Target-kites
The term target kite generally refers to the war-time kites used for shipboard anti-aircraft gunnery practice. These were the invention of Paul Garber, doing war work while on leave from the Smithsonian (where he was responsible for the acquisition of much of the Air and Space collection).
The kites were ordinary two-spar Eddy style kites with a height of about five feet. The sail was sky blue with the profile of a Japanese Zero or German aircraft painted in black. Attached at the lower end of the vertical spar is a small rudder, much like a boat's rudder. The rudder is controlled by two kite lines, which are also used to fly the kite. The two lines come down to earth and terminate at a either a flying bar (a bar with spools at either end) or a special two-spool reel which incorporated a ratchet mechanism to assist in equalizing line length. The spool was in the center of a wooden bar which held the lines a fixed distance apart.
Read more about this topic: Kite Control Systems