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00:00Kites were the first objects created by humans that were able to use wind to create lift
00:06and drag forces which would later become instrumental in developing aircraft.
00:11The first kites are believed to have been made in Asia as far back as 11,000 years ago
00:16and have been popular in China since the 5th century BC.
00:20Today, with such a range of materials available, designs have become larger and crazier than ever.
00:26So with that in mind, hold on to your hats as we bring you the top 15 most incredible looking kite.
00:36Kites come in all different shapes and sizes, with ones designed to put on spectacular displays,
00:41to pull heavy loads, or simply for enjoyment on a windy afternoon.
00:45But perhaps it's no surprise that some kite designers are locked into a race
00:49to build the biggest kites that have ever taken to the skies.
00:53The current world record holder is a kite called The Hope,
00:56and it was created by Abdul Rahman and Faris Alfarsi of the Alfarsi kite team.
01:01They first flew their creation in February of 2005 in Flag Square, Kuwait City,
01:06as part of a Kuwait Hala festival, and have since toured the world to show it at various events.
01:12Amazingly, The Hope measures 83 feet 7 inches long and 131 feet 3 inches wide,
01:19which gives it a total lifting area of over 10,000 square feet.
01:23Unsurprisingly, it takes a large team to even unfold the kite before an attempt can be made to lift it into the air.
01:29And as opposed to the kites you may be familiar with, this one needs several pilot kites to help with lifting it up,
01:35particularly in lighter winds before it's able to sustain itself in flight.
01:43When you go swimming in an underwater world around coral reefs,
01:47you'll see countless animals seemingly suspended in the water,
01:50with their fins, tails, and legs slowly gliding behind themselves.
01:54Kites are a surprising way to recreate this effect above the waves,
01:58and that's why octopuses are some of the most popular creatures to be recreated in fabric to take to the skies.
02:04There are so many different designs, from the anatomically precise,
02:08so their legs seem to be swimming through the air,
02:10to ones that have more unusual colorations and shapes that leave a big impression on anyone who sees them.
02:16With all the flailing elements involved in kites like these, they can be absolutely huge.
02:22Some of them easily measure up to 50 feet long, and will often need more than one person to fly them properly.
02:28At some events, you'll see multiple octopus kites flying together at once,
02:32either with each one being controlled by a different person,
02:35or simply attached to a line with a pilot kite at the end to provide the lift.
02:39And when this happens, they all appear to move in unison.
02:42It really gives the impression that you've found a swarm of them in their natural habitat,
02:47even though you know it's all an illusion.
02:53Peter Lynn Kites is one of the world's leading kite design companies that's based in New Zealand,
02:58which is apt because the country has some of the most regular winds that you'll find anywhere on Earth.
03:03Known for making bizarre and spectacular creations, one of their more unusual ones is the Space Racer.
03:11Inspired by the obsession with alien visitors, the main part of the kite is a UFO,
03:16but it has an alien sitting on top of it that appears to be flying it as it changes direction.
03:21From every direction you look at it, it lives up to expectations,
03:25and you can see it from surprisingly far away thanks to the fact that it measures 24 feet wide.
03:30There's a long history of people spotting unusually shaped kites
03:33and reporting them to local law enforcement as a suspected UFO,
03:37and this will be the first time that what people think they're seeing is actually the case,
03:41although with a far more terrestrial origin.
03:44Since first revealing this design in 2011, it's become very popular,
03:48and you're now almost guaranteed to see one at any major kite festival that you visit.
03:52At a cost of around $3,000, though, you will have to be a committed enthusiast if you want to get one for yourself.
03:59Number 12. Dragon Kite
04:02Particularly in recent years, thanks to Game of Thrones, The Hobbit, Harry Potter, and plenty of other fantasy franchises,
04:09dragons have found themselves back at the forefront of pop culture,
04:13so it's no surprise that various companies are now giving kite flyers their very own chance
04:17to channel their inner Targaryen by creating spectacular designs.
04:21Of course, with such a rich kite-flying heritage,
04:25it's impossible to go to any kite event in China without seeing huge dragons soaring through the sky,
04:31but dragons from other cultures are now also becoming more commonplace,
04:35such as this one that was created by Rolf Zimmermann.
04:38Known as the Wyvern Dragon, named after the winged, fire-breathing beasts of European and North American folklore,
04:44it's been designed in a way that the tail looks like it's acting as a rudder as it flies through the skies,
04:50the wings flap to keep it airborne, and the head moves independently looking around for its next victim.
04:56It is an incredible-looking design. It takes over the skies wherever one has flown.
05:01Available in various colors, it's another one that's commonly seen at kite festivals,
05:05but again, you have to be really committed to the hobby if you want one of your own,
05:09as prices for these things start at around $8,000.
05:14Number 11. The Bicycle Kite
05:17Taiwanese kite designer Feng Shanghuang has made a name for himself across the globe for his unique and amazing creations,
05:23and in 2016, he revealed what's possibly his greatest of all.
05:27Known simply as the Bike Kite, it's a white egret bird that's pedaling on a bike,
05:32and because of the way it's been made, it uses the wind to make the pedals move exactly how you'd expect them to.
05:38This design is almost like an optical illusion, because at first it seems impossible,
05:43almost like it's an animation that's been inserted into the sky.
05:47It is, however, a real kite that's made from panels of polyester with carbon beams to keep its rigidity.
05:53Measuring 6.5 feet tall, 6 feet long, and 2.5 feet wide, it weighs just 1.7 pounds.
06:00It's amazing that something of that shape can actually fly, but that's all in the genius of the design.
06:06Spectators at the Yilan International Children's Folklore and Folk Game Festival, where it was first shown,
06:12simply couldn't believe their eyes, and thought at first that there was actually someone pedaling the bike in the sky.
06:17Since then, visitors to festivals around the world have been similarly stunned,
06:21and it shows just how clever kite designs can truly be.
06:25Number 10. Rainbow Pirate Ship
06:28For hundreds of years, people have traveled over the oceans in sailing ships that harness the power of the wind to push them across the water.
06:35So it makes sense that by slightly altering the design and making one from lighter materials,
06:41that it could then soar into the sky as a kite.
06:44There's a range of different galleon and pirate ship designs that are available, and are regularly flown at kite festivals,
06:50but the one that often stands out the most is undoubtedly the Rainbow Pirate Ship.
06:55It's not particularly big, with a height of around 6 feet,
06:58but this means that it's suitable for novice flyers, and it'll create a stunning effect when it lifts up on a sunny day,
07:04with light beams passing through the sails, it lights up in an array of colors.
07:08And not only is it great fun to watch, but it helps to spread an important message of inclusivity too.
07:15Number 9. Space Shuttle
07:18One of the greatest and most impressive flying machines ever built was the Space Shuttle,
07:23which allowed humans to travel into Earth's orbit, and return with a soft landing on a runway.
07:28As the pinnacle of aeronautical engineering, it seems appropriate that you can also get kites in the familiar shape and design,
07:35to embark upon your own space adventure.
07:37While you can buy various different types of Space Shuttle kites from stores,
07:41the ones that truly stand out are those that have been customized with extra additions.
07:46This one, for example, has a series of LED navigation lights that add to the spectacle,
07:51and also means that it provides a stunning display at night time, when most other kites can't be seen.
07:57And is simply a scale model.
07:59But if you were to build a life-size replica from light materials,
08:02the shape of the Space Shuttle is so efficient that it too would be able to lift into the sky purely from the lift provided by the wind.
08:11Number 8. The Stingray
08:13Another stunning design from Peter Lynn Kites is known as the Stingray kite.
08:18And when it's flying through the sky, it looks just like a stingray gliding through the ocean.
08:23Available in a range of different colors and sizes, the real spectacle comes from the top-range version,
08:29which weighs a whopping 15.5 pounds.
08:32For something with this weight of material, it needs to be huge to be able to generate enough lift.
08:37And sure enough, the Stingray kite measures 67 feet long and 24 feet wide.
08:42It's intended to be used as a display kite, and according to the manufacturer, generates a surprising amount of power, pull, and lift.
08:50Because of this, it can't be easily flown by one person.
08:53And if you've ever seen one in the sky, it'll most likely be attached to an anchor on the ground.
08:58With prices starting around $1,600, this is a kite for the most experienced and committed of flyers.
09:04But wherever they send it up into the sky, they're sure to turn heads and be surrounded by a crowd of admirers in no time.
09:13Number 7. The Switch Kite
09:15One of the fascinating things about kite design is that it's possible to create ones in truly bizarre shapes
09:22that, on the face of it, would seem as if they shouldn't be able to fly into the sky,
09:26but in practice perform much better than you'd initially expect.
09:30We're used to seeing ones that have wings to generate the lift,
09:33but there are various different shapes that are able to do the same, and in some cases, do it more effectively.
09:39One of the best examples of this is called the Switch Kite, which was invented by a French designer called Alan McHugh.
09:45Described as being a perfectly stable, single-wire kite, it certainly doesn't look like it's aerodynamic,
09:51but its unusual concave shape means that it's able to harness wind power from every direction.
09:56This means it can fly even when there's low wind, but the real fun comes when there are powerful gusts.
10:02It is so responsive that it acts as an astonishing stunt kite,
10:06and skilled fliers can perform a range of tricks, such as instant direction changes, yo-yo effects, axle twists, and many more.
10:13Said to have been inspired by the sight of poppies flying in the wind,
10:17the Switch Kite shows you that you don't have to keep to the usual rules to make something amazing,
10:22and it makes you wonder what other shapes could be used to make equally as impressive kites.
10:286. The Flying Face
10:30San-Huang Feng, the Taiwanese kite designer, has experimented with a number of different techniques and shapes throughout his career,
10:37and it seems as if everything he comes up with to display takes a completely different approach to how kites can be designed.
10:44In this example, instead of creating an image by using just one kite,
10:48he instead made four that are loosely connected together, and when they're in flight, look like a face in the sky.
10:54From a distance, it's a truly bizarre thing to see,
10:57but the true magic with this kite is what happens when the wind affects each of the kites in different ways.
11:03From what begins as a representation of the face, it starts to almost resemble a living surrealist painting,
11:09where the eyes, nose, and mouth turn at angles against each other,
11:13and begin to look creepy, or strange, or even unrecognizable, depending on the angle you're looking at it from,
11:19before returning to their intended position and making sense again.
11:23This is kite flying and design that's made to make you think in a provocative way,
11:27in the same way as some paintings,
11:29and surely proves that San-Huang Feng isn't simply a kite designer, but is actually a kite artist.
11:40First flying in 1938, the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk was an American single-seater fighter aircraft
11:47that not only became the third most produced American fighter during the Second World War,
11:51but was used by most other Allied powers too.
11:54By the time the war had finished, 13,000 of them had been built,
11:58though most have either now been scrapped or sit in museums.
12:01Only 28 of them are still considered to be airworthy.
12:04It's therefore extremely rare to have an opportunity to see one flying through the sky,
12:09but this is an example of why kite flying can be so informative while at the same time being fun.
12:15This kite, despite being much smaller than the real thing,
12:18is an accurate replica, as is possible by using fabric and plastic structural supports.
12:23But when it's high in the sky with its propeller being spun by the wind,
12:27it gives you an idea of what it would have been like to see a real P-40 above you.
12:32It's a great way to remember incredible aircraft like these,
12:35and if anything, provides a talking point so that people today can learn about history in an interactive way.
12:424. Most Powerful Traction Kite
12:45If you've ever flown a variety of kites,
12:48you'll know that the design has a major impact on how powerful it'll pull against the string.
12:53Of course, the larger the kite is, the more it'll be caught by the wind and pull against you,
12:57but there are also design choices that can be made to increase this traction power.
13:02By leveraging this ability, it's possible to make kites that will pull things,
13:06such as kite boards, across the ocean's surface,
13:09and they've even been used historically to help with work on farms and in other industrial applications.
13:14The world record for the most powerful traction kite is on a completely different level, however,
13:20and it was set in December of 2004 near Sydney in Australia.
13:24Designed by the Kite Ship Corporation from the United States,
13:27the kite itself had a lift area of 4,500 square feet,
13:31and it was used to pull a 9.4-ton yacht.
13:35The vessel, which normally requires two main sails to propel it through the water,
13:39essentially replaced the spinnaker with the kite,
13:42but for the record attempt, all the other sails were taken down too,
13:46and the kite took on the full role without an issue.
13:53From around 252 to 66 million years ago,
13:56life on our planet was very different from how it is today.
14:00With dinosaurs roaming the lands, the skies were ruled by pterosaurs,
14:04which were the first vertebrates known to have evolved the ability to fly.
14:08With the largest species growing wingspans of up to 36 feet,
14:12they would have been fearsome predators that soared down to snatch their prey before flying off with it,
14:17and had we been around at the same time as them, they would have undoubtedly counted us as prey too.
14:23Thankfully, we don't have to deal with the day-to-day threat of death from above,
14:27but this pterosaur kite shows in a fun way what it would have been like.
14:31The kite itself is around 8 feet long,
14:34and from a distance has the same approximate profile as a real pterosaur would have.
14:38For added effect, the operator has added a life-size human kite to the pterosaur's feet,
14:44which gives a surprisingly good depiction of what it would have looked like
14:47if one had captured a person and flown away with him.
14:54In 2013, a kite team from the Netherlands arrived at a kite festival in Scheveningen
14:59with their latest design, which was the largest kite to have ever been made in Europe.
15:04With a tiger, a monkey, and an airplane kite looking down on them,
15:08they soon got to work laying their creation out and waiting for the wind to take hold.
15:13Eventually, they were generating enough lift for it to rise up from the ground,
15:17and the waiting crowd were not disappointed.
15:20Resembling a huge centipede-like beast with a black head, glowing green eyes,
15:25and 25 pointed legs along each side,
15:28there's a moment at the beginning where it looks like it's chasing down the small tiger and is about to eat it.
15:33Finally, though, it eventually rises up into the sky momentarily
15:37and proves that it can function properly as a kite.
15:40As this was the first trial, it was secured in a way that it could only reach a height of about 20 feet,
15:45but later attempts at subsequent festivals saw it fly much higher.
15:501. Blue Whale
15:53As the biggest animals to have ever known to have existed on our planet,
15:57blue whales can grow to a length of 90 feet or 30 meters and weigh as much as 219 tons.
16:04The designers at Peter Lynn Kites saw a perfect opportunity to use a blue whale as the basis for a new, huge kite,
16:12and their blue whale design is one of the most impressive you'll ever see.
16:16They started with commissioning custom fabric that was exactly the right color for the body of the whale,
16:21and then started to work on the design and the physics behind how they'd make it fly.
16:26While the finished version is available in five different sizes,
16:29the ones that the designers are most proud of are the midi and the over-large ones,
16:34designed to look as similar to the real animals as possible.
16:37The midi blue whale kites are 26 feet long, which is the size of a blue whale calf when they're first born,
16:44and the over-large version is the full 98 feet long, exactly the same size as a fully grown adult.
16:50Of course, the material they're made from means that they're just a fraction of the weight of the real thing.
16:55This means they're able to majestically fly into the air and appear as if they're alive and swimming.
17:01Because of the size and realism, they're showstoppers at any festival where they're flown,
17:06but with a price tag of $4,600,
17:08it's almost as rare to see one of these blue whale kites as it is to see an actual blue whale in the wild.
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