good sailer in any breeze. It is quite easy to make and requires but one mast, four yard-arms, a keel, some thin, strong twine, and the necessary covering materials. The mast is thirty-six inches long, the lowest spar twenty-four inches long, the top one twelve, and the two middle ones proportioned in length to the two side-strings tied at the ends of the top and bottom sticks—that is, at A and B on both sides of Fig. 2.

The keel of the frame is made from a thin piece of hard-wood that will spring and keep its shape, such as hickory, oak, or birch; and after soaking it in boiling hot water for a few minutes lash it fast to the bottom of the mast and draw up the ends with the strings C, C (Fig. 2), and carry the ends up over two yard-arms so the pressure of the keel will not draw the lower yard-arm out of shape. The sticks should be of good clear and tough white or North Carolina pine, spruce, or white-wood, three-eighths of an inch square for the mast and the same size but tapered at the ends for the yard-arms. Use strong cotton or linen twine for the connections between spars and mast and draw them taut but not so tight that they would spring the sticks out of shape.

From the ends of each yard-arm strings D D D are stretched and tied to the mast so as to make an opening at the bottom of each sail. In kite-making it is found a much better plan to have a number of planes against which the wind can act instead of one large one that is often unwieldy and difficult to handle.

This frame should be covered with thin paper muslin, sewed all around the edges over the string-ribs and to the frame-sticks with strong cotton thread. Do not have too much muslin overlap the edges, and after going around the edges twice with the needle and fine cotton thread it would be well to cut away all the unnecessary material as it only adds weight with no benefit to the kite. Do not use paste or glue to fasten the fabric covering on a frame; it only adds weight and does not stick well.

Arrange the yoke as shown in the illustration of the ship kite (Fig. 1), and to balance it make two funnel-drags or wind-anchors from thin wire or wood hoops, nine inches in diameter, the funnel proper being of paper muslin twelve inches deep. Use hickory or green birch for the hoops and lap the ends for three inches; then bind them together with strong linen thread.

Make the funnel-shaped bag of paper muslin and drop the hoop into it, taking care to get an equal space all around from point of cone to edge of hoop. Then sew the bag fast to the hoop and cut away all surplus material. The yoke is made of two strong, thin cross-wires or strings and the drop-string is fastened where they cross, as may be seen in Fig. 1.

The Chinese-junk Kite

The Chinese-junk kite (Fig. 3), is made in a similar manner to the ship kite, but there are two masts, as the kite is broader and larger; consequently the frame should be braced so that it will not rack in a strong breeze.

The masts are forty-two inches high, the lowest yard-arm thirty-six inches long, and the top one thirty inches in length. The bottom of the hull is made from a piece of green hickory or birch sprung into place and lashed fast with linen line. There are three inches of space between the hull and lower sail and from two to three inches of space between the other sails.

The masts and spars may be of any light, strong wood, the masts half an inch square and the yard-arms three-eighths of an inch tapered towards the ends. The spars and masts are bound securely with fine linen line as shown in the junk kite-frame (Fig. 4). It would look well to cover the sail-frames of all these boat kites with white or very light-colored muslin and the hulls with dark-brown, green, or black goods so as to lend contrast and make the kites when in the air appear more like real boats.

Arrange the yoke to this kite as shown in the drawing (Fig. 3), and add as many funnel-drags as may be found necessary to steady this kite. Instead of placing these wind-anchors close to the foot of the kite it is often better to drop a cord five or ten feet with the funnel on the end of it. While the funnel weighs but very little it is acted on by the wind and is better than a heavy tail. As the wind blows stronger the funnel is forced back and holds the wind, thereby dragging on the foot of the kite and automatically shifting it to different angles so that the wind will pass down along the planes and out through the spaces underneath.

The Schooner Kite

The schooner kite (Fig. 5) is an attractive one when sailing up in the wind, and for a kite the shape is very close to a real schooner in proportions. The frame is built on a deck-stick thirty-seven inches long, and six inches below it is the keel-stick twenty inches long. The main-mast or aft-stick is thirty-three inches long and the foremast is thirty inches from tip to tip. The foremast is set in twelve inches from the bow end of the deck-stick and the main-mast is ten inches from this. The gaffs are each nine inches long and are caught to both mast and a top-stick, which is in turn lashed fast to the upper part of each mast. Strings are run from place to place on these sticks as shown at Fig. 6, then the sails and hull are cut from muslin and sewed to the strings and spars.

The yoke is composed of three strings as shown in the drawing (Fig. 5), and from the muslin cut two pennants and float them from the top of the masts.

When up in the air this schooner kite will have a very real appearance as the breeze will bulge the sails and give it the effect of tacking on the wind. If the schooner is inclined to pitch or roll too much attach two wind-anchors, one at the foot of each mast, and pay them out about five or six feet.

A Balloon Kite

From four sticks and a long hickory rib the balloon kite-frame (Fig. 7) is made. The cross-sticks are three feet and three inches long and the uprights are each four feet long. The uprights are set apart six inches at the foot and eleven inches at the top, while the cross-sticks are twelve inches apart at both sides of the frame. Where the sticks cross they are to be lashed and bound with linen twine; then the hickory rib is sprung into position and lashed fast at the ends of the cross-sticks and upper ends of the vertical sticks. A thong is to be bound to each end of the rib and drawn down to the foot of the frame so that the curve over the top formed by the hickory rib is even and symmetrical.

Cover this frame with dark-gray or green paper muslin, then make the car from a hoop fifteen inches in diameter and a muslin funnel twenty inches deep. Suspend the car on four strings attached to the foot of the kite, and having arranged the yoke from the places where the sticks cross, as shown in Fig. 8, this interesting sky-scraper will be ready for an ascension.

An Air-ship Kite

The air-ship kite (Fig. 9), if large and well made, will present a very realistic appearance when well up in the air.

The frame is made from dry spruce or pine sticks half an inch square for the long ones and a trifle smaller for the shorter ones. The frame as shown in Fig. 10 is seven feet long from A to A, and at the middle the balloon is twenty-eight inches—that is, from B to B. The middle upright stick is four feet long and the end sticks C C that support the car are forty-five inches long. The middle upright B B is first lashed to the middle of the long stick A A. The ends of the curved sticks are then brought together and lashed to ends A A, and at the same time the unions are made with sticks C C. After that the sticks between B and C are set in place and securely lashed fast. The long sticks D D, forming the top and bottom of the car, are four feet and four inches long. One is lashed to the lower ends of the three long drop-sticks and ten inches above that the top one is made fast.

With thin spring or hard brass wire bind the forms of the two occupants of the car and make them fast to sticks D D with string. Then cover the entire balloon and car as well as the men with dark-colored paper muslin. Make the yoke of linen thread so that the kite will balance well.

Bat-wing and Crown-top Kites

Of the many odd shapes in which kites can be made perhaps the bat-wing and crown-top are the most unique.

The bat-wing (Fig. 11) is made up on a frame composed of half-inch square sticks for the longest ones and three-eighths-inch square ones for the cross-ribs. The two long sticks (Fig. 12, A A) are six feet and six inches, slightly tapered at the ends and separated about eight inches. The long uprights B B are four feet and three inches and are separated fifteen inches.

These two sets of sticks are lashed fast where they cross and the horizontal ones are bound at the outer ends with short sticks twelve inches in length. Fifteen inches up from the bottom a cross-stick, C, four feet long is lashed fast; then the shape is described with stout cotton or linen cord. This frame is to be covered with muslin and sewed at the edges, and when ready to fly it arrange the yoke as shown in the illustration (Fig. 11).

The crown-top kite (Fig. 13) is three feet and six inches wide, three feet high, and one foot across the bottom. These sizes are for a kite of medium size; if a larger one is desired it can be made five feet and three inches wide, four feet and three inches high, and eighteen inches across the foot. The sticks are from a quarter to half an inch square and bound together with strong, thin cord (Fig. 14). Muslin is the proper covering for this frame, but if thin, strong paper is preferred it can be used to good advantage.

Sandwich Islands Bird Kite

One afternoon in the village of Paihiihi, on Maui, one of the Sandwich Islands, I saw, at a considerable distance from me, a curious object floating in the air and at first mistook it for a large bird. It would glide about in graceful curves or dart suddenly towards the ground only to soar upward just as suddenly, or poise motionless save for a slight flapping of its wings.

But my blissful ignorance was soon dispelled by the laughter of a friend who assured me that I was gazing at one of the kites of the cannibals—a name sportively applied to a number of natives of the Gilbert Islands who immigrated to Maui some time since. They are a more barbarous people than the Hawaiians but seem to be amiable, and I have never known them to eat anything _worse_ than a shark.

Wishing to see this new variety of kite, I started immediately for the scene of action, and was soon in the midst of a dozen or more men and women about half of whom had kites, which were larger than I had supposed, being from thirteen to fifteen feet wide and two to three feet high. When I arrived several were floating high in the air almost directly over the men who held the strings—sometimes, indeed, sailing directly over them.

I watched for some time their graceful, birdlike motion and then tried to buy one. They seemed loath to part with them, however, and it was only after I had exhausted nearly all my persuasive powers and all the small change in my pockets that I succeeded in obtaining one. My awkward endeavors to carry it away with me were greeted with much laughter until one of the cannibals showed me the proper way to handle it.

The drawings which I have made of one of these kites will enable any enterprising boy to make one. As no tail is used great care must be taken to make it perfectly symmetrical. It is also desirable to have the kite very light and yet as stiff as possible.

The proper construction of the frame is shown in Fig. 15. The total width of this kite is thirteen feet and the height at the middle is thirty-two inches. First cut the middle stick C C thirty-two inches long and lay it on the floor of a barn where a few nails can be driven in temporarily to hold the sticks while bending them into the proper shapes. Cut sticks D D, E E, and F F, and place them on the floor either side of the middle one. The long, straight stick A A is twelve feet in length, of half-inch basswood or pine, and slightly tapered with a plane at both ends. Lash this to each of the cross-sticks, then with a long stick bend the bow around nails driven in the floor as indicated by the dots under the bow-piece in Fig. 15.

This bow-piece is half an inch square and tapered with a plane at both ends. It would be well to pour boiling water on this stick for a distance of three feet at both ends, so as to make it easier to bend. Leave it in this position for a few hours until the water dries out and the wood is shaped, then lash the top ends of the cross-sticks to the bow-piece.

While bending the bow the two lower sticks may be shaped at the same time. They should be of hickory or birch and tapered at the outer ends. These must be shaped over nails the same as the bow-piece, then when they are dry they are to be lashed to all the cross-ribs and the ends of the bow with fine linen line. The cross-sticks need not be more than three-eighths of an inch square, but the middle and top sticks should be half an inch thick for strength. Draw cross-strings from the top and lower ends of sticks D D, as shown in Fig. 15, to act as braces; then cover the frame with thin, strong paper or muslin, sewing it fast to the ribs with linen thread. The construction of the yoke is clearly shown in Fig. 16.

Box Kites

High up in the air, much too high for the boys on the ground to see the mechanical details, several queer-looking but powerful kites, or “gigs,” were tugging at their strings in a stiff breeze. When these flying-gigs were hauled down a big crowd of boys gathered to see them at close range, and here are the pictures of them as well as the plan-drawings showing how they are made. Any bright boy can easily follow these plans and produce equally good and powerful kites.

The construction of the box kite is shown in Fig. 17, where the oblong measures thirty-six inches high and twenty-four inches wide. These oblongs are held apart at the top and bottom by sticks A A which measure twelve inches in length. At the middle of the framework the corner sticks B B are braced with two cross-sticks C, which are notched at the ends, so that the inside corners of the sticks B B will fit snugly and can be securely held with a slim steel-wire nail. This frame is made of light pine sticks about three-eighths or half an inch square.

Eight inches below the top of the frame tie a cord, and nine inches below this tie another one to the front upright sticks as shown at D D. Cover the front, sides, and back of the frame with strong, thin Manila paper or light, closely woven muslin, having the top and bottom open, also the space at the front between the strings D D. A yoke caught at the top corner of the box, as shown in Fig. 18, will be sufficient in a light breeze, but for a strong wind add another from the side-sticks where the top or bottom cord D is tied; this will steady the flying-box and prevent its pitching.

The “paralleloplane” is another powerful kite which is easily constructed according to the plan shown in Fig. 19. The front frame is thirty-six inches high and twenty-four inches wide and braced with cross-sticks H H. The rear frame is forty-four inches long and fifteen inches wide and is held in place ten inches behind the large frame with sticks I I. Strings are tied to the top and bottom cross-sticks of the large frame, and eight inches apart, as shown at J J, to which one end of the paper or muslin is made fast. Fig. 20 will show the three fields covered with cloth or paper, and when the paralleloplane is in the air the space between the front planes admits the wind to the rear plane with the extending tail, which tips the kite to the proper angle.

If these kites need balancing in very strong breezes, a yoke at the bottom of the kites from which a long string may be suspended will take some paper cross-bars, as shown in Fig. 21, or the wind-anchors can be used. One or two of them may be hung from the bottom on a long string or one at each lower end of the paralleloplane.

A messenger that will travel and travel fast is shown in Fig. 22, and as they are very easy to make a number of them should be prepared for use. Two thin sticks twelve inches long form the top and bottom yards for a strip of muslin or paper six inches wide. From the four ends some thin wire such as florists use is connected with a cork about twelve inches in the rear of the sail, where it is bound fast with a few wraps of the wire. A pin is passed through the middle of the top yard to the sail and is bent over forming a hook, and in the cork another one is arranged in a similar manner. The messenger can be hung on the string, and if there are no knots to intercept its progress it will quickly speed away to the kite.

The Flying-wedge and Double-plane Kite

Flying-wedge or double-plane kites are made in several shapes and sizes with the planes arranged at different angles and in broken surfaces.

The flying-wedge is an interesting gig to make and hold when up, for it is a strong puller. Its construction is shown in Fig. 23, and like the box kite the frame is made of half-inch pine sticks. The front frame is forty inches high and twenty-four inches wide, and the rear one two inches longer but the same width. The frames are attached at the top but held apart at the bottom by the sticks E E, which are eighteen inches long. Twelve inches below the top a cross-stick F is attached, and from the side-sticks down to the centre of the bottom cross-stick the sticks G G are made fast. Strings may be substituted for these sticks but they will not brace the framework so well. Diagonally across the back frame and at the bottom strings are made fast to brace the frame, while the back ones also help to relieve the strain of the wind on the paper or muslin drawn across the framework. Figure 24 will show the fields covered with paper or muslin, which are arranged so the wind passing through the triangular opening in front presses against the back plane and out at the sides and bottom, while some of it is forced up in the top behind the upper plane and helps in the lifting power. Small flags on sticks at the top add to the appearance of this flying-wedge which is an exceedingly unique sky-scraper.

The double-plane kite (Fig. 25) is another form of the wedge. The general plan and sizes for the frame of this wedge tally with those just given, but the slight changes in the arrangement of sticks can be seen in Fig. 26.

The plane at the front is just half the height of the kite, and at the back it would be well to use two cross-sticks from corner to corner as braces rather than string as suggested for the flying-wedge. Use paper muslin for the covering and stretch it taut; then sew it fast. Rig up two small flags on sticks for the top corners and arrange the yoke as shown in Fig. 25. If the wedge is inclined to wobble or dive hang two wind-anchors on the corners, preferably the front, as the action will be better than if hung at the back.

The wind strikes the front plane and upper part of rear bevelled plane, also the outer edges of the rear plane, and in this manner a double kite is made that will be found a strong and steady puller.

Kite-reels

Kite-reels are always useful things to help haul in long lengths of string, and particularly if the kite is a strong puller and in a stiff breeze.

A reel for kites with a good pull is shown in Fig. 27, and a boy with a hammer, a saw, and a few nails can quickly put it together from some box-boards sawed in two-inch strips. The reel is made of two thin boards half an inch in thickness, cut circular with a compass-saw, and the hub is shaped from an old rolling-pin that perhaps has been discarded from the kitchen. It is impossible to give exact sizes owing to the possible difference in the lengths of rolling-pins, but the round sides should be at least six inches in diameter and placed twelve inches apart. One end of the pin, or the handle, should be sawed and cut square so a crank may be cut and nailed to it as shown at A in Fig. 28. From wood seven-eighths of an inch thick cut the crank B, and attach a handle to the outer end of it. Bore a hole with a bit in the end that fits over the axle, and with a compass-saw or small chisel cut the hole square so that the axle will fit snugly into it. The flanges are to be made fast to the ends of the rolling-pin hub with nails or screws, and this revolving barrel is hung in the inverted V-shaped frame of the reel. To hold this reel down when winding in a line make several hard-wood stakes as shown at C. These are cut out with a saw; and to protect the head and prevent it from splitting off, bore two small holes through the head as indicated by the dotted lines and slip steel-wire nails through them. Place burrs over the pointed ends, cut the ends off, and with a light hammer rivet the nail-ends down on the burrs so as to bind the head securely. This is much better than winding wire about the head, since the nails act as pins and will prevent the head from splitting while the stake is being driven into the ground. The overhanging end of the head laps on the end cross-plates forming the platform of the reel, and two or three at the end opposite that at which the string is being hauled in will hold the reel securely to the ground.

Another form of reel is shown in the illustration of a chest-reel (Fig. 30). This is made from two flat, good barrel-hoops, some braces, and the reel and shaft as described in Fig. 28 A and B.

Two good, broad barrel-hoops are selected and cut so that they will measure eighteen inches on the segment or twelve inches across the line A A in Fig. 29. Two out-riggers B B are cut from pine or white-wood ten inches long, two inches wide, and three-quarters of an inch thick; these are bevelled at the end towards the hoop, where they are made fast with screws. The outer ends of these sticks are bound with the stick C, and near the inner ends and close to the hoop a binder-piece D is fastened with screws.

The reel should be made first and clamped in place when the frame is put together. The lower hoop is made fast to the short upright pieces C C, shown in Fig. 30, and braced to the main out-riggers B B with bracket-strips. All the unions are made with screws or long copper rivets securely fastened at the blunt end with burrs over which the copper end is beaten and riveted.

Near the hoop-ends holes are to be made with a bit through which stout cotton line can be passed and made fast so as to tie the reel to a boy’s body (Fig. 30). The hoop-end should be bound with linen line at either side of the hole so as to prevent the hoop splitting and the lashing-thongs tearing away. This is a very convenient form of portable reel and is easily carried about without having to touch it. A friction-brake can be made from a piece of sole-leather that will bear against the edge of one large end of the reel so that when paying out cord it may be regulated as the kite draws on it.

Leather or metal washers should be placed between the reel-ends and the frame that the axle is hung in so as to prevent friction and the consequent wearing of the wood.

Fig. 31 shows a simple, home-made box-reel that will wind up a thousand feet of line in short order. It consists of a box, to which the cover is hinged, and two sprocket-wheels from an old bicycle. One large one has a handle for turning it, the other, a smaller wheel, is fastened firmly to a spindle (Fig. 32) that runs through the box. The box is of pine or white-wood fourteen inches long inside measure, eight inches wide, and ten inches deep. The wood may be from one-half to seven-eighths of an inch thick, and the points should be made with glue and nails or screws to hold them securely and prevent the box from racking.

Find two old sprocket-wheels and a piece of bicycle chain and make the wheels fast to iron axles that will pass through holes made in the sides of the box. The ends of these axles should be threaded and provided with a nut so as to hold the axles in place when run through the box.

The arrangement of these wheels and the chain is clearly shown in the illustration of a box-reel (Fig. 31). The large wheel should be attached to an axle and one of the pedal-cranks made fast to it. Instead of the pedal a wooden handle will slip on the pedal axle where it can be secured by the nut that held the pedal in place. The relative positions of wheels, axles, and other parts of this reel can be seen at Fig. 33. A represents the crank, handle, and large wheel; B the axle that passes through the box; C the axle and flanges made fast to the small sprocket-wheel; and D shows how the wooden roller-wheels are arranged over the slot in the box so that the string can be drawn in without its touching the edge of the slot. The edges should be flared at the under side so that the cord will wind on a fat reel without touching the wood as shown at E.

Two wooden flanges should be cut from thin wood and made fast to the axle C to prevent the cord winding on the axle close to the box and thereby clogging its action. Leather washers separate the flanges and the boxes so as to reduce the possibility of friction.

The slot cut in the top of the box should be as long as the available winding-space on the axle, and protecting it at both sides are rollers cut from one-inch curtain-poles or broom-sticks. Steel-wire finishing-nails are driven in the end of each one, taking care to get the nail exactly in the middle.

Bend two L-pieces from stout sheet-iron, and having punched or drilled holes in the right place through the upright ear, make these bearings fast to the top of the box with screws as shown at D in Fig. 33. By turning the box slightly from side to side when winding in the string, the incoming line will travel from end to end of the slot so that the coil on the shaft will be equally thick from flange to flange.

A leather trunk-handle may be made fast to one end of the box for convenience in carrying.

This form of direct gearing with sprocket-wheels and chain makes it impossible for the cord-shaft to slip as it will do in the grooved wheel and string or leather-belt connections. It is simple and sure and quite as easy to pay out from as to wind in with.