p-kites-msg - 3/4/12

Period kites, Asian and European.

NOTE: See also the files: medievl-kites-art, Korean-Kites-art, dragon-kites-art, Medievl-Kites-bib, medieval-tech-msg, papermaking-msg.

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    Mark S. Harris                  AKA:  THLord Stefan li Rous
                                          Stefan at florilegium.org
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From: Mike Wilson <patang_flier at MSN.COM>
Date: September 22, 2011 11:14:08 AM CDT
To: CALONTIR at listserv.unl.edu
Subject: [CALONTIR] free kite book online

I'm always talking kites and here's a chance to point people to a free online book that can be downloaded as pdfs in sections.

http://www.gombergkites.com/howFK.html

The type of kites is fighter kites. They are definitely period (1450s on as I recall in areas of Malay and India)! They are constructed of bamboo and tissue paper. The kites are fast when flown without a tail. I've always equated them to having a Ferrari on a string. They are fun!

Fighter kites are huge today in many parts of the world, especially India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and other Asian-area countries. they are typically flown - today - on line coated with powdered glass or porcelain. The line is called cutting line, and fliers maneuver their kites to cut their opponent's line.

I hasten to add that I would NOT recommend flying them on cutting line, because you'll cut yourself up, and the hanging line is a menace capable of killing people. Instead, you can fly them on waxed cotton button thread, or other light lines also waxed.

Archer
(the kite guy)


To: gleannabhann at yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: kite book on line
Posted by: "Mike Wilson" kitearcher at hotmail.com
Date: Thu Sep 22, 2011 1:18 pm ((PDT))

<<< I think only the few feet of the line nearest the kite is made into cutting line or it wouldn't be safe to be near them and kinda hard to wind your string up.  : )

Bethany >>>

No, they fly with only manjha - the cutting line. 
Cutting line alone is used in India, Japan, and Korea, to name a few. In Korea, the line is silk. In Japan, it is made from flax.
In Afghanistan, they will have a few thousand feet on a large spool. 
Currently, it is illegal to fly kites in Pakistan because line draped across roads have killed motorcyclists, decapitating them. Also, the kite fliers, who fly from rooftops, fall off and die.

Archer


To: gleannabhann at yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: kite book on line
Posted by: "Mike Wilson" kitearcher at hotmail.com kitefella at sbcglobal.net
Date: Thu Sep 22, 2011 5:16 pm ((PDT))

<<< Sounds like the falling off roofs is natural selection, but across the road is like a land mine - really bad.

Bethany Theilman >>>

Yeah, then outlawing kites is historical in several locales and times for other reasons.

In Japan, during the period post 1603, they outlawed kites at times when people spent too much time flying them and neglected things like growing food.
In China, they outlawed them when the wealthy flew paper lanterns under kites .... then burned down the poor peoples' sections of cities.
Of course, more recently, we all know about the Taliban .. 'nuff said.
In contrast, in at least one Asian country, kites were flown 24-7 with hummers (western English), also called unari (Japan), as weather devices. The hummers would change tones when winds changed, warning people of a change in the weather.

There's also stories of Indian princes fighter kites to deliver notes to fair ladies who were kept secluded, that they hoped to impress!

Archer


To: gleannabhann at yahoogroups.com
Re: kite book on line
Posted by: "Mike Wilson" kitearcher at hotmail.com kitefella at sbcglobal.net
Date: Fri Sep 23, 2011 12:50 pm ((PDT))

There is a stories from China, of the first kites (about 476 BCE), and of what sounds like a hang glider. In the latter, there's a story of the inventor's father-in-law stealing the craft and flying it. People think he's a demon and kill him.

There's also a story (also from China) of a emperor saying he would free his prisoners on a Buddhist day - referred to freeing the animals - if they could fly off the top of a prison. Each was given woven mats to use to fly. One, a prince, supposedly flew about a quarter-mile from the prison. He was brought back and starved to death.

There's a story of a Chinese "magpipe" which was used to fly rockets that could be launched during military sieges. 

There is a story of European monk - his name escapes me right now - who reportedly flew. (1400-1500s I think).

In Japan, there's a famous story of a thief using a kite to fly up to the golden dolphins on a castle, in order to steal the gold scales. He was caught. The thief and his entire family was cooked in oil.

Also in Japan, in the 1760s the Japanese apparently used kites to lift building materials up in the construction of towers.

In Egypt, there is a story of a vizier, who was directed to construct a tower in the sky, reputedly used "eagles" to lift orphan boys into the sky where they could construct the tower.

I remember an Internet video - it wasn't Utube - where some college students showed how kites could have been used to help in the construction of Egyptian pyramids and towers. 

Archer

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Edited by Mark S. Harris	p-kites-msg	4 of 4