The Norfolk Virginian. [volume] (Norfolk, Va.) 186?-189?, 1896-02-11
I !l|E KITE KING TALKS
nlaaa Suggestions on How 10 Make aud
send Up Talliess Sky Flyers.
IN THE SCIENTIFIC WORLD.
RFc5ictinS Weather Changes by Means
sSsaor Kites 81 COLLECTING ELECTRICITY
ss From the ~Clouds-'rhey Are Aiso
Used AS n Means OF communion
ting with Shipwrecked Sailors.
S~SCopyrlght. 1896, by S. S. Mcclure, Lin
ted0

FCCopyright. 1896, by S. S. Mcclure, Lin
ited.)
.M&O On the long peninsula that separates
New York from Newark bay there 49,
among other things, q red house, ~
(which lives the king Of Kite nyers.
EVERY one in Bayonne. the town whlctlI
covers the peninsula. knows the red
house and Its occupant. Mr.. Eddy, the
aforesaid king, for scarcely a day passes,
swinter or summer, that kites are not
5seen sailing above this spot-some-
times a solitary hurricane flyer when
the wind Is sweeping In strong troH
the ocean; sometimes a tandem string
sof seven or eight Shooters, each one las
tened to the main line by It's separate
cord. If you enter the red house ana
Show a proper interest In the supJee''
Mr.. Eddy will take you up to his KITE
room, where sky-flyers of all sorts, sizes
and materials range the walls-from
&ths tin!est, made of tissue paper, 10
Ga-footers, with lath-frames and oil
cloth coverings.
Until one talks with a, man like Mr..
%Eddy-thpugh, indeed. there Is no one
2tust like him-one does not realize what
\ a large and Important subject his OF
; scientific kite-flying is. Many men OF
distinction have devoted years at their
best energies to- experiments with kites.
Mr.. Eddy himself is q scientist first.
last and always; for the sake of q new
observation he will send up a tandem
of kites when the thermometer Is below
zero, or stand half a night at his Keeling
apparatus getting records of the Their
/ mograph.
Perhaps I will do best to begin by CIV
ing some information to those who may
contemplate constructing a modern sci
cntifio kite. Such a kite has no tail.
"A few years g people would have
laughed at any one who attempted to
Ssend up a kite without a tail. But the
question Is now no longer ever open
with the scientific kite-nyerss who mo-
only ser up tailless kites with the
i Eresfest ease, but do 80 under condi-
lions which, to kites with tails, would
be impossible. For instance. In dead
Scalms and in driving hurricanes. In
tandem flying, which is the backbone
OF the modern system, the weight OF n
half-dozen or more heavy tails would
y be a serious impeachment, to say nothing
of the perpetual danger of the different
tails getting entangled in the lines.
HOW TO MAKE A SCIENTIFIC
KITE.
sS4 x Is much better for an amateur to
4 Etart with a kite designed to fly In
i strong Winds. as II Is a long and deli
cate task to learn to manage the vari-
ETY. with extra wide cross-sticks meant
ytfor Gains. The two sticks. therefore,
which form the skeleton should be Of
equal length. say six feet. and should
,6.cross each other at right angles at q
point on the upright stick Is per cent.
Its length below the top. This point
Sof crossing is Of great Importance, nnd
twas only located by Mr.. Eddy after
I months OF wearisome experiment. In q
s6-foot kite the two sticks. equal in
length, should cross at about thirteen
inches from the top of the upright
stick; and the same proportion should
,be observed for kites OF other dimen-
slons. At the point of crossing, the
sticks should be slightly notched. and
strongly bound together with Irvine
tied in fiat knots. Driving O nail or
screw through the sticks, to bind them.
a'weakens the frame at the point of
greatest strain. AS material for the
sticks Mr.. Eddy has found clear spruce
better than any other wood.
h two sticks Uhere are never more
than two) having been fastened firmly
together. the cross-stick must be sprung
backward; so that. when finished. the
kite VIII present a conveX or bulging
surface to the wind. 1t might be imag-
lined that q oncav surface to the wind
would be better: and indeed this has
been tried. But It has Invariably prov
ed that with a concave surface the kite
receives too much of the breeze and be-
comes quite uncomfortable. The
amount or spring that must be given
Inc cross-piece Is in proportion to its
length. Mfr. Eddy's rule being to snrine
She cross-stick by means of n cord
5gotnlng It's two ends like q bow. until
the perpendicular between the point of
.9uhcture or the two sticks and the GEM
IRE OF the cord Is equal to one-tenth Vt
the length OF the cross-stick, or a Nttle
more than one-tenth IL the kite is "a he
snoWn In very high winds.
,le Is OF the first Importance to keen
the Two halves of the kite on the right
ahu the left Of the upright stick, per
stec.y symmetrical. And this Is by no
lneahs an easy matter. 1t often hap
psns NARROWING to differences in the
sahpre and elasticity of the wood nne
5Sioe bends more than the other with
SSSnas result that the two halves present
SLheIeht curves and consequently nm
Equal VII areas. To offset this difi-
gEuily ana also to straighten the skeI-
4 SVoh, MI. Eddy adds q bracinp niece at
me PACK OF the cross-stick. laid mar
ailei 10 ia piece about one-fourth ne
Ysse ieqeth Of the cross-stick itself. and
~ the same diameter. If the two haivas
pine Kite are already quite symmetri.
cai,ahe places this bracing stick with
Slls centre directly even with the poln,
1uncture of the two large sticks, ITS
I'VE Q being fastened with Irvine &c
Esns cross-stiek about nine inches or
amer side Of the crossing point. Blu.
Maone-half Of the cross-sticK shows q
$3.50 s.ss.er pend than the other, he place,