How does a kite fly? it is drag, lift, or both?

Question

How does a kite fly? it is drag, lift, or both?

Answer 1

At high angles of attack like experienced during launch its more dynamic lift than true lift from normal full chord airflow. until the kite gets overhead. It will be in a somewhat stalled condition just relying on dynamic lift until it is "flying" at a shallower "AOA" angle of attack. Like when it's up overhead, its probably in a somewhat stalled condition at anything more than 7-8deg AOA.

Answer 2

A kite needs to be dragged in order to fly. Just like an airplane it needs to fly at a certain speed so that the air can carry it. So as a matter of fact, it is both; if it is not dragged fast enough, it will fall down, and if there is no wind to hold it up, it will never go up.

Answer 3

Larry is correct.  Lift and drag go hand in hand.

Kites fly primarily due to the force of the wind hitting the bottom and pushing them upwards.  This is a Newton's Third Law thing (for every action there's an equal and opposite reaction).  But thats exactly how planes fly too.  A significant portion of lift is produced simply by the velocity of the air smacking into the bottom of the wing.

Along with that, you get drag.  Drag is really nothing more that what we call the force that tends to slow you down.  Obviously if wind is smacking into something its going to slow down.

Answer 4

Kites fly by deflecting wind over and around the kite surface, and creating an area of lower pressure on the top /relative to the bottom.  This "lift" produces drag, that is counterd by the tension in the string.  Due the tension of the string, the kite will maitain its height,

Answer 5

You cannot have one without the other. The reason the kite flies is due to lift. The reason that it pulls on the string is drag. Whenever it pulls hard on the string, it usually flies higher at the same time. They do not vary proportionally, but they go together.