Avia Ustanny, Outlook Writer 
This young man was caught on camera in the hills of St. Ann's Bay, St. Ann, flying his kite. - Carlington Wilmot/Freelance Photographer
SIXTY-SIX-YEAR-OLD Duke Hamilton is the master of the skies when he launches his kites, flying them in and out of season for the pure pleasure of seeing the sometimes flimsy, sometimes monstrous floaters take to the air.
He told Outlook, "An uncle of mine use to make kites and I just fall in love. Kiting and music, I just love them.
"I started making and flying them from I was at school at St. Ann's Primary. Right through the year I have kites. Every time breeze blowing I take out a kite.
14-FOOTER
"The biggest one I ever made was about 14 feet. It flew. The first year we flew it was the year that Turtle Towers was built. It tore away and landed over there."
The kite lover says that he has seen kites 22 feet long. "When it coming down it was like a jet. It was made of 3/4 inch aluminium."
He has, he says, a kite which can be stored in a lady's handbag.
He makes and sells them at Easter when they are most popular, but personally, he can be found flying kites right throughout the year. He ran a kite festival for five years in Drax Hall which, he said, was overwhelmingly patronised.
Where do kites come from, and why do we love them?
Kites have been a part of history for hundreds of years and is a craft and a sport widely participated in still today. Some cultures have special meanings for kite flying, but for many other people, it is a fun thing to do on a windy afternoon.
It is not certain as to where the first kites came from, but it is said that they were first known to the people of the South Sea Islands. They used to use it to fish, attaching bait to the tail of the kite and a web to catch the fish. Even today, some natives of the Solomon Islands in the Pacific Ocean use kites as fishing aids.
In the Polynesian Islands, kites were associated with gods.
The Maori also used kites for divination and for funerary purposes.
China is another widely accepted place as the birthplace of kites. One story is of a Chinese general, Huan Theng who, in the year 202 BCE, got the idea for a particular military strategy watching the way his hat flew from his head. Placing thin pieces of bamboo that hummed and shrieked in the wind, the general flew a large number of them over an enemy encampment one night, causing them to believe that they were plagued by evil spirits out to destroy them, and so, the army ran away.
Raising soldiers
Both the Chinese and the Japanese learned to use kites for raising soldiers into the air as spies of snipers. Some old Japanese and Chinese prints show warriors flying over their enemies' territory. There is also a story from Japan about a famous robber named Kakinoki Kinsuke, who was supposed to have used a person-lifting kite to raise himself up to the roof of a castle where the were statues of dolphins made of gold. He was able to steal some of the scales from the dolphins and hid them. He did not escape the authorities, though, and came to a rather fatal end by execution.
As time went on, kites were incorporated into local customs in Asia. In Korea, it is a tradition to write the names and birth dates of male children on the kites and then to fly them. The line is then cut to ensure a good year by taking all the bad spirits with it. In Thailand, each monarch had his or her own kite which was flown continuously during the winter months by imperial monks and priests. They were also flown during the monsoon season by the people of Thailand to send their prayers to the gods. In Japan, windsocks are used in the shape of a carp, a symbol of strength of will and fortitude. These windsocks are flown on May 5, Children's Day, as an inspiration to the children.
How to make one
How can you make a kite?
"There is one that you use five bamboos and make," says Duke Hamilton. Get some dry bamboo, not too dry and cut it to the size and shape. Tie them together for the frame. Then measure for the material. At first they used tissue but now they use Victory bond paper or plastic bags," he said.
A kite consists of these basic parts:
The Spine: The up-and-down, or vertical stick that you build your kite around.
The Spar: The support sticks, that are placed crossways or at a slant over the spine. Sometimes they are curved or bowed.
The Frame: The joined spine and spars, usually with a string connecting their ends, that form the shape of the kite and make a support for the cover.
The Cover: The paper, plastic, or cloth, that cover the frame to make a kite.
The Bridle: One or more strings attached to the spine or spars, which help control the kite in the air.
The Flying Line: The string running from the kite's bridle, where you hold to fly the kite.
The Tail: A long strip of paper or plastic of ribbon that helps to balance the kite in flight. Not all kites need tails.
The Reel: The object you use to wind your flying line, to keep it form getting tangled or flying away.
The lifting force of all kites is produced by deflecting the air downward. The resulting change in momentum produces an upward force. The reason for this is that the air travelling over the top of the curved surface of the kite is going faster than the air passing underneath. Fast-moving air creates less pressure; this means there is more pressure underneath the kite, and this helps to force it upwards.
Think of the kite as a sailboat, catching the air. The air tries to push the kite along like the sailboat. But the string the flyer holds keeps the kite tethered. Since the kite cannot go with the wind flow and the kite is tilted so that the air is deflected downward, the kite has no where to go but up.
Both the lift-to-drag ratio and the stability of the kite are functions of the length of cable. The more cable released, the more drag created.
* Partial information source: www.skratch-pad.com /kites/make.html
