Fire kite

I will show you how to make a extremely dangerous fire kite.

My friend told me about this from another friend so I dont know how this originated. Anyway basically when you set the kite on fire it heats air trapped in pocket, and then rises like a hot air balloon and eventually incinerating its self about 30-40 feet in the air!!!

Honestly I have only been allowing the kites to get 10 feet into the air after that Ive been shooting them down with a fire extinguisher; a ball of fire rising above the tree line late at night might piss off the neighbors

Bellow is a video of a fire kite it is not my firekite I didnt make it film it or post it on youtube I take no credit in making this video, I will post my own after I have a chance to film it

i can not post a video of my own because my area has had 2/5th the amount of rain it normally receives thierfor i do not intend to set a of a device that will fly up into the air dropping ashes as it goes

Step 1 Get materials

All you need for this is a hole sheet of newspaper, a stapler, and fire.

Comments

[pyromaniacguy]

I made a few out of printer paper for new years:p

[Manny B]

My brothers and I used to launch these out in the desert almost 40 years ago. Not a lot to burn in the way of forests out there. Great fun for kids (make sure one is responsible, though)
I'm not sure how this would work in humid climates but in places with calm thin air, you get some real height.
As far as tape or staples, staples worked pretty good, but truth be told we used small twigs to braid the corners of the paper. (We were poor but creative!) A stapler was a luxury.
Have fun and be safe!

[gbarbu]

I successfully launched these many times as a kid - a failure was rare. However, when I tried recently with a grandson, I found the newspaper disintegrated rather than formed an ash "balloon." I think the paper used for newsprint has changed over the years and the ash doesn't hold together as it did 50 years ago.

[wenpherd]

iv seen this before in a book called backyard ballistics it is a awsome

[xProShotx]

same dude i got it over in the uk
tried but it failed
i thinks this show a little bit more explanation

[zachthebeast]

i tried it and it was beast i put a fire cracker on it and an exsplosive ending

[joemonkey]

dude i love the hot wheels radar gun!

[i make shooting things]

Yess i just revamped it all jet black. Didnt do a great job at tracking the lacrosse balls though.

[zachary978]

will it work if you use tape instead of staples? I need to know.

[i make shooting things]

yeah it should just dont weigh it down to much.

[Schober]

The other guy with a similar Instructable made his out of tape, and in the video he posted the tape melted and it kinda fell apart.

[genericanonymity]

I think I'd like to take this idea to the burning man festival. It gets pretty cold there at night, so it should work out. Is it possible to slow the burning by dampening the paper slightly? I'm wondering if I can use a light misting bottle filled with water to slow things down.

[i make shooting things]

dont know but oldnews paper is free.

[sterlingsilver]

Wouldn't it work better if you sealed the pocket completely so less hot air gets out?

[i make shooting things]

yeah but that adds weight. and sense its one fire tape would burn and more staples would weight it down to much.

[acetomato]

use a little duct tape

[i make shooting things]

or maybe some of that aluminum tape now that i think about it. Just a small piece though, it would also add some structural support (i think)

[Allyoes]

Sweet, but isn't that dangerous to launch a kite on fire into the air??

[i make shooting things]

yes.

[quploid]

These fire kites are harder to make work in warm weather. Doing one in Florida almost requires a winter night.

[googbar]

Hey cool. I used to do a lot of this when I was under my teens. We called these "chicken balloons", cause they wont fly too high (about 5m was the highest I saw one go) then "pfff" turn into dead ashes.

[i am hammy]

i didnt think this was dangerous

[geeklord]

sweet!

[santy22]

I will show you how to make a extremely dangerous fire kite. Best instructable intro evar! (+10 awesomity points because of "extremely dangerous")

[Danfelix8]

It didnt work .....

[i make shooting things]

its hard to get right. try again, the more people you have lighting it the more likely it will fly

[acattaca]

low humidity is a must to have this work. also, you need a large format newspaper, tabloids don't really work. nice and neat, like the pic, is swell. you can twist the four corners together instead of taping.

[acattaca]

oh yeah, only do it when there is no wind, and on a non-flammable surface like concrete, and be smart and don't start a grass fire or forest fire.

[blugyblug]

Lol that awesome. You can make a mini version of this with a teabag. Striaghten out the teabag by removing the little staple thing and then take off the label. Put your finger inside and push it into a long cyclinder. (The teabag is actually a flatten cyclinder folded in half). Stand it up vertically and set it on fire. NOTE: Some teabags arent flattened cyclinders, so they wont work.

[Kinnishian]

Awesome! Will be making one on the frozen pond :-)!!!!!

[Mintyhippo]

neat! +1

[brainspater]

That would work good as a flare if you were lost.

[i is ninja]

good job ben, btw this is john

[i make shooting things]

hey good to talk to some i actually know in person if u got any Qs Pm (private message) me

[WonderhowTo]

This became famous as the Cincinatti Fire Kite. The reason was that it burned down about 1/3 of the city about 80 years ago when someone made one there. I had to research it for WonderHowTo.com. The Cincinatti Fire Kite you made is awesome!

[Hawaii00000]

I tried it and it worked. It worked It worked!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[plasmaspy]

awesum =)

[jueston]

once i saw someone use a big trashbag and a very light suspended tray under it with something burning in it to make what basically amounts to a really small hot air balloon... its basically the same idea this is just small and disposable... and much faster...

[i make shooting things]

ahh yes the Chinese sky lantern apx retail $10 per balloon flys 4.5 min reaches altitude of apx 1 mile high 100% biodegradable.

[blaznmonkey]

i made one and the wind picked up and it went over my house my house didn't burned though