KITES!

Every New Kite Is an Adventure

This kites site has all the info you need. Particularly when you go the DIY route, there is a lot of fun and personal satisfaction to be had! At least one of my MBK series of designs should appeal. :-)

Kites - Tim with a train of Tyvek-sailed, carbon-sparred Diamonds.Diamonds—never out of fashion!

Flying a kite can be great fun for all the family, from ages 2 to 102. There are  small ones for small kids, even toddlers. Large or even huge flying creations are for, well, the more mature among us who enjoy a building challenge.

Besides, bigger usually flies better! It's so much easier to be accurate when all the measurements are on a larger scale.

Nothing quite compares to seeing your own work floating way up there. The bigger the better. Bask in that "I made it myself" feeling.

But don't get me wrong—the world of modern retail or designer kites is fascinating, and you will find plenty of images and commentary here.

It's almost never too calm—or too windy—to fly, as long as you make the right choice regarding the type of kite. The information on this site makes that easy!

And what do you do when it's just impossible to get outside to fly? For example, when there is extreme weather. That's when it's time to make a design from the Indoor Kites Series and marvel at how it can brush the ceiling.

See that social sharing bar over there, with icons for Facebook and X?

If the bar ever gets in the way, just tap on the little triangular arrow at the bottom. The bar will then neatly hide itself while you finish reading the page.


This Site Has Three Areas of Focus

  1. Learning to make a kite is covered here, of course! Roll your sleeves up and enjoy the construction process. Then get out and fly with the sun on your face and the wind on your back. Anyone can afford dowels or bamboo skewers, some plastic bags, and sticky tape. And the soft designs don't even need dowels or skewers! It sounds very homey and humble, but we routinely had some amazing high flights with these lightweight craft. And yes, there are plenty of photos and videos of all the building and flying action.
  2. Visitors contributed their own building and flying experiences for many years before they eventually moved to social media. Photos were contributed too from time to time. Explore the sheer variety in here under Kite Flying | Stories & Photos in the nav menu.
  3. General kiting information abounds here, particularly when you dig a little deeper into the site. A large body of researched facts and photos provide an interesting and educational background on the hobby. Find out about the most popular kinds of fabric-and-paper designs being flown these days or in times past. Discover things you never knew.

Plus there is some info here that is just plain different and intriguing:

Read about the radio-controlled variety being deftly flown indoors in Singapore or a flexible flying monster the size of a football field! But we'll get to that later.



TESTMONIALS!

Here are some things people have said about this site and associated activities (of the past):


Flying a 2.4 m (8ft) span home-made Barn Door kite.MBK Multi-Dowel Barn Door

"...thanks for all of your fantastic work, (kites, books, website, and emails), very inspirational. You were found by querying google with "box kites," or some such and I have been enjoying your kiting enthusiasm and expertise ever since then. Please keep them coming my friend!"

- Dana Y. (WY, USA)

"Thank You for amassing a Brilliant website. I absolutely adore it. Man’s need to fly brought me here."

- Jonny D. (MA, USA)

"I have now built three kites and want to express my thanks for your website. I built two diamond kites and have completed my delta as number three. ... Really enjoying the experience and the information on your site has been fantastic. Thanks, ..."

- John B. (WA, USA)


So please—have a good look around. :-)  You can use the menus and links of course, but I would particularly recommend the search box. You'll find it at the top right of nearly every page on this site. That way, you can get straight to whatever kite-related topic interests you most.


 

A huge variety of tethered aerial craft at the Adelaide International Kite Festival.Ripstop nylon carpets the sky at the AIKF

We live in the city of Adelaide, South Australia, home to one of the biggest annual kiting festivals in Australia and possibly the whole southern hemisphere.

The picture over there was taken at one such event, from near the jetty at Semaphore Beach. A moderate-strength southerly was blowing along the sand, and music boomed from loudspeakers arranged along one side of the wooden planks.

At other times, live commentary kept everyone informed about interesting aspects of the aerial display.


The Benefits of Flying Kites

Although not strenuous most of the time, flying these tethered craft is quite a healthy activity!

  1. Office workers can get some much-needed vitamin D from sunlight when out flying.
  2. Sunlight alone can have a positive effect on your mood. If your kite's up there too, it can boost your mood even further!
  3. It's good exercise for your eyes, focusing near and far all the time. This helps slow down the progression of "old-age sight." I knew all about it, trying to unpick the tiny Lark's Head knot at the end of a 20-pound Dacron line!
  4. Breathe that fresh air! We're very fortunate here in Adelaide in that respect.
  5. You can even fit in a bit of moderate exercise sometimes when towing up to search for faster air! Or you can even boost your heart rate a little just by going for a walk around the field while a reliable kite does its thing up high.
  6. Getting the kids involved too is good-quality family time. This depends on how well you can compete with all those electronic devices!

In my opinion, every new kite is an adventure—whether scratch-built or fresh from the delivery tube!

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