Introduction

INTRODUCTION

Jose Sainz had no idea what he was getting into when a friend at work asked him to check out a dual-line stunt kite during lunch. But he was so taken with the stunt kite, which could perform tricks in the air, that by the end of the week he had bought one of his own.
That was in 1989 and now he is one of the top kite designers in the country. Jose spends two to three hours a night in his home workshop in San Diego, planning and building his latest designs. Jose considers designing kites a hobby but this hobby has taken him to kite exhibitions and competitions all over the world. Jose uses a variety of geometric shapes in his kite designs that are rectangular, triangular, hexagonal, and diamond shaped. In competitions kites are judged for artistic appeal, structural integrity, craftsmanship, and flight characteristics.

Did You Know?

Kites have been around for more than 2000 years. Though many people think of kites in recreational terms, their history gives another view. In China (where the kite probably originated) during the Han Dynasty, the military attached bamboo pipes to kites. When flown over the enemy, the wind going through the pipes made a whistling sound that caused the enemy to panic and flee. Find out what other civilizations used kites