Making Paper Kites For Kids

The MBK Paper Sled. No Sticks!

Perhaps you've read about making paper kites from single sheets of copier paper with 2 sticks or straws forming the spars. Little Sleds in other words, which dance around in light breezes outdoors or perhaps are towed around indoors if there is enough space.

Well, this design goes one step further and eliminates the sticks. It does have spars, but they are folded into the sail, origami-style!

I went out one day for a test fly, in almost calm conditions. Every now and then, a puff of wind came through. It proved just enough to loft the little Sled up around tree height, for some video and still shots. Perhaps for half a minute or so each time. But it certainly flew.

Making paper kites in this way does not require any ruler measurements or scissor cuts! Read on to find out how...

So, the only materials required for this super-minimal design are

• 1 sheet of plain copier paper. It should be A4 or Letter size.
• 12mm (1/2") clear sticky tape. In a dispenser preferably.
• Very light Dacron or Nylon flying line. Strong cotton thread can also be used.

No joke, that's it!

The tool required is a skewer, of any type of material. It just has to be sharp, to poke a couple of holes. In fact, I got by with a bamboo BBQ skewer!

Step 1 - Find The Center-Line

Fold the sheet so the longer sides bend. Line up 2 of the corners as accurately as you can.

Don't crease the paper all the way along the fold. Instead, just pinch it right near one end as in the photo. Then line up and pinch the other end too.

Lay the paper flat. You should see the 2 tiny creases as in the photo.

Step 2 - Fold Up The 'Spars'

Fold the sheet in from both sides so the shorter edges meet exactly in the middle.

Lay the folded sheet on a smooth hard surface, and sharpen the creases with your fingernail. That's right, press firmly and run your fingernail up and down the creases.

Turn the paper over and unfold one flap, as in the photo.

With both hands, pinch a small width of the crease and fold it back towards you. After sharpening the new crease, it should look like the photo.

How's that - making paper kites without anything extra for the spars!


Now do the other side the same. Don't worry, I've found it's quite easy to get them both very similar in width. Just do it so it 'feels' the same.

Step 3 - Fold And Tear Leading Edges

Fold the paper and line up 2 corners as shown.

Fold both layers of paper into a triangular flap as shown. The fold line starts right next to the spar-folds that are already there.

Crease sharply using your trusty fingernail. An essential 'tool' for making paper kites!

Open out the whole paper kite, and sharpen the crease of both flaps individually. Now fold them both back the other way, and sharpen the crease again with your fingernail.

Do this 8 times on both flaps to weaken the fold-line, then carefully tear them off.

OK, if you want to cheat on that last step, go grab a pair of scissors. I admit it's quicker, but you can't brag that you used no tools at all except a skewer!

Now this paper kite is starting to look like a Sled!

Step 4 - Adding The Bridle

Fold the paper kite as in the photo and line up the corners.

Then poke your sharp skewer through both layers of paper, where the black dot is.

You don't have to mark a black dot, I just marked it to make the position clear in the photo.

Cut off a piece of flying line or strong thread that is at least twice as long as the longest side of a sheet of copy paper.

Tie each end through a hole in your paper kite. Without crushing the paper, as in the photo.

Stick a length of tape in place to reinforce the bridle attachment. Make it long enough to fold a similar length around and onto the other side of the paper. Try to make it look just like the photo.

Do the other hole the same way.

Fold the kite to bring the corners and holes together, and hence find the exact center of the bridle line.

Tie a small loop into the bridle line at dead center. There it is at the top center of the photo. If you look hard!

Step 5 - Fly It!

That's the kite all made up. All that remains is to attach a flying line to that little loop and watch the little Sled soar up to the ceiling! There's really not much to making paper kites in this way...

Outdoors, you will need to wait for gentle winds of between 5 and 8 kph (3 to 5 mph) for best results. Or, in a dead calm, just jog along slowly to tow it up.

Have fun, and here's a video of this folded paper kite for encouragement...

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