It's time to share the fruits of these efforts.
Many groups are based on the West Coast where kite flying traditions flourish, as the East Coast (ahem, New York) apparently does not always have ideal kite-flying conditions so wide spread, but whether you are experienced or not, I hope these sites are helpful and fun for everyone.
Many of the sites include dates and locations of regional kite flying events too!
Please, inform me of any dead links
Organizations and Events
43rd Annual Smithsonian Kite Festival - Kite festival in D.C. - check out the galleries
International Dieppe Kite Festival(France) - Big festival with informatino and images
International Kite Festival Fuerteventura - International festival, photos
Japan Kite Association - A large organization with great photos, links and international events.
KiteGang - A community organization for countries in Africa, check it out! Participate!
Kites Over New England - A group whose site has photos and advice for kite flying in their neck of the woods
Midnight Squadron Kite Club - this is a small group that I thought was interesting
National Kite Month - I highly recommend visiting this site, especially in preparation for April :)
New York Kite Enthusiasts - For the New York fliers
Niagara International Kite Festival - October 2 - 5, 2008 - Beautiful images, and info
The American Kitefliers Association - Huge, this site is a must see. Excellent for info
The Drachen Foundation A Non-Profit Kite Education Resource - MY FAVORITE ... see why!
The Kite Museum in Tokyo - This place has nice information and images
World Kite Museum and Washington State International Kite Festival in Long Beach, Washington - another site for information and images
Kite Information, making, flying, history
Andy Wardley's Home Page - Web Architect, Kite Designer, Board Rider, information about sport kites
Anthony's Kite Workshop - Dedicates his site to kite plans, and has some links too
art and flywork - Some kite plans and other info about flying them
BEST BREEZES Kites and Kite History - good blog with information, check it out
Best of the Best Kite Making Plans -MANY links to kite plans, some links don't work
Bibliography related to history of kites - Old website with excerpts from publications
Buteo Huang - not in english - No english, but browse the AMAZING kite images
CurvyBowed - This site has links in multiple languages for a bunch kite plans, I'm not sure how many links actually work, but some are easy enough to figure out although you cannot read it.
Dancing Frog Kites - This guy makes and sells kites, but has good information on kites around the world.
Dave's Kites - From the UK (I think), has good info, and fun photos
DDKites Singleline Kite Plans - Many kite plans, again, not all of the links function, sorry
(Doctor) Kai's Kite Site - This guy has some good kites, and recently got back into making them (2009), I believe he is German, so if anyone knows how to read it, here is another link from his page that I think might be interesting for information and plans - Drachenbernhard
gkites How to Fly a Kite - Good information for beginners, check it out
Greg Kono Design Portfolio - A dedicated kite maker, amazing artist, cool guy, check it
History Cerf-Volant, in english and french - A Flash based website, best to click on English words, unless of course, you are fluent in French
How Make a Kite Fly Kites Making Plans Directions Home Made Build Plan - Many many kite plans, I do recommend this site to check out
How To Make And Fly Kites - A Complete Guide - Another good site for kite making, has plans and photos.
Index of Kite Slides - Nasa'a website containing the more scientific approach to kites an excellent source of information.
Into The Wind - a store, but also good information and photos
Inherit the Winds - A great site with great information and even more links! (some are dead still though)
Japanese Traditional Kites - Information and images
kisa. - Drachen - Kites - not in English, but fun photos
Kite Construction Materials List - exactly as described
Kite Flyer Info - More helpful information about kites, and making kites
Kite Flying Fool's Kite Site - Fun site with some links and images
Kite Lines - Archived Publications - Downloads - PDF downloads of KiteLines magazine
Kite Patents - Pretty interesting uses for kites here
Kitebuilder.com Forums Index - Helpful information in this forum
KiteJan Home - information about kites, and tips
KiteMakers.org - Washington State group, not too much on the site
Kiteman Welcome Page - Quirky man with good information and services, although the site is not finished
Kitemonger Kite Plan Page - Some kite plans, mostly with cloth ("ripstop")
Kites in the Classroom - Where fun and education meet
Kites R' Us Lesson Plan Eddy Kite Construction - Mathematical approach lesson
kiteworld pics - Not in English, but there are links to great photos of kites
masters of kites in japan - Very cool examples of Kite Masters
Mini Kites - Beauties come in all sizes, these are teensy
Mini Kites from BillyBear4Kids.com - Cute site to make a miniature kite
Miniature Kite Galleries - Mind blowing miniature kites
Nasa - Beginner's Guide to Kites - self explanatory
National Kite Month International Kite names - Kites from around the world
So you want to make a kite ! - then this site is for you :) info on materials, and a plan
The Kite Museum.com - Great resource, check it out
The Virtual Kite Zoo - information for beginners
Wen-Fu Tsai - Chinese kite master - Just...wow...breathtaking kites (English, Chinese)
Welcome to Kiting USA! - a few links that I missed, but some that are here
What's New - last updated 2003 - fun images
Other kite related info, Wind, Bridle and Knot
Animated Knots by Grog - Excellent site for step by step learning all kinds of knots for everything, does not specifically mention kites, but many kite making sites mention knots that are covered on this site.
Bamboo Kite Making - Bamboo Forums - Great forums for learning about using bamboo in your kites
bridle troubleshooting - helpful tips for adjusting kite bridles
http--www.windfinder.com- not the greatest site for wind charts, but I'm working on finding a better one
Real Knots Knotting, bends, hitches and knotcraft.- Practical and decorative knots
UNEMC - Knots Alpine Butterfly - A knot from a mountaineering site
UNEMC - Knots Double fishermans - and another knot from the same site
YouTube and Google Video also have some good coverage of kite making, and flying in all sorts of ways,
I have an account with YouTube where I made a playlist of videos which I enjoyed. I have embedded the list at the base of the page, rather than in a post (because blogger.com wouldn't let me).
We are the creators of our lives. What we seek, we already have.
