Why does kite have tail

A kite is shaped so that air will be slowed down if it is travelling under the lower surface of a kite and will speed up if it is travelling over the upper surface of the kite. The faster the air moves over the upper surface of the kite the lower the pressure of that air becomes. It depends on the kite type, wind, and how you handle the kite. My kites usually fly between 1 and 10 seconds. I guess that my chances of winning a jack pot in lotto are higher than my kite staying on the sky for an hour.

Safety is the reason why there are rules and regulations — yes, even for flying kites! It is recommended that you observe the wind range for your type of kite. Do not fly a kite on days when the wind is too strong for the type of kite you are flying. This will only damage the kite. Adding tails to your kite can be fun! It adds color and creates movement in the sky. It also makes your kite look bigger! Tails add drag and weight to kites.

This often helps kites to fly with more stability, especially in higher winds. Fighter or stunt kites, for instance, often are tailless. But a tail also can be the culprit by weighing too much and creating too much drag. Too much drag prevents a kite from gaining altitude.

Still, it experiences line tension due to the wind force trying to pull the kite away from where it is tethered.

The line tension is also affected by the weight of the kite itself. In fact, the tension can also be considered to be the sum of 2 forces — thrust 3 and weight 4. Thrust acts horizontally against the wind. This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Balance is important. So, while adding the tail make sure it is either added bottom centered of the kite or on both sides.

This depends on the structure of the kite. Normally Tails are added to the center of the kite. Long straight tail or Small tails to the center of the kite. One can also add tails to sides of the kite. Need to make sure both the tails are of the same length or else kite may incline towards the side having longer tail. You can also make a loop by connecting both sides of the tail. Loop tails create more drag. The point where the flying line attaches to the bridle is called the bridling point.

Each piece of the bridle running from the bridling point to the surface of the kite is called a leg. A bridle that is attached to the kite in two places is known as a two leg bridle. The bridle is used to control the angle of attack of a kite. This is the angle at which the kite meets the wind.

A low angle of attack tends to reduce the amount of tension on the kite string. The kite will also fly closer to vertically above the kite flier. A high angle of attack normally increases the pull on the flying line. It also makes the kite fly at a lower angle, relative to the flier. The angle of attack can also be altered to make a kite fly in different wind conditions.

A high angle of attack will enable the kite to "catch" more of the wind in light wind conditions, whereas a low angle of attack will allow more wind to be "spilt" by the kite in strong winds. The cover of the kite is called the sail. The sail is pushed against the spine and the cross-spar, dividing the sail into four areas. The two small areas at the top of the kite are called pilot sails , while the two larger segments are known as driving sails. The pilot sails partly control the direction in which the kite moves and the driving sails provide most of the lift.

The tail of a kite refers to the strips of paper, plastic or fabric which are attached to the bottom of the kite in order to increase the drag of the kite. Tails can be made in a number of different ways, and can also be added to the wingtips of kites. Kites can be bowed , or bent, in order to give the cross-spar a dihedral angle. When this happens the cross-spar is bent so that the wingtips are at a slight backwards angle to the spine.

This helps make the kite stable. If the kite starts to roll to one side the wing on that side presents a greater surface area to the wind and the wing on the opposite side appears to reduce in surface area. The greater pressure being exerted on the wing with more surface area being exposed to the wind forces it to return to a normal attitude again.

Flat kites include all kites that are not bowed in some way. They don't have to be any particular shape, as long as they are flat, or planar. All flat kites need tails in order to fly. Bowed kites are those kites that have a dihedral angle. Because they are bowed they do not need tails.

Parafoils are special sort of kites which are shaped very much like an aeroplane wing. They rely on the wind to hold them open as they generally have no spars. These kites normally do not need tails. Box kites are also called cellular kites. They have many surfaces, some of which normally lie vertically, while others lie horizontally. Because of these surfaces, which act in a similar way to the dihedral angle on bowed kites, this sort of kite does not need a tail.

They are normally a strong wind kite. You should replace that tail if this is the case. In such cases, retrieve your kite and all tails and line art attached to it, then remove the biggest item. You should then do a test flight. Repeat this until your kite is able to be launched AND is stable in the sky. If your kite does fly without the item you removed, it means that the item was putting too much drag on your kite. If you still want to display the item while flying your kite, you can swap out other line art.

Alternatively, you can use a larger kite, or a kite that generates more lift, for example: box kites, sleds, or parafoils. We have discussed why a kite needs a tail, but it is also important to understand that some kites like box kites do not need tails due to their design providing the stability needed in high-wind and high-altitude flights. Some kite designs require no tail, but tails are appropriate for aesthetic reasons. Commonly known as sky dancing , kites with tails are used to accentuate the flight, as if the kite is a dancer.

The video below shows off the skills of the Singapore Sky Dancers in a beautiful nighttime performance. If you like to have a large tube tail or a spinner, it would be best to hang it from the center-back of the kite. This is because the center-back of the kite is usually stable, and a tail will increase stability as long as the kite can launch and stay afloat with it. It is much easier to have a single, and larger kite tail to hang from the bottom of the kite or the center-back of it, than to have 2 smaller tails attached to the wingtips.

This is because you would have to fiddle and ensure that your kite is perfectly balanced with the smaller tails on the wingtips to ensure that it will fly. Long kite tails are notorious for tangling easily; a winder to keep them untangled and untwisted might be the best way to store them for ease of use.

Proper storage of all of your kite parts will ensure their longevity, but you should always conduct a thorough check of all your kite-flying equipment prior to heading out for a kite-flying session.

We hope you now understand why a kite may or may not need a tail, and how to put together a simple kite tail in a jiffy if you need one. Have fun out there! We have always loved flying kites in our childhood.

When we grew up, we realised that kite flying is slowly being taken over by technology, and it was difficult for us to learn anything about kites. After years of trial and error, we bring to you what we've learnt. Kite flying was a typical hobby of many children, including us, when we were growing up. When we were older, we forgot how fun it could be to be able to control something that looked so close to the Whenever I buy a kite, either for myself or for someone else, there are so many factors to consider, and decisions to make!

It can be especially tricky if it is their first kite that you are buying, Skip to content Many people often overlook the importance of tails when flying kites. Image by Gomberg Kites. Continue Reading.