There are forces that affect the flight of a kite.

The first is gravity everything falls to the earth, does it not? The heavier the object, the greater the chance of it falling. Kites, should be made of lightweight materials, to help fight the effects of gravity.

The second is lift. "Lift is the force pushing the kite away from the surface of the earth. It is produced by air moving over the top of the kite at a faster speed than the air that is moving over the bottom of the kite. Daniel Bernoulli, a scientist in the eighteenth century, discovered that the pressure of air becomes lower when it is moving. The faster the air is moving the lower the pressure becomes. 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." (1)

The kite will rise to try to balance the air pressure above the kite with the air pressure below the kite.

If it is a windy day you may not have much trouble getting a kite to fly, without a whole lot of activity on your part.

On a day with no or very little wind. You may have to make your own wind. Get those legs moving. It helps to have someone to hold the kite in the air until you get a distance from it.

Drag is the third force that affects a kite, it keeps it from flying right back into the ground. (hopefully!) Drag is created by the different types of materials used, the wood, the material, and even the tail of a kite can create drag.

Thrust is created by the string we hold. In holding it tight against the wind, it creates thrust that holds that kite up in the air.

A tail on a kite can keep it from rocking from side to side. It helps to balance the movement. A long tail is great, but cutting it into sections of tail, (long strips) can create even more drag than needed.

1. http://www.aka.org.au/kites_in_the_classroom/student.htm

2. http://www.gombergkites.com/nkm/why.html

W
hen were kites first invented you ask?

They have been around a long, long time.

"Historians believe that the first kites were built in China about 3,000 years ago, using materials, such as bamboo and silk. Kites may have been brought from China to Japan and other Asian countries, historians say, as part of early religious festivals or ceremonies. In fact, the earliest significance of kites was primarily religious. They were widely considered to be useful for ensuring a good harvest or scaring away evil spirits. Throughout the years, as the popularity of kites spread from Asia to Europe and beyond, they became more widely known as children's toys and came to be used primarily as a leisure activity.

Eventually, scientists discovered that kites were also useful for conducting scientific experiments, particularly those involving weather and aerodynamics.

In the 15th century, Leonardo da Vinci discovered how to use a kite to span a river.
Leonardo da Vinci's method was later used, by 10-year-old Homan Walsh, in the construction of one of the world's first suspension bridges at Niagara Falls, New York.
In 1749, Scottish scientist Alexander Wilson used several kites, attached in a row, to measure and compare air temperature at different altitudes.
Benjamin Franklin used kites to pull boats, carriages, and sleds in experiments with traction and to experiment with electrical energy in the atmosphere.
In 1901, Gugliemo Marconi used a kite to help transmit the first trans-Atlantic wireless telegraph message." (2)

2. http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson/lesson056.shtml

There is the good old flat kite. Often diamond in shape. These are kites that have no curve to them. These are probably the type of kite you may have made as a child. The do need a tail to fly well.

There is the delta wing kite. This kite is sometimes similiar to the greek letter delta in shape therefore it's name. A delta kite is lite and the sail billows and creates much of it's own drag and lift. It usually does not need a tail.

The bowed kite, similiar to a flat kite, often diamond shaped, but are bowed. The do not always need a tail to fly either.

The box kite, like it's name, it is often box shaped with many angles and surfaces. These kites usually need a strong wind to achieve lift and thrust. They are also bowed, and do not need tails.

A parafoil kites, are often used in para-sailing. They are normally just material and depend highly on the wind to stay in flight. The wind opens and billows the sails, keeping it floating. They are lightweight and normally do not need a tail to fly either.

A compound box kite, is much like it's relative the box kite, but it also includes wings attached the box structure. It creates a lot of pull, often requiring a harness and weight to the person flying it to hold it down.

A sled kite is of course "sled" shaped. It has several spines running the length of the kite, but no cross bars. It relies heavily on the wind to keep it in flight.
3. http://www.aka.org.au/kites_in_the_classroom/student.htm

If all this kite talk has left you with the desire to build your own, the first thing you need to do is to become familiar with some basic terminology often used in kite building. You need to know what each part is, and why it is there. This will allow you to correct problems you may have when you actually get to fly your creation:

"Basic kite terms.

A spar is the name for any of the sticks which act as the "skeleton" of the kite. The spine is the spar that runs from the top to the bottom of the kite. The cross-spar is the spar that runs from wingtip to wingtip.

The leading edges of the kite are the edges which the wind flows over first. The trailing edges are the edges which the wind flows around last. " (4)

4. http://www.aka.org.au/kites_in_the_classroom/student.htm

"T
he bridle is the line that connects the kite with the flying line. It is usually connected to the kite in two places, but some kites use bridles that are attached to the kite in many places. 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. " (5)

5. http://www.aka.org.au/kites_in_the_classroom/student.htm

"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. " (6)

6. http://www.aka.org.au/kites_in_the_classroom/student.htm

D
i·he·dral
Spelled Pronunciation[dahy-hee-druhl]
-adjective
1. having or formed by two planes.
2. of or pertaining to a dihedron.
-noun
3. dihedron.
4. Aeronautics. the angle at which the right and left wings or the halves of any other horizontal surface of an airplane or the like are inclined upward or downward.

Dihedral [Origin: 1790-1800; di-1 + -hedral]
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

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.

Works cited:

American Psychological Association (APA):
dihedral. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Retrieved May 11, 2008, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/dihedral
Chicago Manual Style (CMS):
dihedral. Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/dihedral (accessed: May 11, 2008).
Modern Language Association (MLA):
"dihedral." Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. 11 May. 2008. /dictionary.reference.com/browse/dihedral>.
http://www.aka.org.au/kites_in_the_classroom/student.htm

Find a place that is a large, uncluttered space on the ground as well as above the groung. Always watch for any power lines that your kite may get tangled in.

Maybe a large park area, or a field, the best place of all to fly a kite is at the beach.

You can find great information on the Oregon Coast at Visit the Oregon Coast