A kite is the simplest way to put something of your own into the air, and the only one that still works on a day when a light glider would have no chance. Printed plastic kites assemble within minutes, need no gluing and no painting, and shrug off hard arrivals. They belong on an open field, a beach or a hill clear of trees and wires — exactly where the flow is steady and there is room for a run.
For a first flight look for wind that reliably holds one direction; gusts throw a kite about and discourage a beginner faster than anything else. Launch downwind from a helper's hand and pay the line out smoothly until it takes height. To keep flying when the air goes still, reach for chuck gliders, which need nothing more than calm. The whole branch of controlled and free-flight models is in RC models and chuck gliders, and the wider leisure range in other modelling products.
