There is only one way to learn the practical art of kite-flying, and
that is to begin and do the thing yourself--with many mishaps and
disappointments at the outset. One of Mr. Eddy's practices when
sending kites up in very light winds or in an apparent calm, is to
reel out two hundred yards or so of cord in a convenient open space,
leaving kite and cord on the ground until ready to start. Then, by
taking the cord at the extreme distance from the kite, and beginning
to run with it, he gets it quickly into the upper air currents, which
are always stirring more than those at the surface. It is sometimes
necessary to run for a considerable distance before the kite reaches
a sustaining current; but a real kite enthusiast will not mind taking
trouble; indeed he had better abandon the whole business if he does.
It is worth noting that even in a dead calm a kite may be kept up
indefinitely as long as the flyer is willing to run with the cord at
the rate of about five miles an hour.
In flying kites tandem there is always to be guarded against the
danger of a breaking of the cord. Few people realize how hard a
pull is exerted by a series of kites well up in the air. A strain of
twenty-five or thirty pounds on the cord is not uncommon; and not only
the strength of the cord, but the way of attaching it, is of great
importance. There should be two strings (never more), fastened to the
upright stick at its lower end and at the point of crossing, the
upper length being about one-third of the lower one, and the two being
adjusted so that, when taut, the kite takes an angle of about twenty
degrees with the ground--which means that the kite goes up almost
straight overhead, the string making an angle of about seventy degrees
with the ground.
[Illustration: THE HARGRAVE BOX-KITE.
It was by kites of this variety, flown in tandem, that the inventor,
Hargrave, was lifted sixteen feet from the ground on November 12,
1894.]
In sending up a series of kites to fly tandem, it is best to head the
line with a small kite, three or, four feet in diameter, and gradually
increase the size until a diameter of six feet is reached for the one
sent last. This arrangement makes it possible to hold the upper kites
by lighter cord, the heavier kites being reserved for the half of the
line nearest to the ground; and thus there is a material lessening
of the load to be borne. The first kite should be well up, say five
hundred feet, before the second is attached to the line. But after
that they maybe sent at closer intervals, sometimes with only a few
hundred feet between them--say two hundred feet in light winds, and
five hundred feet in heavy winds. Each kite in a tandem should have
a length of at least one hundred feet of cord from the main line, and
great care should be exercised in knotting fast the individual lines.
The best way of starting a second kite, after the first is well up, is
to pay out about a hundred feet of cord for the tandem line, attaching
one end of this to the main cord and the other to the second kite,
which is left lying on the ground back downward. Then pay out the main
line evenly until the tandem line begins to lift. As the pendent kite
is borne higher and higher, it will swing for a while in a horizontal
position; but will presently begin to flutter and sail sideways, and
then finally come up more and more, until the wind catches it and
it shoots up like a bird into its proper position. In fact, once the
first kite is securely up, the others will fly themselves by merely
being attached to the main line as described. Of course each fresh
kite increases the pull on the main line, and the line must be made
proportionately stronger as the tandem is increased.