Diamond kite
A classic single-line kite with a diamond planform.
The diamond kite, also known as the Eddy or Malay kite, is a classic single-line design shaped like a diamond. Its frame uses two crossed spars, with a fabric sail and a tail for stability. This simple, reliable design is a common sight in the West, favored for recreational flying and as a beginner’s kite. Its stable flight has kept it popular for many years.
Quick Facts
- Inventor
- William Abner Eddy
- Year of invention
- 1890s
- Earliest western illustration
- 1634, in John Bate's The Mysteryes of Nature and Art
- Notable user
- Benjamin Franklin (mid-18th century)
- Alternative names
- Eddy kite, Malay kite
Facts from the source article.
History
By 1634, an illustration of a diamond kite with a tail appeared in John Bate's The Mysteryes of Nature and Art, marking its presence in the West. Benjamin Franklin proposed using kites for electrical experiments in the mid-18th century; in a letter from October 1752, he described constructing a kite from a silk handkerchief supported by a cross of cedar strips, indicating a diamond shape. During the Victorian era, the arch-top kite was popular, resembling the diamond kite but with a single curved upper edge. In the late 19th century, William Abner Eddy developed tailless diamond-kite designs flown in linked sequences called kite trains to raise meteorological instruments. By 1892, his kites used a bowed cross-spar for stable flight without a tail. In 1893, the World's Columbian Exposition allowed him to acquire an authentic Malay kite, inspiring further improvements and leading to the diamond Eddy kite. He improved kite chaining by having individual lines branch off a common main line. However, box kites and related designs proved more effective for heavy lifting and scientific work after Lawrence Hargrave's invention of the box kite. The diamond kite has remained in recreational use throughout its history.
Design
The traditional Eddy kite, also known as a two-stick kite, gets its name from its simple frame: a vertical spine and a horizontal cross spar. While less common today, diamond kites can be flown with a bowed cross spar. If this bow is placed close enough to the kite's nose, it can eliminate the need for a tail. The bow is created either by tightening a string to flex the spar or by building the cross spar in two angled sections, a setup called dihedral. The frame uses two sticks of equal length. One becomes the vertical spine, and the other is bent into a curved cross spar to give the kite its shape. This cross spar is attached just above the spine's midpoint, with the curve facing inward. A two-point bridle is tied at the point where the spars cross and at the very bottom of the kite, making it ideal for kite trains where tails might tangle. An outline string runs around the four corners of the frame, providing structure and holding the kite's shape once the covering is added. The covering material is cut a bit larger than the frame and is folded and glued around the outline string, leaving some looseness for better flight stability. The bridle is a single line attached at the spar intersection and the lower corner, with the flying line tied just below that intersection. Unlike many kites, the Eddy does not need a tail for balance. After construction, a checkerboard pattern is a common decoration because its high contrast makes the kite more visible in the air. The classic Eddy featured a bowed cross spar and a loose sail that folded back against the spine to create a keel at the bottom, improving stability. For most kite enthusiasts, telling an Eddy kite apart from a Malay kite is tricky, as both are bowed, diamond-shaped kites that differ mainly in their proportions.
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