By Leslie Hunt
FIG. 56.
MILITARY KITE SET UP
Attach bridle at points A and B. A bridle loop to the lower part of the kite
may be necessary if the wind is strong.
To construct the Military Kite shown in Figure 56, follow the directions for constructing the Rectangular Box Kite , with the exception of those for making the sticks.
Cut four pairs of sticks 1/4 by 3/8 by 24 inches, lap the ends of each pair about 4 inches, glue and wrap, making four sticks 44 inches long. Slit the ends.
Mark the sticks 11 inches from one end and tie the top of the back uprights of the kite at the place marked. Use the long sticks for diagonals, adjusting first one end and then the other of the kite until the kite is true and the corners square.
The diagonals should extend fully 11 inches beyond the back of the kite and a shorter distance (whatever the sticks will reach) to the front. When in place, mark plainly so you may set the kite up easily next time.
Frame the outer wings of the kite with string, and paper neatly. Glue the paper to the upright sticks and to the framing string, but not to the diagonals, unless you do not wish the kite to fold.
Tie the diagonals where they intersect, and attach a bridle loop 40 inches long at points A and B.
Figure 56 shows this kite complete. It is an excellent flier with great lifting power. Made according to directions, it has nearly 4,000 square inches of effective surface. Its rating is .83 ounce per square foot.
The name "Military Kite" is used since a number of nations have experimented with kites of this type for military observation work. It was reported that the Germans used such kites but of enormous size for sending observers aloft from their submarines. The correspondent giving this information indicated that cruising at a rate of 10 or 12 knots per hour would give the necessary "run" to lift a light man 150 feet or so in the air. He did not say how the observer got down or what happened if the string broke.
