Lawrence Hargrave invented the first box kites.
He proved that a flying machine could be safe.
He also built steam engines.
Lawrence Hargrave (1850 - 1915)
Lawrence Hargrave (1850 - 1915) researched the way various types of kites flew and in 1893 he invented the first box kite.
This is a box kite. Lawrence Hargrave invented the first one. ©Getty
Testing his box kites
Hargrave wanted to fly in one of his kites and, after many trials, on 12 November 1894, at the beach at Stanwell Park in New South Wales, he joined four box kites together, attached a seat and flew five metres into the air. The kites were attached to the ground by wire. This demonstration proved to people that a safe flying machine was possible. His box kites were more stable and had greater lift than monoplanes.
When the first European aircraft were built, they used Hargrave-type box kites for their supporting surface.
Hargrave tested his kites at Stanwell Park beach 1894
Hargrave's other research into flight
In 1884 and 1892 he experimented with monoplane models.
In 1892 he discovered that a wing with a curved surface gave greater lift than a wing with a flat surface.
Hargrave's steam engines
Hargrave built seventeen steam engines in an attempt to create an engine that would be light and powerful enough to get his flying machines into the air, keep them there and propel them in a horizontal direction. None was successful. In 1889 he built a rotary aeroplane engine.
About the man
Hargrave, and his box-kites, are engraved on every Australian $20 note
Lawrence Hargrave was born in Greenwich, England on January 29, 1850.
He arrived in Australia in 1865. (His father was already in New South Wales since 1856)
In 1872 he went exploring in New Guinea.
In 1878 he went to work as an assistant astronomical observer at Sydney Observatory.
It’s a good idea to get information from more than one source!
See Hargraves' box kite models
http://www.design-technology.org/models.htm
Read more about Hargraves and his kites
http://kitehistory.com/Miscellaneous/Hargrave.htm
Read instructions about how to make a box kite of your own
http://www.my-best-kite.com/how-to-build-a-box-kite.html