Like any group of people with similar interests, kiters have their own terminology, both real and made up or slang. Below is some of that. Let us know if we missed something!

Airfoil: a surface especially curved to make air flowing across it provide lift.

Appliqué: A decorative design made by cutting pieces of material and applying them to the surface of another; to decorate something in this way, such as a paneled rainbow colored kite.

Batten: Flexible strips or spars placed in pockets in the sail of a kite to help maintain the sail's rigid shape. The lightweight spar strengthens the curvature of the kites body or wing.

Beaufort Scale: a scale for gauging wind speed by observing conditions on the ground.

Bridle: The lines that attach directly to the kite frame and in turn attach to the flying lines. Other than tying everything together, the main purpose of the bridle is to govern the kite's angle of attack, i.e. the angle in relation to the wind. This can be adjusted to accomodate a particular wind speed.

Bowstring: the string that secures the curved spar of a bowed kite.

Carbon: One of the three most used composites for kite framing, carbon spars (rods) are made of carbon fiber, which is a stronger, material than fiberglass and considerably lighter and stiffer. A word of warning: if you break a carbon or fiberglass spar, handle it very carefully. They have splinters and can be very painful if they penetrate your skin. We speak from experience!

Cover: the fabric of a kite, covering the frame and designed to catch the air. It can be made of paper, cloth or nylon. Also called the sail or skin.

Dacron: A (trademark) used for a synthetic polyester textile fiber. A common construction material for kite bridles and flying lines. Dacron lines are thicker and softer than so called "microlines" and comes in different weights that identify its strength. Dacron as a fabric can be used to make the sail of a kite.

Dihedral: a V-shaped angle, where the kite face is divided into two planes. Created by either bowing the cross-spar or using an angled dihedral piece.

Downwind: the direction the wind is blowing.

Drag: the resistance of a kite to the wind. The amount is affected both by the weight of the kite and by its surface area.

Drogue: a conical "cup" open at both ends. They are sometimes used instead of a tail as they do not need to be so long. It has the same effect on a kite's flying behavior as the tail.

Dyneema line: Dyneema has a slightly different molecular structure than Spectra and slightly better wear characteristics in heavy use areas, but it has a bit more elasticity than Spectra. This is a good, less expensive alternative to Spectra.

Fiberglass: A material composed of glass fibers in an epoxy matrix. This is an excellent kite material that combines strength and flexibility with relative lightweight. It comes in several forms from solid fiberglass rod to hollow tubes. Fiberglass spars have replaced the use of wood rods in kite building. Warning: broken spars have splinters that are barbed, and if they penetrate your skin they can be extremely painful to remove. We speak from experience!

Flying line: The flying lines of the kite are the lines that are used to control the kite.

Frame: poles, rods or sticks that hold the kite in shape. Parts of the frame have many different names, but the most common are spar (a rod that goes roughly side-to-side; longeron or spine (a rod that goes front-to-back); spreader (a rod that holds other rods apart); riser (small rod that lifts part of the kite out of the flat plane). A lot of different materials are used. Modern kites mostly use fiberglass or carbon/graphite.

Graphite: Carbon based substance that when bonded in an epoxy matrix layer produces an exceptionally strong but very light material ideal for kite frames. Graphite spars are lighter and stiffer than fiberglass though more fragile. They are lighter than their carbon cousins and a bit more expensive. It is available in solid rod form and hollow wound or protruded tubes.

Hummer: a tiny kite accessory that when attached to a kite spins with such a force that they whiz and hum. Can also be a ribbon device with the same result.

Keel: a triangular fitting on some kites which adds stability in flight. A keel is also a common ridle attachment point.

Kevlar: A type of extremely strong synthetic line with low stretch qualities that was used in the early 90’s for flying kites. It is extremely dangerous because it is so sharp. The preferred line for single line kites is nylon, polyester or Dacron. For sport/stunt kites most fliers use Spectra.

Kite Train: two or more kites flown from the same control line.

Leading Edge: the front edge of the kite sail. The edge that meets the wind first.

Lift: an upward force, created by wind pressure on the kite face.

Line: the string you hold when the kite is in the air.

Line Laundry: Anything that you can hang from your kite or on the line going to your kite is called line laundry. Examples are tails, streamers, wind wheels, spinning baskets, spinners, dynamos, flag lines, tube tails, fuzzy tails, magic tails, spin socks, hypno twisters and on and on, the list is endless. All of them add an exciting, colorful addition to your kite.

Mylar: Is a lightweight, very low-stretch material that has revolutionized the sail making industry. It is lower in stretch than other woven fabrics. Very thin Mylar is also used to cover small kites and dragon kites.

Reel: the object that stores the flying line, similar in some ways to a fishing reel. This can be a simple set of sticks with the flying line wrapped around, plastic handles with a pair of projecting forks to wrap the line around (the most common form), or winders that look a lot like a fishing reel. Whatever form they take, it is vital that you make sure that the end of the flying line is actually tied to the winder, or you will get to the end of your flying line and simply lose the kite to the wind.

Rip-stop: This term refers to the type of weave that incorporates smaller fibers with larger fibers creating squares of reinforcing fibers in the cloth, which make it resistant to tearing. It is generally made of nylon or polyester and if it tears, it will most often stop when the tear reaches the reinforcement. It is lightweight, has low stretch characteristics and is perfect for kite making.

Rip-stop Polyester: Originally developed for America's Cup sailboats, it is a very strong, lightweight sailcloth. Most top-flight kite designers use it because it is exceptionally strong and lightweight with very low stretch. Polyester absorbs less water than Nylon, so a kite will stay much lighter on high humidity days. Polyester also has a higher resistance to UV rays from sunlight, and its colors will last much longer before fading.
 

Rok: Pronounced Rock. Short for Rokakku. Rokkaku means 6-sided, and is famous for its excellent stability and simplicity of construction. This kite was born in Sanjo, northern center of Japan and is also called as Sanjo-Rokkaku. Today, this type of kite is made with variety of materials and are seen around the world. Any size can be built and it is very stable at any wind speed. Both the Rokkaku and the smaller rectangular Buka have been adopted and further developed by western kite enthusiasts. This is a favorite of NYKE!

Sail: see Cover.

Sleeving: A short braided line covering (usually 12 inches) which encloses the ends of flying lines and helps to increase the line strength at their tie points and prevent wear. Normally used to cover Spectra or Dyneema line since niether hold a knot very well and can cut themselves at the knot.

Spar: The horizontal part of a kite frame.

Spectra©: A very slippery synthetic fiber used in making kite line. It has a great strength to weight ratio with low stretch characteristics. With this line a sport/stunt kite flier is able to do more revolutions in a line without loss of control or breakage. It is used almost exclusively when flying dual or quad-line kites. It is expensive, but worth it. Its only disadvantage is its low melting point making it easy to be cut by other types of line.

Spine: The vertical part of a kite frame.

Spreaders: The spreaders are the horizontal rods that keep the kite in it's shape.

Stability: The ability of a kite to keep flying on a straight course.

Streamers: See line laundry.

Strut: Extra pieces of dowel or bamboo which reinforce the frame.

Swivel: A device, adopted from fishermen's gear, used to attach a flying line to a kite. Formerly used to attach flying lines to sport/stunt kites, this practice has been discontinued and replaced by a method of using a lark’s head knot at the end of the flying line tied behind a knot on the bridal line. This method is more efficient and removes a problematic component (the swivel) in the line system.

Tail: fabric or paper tied on to the line or streamers attached to the bottom of the kite which adds to the kite's stability. Used to keep kites stable, pointing the right way, or just for decoration, tails are long, narrow and flexible

Tow point: The part of the bridle where the flying lines are attached.

Trailing Edge: the back edge of the sail.

Turbulence: currents of wind created by obstacles in its path. This is 'mixed-up' wind, with flows in more than one direction (sometimes even down!).

Upwind: the direction the wind is blowing from.

Vent: opening in the kite sail to improve stability. Mostly used to allow a kite to fly in high winds.

Wind Speed: the speed of air on the face of the kite.

Wind Range: A term used to describe the range of winds that a kite will fly well in. Usually given in mph or kph.

Wind Window: A half moon in which a stunt kite flies, determined by the length of the lines. At the edges of the window the kite will slow and has a tendency to fall.

Winders: See reel.