April Cool is the idea that instead of creating a sadistic prank where you hurt people, physically or emotionally, we share something cool. This year I am going to share how to fly a kite.
Flying a kite is easy, yet most people have frustrating experiences with it because we often have the wrong instructions modeled for us.
Most of us imagine that flying a kite matches the poetic image is the smiling child running with their diamond kite. As she runs, the kite gentle lifts into the sky. The sequence usually ends there. It is beautiful to watch. It will also bring a lot of dissapointment if you try to emulate it. Your kite will not fly.
This is what you should do instead. At the dollar store, supermarket, or toy store, look for the cheapest delta kite you can find. Those are the ones that look like a manta ray or a poorly written D. These are the easiest kites to fly.
Your cheap kite will be made with the same plastic as a garbage bag. Your flying plastic bag will have some cheap licensed illustration. One of my favorite kites was a Barbie kite I got for 10 cents. Some people will recoil from this bad taste and crass commercialism. I encourage you to embrace it. It is part of the charm of a cheap kite. If you are lucky, you can find one with a sassy Tweety Bird. My current kite is a smiling Minion.
Now go to some open space when there is a constant gentle breeze, the kind that feels like it caresses your cheeks. Stronger winds make it harder to fly your cheap kite, not easier. In the US that gentle breeze will happen in the mornings. In the mid-afternoon the wind direction tends to change, so flying that kite becomes more challenging. It can happen, but you may frustrate yourself. Go in the mid-morning to increase your chances of success.
Now that you feel that gentle, constant wind, toss that kite in the air straight up. The motion should be like you are trying to toss it to land on your head, like a pendulum. The wind you pull it up. Start giving gentle tugs to the line, and give it more and more line. If it feels like it is going to fall, take steps backwards while facing your kite. Don't run. Just walk backwards when you can.
The goal is to get your kite above the tree lines. There the wind is steady. If you can get it there, it will stay there until you want or the wind changes. A tug makes it go up. Loosening the line makes it go down. You loosen the line by walking towards the kite. Only a little bit, you should have some kind of tension at all times. You want an angle between you and your kite. Avoiding having it above your head. This makes the kite fall.
When you are done, slowly reel in your kite. Ideally you want to reel it in until it lands on your hand, like a bird in a Disney movie. If it falls it is fine.
You will lose your kite. That is why we are starting with the cheapest one. I know you will think you will take good care of your kite. I am sure you will. It may last you some years. Yet you will lose them at some point. Be ready for your Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles kite to be gone one day.
Kites, like love, get lost. They get stuck in trees. The connection breaks and they fly away. Yet is better to enjoy the happiness of a kite than to never experience it at all.
Like most beautiful things in life, you can get better at it, buy more expensive kites, try different kinds of kites like stunt kites, kites for higher wind speeds, etc. This tutorial opens the door to those kites. Maybe you will decide you are happy with your cheap kite. That is up to you. Your cheap kite gives your the power to decide.
Now go and fly a kite.