Kite, heavier than air soaring contrivance, used for sport 
or recreation, made of a light frame of varying shape 
covered with paper, plastic, or cloth and attached to a 
long cord held in the hand or wound on a reel or drum. A 
kite is sent up into the air and remains aloft by means of 
its resistance to the wind.

Origin of Kites
It is named after a graceful member of the hawk family, the 
kite. One tradition holds that kites were invented by the 
5th century BC Greek scientist Archytas of Tarentum, but 
they have been in use among Asian peoples from time 
immemorial. The sport has long been a national pastime of 
the Koreans, Chinese, Japanese, and Malayans. Kites flying 
at night over a house were believed to keep evil spirits 
away. A religious significance is still connected to some 
ceremonial kite flying in Asia.

Types of Kites

Three-Sticker Kites
In the three-sticker, all sticks are of the same length, 
crossed and tied in the middle, spread symmetrically, with 
string run around the border and the whole covered with 
light material. This makes a flat surface and requires a 
tail hung from the center of a short loop attached to the 
two trailing points. A bridle is composed of three cords 
each of a length equal to half the width of the kite. The 
cords lead from the center and the two highest points of 
the kite to a central knot or ring to which is tied the 
line to the flier's hand. 

Two-Sticker Kites
The Malay, a tailless two-sticker, has its sticks of equal 
length crossed and tied with the center of one at a spot 
one-seventh the distance from the top of the other. The 
bridle has two legs, one from the top of the diamond and 
the other from the lowest point, meeting a little below the 
crossing of the sticks. A string pulled tight across the 
back of the cross stick will bow the surface, making the 
kite self-balancing.

The Box Kites
The box kite was invented of the Australian Lawrence 
Hargrave in the 1890s. It is named for its rectangular 
shape, the frame being twice as long as the width and the 
ends left uncovered, with one-third of the length covered 
around each end. The bridle consists of two lines, one to 
each end. The kite flies on one edge and needs no tail. The 
shape can be other than square in cross section: it may be 
oblong and fly on a wide side with a four-leg bridle; or it 
may be triangular, round barrel kite, or even five or six-
sided.