As the wind blows the hanging chair in my big old maple up to a 45-degree angle, then whips it around to batter the tree and threaten dog-walkers, I’m reminded of this incontrovertible fact: Springtime is an Awful Time for Kite Flying.
In most of North America spring breezes are gusty and move around the compass; this is *awful* for flying kites, which really work best with a steady, constant breeze (even a fairly weak one). But thanks to the Peanuts Industrial Complex, Americans have inseparably associated Spring and kite flying, much to their enduring frustration.
That’s not to say getting a kite up in the Springtime is impossible, just that it’s much harder. While ground-level breezes are often all over the place, higher wind can be nice and steady, so if you can get the kite to climb fast, you can still make a go of it. The diamond kite in my book performs pretty well in fickle spring breezes (the book includes two kite designs and lots of tips; there’s a brief version of just the diamond-kite build available for free online).
Here are some more kite flying and building tips: Snip, Burn, Solder Blog: Kite Season is Here! (N.B.: This post was written in the *Fall*)
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