Note 1 — Chapter V

A tail will prevent any kite from turning over, or "diving," because its weight keeps the lower end down while the pressure of the wind on the tail also pulls the lower end backward and maintains the necessary angle of the kite to the wind, the most efficient angle being about 22 degrees. Bending back the ends of the cross-stick gives stability to a kite because, when, on account of the eddies in the wind, a stronger pressure is exerted on one side of the kite, this side is driven backward, thereby presenting less effective surface to the wind, while as the other side comes forward more nearly at right angles to the wind, it receives greater pressure than before. In this way the equilibrium about the central stick is automatically maintained, the required inclination to the wind being secured by the greater surface presented to the wind below the point of attachment of the bridle.