Kite-Eating Cow!

by Chris G.
(Hertfordshire, England)

There is a big area of public land near my home it takes a few minutes to reach by bicycle. Some of it is wooded but most of it is open fields with just a few large trees. Lots of people come there to walk their dogs. There are also cows roaming about - they are there to keep the grass down. They are not much trouble, they do not mind the dogs and they are quite docile even friendly.

I had just finished making the dowel Delta. I had scaled it down to 90cm dowel length to fit the plastic bag that I had. It was a fine day with a light wind so I set off to see how my kite would perform. I also took along a simple sled I wanted to try out.

I found a nice open spot, far from the trees, set up the Delta and up it went like a hawk. The other kite was left on the ground rolled up in a thin plastic bag. I was so happy flying the Delta and amused when the cows came up to me...

One of the cows, bolder than the rest started to sniff at the rolled up kite which was on the ground. The next time I looked round the cow had the end if the bag in its mouth. I tried to reach the cow, while still flying my kite but it kept backing away while slowly chewing the kite. Sticks, string and plastic. I watched the kite disappearing cm by cm. I could not catch up with the cow to pull the kite away. I thought she might realize it was not good to eat and spit it out, but no the whole thing slowly disappeared. So far that is the only kite that has not flown.

Throughout all this the Delta flew beautifully and it has been out several times since along with the Diamond, the Rokkaku, the Roller and the Soft Sled.

I want to thank you for your excellent instructions. I have made four different dowel kites so far and they all flew very well in light winds right from their first outings. I made the soft sled too and that goes well in stronger winds.