![]() ![]() ![]() Hand flying a kite with a wet string in a thunder storm, complete with In those conditions simply isn't safe, and it's not even clear whetherįranklin himself actually performed the experiment he proposed. Referring to a bridle loop tied to the vertical spar.Īttaching the loop is almost the last step before being able to go out and fly the kite. But since he has already specified to "tie theĬorners" to the cedar wood tips, it seems more likely that Franklin was 2022)įirst reading, I thought the "loop" Franklin mentions must be a stringĪround the perimeter of the kite, to which the edges of the handkerchiefĪre to be attached. (ah sorry guys, it's never going to happen now. Together with some cedar wood, I intend to recreate a Ben Franklin kite and post a photo or two of it here, plus some video of the kite flying. Now, one day I will get my hands on an actual silk handkerchief, not unlike the one near the quote up there. Neatly folded up in the photo is a modern large silk handkerchief, plain white as was popular in Franklin's day. To the top of the upright stick of theĬross is to be fixed a very sharp pointed wire, rising a foot or more Paper but this being of silk is fitter to bear the wet and wind of a With a tail, loop, and string, will rise in the air, like those made of Reach to the four corners of a large thin silk handkerchief whenĮxtended tie the corners of the handkerchief to the extremities of theĬross, so you have the body of a kite which being properly accommodated Here is a typical quote from the letter, which was written by Ben Franklin to Peter Collinson on October 19, 1752:Ī small cross of two light strips of cedar, the arms so long as to Text is edited just a little for ease of reading. Quotesįrom this letter may be found in many different places, although the Franklin once wrote a letter to a friend, on this topic. But is anything known about the kite itself?įortunately for historians, and I use the term very loosely in my case Most school kids have come across references to the Benjamin Franklin kite used in that electricity experiment. Somewhere in the "light" to "moderate" range. Until the kite flies high with little effort. Knot along the bridle loop just millimeters (1/8 inch or so) at a time, The field will be required before the ideal position is found. To connect the flying line to the bridle loop. But use a shiftable knot such as the Prusik Connect the bridle loop and flying line as shown in the diagram.The kite toward the nose, which is a no-no for kite stability. Not only that, but it will shift the balance point of That wire on the top should be pretty thin.Tendency for the kite to loop around continuously. Here, it's "drag" that counts, not weight.Įxtra length in the tail line, plus a few extra ties, should fix any ![]() The tail as specified in the Ben Franklin kite diagram should be fine, but the cloth.If they are way too thick and heavy, the kite will just not fly. The thicker the sticks, the more wind required. The sticks should be just thick enough to resist excessive bending in a light or moderate breeze.Sail material you use, the weave should be as fine as possible. Ben Franklin specified a silk handkerchief.Big kites always fly better than small kites of the same type. The handkerchief should be as large as possible.It will give you the best chance possible of success: This short list of points should ensure that your replica flies well.
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