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How to fly a Chinese Dragon Kite

I. Safety Precautions:

1. Fly in a big open area, free from power lines, trees, houses and cliffs.
2. Wear gloves to protect your hands.
3. Have 2 to 3 people assisting.
4. Children and elderly people should not fly the Dragon Kite alone.
5. Fly in steady, moderate wind only; strong wind may tangle the kite.

II. Prepare for Launch:

1. Tie flying line securely to the bridle on the dragon head but do not connect the head to the body yet.
2. Neatly spread out the dragon body in a straight line. If there is a moderate amount of wind it helps to keep the disks flat on the ground, facing up such that they do not accidentally catch wind and blow away or tangle. Make sure there are no tangled lines as you lay the disks out in a straight line.
3. Still keeping the disks flat on the ground, connect the 2 side hooks on the front most disk to the back of the dragon head.
4. Before you attach the middle hook to the back of the dragon head, which will align the disks into the wind, have a person holding the very end of the tail so that the body does not prematurely launch before you are ready. Connect the 3rd middle hook to the dragon head.

III. To Launch:

1. With the dragonhead kite still on the ground, one person stands in front of the dragonhead kite, holding the kite line (back toward the wind).
2. Another person assists with the launch at the end of the tail body (the launcher).
3. The launcher gently holds onto the last disk of the tail body and raises it into the wind, lifting the tail up overhead while backing up to make the tail body taut.
4. The launcher then lets go the the tail and the wind will carry up the train of disks as well as the head.

IV. To Take Down:

1. Walk towards the kite while pulling the kite line and winding it back onto the spool.
2. Pulling too quickly may drive the kite higher, and if there is moderate wind pulling the string very hard you may need to run for a few steps towards the kite until the kite loses wind and the kite starts to float gently to the ground.

V. To Store:

1. Hold the disks flat on the ground so that the wind does not easily pick the kite up again while you are packing it away and disconnect the hooks to separate the body and head.
2. Neatly stack all the disks and store them inside the box.
3. Place the dragon head and spool inside the box until your next flight.

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