He flew the kites in a train on a single string to an altitude of about 3,000 feet. This was only three years before Benjamin Franklin's famous use of a kite in an electrical storm. In 1752 Franklin wanted to prove that lightning and electricity were the same thing, and did so at risk of his own life. He flew his kite into a dark thundercloud and soon noticed that the strands of the string were bristling with electricity. Wet with rain, the string conducted even more, so that when he touched his knuckle to a key suspended on the string, he got a jolt of electricity.
Famous names attend the use of kites.
British meteorologist, E. D. Archibald, lifted anemometers on kites to measure wind speeds at various altitudes in 1833. In 1887 he was the first to use kites for aerial photography. Another contributor to western kite development was William A. Eddy. He sought steady lift and great heights to hoist scientific and photographic payloads. Eddy turned to the train kites of hexagonal shape to provide what he needed.