By Leslie Hunt
FIG. 57.
WINDMILL KITE SHOWING METHOD FOR MAKING WHEEL
Attach the bridle far enough from the wheel so it will clear. An extra stick
may be needed for the bridle attachment.
Construct a Square Box Kite according to the directions. Prepare two sticks about 1/4 by 3/8 by 26 inches and cross them diagonally through the bottom of the kite. Slit the ends. Run framing strings from the upper ends of the uprights through the slit in the long diagonals and to the lower end of the same uprights.
This will give a triangular fin or buttress and will make the kite appear like a tapering windmill tower. Paper the fins, but do not glue the paper to the long diagonals unless you do not care to make the kite so it will fold.
A roof may be formed with light sticks tied to the corners of the upper uprights, but it must not be completely papered. A cap of gilded paper gives the effect of a roof and is all that is necessary.
The windmill wheel may be made of light sticks with the blades set at an angle, but a simple wheel cut from a square of stiff paper answers every need and is not so likely to get out of order. Make the wheel from a piece of heavy paper or light cardboard about 15 inches square in the manner shown in Figure 57, stiffening it with shavings glued in place as needed.
The axle or stick carrying the wheel should be about 14 inches long and should have a small knob at each end. A spool cut across will do for the knobs. Punch a small hole in the upper front surface of the kite and pass the axle through to a point corresponding to the hole on the surface of the opposite side. Put half a spool on the axle and secure it to the kite surface with glue. Do not glue the stick and spool together.
Tie the axle to the intersection of the diagonals, reinforce the hole made in the front surface with a patch of cloth on the inside; glue the half spool (large side out) on the outer end of the axle and you are ready for the wheel.
Attach the wheel with a small nail. The nail should be first run through a button to form a washer, then carefully forced into the axle until the wheel is nearly tight.
The bridle loop will have to be quite long, say, 6 feet, and should be attached near the usual points of attachment for a box kite flown with one side to the wind.
The complete kite, made as above, rated .92 ounce per square foot. It was a good flier, but not as reliable as the other box kites.
Windmills are often used on kites to make certain parts move. Figure kites with moving eyes, automobile kites with revolving wheels, etc., are worked out on the same principle. Altering the design a little, and omitting the wheel, will make a lighthouse, and many other designs may be made with a little thought.
