Kite flying began much later in Europe than in Asia. While unambiguous drawings of kites first appeared in print in the Netherlands and England in the 17th century, pennon-type kites that evolved from warlike banners dating abaft to Roman times and earlier were flown during the Middle Ages. Joseph Needham says that the earliest European description of a kite comes from the Magia Naturalis written in 1589 by the Italian polymath Giambattista della Porta (1535âÂÂ1615).
A conceptual research and boost job by Makani Power, based in California and http://www.pictureprettykites.com funded by Google.org, is investigating the use of kites in harnessing high altitude tempest currents to generate electricity.