How to make a transparent kite with text by brunovianna

制作一个透明背景大字报风筝

This is a kite that's easy to build and fly. We designed it to carry text in a beautiful way, so that the letters appear to be floating against the sky. We believe it can be useful for carrying icons and messages in demonstrations, or plain old fun.
这个风筝容易制作，简易放飞。我们设计成它能以优美方式携带字体信息

You will need:
你需要：

• 1 piece of transparent plastic at least 3ft x 3ft (1x1 meter)
• 一张透明塑料布，至少3英尺x3英尺（1米x1米）
• 2 sticks the same length of your plastic (can be carved out of bamboo)
• 2条相同长度的棒棒撑住塑料布（可以用竹子削出来）
• box tape
• 封箱胶带
• line - a thick cotton line will probably be enough, but you can play safe and get dacron or spectra lines
• 线——一根粗棉线或许足够了，不过为了安全，用涤纶或者类似的材料。

If you use a thin plastic, such as garbage bags, the kite will fly on lighter winds, but it will last less. We used a thicker (but not the thickest plastic), which here in Brazil is very used as table cover. But here's a picture of the garbage bag kite:
如果你用了薄塑料材料，像是垃圾袋的，风筝在微风时就能飞起来，但耐久度就少了。我们用的是厚一点的（但不是最厚的）塑料，在巴西通常用作桌布。下面有垃圾袋风筝的参考页面：

http://eletropipas.blogspot.com/2010/06/grande-treno.html

Step 1: Cut the plastic

Here is how the plastic should be cut. The holes are very important for stability, but they can be cut in other shapes, like circles.

This "sled kite" was patented by William A. Allison. Luckily for us, his patent expired a long time ago. Check other kite patents on this beautiful blog.

Step 2: Add the sticks and wire

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To hook the bridle, make a reinforced loop with tape and pass the line through. The bridle should be the exact same size on both sides and each side should be as long as the kite length.

Reinforce with tape the edges of the holes and the places where the bridle is attached to the sled.

The sticks can be attached folding the tape on the edges and in some points along their length.
Step 3: Choose and draw your text

Picture of Choose and draw your text
We used adhesive plastic to make the letters. To make sure they'd look good, we picked a projector to draw the text on it. We had to invert the image to get it right on the other side, but it would work either way.

If you make a big-ass kite, you'll probably be able to carry some more text. I think it would work well with some symbols. You can also use a different sled shape, there's a bunch to choose from.

We picked a text that is a homage to the neightborhood we're doing the kite residency, Brasília Teimosa, in Recife. Teimosa means obstinate, stubborn. The place got its name from the way it was squatted, evicted and stubbornly re-occupied in the 50's, the same time when the country's new capital, Brasília, was being built. It ended up becoming one of the biggest favelas (shantytowns) in Recife. So the kite says something like "hurray to obstination".
Step 4: Cut and paste!

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We've drawn the letters on the plastic so we'd get them on the right place.
Step 5: Fly away your kite!

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Sled kites are remarkably stable and easy to fly. Just pick a place away from power lines, poles and other obstacles and you're set.

This kite was designed on the Eletropipas residency, part of the "Interações Estéticas em Pontos de Cultura", from the Ministry of Culture, Brazil. Check other projects on our blog http://eletropipas.blogspot.com/. More instructables coming soon!