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| BACK to Home Page BACK to crafts index |
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| Things that fly ....no, no! Not BIRDS! Kites, paper planes, things like that!! |
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| KITES are great fun and very easy to make. They can be as simple or as elaborate as you like, depending on the materials available and the time you want to spend making them. (They are a good camp craft, especially as you are likely to have the space to fly them.) The traditional diamond-shaped kite is always a winner, but use lightweight materials e.g. thin split (garden) canes for the framework and polythene for the sail, and fishing line for the string. Weight the tail by trial and error - half the fun of making your own kite - and remember, the stronger the wind, the longer the tail needs to be. You may also need to adjust the trim of the kite by moving the attachment point of the string on the harness until the kite "sits" at the best angle to fly. To fly your finished kite you need someone to help: ask her to hold your kite while you unreel the line and walk INTO the wind. Hold the line taut as she throws the kite upwards - if the wind is light you may have to run into the wind to get your kite up into the air. Adjust the length and weight of the tail until your kite flies properly. Happy kite flying! |
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| Safety note : NEVER fly any sort of kite anywhere near overhead lines, whether power, telephone or anything else - you do not have to actually touch the wires to be electrocuted as electricity can jump gaps. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| PAPER PLANES are easy to make and can give hours of enjoyment. They will fly indoors or outdoors, providing it is not TOO windy. They are best made with light but fairly stiff paper. Follow the diagrams, making sure to crease every fold firmly. To fly, launch DOWNWARDS into the wind (if any). You will probably need to adjust the trailing (rear) edges of the wings to get the best flight - turn upwards to make the plane climb and downwards to make it dive. You will only need to make SLIGHT adjustments, and keep them even or the plane will turn. Try adding a paper clip to the nose to give a bit of extra weight if necessary. When everyone has a plane that flies, you can have competitions - flying (distance and duration) - and for original designs. |
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| Plane #1 - simple dart | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Plane #2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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