History of the Great American Kite, "Old Glory"

The History of “Old Glory”

How a world-class Mega-Flag kite became one of the most unforgettable sights in the sky

There are kite moments people remember for years—the kind that make a whole field go quiet for a second while everyone looks up. A giant American flag lifting into the wind is one of those moments. At Great American Kites & Events, we call the Great American Kite, "Old Glory", and while it feels timeless when it’s flying, its story is rooted in a very specific chapter of kite history: the early-2000s push to build kites at true world-record scale while keeping them stable, flyable, and safe.

The road to the record setting kites

Large kites didn’t evolve simply by making smaller designs bigger. As sizes increased, the engineering problems multiplied—pull, handling, safety, and recovery all became more complex. One of the most important breakthroughs in the modern era was the refinement of soft, inflatable, sparless kite designs—kites that rely on air pressure and internal structure rather than rigid frames. That design approach made it possible to build enormous single-line kites that could still be managed by an experienced crew.

By the mid-1990s, Peter Lynn Kites was already shaping the modern mega-kite era with historic designs such as the Megabite (1995) & MegaRay (1997), which later earned Guinness recognition under the standards used at the time. These projects helped establish the principles that would later define the Mega-Flag: maximize visual impact while minimizing unnecessary pull and complexity.

A new benchmark for size

The Mega-Flag concept accelerated in the early 2000s, culminating in a commission from Kuwait. In February 2004, the Al-Farsi team collaborated with Peter Lynn to build an enormous Kuwaiti flag kite. The result was not just a giant kite—it was a new benchmark for what a soft kite could be at full scale.

On February 15, 2005, Guinness World Records recognized the Kuwait flag kite as the largest kite flown in that record lineage, documenting 10,968.4 sq ft (1,019 m²) laid flat and approximately 10,225.7 sq ft (950 m²) of lifting area when inflated. Roughly 130 feet wide by 80 feet deep. That distinction matters, because mega-kites can be described in more than one legitimate way: the “laid-flat” area measures the fabric footprint, while “lifting area” reflects the kite’s effective, inflated flight surface. 

Where "Old Glory" enters the story

The Kuwaiti inflated flag kite was just the start. In 2005, Peter Lynn also produced  Japan’s “Mega Moon” and our Great American Kite, "Old Glory." 

The next innovation 

Those three flags only held the record size kite for 6 years. Leading to Peter Lynn's next ground breaking design for the Al Farsi. Next came "The Pearl" which is an overly large Ray platform measured at 13,454.89 sq ft (1250 m²). The Pearl held the thrown for 6 more years, until 2018 when Peter Lynn built the next best design to the world, again for the Al Farsi. 

The current Guinness record holder for “Largest kite flown” recognizes The Hope—flown at Berck-sur-Mer, France on April 17, 2018, with 1,210 m² laid-flat area and roughly 1,128 m² lifting area when inflated. The Hope offered a larger size, and a new design for self stability, being the first overlarge kite that can fly without sidelines as how the Mega Moon, Kuwaiti Mega Flag, & Old Glory were originally designed in 2005. 

- Guinness World Records: Largest kite flown
  https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/largest-kite-flown
- SurferToday: A brief history of recent large kites
  https://www.surfertoday.com/kiteboarding/a-brief-history-of-recent-large-kites
- KiteLife: Issue 43 — Mega Flag Experience (David Gomberg)
  https://kitelife.com/2005/08/01/issue-43-mega-flag-experience/
- KiteLife: Issue 64 — Guinness Record for World’s Largest Kite
  https://kitelife.com/2009/02/01/issue-64-guinness-record-worlds-largest-kite/
- TopWorldRecords (background summary)
  https://topworldrecords.blogspot.com/2009/03/megaflag-biggest-kite-in-world-by-peter.html