[HN Gopher] History of Kites
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History of Kites
Author : DoreenMichele
Score : 76 points
Date : 2023-04-17 02:26 UTC (20 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (www.kite.org)
(TXT) w3m dump (www.kite.org)
| benatkin wrote:
| Just seeing the domain stressed me a bit because it made me think
| of kite.io which became kite.com. What an annoying app that was,
| the way it set itself to start on system startup and popped up
| when I tried to use my editor.
| UberFly wrote:
| That was interesting. Thanks for the unexpected quality
| distraction.
| nimz wrote:
| In my youth, I participated in "kite fighting," a popular
| activity in my home country. During these battles, opponents
| maneuver their kites, attempting to cut each other's kite string
| through tricky aerial tactics. We used special kite strings
| coated in thin glass. The victor's prize was getting to keep
| their opponents kite. Around January, during the kite festival,
| there would be hundreds of kites in the air all dancing or
| playing with each other. A magnificent sight.
| 1-more wrote:
| https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jan/19/three-children...
|
| This can lead to some very tragic outcomes!
| aaron695 wrote:
| [dead]
| jeron wrote:
| they ought to have neck protection for sports like this
| emmelaich wrote:
| Disappointed to not see
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Hargrave whose inventions
| were
|
| . study of curved aerofoils, particularly designs with a thicker
| leading edge; . _the box kite (1893), which greatly improved the
| lift to drag ratio of early gliders;_ . work on the rotary
| engine, which powered many early flying machines up until about
| 1920.
| JoeDaDude wrote:
| Fun fact: The modern, gliding square parachutes we are familiar
| with today, was invented as an evolutionary development of a
| kite.
|
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parafoil
| aksss wrote:
| > Many of the experiments and developments during the 1800s led
| directly to the eventual development of the powered airplane and
| transatlantic wireless communications in the early 20th century.
|
| The article goes on to explain that the Wright brothers we avid
| kite fliers, but doesn't pick up the other thread about
| transatlantic wireless comms. I would presume it has something to
| do with lifting an antenna, perhaps?
| JoeDaDude wrote:
| I have no source for this, but I did read somewhere that the
| word "aerial" used to denote an antenna derives from early
| experiments where kites were used to hoist a wire high up.
| aksss wrote:
| Evidently, "The Cradle of Aviation Museum" in New York has an
| exhibit of a replica "Marconi Kite". This was, I gather, a
| "Levitor" kite modified to lift an antenna.
|
| Of this exhibit, the Museum's website says:
|
| "A pioneer of the heavy-lift kite was Baden Baden-Powell,
| pre-WWI aviation pioneer and guiding force behind the Royal
| Aeronautical Society. In the 1890s he developed large
| hexagonal-shaped "Levitor" kites which were intended to be
| used by the army in order to lift a man for aerial
| observation. In 1901, radio pioneer Guglielmo Marconi made
| the first successful transatlantic wireless (radio) tests by
| raising the antenna 400 feet by means of the Baden-Powell
| Levitor Kite. Marconi also experimented in shore-to-ship
| radio communication from Babylon in 1901, possibly using
| these kites to raise the antenna."
|
| https://www.cradleofaviation.org/history/exhibits/exhibit-
| ga...
|
| Pretty neat! Imagining Marconi's experiences with his first
| wireless radio communications fills me with wonder. How
| fascinating that must have been.
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(page generated 2023-04-17 23:00 UTC)