Kites in the Sky

Fly a kite during National Kite Month

Kite History
1749
Alexander Wilson flew a kite train to record air temperatures at different altitudes.
1752
Ben Franklin proved there was electricity in lightning.
1804
George Cayley developed the concept of heavier-than-air flight. His glider was a modified arch top kite.
1827
George Pocock used kites to pull a horseless carriage.
1847
A kite flown by Homan Walsh, age 10, aided in the construction of a suspension bridge across the Niagara River.
1893
The Eddy Diamond and the Hargraves Box raised scientific instruments for weather research.
1899
The Wright Brothers used kites to test their theories for the first flying machine (airplane).
1901
Guglielmo Marconi used a kite to lift an aerial to make his historical radio link between North America and Europe.
1902
The French Military (Conyne) Kite raised military observers.
1903
The Wright Brothers flew the first manned flying machine. A kite train towed S.F.Cody across the English Channel.
1906
Kites carried a camera aloft to take aerial photographs of the damage caused by the San Francisco earthquake.
1907
Dr. Alexander Graham Bell flew a man carrying kite made up of over 3,000 tetrahedral cells.
1919
A German flew a kite train to an altitude of 31,955 feet.
1939 - 1945
The Gibson Girl Box, Garber's Target Kite and Saul's Barrage Kite were all used in World War II.
1948
Francis Rogallo patented his Flexi-wing kite. It was the forerunner of the hang glider and delta kite.
1954
William Allison, Dayton, Ohio, received a patent on HIS "Flexible Flyer", which we now call the SLED Kite and reproduce by the housands in kite workshops all over the world. Ed Graeul called it a Basic Kite Form. (one of only 7)
1964
Domina Jalbert designed the parafoil. His concepts have been adapted for parachutes and kites.
1975
Peter Powell introduced his dual line stunt kite.
1978
Kuzuhiko Asaba flew 4,128 kites on a single line.
1989
Kite flying becomes a sport with the establishment of a National Stunt Kite Circuit. The "California Swept Wing" Stunt Kite has had the greatest influence on stunt flying.

Spring Forward

Day Light Energy Time - Spring Forward

Day Light Energy Time – Spring Forward

TO DO LIST:
- Change the smoke-alarm battery
- Turn the clocks
- VCR/DVD clock
- Alarm clock
- Wrist watch
- Your car's clock
- Oven clock
- Microwave clock
- Change the light blub
- Inspect vehicle lights
- Clean headlights
- Rotate bed mattress
- Rotate rugs



Time Saving Timeline

1784 – Benjamin Franklin, when serving a U.S. minister to France, wrote an article recommending earlier opening and closing of shops to save the cost of lighting.

1883 – Instituted in the U.S. and Canada by the railroads.

1907 – In England, William Willett began to urge the adoption of daylight saving time.
WWI – During World War I the plan was adopted in England, Germany, France, and many other countries.

March 19, 1918 – Established in U.S. Law by the Act of March 19, 1918, sometimes called the Standard Time Act. The act also established daylight saving time, a contentious idea.

Feb. 9, 1942 to Sept. 20, 1945 – In World War II, national daylight saving time was re-established by law on a year-round basis. After the war, its use varied among states and localities.

1966 – The Uniform Time Act of 1966 provided standardization in the dates of beginning and end of daylight time in the U.S. but allowed for local exemptions from its observance. The act provided that daylight time begins on the last Sunday in April and end on the last Sunday in October, with the changeover to occur at 2 a.m. local time.

1973-74 – National year-round daylight saving time was adopted as a fuel-saving measure during the energy crisis of the winter.

Late 1974 – Standard time was reinstituted for the winter period.

1987 – Federal legislation fixed the period of daylight saving time in the United States as the first Sunday in April to the last Sunday in October.

2007 – Under the Energy Policy Act of 2005, it is extended from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November.

Of note: Arizona and Hawaii do not use daylight saving time.