In one of Jonathan's kite-making lessons, students can make kites in as little as 20 minutes! Provided there is enough wind to fly a kite, they are tajen out to the Aeronautical Testing Facility next door to the factory. That's spelled P A R K! Children as young as four years old can learn how to fly a kite, and the Big Wind Kite Factory recently trained a 92-year-old grandmother who had always wanted to fly a kite!
The kite that is used to give lessons is a regular diamond kite with a rainbow pattern. The difference between this kite and the ones they make during the lessons is that it is a two-string controllable acrobatic kite. First, both lines are stretched out approximately 22 yards. This is the set distance the kite will fly from the flyer.
Big Wind employees launch the kite and for a few minutes demonstrate how pulling on one line and then on the other controls the direction the kite goes in. Then the controls are given to the student. Sometimes an employee holds onto their hands for initial guidance. After about ten or fifteen minutes, several of the students have taken turns and most are getting used to the idea of it. If they really know what they are doing, they can be left alone in the park for as long as they wish.
Jonathan insists that it is not necessary to make a huge impressive kite to have fun making and flying kites. Even the simplest structure can work, and can give hours of fun. Go on, give it a try!