The Butterfly Kite
Some Observations and Examples
There are just a few thoughts here, about the butterfly kite. To tell the truth, I can only remember seeing one actual example flying in the air. It strikes me as a rather female-friendly kind of kite.
Authentic Chinese ButterflyThe one butterfly my wife and I saw at a kite festival was being
flown by a woman—not a child, note! I can also recall the occasional
online photo or two of a butterfly being flown—once again, by a woman!
And how about the keen photographer who took the image at the bottom of
this page .... you guessed it ...
Butterfly kites are arty. It doesn't seem to matter in what
exact shape, size, or form they come. Butterfly kites are almost always
dressed up. Sometimes this is purely as an artwork, whether childish or more
sophisticated.
Otherwise, they are made to look as realistic as possible. That takes some doing, since the living insect puts on an intricate and often very beautiful display of color.
Pretty things sell better than plain things, so a decent butterfly design must be fairly easy to move off the kite-shop shelves. OK, maybe the walls or ceiling ;-) You know how they like to hang things here there and everywhere, like some sort of kiting art-installation.
On this site, there's more kite-making info than you can poke a stick at :-)
Want to know the most convenient way of using it all?
The Big MBK E-book Bundle is a collection of downloads—printable PDF files which provide step-by-step instructions for many kites large and small.
Every kite in every MBK series.
A typical butterfly design is just a little taller than it is wide, in many cases. Hence, it should be easier to get flying stable than, say, a bird kite. That's just a hunch on my part. If you have made a lot of kites, would you agree? I've certainly read some stories online of how long some bird-kite designs took to get right!
Good butterflies don't actually need tails but often have them for looks. Also, these types are generally mid-sized. Say, less than a meter (3 feet) across.
Talking about size brings to mind a group of enthusiasts who posted a photo of their giant butterfly on this site! There's a copy of that photo down near the bottom of this page.
The butterfly has become one of the most popular creature-kites around, among single-surface designs. Other big "creature" categories would have to include bird and fish kites. These ideas seem to have originated in China, centuries ago.
A Butterfly Kite Zoo
Child's Kite Kit
(Photo courtesy of drachenstore.easystorecreator.net)
Here's a
typical small kite for kids. This one's plain, but kids can easily add
their own artwork to the sail material before the kite is cut out and
assembled.
Modern Kite Shop Butterfly
(Photo courtesy of kiteandwind.com)
This
hi-tech example flies stable without tails and features a 3D
appearance. Rich colors are even brighter when the sun shines through
from behind. Marvelous!
Traditional Chinese Butterfly
(Photo courtesy of chinakiteonline.com)
This is the real thing, in pink to be in keeping with the female-friendly tone of this page! These designs have hardly changed in terms of materials, construction techniques, and general appearance for hundreds of years. Amazing.
Massive Homemade Butterfly
This monster is almost 2 1/2 meters (10 feet) wide and weighs 4 1/2 kilos. It has a linen sail and is reputed to be somewhat harder to land than to launch.
Spectacular! It's by some kite-making enthusiasts from the Czech Republic. Yes, this one's not so much a lady's kite is it!
How's that for a four-picture summary of the butterfly corner of the kiting world! Enjoy the photo below, too:
As mentioned earlier, there's more kite-making on this site than you can poke a stick at :-)
Want to know the most convenient way of using it all?
The Big MBK E-book Bundle is a collection of downloads—printable PDF files which provide step-by-step instructions for many kites large and small.
Every kite in every MBK series.
