Grandpa Fenn's Workshop

The Kite

Grandpa has a kite in one hand and a ball of string in the other. He says the wind can lift anything if you give it the right shape. Toby wants to know why a kite needs a tail.

Fly it

Pick a tail. Raise the wind. Get the kite up and keep it steady, even in a strong wind.

MVLABEL

A-

B-

C-

✓Get the kite up in the air.
✓Fly it steady with a tail in a good wind.
✓Watch it tumble, then fix it with a longer tail.

Grandpa lets out a bit more string and the kite settles into the sky. A tail, a breeze, and a good steady hand.

Why it works

A kite is a flat shape that moves air. When wind hits the tilted kite, the kite pushes the wind down. The wind pushes the kite up. That upward push is lift.

Too little wind and the lift is not enough. The kite falls. Too much wind and the kite spins and dives.

A tail adds drag at the bottom. It keeps the nose pointed into the wind and the kite steady. A longer tail holds it steady in a stronger wind.

Grandpa. Wind lifts it. The tail keeps it honest.

Toby runs with the string

Grandpa's notebook

Wind pushing on a tilted kite lifts it.

Too little wind and it falls.

A tail keeps it steady.

Big word for the day. Lift. An upward push from moving air.

More machines are waiting on the bench.

Try the Windmill

See Grandpa's Invention Wall

Back to the Chain Reaction Bench