There are many kite books with good instructions and plans. These are some,
but not all. If you know of other books that you have found helpful, please
E-mail me and we'll include them on
this list.
KITES, AN HISTORICAL SURVEY, Clive Hart. It usually is found in most libraries.
ISBN 0-911858-38-5. It not only is good reading, it makes a lot of sense.
The book was first copywritten in 1967 and again in 1982, catalog card #
81-1252.
KITES, Wayne Hosking, MALLARD Press, 666 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10103
ISBN 0-7924-5826-5 Good picture / coffee table book. No plans. Great pictures
of what is out there.
KITES, AUSSIE STYLE (The Trash Bag Kite Book), KITES TO TOUCH THE SKY Wayne
Hosking, 5300 Stony Creek, Midland, MI 48640. $9.95 PLUS $2.00 shipping and
handling. My first kite book. Great book for people wanting to learn all
the basics of kite building with trashbags. Cheap kites, easy for kids. The
plans in the book are easily transferrable to making kites out of ripstop
nylon.
KITES, The High Flying World of, Ray Paprocki, WILLOWISP Press, Inc., 401
E. Wilson Bridge Road, Worthington, Ohio 43085. ISBN 0-87406 431-7. Small,
short, inexpensive book of kites. Great little picture book to show your
friends what you do. No plans. ($2.95)
KITE FLIGHT, (Complete, easy-to-follow instructions for making 40 different
kites.), Jack Botermans and Alice Weve, Henry Holt and Company, Inc., 521
Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10175. ISBN 0-03-008518-7 For the intermediate
to experienced builder. Plans are OK, but leave all the material / measurement
/ sewing details & choices to the reader. Frequently, key assembly details
are left out, and the reader needs to supply their own.
KITES FOR EVERYONE, ( $14.50 ), Margaret Greger, 1425 Marshall, Richland,
WA , 99352. - Margaret Greger's books are my personal favorites. All the
basics. Great books. Beginner or expert, there are plans here you will want
to try. COMPLETE instructions for plastic and cloth kites. Instructions for
workshops and classrooms.
MORE KITES FOR EVERYONE, ( $11.50 ), Margaret Greger, 1425 Marshall, Richland,
WA , 99352. - Margaret Greger's books are my personal favorites. All the
basics. Great books. Beginner or expert, there are plans here you will want
to try. COMPLETE instructions for plastic and cloth kites. Instructions for
workshops and classrooms.
E-mail: mggreg@gte.net
Web page:
http://www.kitesforeveryone.com/
KITES, The Penguin Book of , David Pelham. Viking Penguin Inc., 40 West 23rd
Street, New York, NY 10010. $9.95. Very detailed and great history of kiting.
Many kite plans best understood by engineers. Considered by many to
be the kite maker's Bible. It has been out of print for a while, but a new
edition has hit the streets in late 2001. Get yours before they are all gone
again.
KITEWORKS (Explorations in Kite Building & Flying), Maxwell Eden, Sterling
Publishing, 387 Park Avenue South, New York, N.Y. 10016 - ISBN 0-8069-6712-9.
Very detailed book about building & flying. Advanced builders will enjoy
the history of the Flexifoil. Some plans and instructions leave out details
suggesting the author did not build them.
THE MAGNIFICENT BOOK OF KITES, by Maxwell Eden. Sterling Publishing, 387 Park Avenue South, New York, N.Y. 10016 - ISBN 0-8069-4990-2. Basically a 'second edition' of his 'Kiteworks' book with some additions. Good stuff that every kiter should know. Lots of great plans.
SOFT KITES AND WINDSOCKS, Jim Rowlands, St. Martins Press, 175 Fifth Avenue,
New York, NY 10010
ISBN 0-312-08966-X. $14.95. Good book of soft kites. People who have built
kites out of this book tell me that the numbers of parts are frequently
incorrect. Check for errata before cutting.
Stunt Kites to Make and Fly and Stunt Kites Two, by Servaas van der Horst
and Nop Velthuizen both are in English. The ISBN No's are 90-6868-052-8 and
90-6868-085-4 respectively. Um, well, ah. I got to see this book in person
at the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum. They called a Flat Fell Seam a
French Seam, They showed tying a Bowline with the bitter end on the wrong
side of the knot, making it a Thieve's Knot. Then they called a Clove Hitch
something I had never heard of. So I put the book down. No doubt it has some
redeeming features, but I wasn't willing to wade thru all the errata to find
them.
The Tao of Kiteflying, Harm van Veen. Aeolus Press, Inc. P.O. Box 466,
Randallstown, MD 21133. ISBN 0-937315-01-X. No plans, but an excellent treatment
of why kites fly, and why they don't. A "must own" for every single line
kite enthusiast.
ULTIMATE KITE BOOK, The - PAUL & ARLENE MORGAN,
SIMON & SCHUSTER,
ISBN 0-671-74443-7
Fighter Kites by Philippe Gallot is strongly recommended by Jack
Rajczewski.
ISBN 0-312-03964-6 Now out of print but excellent and available though online
out of print bookstores and amazon.com used book sellers.
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