Good Morning,
I have always enjoyed flying a kite. There is just something about watching it soar high in the sky that creates in me a feeling of freedom. It can be mesmerizing as it drifts to and fro yielding to the whims of the wind, while I’m feeling the gentle tug of the line confirming our connection. Whimsically, there is the probable impossibility that the right gust of wind may take it and me along with it, into that world when kites go when they disappear into the sky. I did say probable impossible didn’t I?
The first kites that I flew as a kid were the ones I would buy for 10 cents at the local hardware store. They were usually “diamond” shaped, Hi-Fliers and made with thin paper and two wooded sticks to form a cross. It was a good thing they were only a dime, because they could easily be “eaten” by trees. Think of Charlie Brown here. Not enough tail, usually made from a couple of rags torn in strips, could cause the kite to suddenly head toward the ground nose first at an accelerated speed with no chance of recovery. Horrifying. If you were lucky no sticks were broken and Scotch Tape (the real stuff) would fix the torn paper. It was critical to get the tail length right if you had any hope of keeping one of these beauties in the air. Too much tail and the kite would be too heavy. Too little and it would loop and dive and with only one string you could only watch it’s demise.
Salvaged sticks, a precious commodity from kites that had met their untimely demise could be reused to construct a new kite made with newspaper. I know 10 cents doesn’t sound like much now, but in the early 1950s minimum wage was only $0.75 an hour and my allowance was 50 cents a week if I mowed the lawn. A kite was an investment. Oh yea and there was that ball of string as well, another 10 cents a roll.
Anyway, repairing enough of those diamond kites eventually gave me the confidence to make my own. Having an affinity for the unusual, the “Box” kite really appealed to me. They were hard to control, but they really looked cool in the air. I was 18 before I discovered the FMK (French Military Kite) AKA (Conyne) and fell in love with it. It had everything I wanted in a kite, stability, great pull and a really cool look. Not available in local stores, I had to build my own, but that was the fun and pride of accomplishment plus seeing a project come to fruition. Patented by an American, Silas Conyne in 1902, it was used by the French Military to lift observers high in the sky during WWI. Kind of gives a new meaning to “go fly a kite” yea right and get shot at…humm.
Today, I went to the hobby shop and picked up four basswood sticks, colored tissue paper, polyester twine and rubber glue. With a little luck, I will have a FMK of my own making in the air soon and with favorable wind, enjoy if only vicariously the sensation of flight once again.
“Go fly a kite” I will!
Love, Dad
Great link to Hi-Flier History