Brief History of Kites

Kite flying was established in Europe by the fifteenth century. It may well have been known for some time before this, possibly being introduced by voyagers to the east. Marco Polo, the traveller from Venice, arrived in China at the close of the thirteenth century. He stayed there for seventeen years. During this time he became a member of the Emperor's staff and moved freely about the country. When he returned to Venice with a valuable collection of things, people would not believe the stories he told. One is tempted to think that a kite found a place among the things which he brought back. At any rate, as he talked of the people and places he had seen, it is possible that he did mention their fondness for kite flying. In the search for the origin of the kite in Europe, there must also be borne in mind the possibility that they were brought in as occasional novelties by traders with the east.

We move now from the realm of might-have-been to that of certainty. In the year 1405 illustrations of hot-air kites are shown in German manuscripts. They were a cross between a kite and a balloon. They were dragon-shaped and hollow and had a light inside them. Apparently they were used as military standards, and were flown by means of cords held by horsemen. The diamond-shaped kite made its appearance in Europe in the sixteenth century, and from the evidence which can be gathered it seems that this remained the basic shape for a long time. An illustration in John Bate's Mysteries of Nature and Art published in 1635, shows one of these kites with a bridle and a tail rather longer than the kite itself.

In the course of kite history we follow a path which brings us eventually to the invention of the aeroplane. Every invention must have an inventor, and in the history of the aeroplane Sir George Cayley has an important place. He has been called the true inventor of the aeroplane. He lived and carried out most of his research work at Brompton Hall, near Scarborough in York­shire. He was a man with an inquiring mind, and in his search for the principles governing flight he made repeated tests with paper and kites. He came to realize what is called the aero­dynamic significance of the kite. He applied his knowledge in such a way that the aeroplane eventually became a reality and not just a dream.