Winter 2006 - 2007 Volume 28, Issue 4 $7.50

th 29 AKA Convention K-Files Dieppe Gary WSIKF Engvall

with KAPtions Chat the Champ Chen Zhou Ji 2006’s Best CONTENTS Plan 29th AKA Con- Build Deb vention 5 Cooley’s trap- 24 Full coverage padella of all things Des Moines

Voice From Paper The Vault 6 The Drachen 34 The shy and Foundation retiring Scott hangs up the Spencer washi

Dieppe SunFest America and Fun begins on the 8 37 other coun- 34 beach in Ocean tries invade City France

Niagara Bell’s Cells Spanning the Alexander Gra- 10 gorge like Homan 35 ham Bell gets Walsh tetrahedral

K-Files KAPtions The crafts- You’ve selected 12 manship of the year’s top Gary Engvall photos

WSIKF Long Beach cel- 22 ebrates a silver anniversary 3 AKA News 4 President’s Page 14 Clubs 15 Event Calendar Kite Books 17 Conferences 21 Craig Wilson 18 Member Merchants looks down on 30 Fightin’ Words Wisconsin 38 Regional Reports 52 People+Places+Things On the cover: The Duke, Jerry Houk’s 1st place rokkaku, watches over John Wayne’s home state of Iowa.

Winter ’06-’07 | Kiting 1 AKA DIRECTORY AKA NEWSof Ferndale, Michigan. For just $1, you farewell to a friend, to a member of The Votes Are In... With 1009 valid ballots cast, Susan can be like Carol and win a free trip to the extended family. Skinner was elected President with 608 the Ocean Shores convention in 2007. It is disturbing how often the votes, to Rob Cembalest’s 386 votes. Contact your regional director, or the families of kiters who have passed american kitefliers aka committees Others receiving votes were David raffle lady herself, Marla Miller of Re- away have no idea what to do with association Gomberg, Larry Stiles, Gary Engvall, gion 10. their loved one’s collection of sky toys. Mel Hickman, Executive Director education & public service Richard Dermer, Corey Jensen, Lisa We have received calls here asking for Mailing: P.O. Box 1614, Walla Walla, WA 99362 Web/Internet Outreach Chuck Sigal 510/524-3459 Phone/Fax: 800/252-2550 Willoughby, Gayle Woodul, and the National Kite Month Poster suggestions from families not want- National Kite Month Mike Dallmer 215/722-4092 Web: www.aka.kite.org Kite Records Ted Manekin 716/639-7679 legendary Puff Cow. This year National Kite Month will ing to simply throw kites away or send E-mail: [email protected] Education Ronda Brewer 541/994-7556 In regional elections, , them to the local Goodwill. officers and festivals / competitions Marla Miller, Wayne Brooks, and Linda Sanders won uncontested races in Re- We encourage executive committee Fighter Kites Sharon Champie 707/545-6737 you to plan now Susan Skinner, President Kitemaking Barbara Meyer 763/424-2571 gions 9, 10, 12, and 13, respectively. In 2381 Nobili Ave., Santa Clara, CA 95051 Sport Kites Jim Barber 360/289-4915 Region 11, Brian Champie was elected for the disposition World Championships David Gomberg 541/996-3083 408/554-8399 [email protected] over John Gillespie, 57-43. Complete of your lifetime administration accumulation results are available in the Clubhouse Barbara Meyer, First Vice President at www.aka.kite.org. of kites. If your 10361 108th Place, Osseo, MN 55369 Ways & Means David Butler 503/524-3315 family doesn’t 763/424-2571 [email protected] Contract Services Gayle Woodul 830/598-2414 Safety & Insurance Jerry McGuire 513/831-8379 want them, leave By-laws Ted Manekin 716/639-7679 2007 Logo Competition th instructions for Gayle Woodul, Second Vice President Archives & Records Mel Hickman 503/717-0627 Our 30 Annual Convention will Elections Al Sparling 630/369-9682 them to go to a fellow kiter, to your lo- 106 Main Street, Marble Falls, TX 78654 be on the sandy ocean beaches of the run from March 31 till April 30, 2007. 830/598-2414 [email protected] Nominations Kathy Brinnehl 630/271-0765 cal kite club, or to the AKA. beautiful Northwest Coast from Octo- To kick this off, the AKA is announc- promotion & membership While we are talking about the David Butler, Treasurer ber 1-6, 2007. Flying on the beach... ing a little contest. Design the 2007 14550 Chesterfield Lane, Tigard, OR 97224 Membership Russ Faulk 630/530-8690 future, we here at the AKA hope that what could be better?! Would you NKM poster and win a set of five 2’ tall 503/524-3315 [email protected] Renewal and Retention Mel Hickman 503/717-0627 we have helped you enjoy the sky, that International Linda Sanders +61/885-562696 like to join hundreds of your kitefly- Rubber Duck Banners designed by Mike we have added to the simple pleasure Kathy Brinnehl, Secretary annual meeting ing friends at your convention in this Dallmer. Send entries or questions to: 60 W. Piers Drive, Westmont IL 60559 of tugging on a . Our goal re- 630/271-0765 [email protected] beautiful part of our country with [email protected] The Convention Mike Shaw 303/984-4159 mains to encourage people everywhere Hospitality Susan Gomberg 541/996-3083 absolutely no registration fee? We will poster will be made available to all Ronda Brewer, Director at Large Fly Market Ron Lindner 636/677-3029 who want it, as well as being down- to enjoy flying kites. If you would 735 SE Jetty, P. O. Box 988, Lincoln City OR 97367 award a free registration to the AKA Mass Ascensions Al Sparling 630/369-9682 541/994-7556 [email protected] loadable from the AKA website. like to help us continue doing this in Auction Doug Charleville 757/852- member who submits the winning logo Workshops 3522 All entries must be the original art the future, please consider leaving a Mike Dallmer, Director at Large design for the 2007 Convention. Deb Lenzen 701/463-2661 bequest to the AKA in your will. We 7204 Oakley Street, Philadelphia, PA 19111 The logo design will be used on the work of the entrant, received no later will use it to open the sky to as many 215/722-4092 [email protected] convention patch, pin, shirts and other then January 2, 2007 and become the potential kiters as possible. Russ Faulk, Director at Large convention materials. Your design property of the AKA. 177 W. Vallette Street, Elmhurst, IL 60126 must look good in formats ranging from 630/530-8690 [email protected] 1” to 10”. Remember, simple color Requirements New Fighter Reps Mike Shaw, Director at Large schemes translate best for silkscreen, • 8 ½” x 11” Need info about fighter kites? Got 6910 West 25th Place, Lakewood, CO 80214 some to pass along? Contact your new 303/ 984-4159 [email protected] cloisonné and embroidery – as well as • Color is help keep our production cost down. preferred regional representative. Kiting Make sure your design incorporates the • Must include Phil Broder, Publisher/Editor red AKA logo, convention year, city and East Coast, Regions #1, 2, 3, 4 Mailing: 904 Bayview Road, Rio Grande, NJ 08242 a blank space Andy Selzer, Sicklerville, NJ Phone: 609/465-6575 state. The winning design will look for organizers Woody Woods, N. Dighton, MA E-mail: [email protected] good in color, in black and white, be to write in scalable, and suitable for many uses. Kiting is published quarterly by the American Kitefliers event details Association and distributed free to members. Please You may be required to submit al- Mid-States, Regions #5, 6, 7, 8 Preferred format is .doc or .jpg. contact the editor for information on submissions, ternative versions if necessary. Please • Terry McPherson, Fenwick, MI advertising, and deadlines. submit your original design, preferably • Should include the following logos Dave Young, Duncan, OK (available from Mike Dallmer): Na- convention management using vector graphics, to Annual_meet- Maggie Vohs, Convention Manager [email protected] or by mail to Mike tional Kite Month, American Kitefliers West Coast, Regions #9, 10, 11, 12 Cameo Management Solutions, Inc. Shaw (see address at left). Association, Kite Trade Association In- Jay Bell, Lodi, CA P.O. Box 410, Otis, OR 97368 ternational, and the corporate sponsor. Steve Bateman, LaMesa, CA Phone: 541/994-4252 All entries must be original art Fax: 541/994-3459 work of the AKA member entrant, Web: www.cameomanagement.com International, Region #13 E-mail: [email protected] received no later than February 23, Planning, Just In Case 2007 and become the property of the Probably the hardest task the Vaino Raun, Ontario, Canada American Kitefliers Association. Executive Director has is to deal with the death of an AKA member. Chang- Founded in 1964 by Robert M. Ingraham, the American Kitefliers Associa- Free Trip To Ocean Shores! ing their status from “regular mem- tion is a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating the public in the The lucky winner of a free Conven- ber” to “Empty Space In The Sky” is art, history, technology, and practice of building and flying kites. tion 2006 registration was Carol Jarvie always difficult, always an occasion for somber reflection. It is like bidding Winter ’06-’07 | Kiting 3 2 Kiting | Winter ’06-’07 T HEwenty years P ago, myRESI then-boyfriend daskedENT me to go same’S time helpP the AKAa betterGE serve our members and the K ThisITE trapezoidal P variationL ofa the dellaportaN was taught With the spars in,Trapadella you can burn a small hole for the to the beach and fly kites with him. I pictured us kiting community at large. Please contact your regional by Deb Cooley at the 2006 Fort Worden Kitemakers Retreat. upper bridle attachment, at the reinforced point where the T relaxing on a blanket with a kite floating above our director to get involved. She credits John Gabby with the design. The kite is a steady spars cross. head. Instead, that day I flew my first dual-line kite, a Membership continues to be an important issue for us. flyer in light to medium winds, but prefers to rise under its You also need 1 three stack of Trlbys. A year later we attended the Washing- In the early 1990s, sport kiting was a novelty, and the mere own power without having its line tugged. a /8” fiberglass 3 ton State International Kite Festival on our honeymoon. For appearance of one could stop traffic in every direction. Cut out a sail from /4 ounce nylon with an upper edge or carbon rod for my husband, Darrin, and me, kite flying is a major part of Kiting as a whole rode the wave of curiosity created by 15”, a trailing edge 45”, and a top-to-bottom vertical the arched spar our life. It is with great enthusiasm and a tremendous sense them. Sport kites are no longer a novelty; individuals have length of 54”. Decorate the sail as you will. Next, cut out a on the trailing of honor that I write to you today as your president. hundreds of new activities competing for their time. We pie-wedge-shaped edge. This should When I first announced my run for president, many of can no longer ride the wave and expect people to find us; reinforcement for be about 48” long my closest friends looked at me and said, “Are you sure we must learn how to market ourselves to them. Experts on each corner, out with end caps. Fit you want to do THAT?” Or, “Do you REALLY want to win?” nonprofit management all agree that marketing is essential of the same color it right into the I confess these were questions I had asked myself before for a nonprofit to grow or even just sustain themselves. fabric as the sail. lower pockets, putting my name on the ballot. In asking these questions, I We are not selling a tangible product; but we are selling Match the reinforce- alongside the found myself reading our mission statement in the bylaws the intangible idea of kite flying. Russ Faulk has joined the ments to the sail main spars. over and over. Every time I read it, I found I had another board as the membership chair and is writing the first-ever and sew along the Cut two piec- idea and a bigger smile on my face. marketing plan for the association. curved edge only. es of line — 86” The AKA has an incredible mission statement! We exist There needs to be more to us than marketing and busi- Cut a dacron and 94” — for the to share kiting with the world! I’ve ness plans; we need to be reaching triangle for each bridle. Take the heard people say that we need to of- out to the next generation of kitefli- corner. Both are shorter piece and fer more tangible benefits to attract ers as well. Ronda Brewer joins the 3.25” on a side, but tie it through the and grow our membership, that we board this year as the chairwoman with different angles. Cut another set like the first, only holes on the bot- need a larger magazine, more insur- for education. It has been a long slightly larger. Sew the smaller set of triangles onto the tom corners. Tie a ance or a better website. But our time since the AKA had a dedicated corners, along the top edge (hypotenuse) only. Then line loop in the longer mission is not to have “customers” education chairperson. Ronda and up the bottom edge of the larger triangle to the kite. Sew piece, put it through the upper bridle hole, and larkshead it of our “products.” Our mission is to her committee are concentrating on along one side to the corner of the kite. The extra fabric around the spars. Tie the opposite end to the lower bridle have partners to help us bring kite resources for our younger members leaves enough to make the pocket. Try to match up the leg to complete flying to the world. Our magazine, in- and teaching kite flying to them. If edge, and finish sewing. Do not sew across the top edge! the three-point surance and website are tools we use you are one of our many members Repeat this for all four corners. bridle. Attach a to spread kite flying, not the reason who regularly go out to our schools Once the corners are sewn split ring to the we exist. to teach kite making, Ronda would in, you can edge bind the upper leg to make We can make awesome strides like to hear about your experiences, kite. Use 1” slit tape, folded an adjustable tow toward our mission. Our commit- your successes and your tribulations, in half. A progressive zig-zag point. tees and the board of directors are so that we can share your knowledge or any other decorative stitch Don’t forget a defining our goals for the year. These with others. If you are one of our will work. tail! You can use goals will be combined to form a younger kite fliers, Ronda would es- Using a long ruler, mark from two separate tails, business plan. As a software devel- pecially like to hear from you. What the top corners to the oppo- a loop, or a Y. opment project manager in my day do you like most about kite flying and site corners. Draw a line on 3 job, it is second nature to me to have how can we make kite flying more the pockets. Sew a seam /8” a printed objective and a plan to accessible to you? to either side of it, making achieve it. Written goals give everyone a chance to partici- While the AKA is all about bringing the joy and value of sure that you gather the extra pate in a focused effort, so that we can achieve more than kite flying to the world, we are still subject to the forces of fabric so that the spars will fit we could individually. I invite each of you to contribute to that world. After eight years of no dues increase, it’s time into the pocket. On the bot- this plan by sending me a letter with your ideas. Then help to adjust for the effects of inflation. Membership dues will tom corners only, burn a small us by getting involved in accomplishing these goals. rise to $35 a year on January 1st. Renew now for up to three hole on either side of the The regional directors of our association have a hard years in advance at the old rate. pocket seam for the bridles. job. These people are truly super heroes who go to extreme Spring and National Kite Month are just around the cor- Also mark where the two lengths to give the AKA a presence and a personal face at ner. Bringing kiting to the world is a tall order, but National long lines cross (approximately as many festivals as possible. With my day job, I will not Kite Month is up to the challenge. The AKA, in conjunction 14” from the top edge). Cut be able to travel extensively to help them in this task; but with the Kite Trade Association International, brings you out a small square of fabric, we have thousands of members, like you, who could. We NKM each year. For 2007, NKM will be March 31st - April 30th, two layers thick, the same are building panels of regional assistants, who can help the giving us five full weekends of kiting fun. Get involved by color as where the X marks the spot. Sew the square onto

regional directors bring this personal touch to more events planning your own event now; volunteer to help spread the back of the sail. Lindsey Johnson and members, without expecting our regional directors to the word and get a NKM proclamation signed in your area. You should add tail attachments. A small loop of gros- be more than human. Would you enjoy keeping in touch Check out www.nationalkitemonth.org or contact Mike grain ribbon or a short piece of line with a knot at the end with the kite clubs and stores in your area? Would you like Dallmer. will work. Sew them onto the trailing edge at the corners. to greet new members or perhaps be the official member- Kiting is a passion best You will need four spars (.2600 carbon) with two fer- ship recruitment officer for a day at a local festival? Our shared; invite someone to join rules, making two longer spars. Put one end into the top new regional associates are there to help with all these you and your kites on your next pocket and measure the length for the spar. It should be cut things. You can have fun helping other kitefliers and at the long enough to make the kite bow! Cut the other long spar A different look: a train of trappadellas in flight. to match, put on vinyl caps, and assemble the kite. Winter ’06-’07 | Kiting 5 4 Kiting | Winter ’06-’07 didn’t invent the kite, but he did volunteer opportunities because he VOICES FROM THE VaULT originate the whimsical transition tail likes to give back while mingling with that flits about at nearly all modern a purpose. Lending a hand to staff a Scott Spencer by Patti Gibbons kiting events. In the late 1980s at the convention booth or set up for a field Chicago convention, Scott saw Lee Toy event helps “expose you more to other Back in the 1950s between sock imagination and irrevocably tilted there wasn’t a lot going on…the books playing with a telescopic pole clad people.” Scott greatly appreciates the hops, double features at the drive-in, the course of his life, luring him into and things in the library just weren’t with cloth strips. He went home and social dynamics at kite conventions. and cruisin’ Main Street with slick- the kiting world. As he unwrapped enough…you want more and more.” In tried to recreate it but ended up with Getting together, talking, seeing what haired friends, Ed Spencer and his high a 35-foot dragon kite, quickly chris- the twilight of the disco era, gates to a “drunken mistake” that turned into people are up to — now that’s were school sweetie Nancy started think- tened “Charlie,” Scott admired it and a new world opened wide and Scott the transition tail. Although his designs the action is for Scott. He enjoys nur- ing about their future, and went from thought, “this is nice, I think I can charged straight ahead into this new look rather complicated and daunt- turing friendships that develop from going steady to steadily attaining the make one.” Scott headed to the local kingdom. ing to make, Scott confesses, “I’m a their mutual interest in kites. “You classic American dream. The Philadel- fabric store and purchased supplies First and foremost Scott consid- lazy person…I wouldn’t be doing it if it have a starting point, kiting, that gives phia natives-turned-suburban-pioneers and set out, without plans, patterns, ers himself a kite maker. He likes weren’t easy.” you an openness.” However, there is married and had three kids in the new or blueprints, to make a 75-foot large, intricate kites that challenge Kites have been Scott’s passport no need to play nametag switch-a-roo bedroom community of Marlton, New dragon kite. He had a hunch how to his design and fabrication skills. “I over the years. Through kiting he’s when Scott is around, he’s not go- Jersey. Sandwiched between sisters, build one and started soaking wood loved working with my hands and [kite traveled to places he might have ing to catch the humor in those sorts Scott Spencer emerged from the tot dowels in the bathroom shower. Over making] is just another form of it.” never creates. Scott’s ongoing kite- missed had he not been a flier. Perhaps of tricks. “With some of the people lots and playgrounds of his youth, the course of a week, he coaxed and Scott’s background in woodworking making pursuits are ever evolving as he one of the more exotic flying trips was it takes me five years to remember perhaps a little shy and reserved, but bent them into a proto-skeleton for and even the sewing skills he picked digs deeper into what interests him. an excursion to Columbia. In the late their names, but I remember what primed for a life with creative spirit Charlie II. Fools may rush in where up as a Boy Scout all helped him get Kiting is more than just a creative 1990s, this South American govern- we talked about four years ago and that tugged him into the world of orga- halo-wearers make themselves scarce, a grip on his kite building. He doesn’t outlet for Scott, it has also pulled ment used kites to deliver an anti-drug three years ago …[I] know what they nized kite flying at a relatively young but Scott, flush with beginner’s luck, consider himself an artist, but rather him out of his shell. Shy by nature, campaign to its youth. Scott gladly flew and everything else, but names age. found victory with his first kite cre- a “frustrated perfectionist” who gets Scott finds kiting therapeutic to some flew for this good cause and found the are hard for me.” A rose by any other Scott took to kite making in his ation — Charlie II flew. And, if he did, happiness when others enjoy his work. degree. For him kiting is a way for public reception to be phenomenal. name is still a rose, and for Scott a young adulthood with great vigor, even “why not make it longer?” Feeling the The ultimate complement for Scott is him “to be an exhibitionist… and draw In Columbia “people are so friendly… kiteflier by any name is still a compa- though his earlier experi- when “…someone comes up to attention to himself” in a comfortable we were sports superstars” among dre. ences gave no indication of me and goes ‘where’d you get way. To some extent, Scott knows the the crowds of nearly 50,000 people. this latent passion. In fact, that?’” and he replies “‘I made acting bug has bitten him, and catch- The spectators cheered visiting fliers Scott’s childhood kite memo- that.’ That is joy.” ing people’s attention through his kites on and asked for their autographs, ries are rather raw. One Long trails of dragon tails and flying has magically soothed the while local children flew Bermuda- breezy afternoon Scott and captivated Scott’s imagination bashful kid within. style eight-sided tissue and plastic bag his father teamed up to fly and early on he began focusing Scott’s handmade kite creations kites. what was most likely a paper his building on these stretchy may soar and sometimes tumble, Scott, always a joiner, continues diamond kite that his dad creatures. Scott rented an but beyond being a kite maker, he his volunteer spirit at home as well as made and tethered to fishing apartment with a large attic is somewhat of an inventor. No, he overseas. At conventions he seeks out line on the end of an old rod. that he turned into his kite- His dad cast the kite into making studio. The roof’s pitch the sky and handed the rod left steep ceiling slants, but he over to Scott, sitting atop used the center of the room to the backyard fence. Young make jumbo kites that were Scott wailed and turned to hundreds of feet long. Scott his father for comfort and had a personal connection understanding. Eventually who gave him endless strips of the shock wore off and in industrial-grade parachute fab- time Scott befriended other ric scraps, and these lengthy kites. Occasionally Scott, cut-offs were sewed on and on his sisters, and a friend or two from thrill of success, Scott had his sights and on, giving life to many dragons in the neighborhood would fly kites in set on 150 feet. Looking back, Scott the attic. The compulsion to stretch a nearby field when the dairy cows remembers, “…as for mistakes, they further and further peaked at 1,033 weren’t around. The cows must have came later.” ½ feet. Scott thought he hit a record, liked onion grass a great deal — Scott With the success of Charlie II, Scott but at about the same time someone remembers, “their milk tasted funny.” started heading out to kite festivals, in Europe flew a 1,200-foot dragon. In Unlike stinky milk, kite flying eventu- meeting fellow fliers, and borrowing a sense dashed, but an impressive feat ally grew on Scott and he developed kite books from the library. Shortly nonetheless. an appetite for flying and kite making afterwards he started leaving hard After the Years of the Dragon, Scott that’s sustained him through adult- earned dough at kite stores. He also expanded his trick sheet to include in- hood. discovered Kite Lines magazine and tricate facet kites. When he achieved In 1978, shortly after Scott gradu- “joined the AKA for the newsletter.” mastery with those spindly charmers ated high school, his girlfriend re- During what Scott calls the “kiting pro- he got hooked on incorporating graphic turned from a family vacation to Cape gression,” one “…just grabs anything elements onto flat kites. A creative Cod bearing a slinky gift that bit his and everything you can get because mind never sleeps, and a sleepy mind

6 Kiting | Winter ’06-’07 Winter ’06-’07 | Kiting 7 Marla Miller adds... Dieppe: Between Flora And Fauna “This was the first time the AKA was recog- nized by the festival committee and we had by Miriam Schafler the use of a marquee like the other 38 invited or several years I’ve been listening to wondrous tales Zealand peppered the week with their vigorous and beauti- countries. I would like to thank the Dieppe about the Dieppe, France kite festival. So this year, ful movements. Cerf-Volant Organization for such a warm and FI made a hotel reservation in April, and registered Thursday was children’s day as hundreds of kids and wonderful invitation to the AKA. Many thanks with the French Cerf-Volant Festival Committee. Barbara teachers from around France paraded past our AKA tent, to Sandrine and Karine for all their hard work Hall and I found our way using our Eurail passes and the organized by Marla Miller and staffed by Ron Miller, Charlie helping the AKA.” Paris Metro to the Paris St. Lazare Gare. We successfully Sotich, Mike and Kay Woodring, Barbara Hall and Miriam transferred at Rouen to the Dieppe train. The stationmaster Schafler. Despite our limited French-speaking skills, we assured us it was only a 10-minute walk to our hotel. managed to draw many visitors to our tent with their ques- tions about the USA. The handcrafted competitions were held Friday and Saturday. Beautiful creations by Bill Farber of Australia with his “Walking on the Wild Side”, Mme. Theresa of France with her artistic asymmetric creation, Jose Sainz with his gorgeous fan-like paper and bamboo bird, Dutch- man Ton Vinkin with his miniature paper cutouts, dragons from Bali and Philipine paper kites attracted my attention. bus back to the hotel. Despite the light winds, Detroit’s Windjammers (Gary May- Dieppe is a festival for which it is worth saving your nard, James Kinsey, Michael Carlisle and George Wright III) money, practicing your French, and setting aside ten days kept their red, white and blue stacks up in the air for five in September 2008. Our public relations outreach was well shows a day. Additionally, they flew in the Friday evening received, and we will try to continue in coming alternate spectacular floodlit show. years to represent the AKA. To top off the events on the field, we visitors were We can all further promote world peace by acknowledg- able to join the invited kiteflyers for a Mayor’s reception ing the words in a kite arch flying over the entrance to the on Wednesday, where we got to kiss Dieppe’s Mayor and Dieppe field, proclaiming “One Sky, One World, One Village, his staff on both cheeks and thank them for this wonderful One People.” Until 2008, au revoir. event. Friday evening, we were all transported to a gym- nasium near Dieppe’s historical castle where we shared a What a nice surprise to find ourselves at a lovely coastal buffet dinner and more camaraderie. Marla even led a few town with open-air restaurants, a marina, fishing fleet, picturesque Saturday market and a Castle museum. Espe- cially tempting are the chocolate shops. A 10-minute walk became an hour stroll. Every two years just off the beach at Dieppe in Nor- Wu Wesson mandy, the French put together a world class kite festival that reminds everyone that peaceful kiteflying is a better alternative than destructive war. This year between Sep- tember 9th and 17th, outstanding kiteflyers from 38 coun- tries gathered to share their kites’ beauty and craftsman- ship to the theme of “Our Planet: Stroll Between Flora and Fauna.” Reminding us how fragile the environment is, the kite- flyers demonstrated their skills for nine days in very light, to light winds with gusts, to no winds under slightly over- cast skies. Two large grassy areas in front of a line of hotels along a boardwalk provided plenty of area for handcrafted kites, sport kites, fighter kites and a field for Revs and stacks. A rocky area along the seashore provided more room for public kiteflying and the large inflatables brought by of New Zealand. Invited from North America were Don Mock, George Peters, Jose Sainz (representing Mexico) and Lam Hoac For more info about Dieppe, and photos of (representing Canada). Scott Skinner of the Drachen Foun- this year’s festival, visit ... dation was also seen adding to the festivities. It was quite www.carnetdevol.org/reportages/dieppe06/ a sight to see the 38 international representatives juggle intro.html their creations around in the sky without getting tangled, a testimony to their incredible skills. Maori dancers from New

Winter ’06-’07 | Kiting 9 8 Kiting | Winter ’06-’07 rounds of “ Frere Jacque’” and “Alouette,” while riding the Bell’s original patent for tetrahedral cells. KITE HISTORY To honor the creative mind of Bell and to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the flight of the Cygnet, the Bell’s Cells by Scott Skinner Drachen Foundation invites you to build a Bell four-cell photos courtesy of the Drachen Foundation and the Library of Congress . The Foundation has easy-to-assemble kits with the necessary connectors and dowels, so that After describing ’s Sable Island kite (a version of Har- your four cells will be compatible with everyone else’s. grave’s ) in the last issue of Kiting, I will focus now on the tetrahedrals themselves. The Drachen Foundation Archive holds four early cells without sails Once constructed and flown, send in two photos of from Bell’s laboratory at Beinn Bhreagh, made before he had switched to alumi- your creation, one of the kite and one which proves its num tubing for the frames in October 1903. The slender 10-inch spars are black flyability. A distinguished panel of judges will choose spruce, held together with deftly designed connectors (now rusted) made from the most interesting applications of Bell’s tetra prin- tin cans. Hector McNeil, Bell’s foreman, fabricated the connectors for Bell, and ciples and award these individuals a $250 gift certifi- the two obtained a joint patent on them in 1907. J.H. Parkin has said, “It will be cate from Goodwind’s Kites. Visit www.drachen.org for evident to those familiar with shopwork that McNeil was a wizard with tools.” information. The cells Drachen Foundation holds support this judgment, as well as Bell’s own opinion of his tetra principle — “It is astonishing how solid such a framework ap- pears even when composed of very light and fragile material.” What path had Bell taken to tetrahedral construction? Curiosity had led his exploration in many directions. He had always been fascinated with flight, but witnessing Samuel Langley’s flying machine in 1891 had sparked that interest into activity. He began his flight experiments by trying to understand thrust; he constructed rocket- and steam-powered propellers and rotors of various designs to determine how to generate maximum thrust. Then his attention turned to the lifting properties of different airfoils or wing designs, and he had begun his kite experiments in 1896, not only to come to some understanding of lift but to study the properties of wind currents in his pursuit of manned flight. Bell had worked chiefly with kites based upon Australian ’s box kite, a design that had proven its worth in meteorological flights. But by 1902, Bell was incorporating the tetrahedral cell into his kites’ designs. (A tetrahedral figure is one in which three equi- lateral triangles are joined to form a four sided shape.) This configuration had many inherent advantages. The kites were structurally stronger, and by combining the cells of smaller kites into one large kite, the surface area-to-weight ratio was retained. Bell’s tetrahedrals reached their apex with 1907’s Cygnet, his kite made from 3393 cells, which flew to a height of 51 meters and stayed aloft for over 7 minutes. The tetrahedrals also proved to be very stable in flight. One of the most significant design character- istics of kite stability is dihedral: the bow, or angle of wings to one another. As is quickly seen on a tet- rahedral cell, if one side of the cell is exposed to more wind than the other, it creates more lift, causing the cell to align itself to an equilib- rium position in the wind. $35 $68 $101 Bell became convinced that sta- bility was the key to manned flight: $5 $10 $15 tetrahedral kites could provide that $8 $15 $22 stability and permit experimenta- $100 $200 $300 tion without risk to human life. The Wrights, however, knew that a certain amount of instability was necessary and important to manned flight. As they had seen with count- less beginning bicyclists, a certain amount of muscle memory and rep- etition would lead to stability, just as it would for the first pilots in their .

Winter ’06-’07 | Kiting 11 10 Kiting | Winter ’06-’07 on the sail. And then there are the Rokkaku K-FILES lmost every time I go kite flying, A week later I was in Northamp- GaryThrough the kite Engvall store I got hooked up kites. Everyone should have at least I am asked the inevitable ques- ton, MA, 100 miles from home, and with other flyers who were nearly as one rokkaku. A rokkaku is the kite to A tion: “What got you into kite went past a little store whose sign said crazy as I was. Through them I learned pull out of the bag when nothing else flying?” Well, the truth is, I never got ‘World on a String’. Could it be? Could more about making kites from the real will fly. out. Back when my age was still in there actually be a store that special- stuff, ripstop and fiberglass. Carbon As much fun and rewarding as single digits, someone thought I should ized in kites? frames weren’t around yet. building kites can be, repairing them have a Hi-Flyer (diamond) kite. I put Sure enough! Wow! Box kites with Back in the late ’80s, when the kit- is often more challenging. In a perfect many, many happy hours on that kite. wings! What a great idea! I just walked ing world was waiting for a California world, a well-executed repair is both It was as much fun tweaking the bridle around the shop mesmer- invisible and stronger than the original and bow line to see what would hap- ized while proprietress construction. Peter Lynn show kites pen as it was to see it sit in the sky. Dorothea Szabo watched and all kinds of foils are fun to fix and For the next 20 years or so, that’s me, a bit bemused. I think return better than new. all I knew about kites. They were dia- she had seen that look on Another favorite ‘non-kite’ project mond, delta or box, made from paper customers before. is making sets of Catherine’s Wheels or plastic, and they could be bought Wait a minute, what’s that counter-rotate. When I make in the drug store in March and April, this? This kite has TWO these, I also sew in small sleeves for because that was ‘kite season’. bridles! How come? What? chemical ‘cyalume’ lights. We have There came a fateful day in late April You can STEER it? Gee, if I one that we fly at night when we when after a long day at work I de- can steer it, I can steer it are camping that has 4 lights in each cided to unwind by flying a kite in the away from the tree! wheel. We call it the ‘Mother Ship’. back yard. The neighborhood was not Well, some people are Kiters only ever need just one really suited for flying kites, but that thrifty, but I am cheap. I made it all the more fun. I had gradu- didn’t buy a kite that day. ated to a Gayla plastic delta by this I bought a book: David time. But, in the gusty spring wind, it Pelham’s Penguin Book of got tossed around more than releasing KITES. I started building line could compensate, and it disap- that day. Dorothea and her peared into the trees on the hill. I was husband, Zoltan “Chuck” heartbroken. It wasn’t about the loss Szabo, were incredibly of the kite so much as it was that kite supportive of all my building efforts. stunt kite manufacturer to come out 3 season was over, no stores would have Chuck once gave an interview in which with a /4 version of its famed Spinoff, kites anymore. My kite flying would be he proudly proclaimed that four kite I was one of about eight people filling 3 put on hiatus for at least 10 months! builders had come out of his store. I the gap by making a /4 version of the am proud to be one kite. How many people can remember of them. Renegades, CC2200s, NoNaMes, and My first stunt Lasers? kite didn’t come I became associated with Circo- from a store. It was flexes, or they became associated built out of Pel- with me, by a strange string of cir- ham’s book. It was cumstances. The Mike Dallmers (father tyvek and wood and & son) from Pennsylvania had done Elmer’s glue with a a lot of work with the kite and had more kite. When a kiter has a gazillion kites, where do they vinyl tubing nose- worked out a table of lengths for the put them? In bags of course. A compression bag is a great way piece. When my wife 12 bridle lines for a given size of the and I went out to fly kite. I merely took it one step further it on a small field and used their work to draw a plan to put ten pounds of stuff in a five surrounded by trees for a workshop version that could use pound bag. It’s great to be able to on 50 foot cotton either of the two most common widths make a specialty bag whenever a strings, there were of fabric at that time. The next thing I need arises. some, ah, issues. Of knew, I was being invited everywhere Why kites? Unlike any course, I was sure to teach people how to make the Cir- other sport or hobby, there is that if she just HELD coflex kite. something in kiting for any abil- it right.... I got interested in Cody kites and ity, any age, any physique. There Well, we lived wanted to build one. I couldn’t find is always a challenge in that no through it, and the plans, so the only thing to do was two days are the same and no two rest, as they say, start building and figure it out as the kites are the same. It never gets is history. A lot of project progressed. Cody’s favorite old, the wonder still hasn’t worn my early kite builds number was six, so everything on the off. were silkspan and kite became a multiple or fraction of balsa, or trash bag. six, including the radii for the curves

Winter ’06-’07 | Kiting 13 12 Kiting | Winter ’06-’07 For club information or to update your club, contact clubs@ aka.kite.org or 800/252-2550. For specific information about Ocean Park, WA club activities, please contact each club directly. Brian Bradley 360/665-2538 AKA sanctioned events [email protected] are listed in BOLD AAlabamaffILIaIllinoisTEd CMissouriLUBSOregon Harlingen, TX http://members.aol.com/kite- Jeff McCown Field Of Strings Chicagoland Sky Liners Kansas City Kite Club Lady Kiteflyers bear EvENT CaLENdaR [email protected] January 1 SPI Fun Fly Port Townsend, WA Baileyton, AL Chicago, IL Blue Springs, MO Eugene, OR www.pirates.dwebz.net 35019 Charlie Sotich 773/735-7353 Linda Larkey Miriam Schafler 541/344-2113 North Coast Sky Painters GKC New Year’s Fly South Padre Island, TX Bob Alford

Sandy Smith 256/796-9069 http://thebigkiteguy.com/skylin- [email protected] [email protected] Ocean Shores, WA Central Texas Cloud Chasers Forest Park Bill Doan 425/392-9144 [email protected] ers/index.html www.kckiteclub.org Monica Barber 360/289-4889 Marble Falls, TX Associated Oregon Kitefliers [email protected] St. Louis, MO [email protected] [email protected] Gayle Woodul Gateway Kite Club Portland, OR California Indiana [email protected] Washington, MO Deb Cooley 541/996-4627 Northwest Sport Kite League Tina Bushey www.kitemakers.org Candy And Kites Kite Club Hoosier Kitefliers Society Donna Houchins [email protected] Ocean Shores, WA Bodega Bay, CA Russiaville, IN South Houston Area 618/355-5894 [email protected] Jim Landers 509/679-3444 February 10-11 David Love 707/875-3777 Dick Claycomb 765/348-3711 Recreational Kiters http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ Rogue Valley Windchasers [email protected] [email protected] March 1 [email protected] [email protected] Pearland, TX Kites Over The Bay gkc-stl/ Rogue River, OR www.nwskl.org www.hoosierkite.org Spence Wikel 281/992-9291 BASKL Indoor Competition Randy Fabich 541/582-4220 Fish Creek, WI N. American Fighter Kite Assn. [email protected] [email protected] Westport Windriders Cool Fool Fly Walnut Creek, CA Granada Hills, CA North Carolina www.kiteshark.org Toby Schlick Kansas www.windchasers.org Olympia, WA Gina Hsiung 818/366-4852 Topeka Kite Fliers Wings Across Carolina Kiting And Veterans Park Bary Crites 360/491-8605 920/868-3769 Tracy Erzin [email protected] Topeka, KS Okra Society Coastal Bend Sky Pirates [email protected] Milwaukee, WI www.fighterkites.org Bob Homan Charlotte, NC Pennsylvania Rockport, TX [email protected] 925/228-1983 www.westportwindriders.org [email protected] Jim Martin 704/535-4696 Fly Pittsburgh Kite Club Dano Wright 361/790-0011 Jeff Kataoka [email protected] Up Up And Away Kite Club www.crosswinds.net/~tkf/ [email protected] Baden, PA [email protected] Pierce County Kiteflyers Assn. 414/277-9121 Los Alamitos, CA www.wackos.org Con Engels 724/869-4488 www.skypiratesonline.org www.baskl.org Puyallup, WA February 16-19 Janis Sabic 562/431-1746 [email protected] [email protected] Kentucky Scott Davis 253/847-8201 [email protected] www.windstarkites.com/FlyPgh- Dallas Area Kitefliers Organization Maryland Kitebuilding Retreat Kitefliers In Central Kentucky North Dakota [email protected] Wings On Strings Kite Club KiteClub.htm Rowlett, TX March 4 Bay Area Sport Kite League Winchester, KY www.pcka.org Frederick, MD Byron Bell 859/987-3563 Jamestown, ND Trung Tran 972/412-1273 January 28 Martinez, CA Mike Gee Keystone Kiters [email protected] Jon Burkhardt Zilker Park Kite Festival Tracy Erzin [email protected] Camp Hill, PA Ben Franklin Kite Society Frosty Fingers Fly [email protected] www.dako.us Richland, WA 301/424-6976 Austin, TX [email protected] www.wingsonstrings.org Todd Little 717/975-2852 www.baskl.org Louisiana [email protected] Larry Zilar 509627-6751 Como Park [email protected] Bunnie Twidwell kites@ Virginia [email protected] Red Stick Kiters www.keystonekiters.com St. Paul, MN zilkerkitefestival.com San Diego Kite Club Zachary, LA Nebraska Richmond Air Force www.mdkites.org San Diego, CA Joseph Meaux 225/654-5180 Midwest Winds Kitefliers Club Lehigh Valley Kite Society Richmond, VA Washington Kitefliers Assn. Ken Wilkowski www.zilkerkitefestival.com Bill Pietrusza 619/466-2219 [email protected] Omaha, NE Lehigh Valley, PA Charles Stonestreet 804/271-4433 Seattle, WA 763/536-8552 [email protected] www.redstickkiters.com Bruce Kenkel Paul Keeler 610/865-0375 [email protected] Sylvia Bernauer 425/822-4605 February 17 www.sandiegokiteclub.com [email protected] [email protected] www.richmondairforce.com www.WKA-Kiteflyers.org [email protected] www.midwestwindskitefliers.org March 9-11 Massachusetts www.lehighvalleykitesociety.org Color The Wind Kite Festival Northern California Kite Club Washington Lilac City Wind Chasers Midwest Area Kitemakers Retreat Kites Over New England Spokane, WA Larry Day San Ramon, CA New Jersey Whidbey Island Kite Flyers Billerica, MA Texas Bill Cox 509/327-7974 January 11-14 Oregon, IL Brian Champie 925/829-0683 South Jersey Kite Flyers Coupeville, WA 641/357-6141 Susanne Boyle 978/256-8205 Wind Weavers [email protected] [email protected] Collingswood, NJ Lisa Root 360/678-7052 Oregon Kitemakers Retreat Barbara Meyer [email protected] Abilene, TX www.kitefart.com/nckc/index. Mike Dallmer 215/722-4092 [email protected] [email protected] www.kone.org Judy Kingery 915/692-5927 River City Fliers Rockaway Beach, OR 763/424-2571 htm [email protected] www.whidbeykiteclub.org [email protected] Vancouver, WA Diane Weber www.geocities.com/sjkf.geo [email protected] Scott Ralston 360/624-2266 Colorado Maryland S. Padre Island Kite Enthusiasts Lavender Winds [email protected] February 23-25 Wings Over Washington [email protected] www.makr.info Foothills Kite Club Liberty High Spirits Of 14B Germantown, MD Bob Sargent Ft. Worden Kitemakers Retreat Denver, CO Rochelle Park, NJ www.kitemakersretreat.com Barbara Birnman 301/972-9289 Kathy Wolfe 303/477-4157 Kurtis Jones 201/489-7186 Wisconsin [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Wisconsin Kiters www.wowkiteclub.com www.foothillskiteclub.com http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ Greenfield, WI February 3-4 Bob Rymaszewski 414/329-9825 lhso14b Gregg Mazzotta Maryland Kite Society [email protected] Connecticut Potomac, MD New York www.wisconsinkitersclub.com Connectikiters Jon Burkhardt 301/424-6976 Great Lakes Kitefliers Society Ansonia, CT [email protected] Kite Society of Wisconsin & Illinois Check the event calendar at www. Buffalo, NY Dave Lombard 203/732-5243 www.mdkites.org Milwaukee, WI Russell Kelly 716/649-5364 [email protected] Jeffrey Kataoka 414/277-9121 www.connectikiters.org/ [email protected] [email protected] Michigan www.flyglks.com aka.kite.org for updated info! Mid-Michigan String Stretchers Harkness Stuntkiters Ada, MI Uncasville, CT New York Kite Enthusiasts Argentina Ken Blain 616/676-5980 James Stuhler East Berne, NY Phil Broder Barriletes A Toda Costa [email protected] [email protected] Jeremy Johannesen 518/872-0990 Buenos Aires

[email protected] Gustavo Sonzogni Tri-State Windriders www.nyke.org [email protected] Florida Coldwater, MI www.batoco.org AKA sanctioning is available for kite events main constant. A standard certificate of cover- Sunset Flyers John Arnold Clearwater, FL Ohio age is available upon request. [email protected] Canada within the United States and Canada. AKA sanc- Steve Pigeon 727/461-6689 www.tristatewindriders.com PIGS Aloft British Columbia Kitefliers Assn. tioning means that AKA members are involved AKA sanctioning is automatically nullified [email protected] Cincinnati, OH Vancouver, BC Kazoo Stringfellows Jerry McGuire 513/831-8379 by an illegal action on the part of the sponsor Jeremy Perceval 604/594-3155 in the administration of the event, that the Treasure Island Sport Kite Klub Kalamazoo, MI [email protected] [email protected] or Chair as regards the sanctioned event. Dade City, FL John Cosby 269/345-5432 AKA endorses and approves the event and that www.bcka.bc.ca Gary Resnick 352/588-4202 [email protected] Black Swamp Air Force those involved in staging and supervising the News releases or announcements may not [email protected] Perrysburg, OH Niagara Windriders Kite Club www.kites.org/tiskk 4 Seasons Kite Club Kevin Kilgoar event qualify for limited coverage under the indicate that AKA approves or endorses an Port Colborne, ON Walled Lake, MI [email protected] Bob N. White 905/834-9325 AKA’s liability insurance policy. event unless and until sanctioning has been St. Augustine Sport Kite Club Lynn Gipson 248/505-6212 www.bsaf.org [email protected] Saint Augustine, FL [email protected] Coverage limits: granted in writing. Larry Smith www.windriders.niagara.com/ Rob Autrey www.4skc.com Ohio Society for the • $1,000,000 per occurrence ($100,000 for non- AKA strongly recommends that events have [email protected] Elevation of Kites www.saskc.net Poland, OH Indonesia member claimants participants sign a waiver and release of liabil-

Minnesota Tom Kear 330/757-2568 Jakarta Kitefliers Association Minnesota Kite Society Fire legal liability: $300,000 ity. It will not affect the level of coverage, but Central Florida Cloud Chasers [email protected] North Jakarta • Minneapolis, MN Gregg Mazzotta The Villages, FL www.osekcleveland.org James A. Kekenusa Traction kiting activities such as, but not lim- will add another layer of protection for event Ken Wilkowski 763/536-8552 • Barbara Hall 352/259-9768 [email protected] [email protected] organizers and participants. [email protected] ited to, kite surfing, buggying, and kite skiing www.mnkites.org/ Oklahoma AKA sanctioning costs $75. Additional infor- Tulsa WindRiders United Kingdom are excluded from coverage. Tulsa, OK White Horse Kite Flyers AKA sanctioning is awarded for a kite event mation is available at www.aka.kite.org/sanc- Larry Stiles 918/630-9334 Swindon [email protected] Dave Robinson of a specific date and time or, through the tion.shtml or by calling 800/AKA-2550. [email protected] club affiliation fee, for recurring periodic club www.whkf.org.uk events for which the Chair and activities re- Winter ’06-’07 | Kiting 15 14 Kiting | Winter ’06-’07 SMidwestpORT KITE CNorthwestONfERENCES Past Masters Shine The buzz went around the banquet Mike and Terri Huff 360/289-9050 hall in Des Moines. Vicki Proudfoot of [email protected] by Deb Lenzen the pairs team Sky Jesters ran across In Iowa the room nearly in tears. Finally, A new addition to the AKA Convention was a single-line fly Pacific David Gomberg had to make an an- Darrin Skinner featuring past nouncement: Fire and Ice was about 408/554-8399 Grand Champion to become more than a pairs team. [email protected] kites, Member’s Just before the banquet, Paul Koepke Central Choice kites and proposed to Kathy Brinnehl. A thrilled kitemaking cat- Ron Schultz Kathy said, “Yes!!!!!”. By the way, Fire 512/632-4337 egory winners. and Ice swept first in EIB and EIP. Quite [email protected] Grand Champion a night for a great couple! kites were flown Midwest Ruth Polifrone 804/271-4433 Dave Bush from Portage, MI, in his John Cosby 201/843-7223 [email protected] by Cliff Quinn, first season competing, took top hon- 269/345-5432 [email protected] John Pollock, ors in NIB and third in NIP. David had to [email protected] and Tanna return home right after he competed, Southeast Haynes. Mem- Northeast Laura Stonestreet to fly demonstrations at the Harvest Speaking of families, Sky Jesters finished first in MMB and Open In- ber’s Choice Lights Festival in Richland, MI, so he (Dean and Vicki Proudfoot), took third dividual Indoor Unlimited Ballet, winners were was waiting for a phone call from the in EPP. Chicago Fire, the Midwest’s ex- and Heaven Help Us (Karl and Doug flown by Jon banquet hall. tended family kite team, took second again) finished first in Open Team Burkhardt, Pete Eight-year-old Elizabeth Gordon in both MTB and MTP. Train. Thanks to those flyers who flew Dolphin, and is following in big brothers Josh’s and As I write this, we are “enjoying” routines or volunteered your time and Robert Lockhart. Past category winners flying during the extrava- Zach’s footsteps. In her first national (?) the first snowfall of the winter. talents as judges to make this a truly ganza included Mike Shaw and JoAnn Weber. Spectators were en- competition she finished third in NIB It’s a chilling reminder of the end of memorable convention. tertained when Cliff Quinn brought his double star into the arena and second in NIP, two-tenths of a another sport kite season. It’s been a Congratulations also to all NE and began assembling the kite. Stick by stick and fabric piece point ahead of Dave Bush. fun, exciting, season in the Midwest. flyers who participated in the First by fabric piece, the crowd watched Cliff’s masterpiece come to The rest of the Gordon fam- But the end of this season means we Southern New England Kite Champion- life. There was a huge roar from the crowd as Cliff strapped the ily continued its winning ways: Zach start looking forward to and planning ship, in Narragansett, RI. This event bridle lines onto his harness and hauled the giant double star smoked everybody in MIB, knocking for next season. was a great start to the 2007 sea- into the Iowa sky. Great applause sounded for all the kites as off last year’s champion, brother Josh, There will be some changes in son. Coordinators Forrest and Laura they were introduced to the crowd. who finished third. Zach went on to 2007. Sarah Winkel of the Bourbonnais Carey and Chief Judge Scott Weider finish second in MIP, third in MMB, and Township Park District is looking for a promised a laid back, novice friendly, second in MMP. The brothers then took new date for the Perry Farms Festival. fun event and they delivered. Scott second in MPB, three-tenths of point For the last four years this has been looked around and grabbed anyone back, and first in MPP by a scant .075 the first competition and festival of who looked interested in flying a kite. point. Whew! the season at the end of April. Spec- With the help of other veteran kite In EIB Dan Newman of Keno- tacular weather the first year showed flyers and judges, Scott held a novice sha, WI, took home wood for second. this was an event with great potential. seminar explaining the intricacies of The family celebrations continued for Three years of REALLY bad weather competition with particular emphasis the Newmans: Alison Newman finished have taken their toll. We hope Sarah on the precision discipline. second in EMP. can find a new date to keep this event With the assistance of Doug Coates, alive. who flew the required Novice Precision figures, Patty Tinkham, who acted as Northeast field director, and a volunteer panel It is a pleasure of judges, the novice flyers looked on, to congratulate all getting an idea of what the figures of the Northeast looked like, how they were scored, Conference flyers and the intricacies of getting on and who competed at off the field. Eight flyers then stepped this year’s na- up to compete in precision with three tionals. Douglas also competing in ballet. In Novice In- Coates finished dividual Precision Wen Jeng took first, first in EIB, Karl Nathan Reilly took second, and Jackie Berg finished third Maciel took third. Congratulations in EMB and EMP, also to Buddy Phillips, Samuel Cary, Nomes (Douglas Dick Maciel, Ronald Kitt, and Thomas and Karl) finished Cary. Novice Individual Ballet saw Wen second in EPB, Jeng in first, Jackie Maciel in second, Shawn Tinkham continued on page 20

Winter ’06-’07 | Kiting 17 16 Kiting | Winter ’06-’07 Stores in BOLD sell Kiting! 541/996-3083 206 Woodman Street Vancouver, WA 98661 www.guildworks.com [email protected] www.gombergkites.com Athens, TN 37303 360/213-7245 EMBER771 Myrna Drive SunriseERCH Kites a167 S. HancockNTS Street 585/227-5497 423745-2688 www.7featherskites.com Unique Flying Objects Boutiques Coriolis MALASKA M Inland Kites www.etkites.com 2022 Washington Street 2021 Narie-Victorin Port Hueneme, CA 93041 460 Cleveland Street Pentwater, MI 49449 www.goodthingsfly.com Northwind Kites 805/271-4747 Idaho Falls, ID 83401 888/AIR-FUN1 499 Willamette Street Above It All Kites Two Rivers, WI 54241 Varennes, QC J3X 1R3 320 W. Fifth Ave, #156 www.windwizard.com 208/524-5551 www.air-fun.com Grants Pass, OR 97526 312 Pacific Avenue South 866/UFO-4FUN 514/827-3163 Anchorage, AK 99501 TEXAS [email protected] NORTH CAROLINA 541/476-8299 Long Beach, WA 98631 www.uniqueflyingobjects.com www.coriolis.cc 888/291-4386 B & S Kites Wonders of the Wind Kiteman Jack’s Blue Moon Kites [email protected] 360/642-3541 www.alaskites.com 2812 Padre Blvd., Ste. B 14821 Cheyenne Road 2417 Blarney Driver 710 Seehorn Street www.aboveitallkites.com Canadian Wind Rider South Padre Island, TX 78597 Apple Valley, CA 92307 ILLINOIS Davison, MI 48423 Lenoir, NC 28645 .com AUSTRALIA 26 Elfindale Crescent 956/761-1248 760/617-8293 Air Time Kites 989/362 4615 828/759-7222 1236 N. Killingsworth Street, #3 AKA Store Kitepower Australia North York, ON M2J 1B5 ARIZONA 1719A Worden Avenue www.bluemoonkites.com Portland, OR 97217 www.bskites.com P. O. Box 1614 126 Beach Street 416/497-9463 Two Links Enterprises www.wondersofthewind.com Alton, IL 62002 Tropical Treasures 503/890-0280 Walla Walla, WA 99362 Coogee, Sydney NSW 2034 www.canadianwindrider.com 5630 East Roundup Street Buck-N-Blue Outdoors 618/465-3448 34190 S. Gratiot Cape Fear www.kitelife.com 800/AKA-2550 293 157894 Apache Jnct., AZ 85219 PO Box 2121 COLORADO [email protected] Clinton Township, MI 48035 6402 E. Oak Island Drive [email protected] www.kitepower.com.au Le Gite Du Cerf Volant 480/390-7461 Alvin, TX 77512-2121 Into The Wind 586/791-6595 Oak Island, NC 28465 Ocean Kites 935 Rte De La Seigneurie [email protected] 713/393-1100 1408 Pearl Street Chicago Kite/Kite Harbor [email protected] 910/201-4002 300 Broadway Cutting Edge Kites Kitepower Australia Saint-Roch-des-Aulnaies Boulder, CO 80302 109 N. Marion www.capefearkiteboarding.com Seaside, OR 97138 www.jbrau.com/bnb-01.html 676 Ocean Shores Bl. NW 302 Grand Parade PQ G0R 4E0 ARKANSAS 800/541-0314 Oak Park, IL 60301 503/717-0796 Ocean Shores, WA 98569 Sans Souci 418/354-2182 Eden Kites KaleidoKites www.intothewind.com 708/848-4907 MISSOURI Kites Unlimited - Atlantic Beach www.kitealog.com 360/289-0667 Sydney, NSW 2219 www.legiteducerfvolant.ca 417 Chestnut Lane 1-C Spring Street www.chicagokite.com Flying High With Charon Atlantic Station Shopping Center www.cuttingedgekites.com +61 02-95296894 Desoto, TX 75115 Eureka Springs, AR 72632 Sky Scraper Kites 5633 Carlton Drive PO Box 2278 Phantom Star Design www.kitepower.com.au 972/489-3706 888/836-6251 3198 North Speer Blvd. Windfall Farm St. Louis, MO 63049 Atlantic Beach, NC 28512 2818 SE 23rd Drive #C-3 Four Winds Kite Shop JAPAN www.edenkites.com AGAIN [email protected] Denver, CO 80211 6370 US Hwy 20 West 636/376-6055 252/247-7011 Lincoln City, OR 97367 1911 Broadway Kitepower Australia Joyfull Tsurumai 1F 303/893-2933 Galena, IL 61036-6041 [email protected] www.kitesunlimitednc.com 541/994-7556 Everett, WA 98201 386 La Trobe Tce Family Fun Kites 3-14-16 Chiyoda Naka Ku 815/776-9075 www.phantomstardesign.com 425/339-9334 Geelong VIC 1419 N. Plaza Drive Nagoya, Achi 460-0012 CALIFORNIA www.velocity-sports.com Wind Wizards Kitty Hawk Kites www.fourwindskites.com +61 03-52295899 Candy & Kites DELAWARE 673 State Hwy 165 PO Box 1839 Wind Dancer Unlimited Granbury, TX 76049 www.kitepower.com.au 52-339-3830 Rehoboth Sport & Kite Co. 1415 Coast Highway Building #30, Suite 4 Nags Head, NC 27959 19 Broadway 817/573-5483 Gasworks Park Kite Shop www.agagas.co.jp/again 23 Bellevue Street PO Box 8, INDIANA South, Branson, MO 65616 800/334-4777 Seaside, OR 97138 www.familyfunkites.com 3420 Stone Way North Kite Lady Dewey Beach, DE 19971 Bodega Bay, CA 94923 Play With The Wind 417/334-4463 www.kittyhawk.com 503/717-0138 Seattle, WA 98103 P. O. Box 758, 707/875-3777 800/250-5483 17933 Williamsburg Drive www.windwizards.com Fly It Port A NETHERLANDS www.kitealog.com 206/633-4780 Willunga, SA 5172 Vliegersenco www.candyandkites.com Granger, IN 46530 405 Cut Off Road www.goodwindkites.com 885-562681 veenweg 34-36 Rehoboth Sport & Kite Co. 574/315-6231 OHIO Wind Dancer Unlimited Port Aransas, TX 78373 www.kitelady.com.au MONTANA Amoka Windsurfing Kites Deventer OV 7416BC Candy Strike 67 Rehoboth Avenue [email protected] 219 N. Hemlock #A 512/749-4190 Great Winds Kite Company Wagntale Kites 4703 Lose Road (570) 607946 492 Main Street Rehoboth, DE 19971 Cannon Beach, OR 97110 312 N. 83rd Street P. O. Box 365 Monclova, OH 43542 www.vliegersenco.nl Placerville, CA 95667 800/250-5483 Sun Oak Kites 503/436-8612 Pat ‘n Eddie’z Seattle, WA 98103 CANADA Choteau, MT 59422 419/878-6009 www.candystrike.com PO Box 232 www.kitealog.com 8804 Colonial Drive www.greatwinds.com Boreal Kites/Gothic Design 408/466-5483 www.amoka.com Rehoboth Sport & Kite Co. English, IN 47118 Austin, TX 78758 RR #4, St Thomas, ON www.wagntalekites.com SCOTLAND Coastalkites.com 1 Virginia Avenue 765/284-6098 Wind Dancer Unlimited 512/837-4371 Hi-Flyers N5P 3S8 Canada Coolest Toys On Earth Gentles Limited 877/544-KITE Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971 www.sunoakkites.com 3905 Hwy 101, #D-42 www.patneddiez.com 55 Main Street 519/775-2527 314 Main Street 11 Corbiehill Avenue www.coastalkites.com 800/250-5483 NEBRASKA Gearhart, OR 97138 Pacific Beach, WA 98571 [email protected] www.rehoboth.kite.com Milford, OH 45150 Edinburgh, EH4 5DT Breeze Chasers Online Kites 503/738-5801 Rainbows 4 Sail 360/276-8377 513/831-8697 +44 131-3365472 Farmer’s Kites IOWA 402/477-0794 www.kitealog.com 980 Gibb Rd. [email protected] Boutique au Gre du Vent www.coolesttoysonearth.com [email protected] 1108 Front Street FLORIDA Midwest Kites www.breezechasers.com Waxahachie, Texas 75167 Place du Marche, LaCote Morro Bay, CA 93442 3566 Heatherton Drive 972/923-0119 Mariah Kites Windsports & Hobbies Fatima, PQ G0B 1G0 Air Master Kites Flaggs U.S.A. 805/772-0133 Davenport, IA 52804 Picture Pretty Kites PENNSYLVANIA www.rainbows4sailkites.com 41 NE Midway Blvd #107 418/986-5069 10935 Bristol Bay Dr., #224 2088 Raeburn Avenue [email protected] 563/823-8337 6512 N. 44th Street Air Affairs Oak Harbor, WA 98277 Bradenton, FL 34209 Cincinnati, OH 45014 www.midwestkites.com Omaha, NE 68112 107 Chelsea Road Windchasers Kites 360/240-8601 941/794-8817 513/939-3524 Gone With the Wind Kites 877/453-4970 Hatboro, PA 19040 102 E. Swordfish www.mariahkites.com 530/894-2064 [email protected] 215/672-1470 South Padre Island, TX 78597 Grasping The Wind www.pictureprettykites.com www.gwtw-kites.com KANSAS 956/761-7028 819-1 E. Strawbridge Avenue Ocean Kites Kansas Kite Connection Just Add Wind Kites B and C Creations www.kiteshop.com th 511 Pacific Avenue South Melbourne, FL 32901 1806 16 Street 10019 Washington Church Road Highline Kites Of Berkeley NEVADA 215 Kerrick Road Long Beach, WA 98631 321/676-6926 Great Bend, KS 67530-4110 A Wind Of Change Miamisburg, OH 45342 6809 Del Monte Avenue Shillington, PA 19607 WindSong Entertainments 360/642-2229 www.graspingthewind.com 316/792-6549 937/572-3252 Richmond View, CA 94805 3870 West Russell Road 610/796-1830 114 North Austin St www.kitealog.com 510/235-5483 Las Vegas, NV 89118 [email protected] www.bandccreations.com Rockport Heritage District Hawaiian Kiteworks Wind Heaven www.HighLineKites.com 702/736-1476 Rockport, TX 78382 5250 International Drive, Pizazz Kiteworks 10939 East Harry www.awindofchange.com The Potter House Burlesque Kites 361/790-0011 Box 1046 Wichita, KS 67207 P. O. Box 266 Into The Blue 108 South Main Street 1670 Limeport Pike www.windsongkite.com Orlando, FL 32819 877/604-WIND Coupeville, WA 98239 11101 S.R. 1 Windpower Sports Celina, OH 45822 Coopersberg, PA 18036 407/363-9050 www.windheaven.com 360/678-6266 Pt. Reyes Station, CA 94956 3111 S. Valley View #A-1116 [email protected] 610/965-0867 World Wind Kites www.hawaiiankiteworks.com www.pizazzkites.com 415/663-1147 Las Vegas, NV 89102 www.kitesonconsignment.com 7208 McNeil Drive #204 Wind Wizards 702/220-4340 What’s Up Austin, TX 78729 www.into-theblue.com rd The Kite Shoppe Kites Incorporated 33525 W. 143 Street www.windpowersports.com 4500 Chagrin River Road Celtic Winds (800) 648-8680 611 Ponte Vedra Lakes Bl. #2001 Gardner, KS 66030 2727 E. Evergreen Blvd, #D Kite Flite Of San Diego Chagrin Falls, OH 44022 36 W. North Street #1 512/279-8454 Ponte Vedra Beach, FL 32082 913/856-5177 Vancouver, WA 98661 Seaport Village 440/247-4222 Bethlehem, PA 18018 www.ikite.com 904/280-2226 www.windwizards.com NEW JERSEY 866/ROK-KAKU San Diego, CA 92101 [email protected] [email protected] www.kitesinc.com Cape May Beach and Kite Shop www.thekiteshoppe.com 619/234-KITE 1218 Route 109 KitesRUs VIRGINIA www.kiteflitesd.com MAINE Cape May, NJ 08204 Kitesville USA OKLAHOMA 1482 River Road Hang-em High Fabrics Cricket’s Corner 609/898-2022 Kinetic Kites WISCONSIN 405 Gulf Boulevard New Hope, PA 18938 1420 Yale Avenue Aerial Stunt Kites Kiteworld 41 Shore Road www.capemaykites.com 6313 Willow Ridge Indian Rocks Beach, FL 34635 215/862-6272 Richmond, VA 23224 121 Wrigley Drive 900-D Second Street Ogunquit, ME 03907 Bethany, OK 73008 800/445-6902 www.kitesrus.com 804/233-6155 Lake Geneva, WI 53147 Old Sacramento, CA 95814 207/646-2261 Cobra Kites 405/722-KITE www.kitesville.com www.citystar.com/hang-em-high 262/249-0631 918/442-3550 [email protected] 2608 Rt. 37E www.kinetickites.com Kite Studio www.askites.com Toms River, NJ 08753 HQ Kites and Designs USA (formerly Lou Lassabatere – Kite World 5555 Hamilton Blvd. 732/270-2112 Nova Designs) Kiting Accessories 109 S. Miramar Ave., Hwy A1A MARYLAND Wescosville, PA 18106 Fish Creek Kite Company www.cobrakites.com OREGON 317 Great Bridge Blvd, Suite C 73-315 Country Club Dr. #193 Indialantic, FL 32903 The Kite Loft Catch The Wind – Lincoln City 610/395-3560 3903 Highway 42 800/431-5170 511 Boardwalk www.kitebuilder.com Chesapeake, VA 23320 Fish Creek, WI 54212 Palm Desert, CA 92260 Lighten Up Kites 240 SE Highway 101 www.kiteworld.com Ocean City, MD 21842 757/819-7951 920/868-3769 760/776-5807 238 96th Street PO Box 973 410/289-7855 SETI Kites www.hq-kites-usa.com www.fishcreekkites.com Stone Harbor, NJ 08247 Lincoln City, OR 97367 Second Wind Kitty Hawk Kites of Florida www.kiteloft.com 541/994-9500 21 Shirley Road 800/679-5747 Jackite, Inc. 1805 Hwy 1 1450 Miracle Strip Pkwy #101 www.catchthewind.com Narberth, PA 19072 Gift of Wings www.lightenuponline.com 2868 W. Landing Rd. Bodega Bay, CA, 94923 Fort Walton Beach, FL 32548 610/745-9484 9955 W. St. Martins Road Virginia Beach, VA 23456 707/875-WIND 850/796-0102 MASSACHUSETTS Columbia River Kites www.setikites.com Franklin, WI 53132 Fun with Wind 877522-5483 [email protected] [email protected] 270 NE 2nd 414/425-8002 360 Merrimack Street NEW MEXICO www.jackite.com Katika’s Casa Irrigon, OR 97844 Windstar Kites www.giftofwings.com BLD #9, 2nd Floor Sport Kites International Stuff 4 U 1919 Old Town Road, NW 541/922-5739 203 Ridgeway Drive Lawrence, MA 01843 Life’s A Breeze Kites 20505 Yorba Linda Blvd. #800 993 NW 106th Avenue Circle Albuquerque, NM 87104 Baden, PA 15005-2423 Gift of Wings - Veterans Park 866/37K-ITES 2125 Staples Mill Road Yorba Linda, CA 92886 Miami, FL 33172 505/242-2111 Elmer’s Flag & Banner, Kites Too! 724/869-4488 1500 N. Lincoln Memorial Drive www.funwithwind.com Richmond, VA 23230 714/970-2833 786/325-7390 www.katikascasa.com 1332 NE Broadway www.windstarkites.com Milwaukee, WI 53202 804/358-7665 [email protected] http://stores.ebay.com/Stuff-x-U Portland, OR 97232 414/273-5483 Sea Side Kites [email protected] 800/547-8795 www.giftofwings.com 293 Nantasket Avenue Up, Up, & Away Kites NEW YORK www.kitestoo.com SOUTH CAROLINA 1 GUAM Hull, MA 02045 National Soaring Museum Kites Fly’n Hi Sky Jewels 139 /2 Main Street GuildWorks Studio Chill Out 781/925-3277 The Rainbow Market 2906 Hideaway Road Seal Beach, CA 90740 51 Soaring Hill Drive Gomberg Kite Productions Int’l. 2322 Atwood Avenue Unit 36 Chamorro Village www.SeaSideKites.com 40 N. Market Street Fairfax, VA 22031 562/596-7661 Elmira, NY 14903 P.O. Box 113 Madison, WI 53704 Agana, GU 96932 Charleston, SC 29401 703/280-5007 www.upupandawaykites.com 607/734-3128 Neotsu, OR 97364 608/49-2725 671/472-4867 www.soaringmuseum.org 843/577-3529 www.chillout-guam.com MICHIGAN Wind Wizard Air-Fun Kites Wonder Works WASHINGTON 7 Feathers Kites 711 Harvest Drive TENNESSEE East Tennessee Kites 2504 E. 25th Street IDAHO Rochester, NY 14626 Winter ’06-’07 | Kiting 19 18 Kiting | Winter ’06-’07 continued from page 17 Our 2007 season started with com- There are going to be plenty of kit- by David Medaris petitions in Ocean Shores, Long Beach, ing events here in the Bay area, along KITE BOOkS and Dick Maciel in third. Seaside and on Whidbey Island where with workshops and hopefully some fun “I’ve never even had a photo class,” Craig Wilson says. But he has en- OIP saw Shawn Tinkham first, Patty the weather was beautiful and we had practice and critiquing sessions. tertained some lofty ideas. Perhaps his most high-flown: rig his camera to a Tinkham second, and Ron Graziano one of our largest groups of competi- Our next event in the sunny state kite. third. OIB results were Shawn Tinkham tors. The Northwest Sport Kite League of California will be at night at Tice Launching the contraption into a breeze almost 20 years ago, he started first, Patty Tinkham second, and Dave was asked to hold a competition at Valley Gym, a beautiful large glass snapping away. Early results were hit-or-miss. But with diligence, he soon Smith third. Shawn also swept OMP and Long Beach as part of the Washington gym in Walnut Creek, on March 3rd. For mastered geometry, perspective, light and composition to yield stunning OMB. Full Throttle (Shawn and Ron) International Kite Festival for the first more information on directions and kite aerial photographs of iceboat regattas, outdoor music concerts and placed first in OPB, with Kfan revisited in many years. We competed over times please go to www.baskl.org intimate portraits of urban and rural Wisconsin landscapes in all seasons. At (Mike and Ruth Polifrone) finishing three days, interspersed with the Darrin Skinner has written a exhibitions, his large-scale second. That’s My line, featuring Joel festival events. It was nice to see the wonderful sport kite scoring software prints turned heads. Brown and Deborah Heid, and Heaven large audience that we attracted. The program. It was used at the AKA con- Now, 140 of Wilson’s Help Us, featuring Gary Engvall and NWSKL has already had three indoor vention this year as well as one other best images are clustered Karl Berg, finished first and second in competitions, including a new event in event. It should soon be available to into a book, Hanging by a Open Team Train. November in Camas, WA. Looks like we everyone. Thread: A Kite’s View of will exceed the six indoor events we Wisconsin. Published by Northwest Southeast Itchy Cat Press, the 131- As we are returning from You shoulda been there! Des page paperback volume our Nationals in Des Moines, we Moines that is. We know you’ve ($23) encompasses — in look back at a busy competition read it before, but we’ll say it the words of the kite year for the NWSKL. We held again! The 29th annual Conven- aerial photographer — a nine outdoor events with an av- tion was a rousing success in “collection of views of erage of more than 25 partici- spite of smaller than usual at- familiar places from a pants in the competition year tendance. perspective most people don’t get to see.” ending 2006. We always end our The Southeast was well After what he calls “almost 20 years of farting around,” his familiar- outdoor events in Richmond, represented on the awards ity with camera, kite, distance and angle affords him a command on full BC, which is one of the most stage. Doug Charleville is a display in Hanging by a Thread. The book, he says, “sort of validates all picture perfect locations to National Champion again with that farting around.” hold an event. It’s a great place a first place finish in EIP. Other This is self-deprecatory under-appraisal. Printed on glossy paper, to visit and we drew a large awards went to Doug and Hanging by a Thread is a magnificent collection of Wilson’s vibrant and number of spectators. Charles Stonestreet in Open In- varied full-color kite aerial photographs — though I am biased: I have The Northwest had the dividual Outdoor Unlimited, and known Wilson for years, own one of his large framed iceboating prints largest contingent of sport Wing Nuts (Laura Stonestreet and appear in one of the book’s photographs. kite competitors at Nationals and sub, Stoney) in EPB. Wilson himself appears in several images. Readers can find him by following and we congratulate all our Since the last report the kite string that appears in some of the photos. participants. Alan Cunningham from the Southeast, in addi- Some images show a handful of people from eight or 12 feet overhead, others brought home five trophies, tion to going to the National include thousands of college football fans from perhaps 20 feet above the sta- 1st in NIP and EMB and 2nd in Convention, fliers have been dium’s rim at a 60-degree angle. Whatever the angle or distance, the kite-borne NIP and OIIU. Alan and Andrew participating in kite festivals, perspective gives all his subjects a terrestrial context. Cimburek placed 2nd in EPP as Sky King held last season. rewinding CDs, replacing all the old Wilson uses the term “God’s-eye view” to encompass these perspectives — a and Tailspin Tommy. Ron Potts won We have seen a sudden interest air in their kites with new air, tweak- kind of intimate omniscience that might be exercised by an all-seeing deity who 2nd place in EIP and James Thompson in multi-line flying in the northwest. ing old routines, and developing new is keeping track of you. Unlike the more remote and static attributes of satel- placed 1st in EIP and 3rd in EIB. David Not only are we seeing more indi- routines in preparation for the start of lite images, his perspectives are more dynamic and human. “What has always st nd vidual competitors but also pairs and intrigued me about this medium of using a kite is the intimacy, not just with Hathaway took 1 in EMP and 2 in the 2006-2007 season. Broder Phil EMB. Genesis (Willy Hendrickson, Ron a mega-team (iQuad) which seems to Outer Banks Stunt Kite Competi- the landscape but with people,” he Potts and James Thompson) brought recruit new members wherever they tion (OBSKC) was in late October. Un- explains. home 1st place in both ETB and ETP. In go. Thanks John. fortunately we have recently received “Usually, I kind of visualize what the masters class, Daniel Haigh won 1st We all appreciate the support and word that Georgia International Sport I’m trying to do,” he continues. “It’s in MIP and John Barresi took 3rd. John ideas of our league president for the Kite Competition (GISKC) has been not some random shooting around Barresi also placed 1st in MMP and 2nd year 2006. Don Ostey and his wife cancelled this year. Our thoughts and and hope for the best.” He is not in MMB by just .1 point. Egan Davis Mary have put in many hours to ensure prayers go out to Susan Mason during looking through the camera, he placed 2nd in MIB and 3rd in MMP. In the continuation of the NWSKL. this difficult time and hope that this adds, so “it’s not like shooting what master pairs, Fly By Nite (Bill Rogers competition will be back on the calen- you’re seeing. It’s shooting what and Daniel Haigh) placed 1st in MPB Pacific dar next year. you’re thinking.” and 2nd in MPP while Evidence (James Greetings, another convention has Wilson’s kite aerial photographs Thompson and Wayne Turner) took 3rd come and gone with a good showing of represent a different way of think- in MPP. 6th Sense (Daniel Haigh, Bill Bay Area people! Southern California ing. Rogers and Wayne Turner) took 1st in where are you? This season should be a good one! David Medaris is a staff writer at Isth- both MTB and MTP and a chance to mus, the Madison, Wisconsin, alterna- compete at the World Team Champion- tive newsweekly. ships. Winter ’06-’07 | Kiting 21 20 Kiting | Winter ’06-’07 their lives. The winners beat the organizer to the awards tent for pictures and ribbons. Richard Dermer reeled in new AKA members and showed adults how WSIKF: 25 Years At Long Beach to make sled kites, sending them off with materials to teach the beloved “flies by Kay Buesing anywhere” kite to others. Friday there was kite movement everywhere. The Revolution Team had at performances. Sprints and reel-out competi- least 12 kites flying like the pros they are. World Cup fighter kite competition, tions by age group for 5-14 year olds put them and also sport kite competition began, while Mass Ascension #1 filled Field all “on their mark, ready to go.” The Foster A. The large kite area looked like an underwater scene with eight and more Grandparent Fun Fly matched a child with an bols acting like sea plants, and a cat or two, an elephant, and a few other experienced kiter, who taught the youngster creatures swimming on the top among schools of fish and octopoda. The dune how to launch and fly a kite that the child got east of the ocean scene sprouted non-creature kites. Everything is on auto to keep. The Museum’s kitemaking day for kids pilot and went until after the fireworks and night fly. of all ages made over 400 Americanized Chinese Before dawn Saturday, heading toward the beach to get their preferred insect kites. They swarmed in the sky. parking spots, the wind had that “I’m blowing for you today” feel. The su- During all this fun for all ages, the Revolu- perbly organized tion Team Flyers began to practice their forma- NWSKL put things tions to celebrate this 25th anniversary. They in order so that practically led the crowd to the Long Beach single line events School for the first night of three for folks to and the choreo- enjoy and learn about indoor flying. graphed compe- Throughout it all, Britain’s Phil Scarfe flew titions intermin- his beloved parafoils. An impromptu “Phil Fly” gled happily. The went on somewhere around this time when 28 teddy bear drop kites, all made by Phil, were in the air. Phil’s went off safely hero, kitemaker and author Neil Thorburn, came for the 182 par- this year, and he and Phil happily visited. ticipants and all but one bear, which just took off into the wenty-five years ago, the third full week of Thursday — the day of the Comprehensive dunes. The Parade of Colors led by Al “Uncle Sam” Council- August, the first Washington State International Kite Competition, the NAFKA Kite Challenge, and the day the man, who has been its marshal every year, began with eight T Festival was born on the Long Beach Peninsula. Com- “Large Kite Area” begins to look crowded — started with a banners and continued with unimaginable color on poles. It pared to this year’s estimat- low cloud ceiling and light was backdropped by the 18 bols hoping to establish a record ed crowds of 8,000 people, winds. The top kitemak- for that many flying at one time. Only 17 seemed to keep the nine participants and ing prize went to Marzlie going but the crowd had so much fun cheering the bols. The the organizers — made up of and John Freeman, with 38 mayor of Long Beach gave an official welcome and pre- Harry Osbourn, his Edmond out of 40 points for their sented keys to the city to the invited guests. Competitions college’s kite club led by flag bouncing ball. John’s kept going and made a slot for the Cody Kite Fly. Rick White future parafoil super builder unique baffle in the ball was excited about the seven new flyers among the over 100 Doug Hagaman, and some keeps it from collapsing. participants. Flying at their very best, the dozen Revolution flyers followed with a choreographed show, which included a Long Beach Merchants As- Ellen Pardee was second number 25 in the sky. It was magic. sociation’s members who highest point winner with Sunday was a quieter day, especially for kite flyers. Some folks started home; others were flying kites and saying good- wanted to attract tourism 36.7 on her appliquéd frog bye to friends they might not see again until next season. Lary Zilar’s memorial ceremony was a very special moment. As — didn’t promise much. arch. Somewhere in this the wind picked up so did the final Mass Ascension, Quad line ballet, and Hot Tricks. However, the Guinness time frame began the nov- This 25 year old festival is run by seven volunteer record for the longest-flying ice fighter kite competition local folks chaired by Jane Holeman; created by at kite was broken that year with flyers from 12 to 50 least 26 Beach (and still stands at 180 hours, 17 minutes). This happened years old, who had learned to fly this week had the time of Event chairmen because those college boys kept the kite in the air during (kite flyers) headed windless times by pulling it behind a station wagon with the by N. Evonne Miller, back down. and happily work- th This 25 year began with the kite train engineers’ ing where needed Pullman breakfast energizing the arches, trains, and are 200 other stacks. Judging on the ground proceeded. Along the beach volunteers. It’s an approach Mary Yoshimi prepared volunteers to help handi- amazing fete! capped folks make and fly kites. Kite train wannabees started making three kites to chug into the sky. Tuesday, the kite photography workshop was perfect for a no wind morning. John Pollock set up his hand-painted kites in an outdoor gallery perfect for photography. The Club Camps, waiting for the judges, sat comfortably visit- ing. And rokkaku battles kept adrenaline flowing and visi- tors’ heads shaking. Red, white, and blue events were all day Wednesday as well as the Senior Fighter Kite Challenge and Ballet Winter ’06-’07 | Kiting 23 22 Kiting | Winter ’06-’07 comd by the fellow members... and we were! One big family with a few “strange” cousins thrown in. One thing I saw that made me shake 29 h, there’sTH nothing halfwayA NNUaLwas C tremendous.ON Some vENTION my head was a couple of well-known AKA members who ignored a few About the Iowa way to treat you...” are “names,” but some aren’t too! I love the people. O basic safety rules. In general, it has been fun, to the point that this With apologies to the singing townsfolk of the fictional Dave Shattuck, Portland will not be our last. We ended up working the AKA table on the field, River City in “The Music Man,” Iowa treated us pretty well. OR and that was very enjoyable. Also, we scored a “Friend of Marla” pin, For six days we gathered in our own river city, at Water- so we really picked up lots of fun trinkets. works Park on the banks of Des Moines’ Raccoon River, and Exceeded expectations!!! Dale Bowden, Wisconsin Rapids WI put on a show the likes of which the Hawkeye State had I came alone, not know- never seen. We had Chinese dragons. Humongous flags. Mid- ing what to expect or who AKA members are all my new family; everyone I met welcomed me air fighting. Ballet with four strings. Ballet with no wind. I would be able to socialize into their hearts. Thank you. Well worth the money spent on airfares Flying bears. John Wayne in the sky. Not to mention work- with. I was welcomed and and the numb rear end after 30-odd hours in transit. Warmth. Friend- shops, auctions, raffles, new friends, old friends, pranks, never felt alone or out of place. ship. Family. Lifelong. Generous. I will cry at farewells. My Christmas jokes, not being able to use the toilet without buying a The weather was beautiful. I met card list is now HUGE! Happily exhausted and exhaustedly happy! Just ticket from Marla first, poolside indoor flying, a brush with world champions and finally had the opportunity to see remember... Aussie Aussie Aussie! Oi! Oi! Oi! airport security.... LIVE the fabulous kites I had previously only seen in maga- Linda Sanders, Willunga, South Australia Oh, we could let some long-timers tell you all about it, zines. The magazines DO NOT do the kites justice! It was but instead we thought our first time in Des Moines would spiritual. Glad to be part of the 29th annual be best described by first-time convention-goers. Here’s Glorious T. Wright, Bloomington MN convention. My expectation was to what they thought.... see the best of the best and meet While no event is perfect, we did enjoy the near-perfect with other kiters. The festive regis- WOW! I had a great time! Lots to do! Great people! I en- flying weather and meeting many new fellow kitefliers from tration with balloon animals set the joyed working at the AKA table and at the auction with the around the nation. We are planning travels to a couple of pace for our Wisconsin Kiters club. Dermers. new kiting events. Juggling between workshop classes Pam Bowden, Wisconsin Rapids WI Tony Killip, Wautaga IL and outdoor flying was a bit of a quote I heard: “ordinary people do- challenge. The mass ascensions were My first time experience to an AKA convention was fan- Being an Iowan, the location was wonderful! We really ing extraordinary things.” Thanks to great flying with hundreds of other tastic. I talked to more people in one week from all over enjoyed the the workshops in the mornings and mass ascen- all the volunteers and Board mem- kiters collecting pins, and one of the the country than I probably would in a year. Lots of great sions. We also liked the fighter kites and the Bandanna bers who make this happen. flies for lost loved ones. We stayed people flying all different kinds of kites. I’m a person who Gang were the best group of people! Thanks to all the AKA Dennis Lauer, Kaukauna WI at the Holiday Inn atrium, decorated loves to videotape events along with taking pictures too, members for making my first convention a great one! with kites on the balconies. AKA and I sure got lots of great footage and pictures. The mass Jenny Monteith, New Hampton IA What an event! After reading several meeting, Fly Market, kite auction, ascensions were a lot of fun and I did them all. The work- years of Kiting magazine it was great meeting each other at the cafe, you shops were great, I attended several. Although there may I’ve wanted to come to this festival for ten years now and to meet all the people you read can’t go wrong. I am still amazed be something that didn’t go right, or something that could it utterly exceeded my expectations. My highlight: meeting about! People are so friendly just with the indoor and outdoor stunt be better, the bright side is when you’re flying kites and and flying with the god of Revolutions, Lee Sedgwick! to talk to and so willing to help out flyers. Odd looking kites that fly and with friendly people you can’t help but to have fun and David Hathaway, Burnaby BC and share suggestions. The Bandanna all of us who attempt to defy gravity. enjoy yourself. With this convention being close to home, Gang was a great group and do a When I see this it reminds me of a I couldn’t pass up the chance to come, and I’m very glad I I had fun at the convention. While Des Moines was my first wonderful job of teaching and help- did. Thank you. convention, I have been in kiting for a few years. I en- ing learn about fighter kites while John Hlavacek, Bellevue NE joyed the hotel in regards to being able to show banners, having a great time doing it. The kites and other colors on the balconies outside our rooms workshops were informative and the A whole week at the Holidome area. The best part of Convention was afternoon competitions were great to of good weather meeting new people from the US and other parts of the watch. Don’t miss the Hot Tricks and (though bumpy world, as well as old friends. It was a fun atmosphere all Freestyle! The auction is very enter- winds), great week. I enjoyed seeing my wife’s logo for the convention taining. Go and enjoy! kites, and abso- on everything. That was a real hoot. There were a lot of Jeff Monteith, New Hampton IA lutely WONDER- workshops, plus several activities going on most of the time FUL people. What (never a null moment). I had been to Kites On Ice in 2002 My introduction to the 2006 AKA more is there to with my son, Ryan, and had met Craig Wilson there. It was convention was the year-in-review meeting. Serious business, with the say? Workshops a pleasure seeing and talking with him again. I was fortu- exception of Corey Jensen yelling things from the back of the room. I were amazing! nate enough to be on the ground crew for the Mega Flag on think that really set the course for the rest of the week. Is everyone Sport kite flying Thursday. That was big fun! Got to meet Jim Martin. He was here this kooky? Yes. They are. It didn’t take long to learn that every- was superb. And a funny guy. But when it came to the Mega Flag he was seri- one comes to these festivals to have fun and to celebrate kites. People it was also won- ous. He had to be. That is a big kite with serious rules. The opened their arms wide and welcomed newcomers like my friend Mag- derful to see the Flag did fly for a few minutes and it was great fun to see gie and I, with all the care in the world. People made sure I had kites to kitemaker’s comps and to help with. I had a good time at convention and hope fly, pins to earn and help to place faces to names. Is everyone here this up close and per- to go again. Thanks to all the other kiters who attended generous and nice? Yes. They are. sonal. But beyond and made it such fun. Erin Edeiken, Brooklyn NY that, just the Randy Larkey, Liberty MO sheer number of incredible people As a first timer, I arrived wondering if we would be wel-

Winter ’06-’07 | Kiting 25 24 Kiting | Winter ’06-’07 kitemakers identified where possible 29TH ANNUaL C NvENTION Rokkakuku! photos by Phil Broder and Lindsey Johnson Grand National Results: Sport Kites Ronda Brewer Novice Individual Ballet Experienced Pairs Ballet sion 1 David Bush 62.700 1 Fire and Ice 60.950 1 John Barresi 84.175 2 Alan Cunningham 61.500 2 Nomes 57.600 2 Zachary Gordon 79.900 3 Elizabeth Gordon 55.500 3 Wing Nuts 51.550 3 Egan Davis 77.125 4 Elizabeth Gilson 42.150 4 Sky Jesters 49.350 4 Shawn Tinkham 74.075 5 Sky King & Tailspin Tommy 39.700 5 Wayne Turner 55.875 Novice Individual Precision 6 Blues Brothers 38.700 6 Wayne Fu 55.025 1 Alan Cunningham 63.575 7 Douglas Coates 53.725 2 Elizabeth Gordon 52.925 Experienced Pairs Precision Mike Shaw 3 David Bush 52.700 1 Fire and Ice 68.825 Masters Pairs Ballet 4 Laura Stonestreet 48.525 2 Sky King & Tailspin Tommy 51.625 1 Fly By Nite 76.500 Barbara Meyer 5 Elizabeth Gilson 42.825 3 Sky Jesters 41.100 2 EOS 76.200

4 Wing Nuts 39.150 3 O2 72.600 Experienced Individual Ballet 5 Blues Brothers DQ 4 Evidence 67.600 1 Douglas Coates 69.250 5 Pyro 66.050 2 Dan Newman 67.900 Experienced Team Ballet 3 James L. Thompson 66.850 1 Genesis 39.750 Masters Pairs Precision 4 Paul Koepke 62.900 1 EOS 74.100 5 Mark Quirmbach 56.650 Experienced Team Precision 2 Fly By Nite 74.025 6 Donna Houchins 55.500 3 Evidence 67.450 7 Andrew Cimburek 51.800 1 Genesis 58.400 4 O2 65.825 8 “Doug” Charleville 51.400 5 Full Throttle 50.375 Masters Individual Ballet Experienced Individual Preci- 1 Zachary Gordon 81.700 2 Egan Davis 79.250 Masters Team Ballet John Pollock Greg Bethel sion 3 Joshua Gordon 75.700 1 6th Sense 74.133 1 James L. Thompson 68.250 4 Daniel Haigh 73.450 2 Chicago Fire 73.333 2 Ronald Potts 66.975 5 Shawn Tinkham 72.350 3 AirZone Flight Team 68.867 3 “Doug” Charleville 66.700 6 Patty Tinkham 70.800 ent program was held at the Holiday by everyone including the College 4 Dan Newman 65.400 Convention Manager’s 7 John Barresi 69.800 Inn and attendees were entertained staff. On Thursday night we had the 5 Donna Houchins 63.950 Masters Team Precision 8 Aaron Champie 68.750 1 6th Sense 71.100 Report with a cornucopia of events. 6 Andrew Cimburek 63.400 opening of the Fly Market and Kite 9 Wayne Fu 58.100 2 Chicago Fire 69.067 I remember people asking me, Monday night the opening recep- Gallery; featuring the beautiful kite 7 Paul Koepke 62.750 10 John Gillespie 52.300 8 Mark Quirmbach 60.675 3 AirZone Flight Team 68.967 “Why are we going to Des Moines, tion was held in the ballroom of the aerial photography of Craig Wilson. 11 Spencer Schubbe DQ 9 Douglas Coates 60.450 Iowa for our convention? What is in Airport Holiday Inn. Old friends and In the Holidome the Mini Kite and Pin Open Ind. Indoor Unlimited Des Moines?” Well, for those of us new acquaintances used the time to Challenges entertained all who wanted Masters Individual Precision who attended the 2006 event, we now reconnect and share their passion for to join in. On Friday, the Great Kite Exp. Ind. Multi-Line Ballet 1 Daniel Haigh 75.975 Ballet 1 Shawn Tinkham 87.883 know what is in Des Moines! What a kiting. Tuesday night was the Indoor Auction raised over $27,000, including 1 Alan Cunningham 75.600 2 Zachary Gordon 75.325 2 Alan Cunningham 81.067 fabulous, warm, welcoming city! Our Fly at AIB College, which was enjoyed more than $6,000 from the Midwest 2 David Hathaway 72.650 3 John Barresi 73.350 3 Nelson Borelli 78.783 headquarters hotel seemed to be made 3 Karl Berg 70.750 4 Wayne Turner 72.450 Kitemaker’s Project. The Saturday 4 Patty Tinkham 74.950 4 Alison Newman 62.650 5 Joshua Gordon 72.050 for the AKA, complete with a Holidome night Awards Banquet recognized and 5 Aaron Champie 74.333 5 Aaron Champie 62.300 6 Patty Tinkham 70.200 for indoor flying and demonstrations. honored the best of the best in the 6 John Gillespie 68.283 6 “Doug” Charleville 61.000 7 Aaron Champie 70.175 The flying fields at Water Works week long flying events. During the 7 John Barresi 67.683 7 Charles Stonestreet 57.650 8 Shawn Tinkham 66.475 Park were expansive and beauti- Awards program, Darrin Skinner again 8 Wayne Turner 66.883 8 Laura Stonestreet 55.700 9 Wayne Fu 65.475 ful, complete with warm sunny days did a fabulous presentation that fea- 9 Paul Koepke 57.733 10 John Gillespie 60.425 throughout the week. Though the wind tured pictures from archives and the Exp. Ind. Multi-Line Precision 11 Russ Faulk 57.775 was a little mild on a couple of days, current week’s events that played out 1 David Hathaway 67.250 Open Ind. Outdoor Unlimited we managed to put hundreds of kites during the entire evening. 1 John Barresi 85.292 2 Alison Newman 54.800 Masters Ind. Multi-Line Ballet in the air and provide beautiful foot- By Sunday morning members were 3 Karl Berg 54.050 2 Charles Stonestreet 70.883 1 Shawn Tinkham 81.600 age for the local media (even though making their plans for departure and 4 Alan Cunningham 47.175 3 “Doug” Charleville 63.733 2 John Barresi 81.500 at the start of the week, one newspa- promising to be in Ocean Shores, WA 5 Aaron Champie 45.050 3 Zachary Gordon 79.150 per wrote that the public was invited where the AKA will hold their 30th 4 Egan Davis 66.400 Open Team Train Ballet to watch the AKA members fly at Water annual event, October 1 – October 6, 5 Douglas Coates 64.700 1 Heaven Help Us 55.800 Works Park, and that admission was 6 Wayne Fu 61.500 2007. Mark your calendar NOW! 2 Sky Jesters 52.250 only $87.50!!!!!). 7 Wayne Turner 59.700 Each morning the workshops would spill over with people excited and Masters Ind. Multi-Line Preci- Jim Martin energized by the quality of presenters and programs. Every evening a differ-

26 Kiting | Winter ’06-’07 Winter ’06-’07 | Kiting 27 29TH ANNUaL C NvENTION Chat With The Champion Grand National Results: Kitemaker’s by Phil Broder and Deb VonBokern Andy Selzer 6.70 7.93 6.90 7.63 29.17 GRAND CHAMPION At age 67, Chen Zhao Ji has been making kites for 60 materials in an Chen Zhao Ji 33.33 (Train & Centipede) Thomas VanBruggen 6.77 7.77 6.77 7.17 28.47 Carl Anderson 6.50 7.63 6.90 7.33 28.37 years. Born in Weifang, the City of Kites, he moved to Xi’an untraditional way. Terry McPherson 6.23 7.43 6.53 7.77 27.97 City to teach music at Xi’an Artistic College. How did you arrive at Highest Score William Schumacher 6.37 7.43 6.63 7.30 27.73 Twenty years ago, he started adding moving parts to your style? - Flight Chen Zhao Ji 8.73 (Train) traditional Chinese kite designs creating what he calls the Chen: The tradi- “Air Mechanical Dynamic tional Chinese kite - Visual Appeal Jerry Houk 7.67 (Rokkaku) Sport Kite Flight Visual Struct. Crafts. Sum Kite.” He builds a windmill has nothing new or Deb Lenzen 7.67 (Flat) Donna Houchins 7.20 8.00 7.10 8.20 30.50 or wind tunnel into the kite modern. It has been - Structural Design Chen Zhao Ji 9.20 (Train) Scott Spencer 6.50 7.50 6.73 7.20 27.93 that is attached to gears unchanged for 1000 - Craftsmanship Chen Zhao Ji 8.70 (Cellular) which make eyes, heads to 2000 years. I like Best Use of Traditional Materials: Chen Zhao Ji Rokkaku Flight Visual Struct. Crafts. Sum and arms move back and to introduce some- Mixed Media: Terry McPherson (Fighter) Jerry Houk 7.67 7.73 8.27 7.77 31.43 forth, mouths open and thing new. Motion Most Innovative: Eric Wolf (Train & Centipede) Mike Shaw 7.07 7.27 7.33 7.50 29.17 close, tongues lash and makes the kite come Greg Bethel 6.97 7.33 6.93 6.70 27.93 Special Recognition: Steve Ferrel whiskers whirl. alive. Mechanical Randy Fox 6.40 7.47 6.93 7.00 27.80 Mr. Chen works on gears make things Dave Ellis 6.53 7.03 6.33 6.50 26.40 a small table; he uses a more exciting. The Novice sharpened blade to split goal is to look like Jackie Maciel 29.70 (Figure) Train & Centipede Flight Visual Struct. Crafts. bamboo, a hand drill and life. Real life is bet- Greg Bethel 29.10 (Cellular) paint. He bends bamboo ter than still life. Randy Fox 29.07 (Soft & Flexible) Sum Chen Zhao Ji 6.73 8.73 8.67 9.20 33.33 over a candle or alcohol Kiting: Would you ever use modern materials? Eric Wolf 6.80 7.50 8.23 8.80 31.33 lamp. It takes him three Chen: Bamboo is available to me, but I would use mod- Flight Visual Struct. Crafts. Sum Cooperative Phil Broder 7.03 7.33 6.80 7.37 28.53 months to complete one ern materials if they were available to me. Carbon fiber is MAKR Group 6.37 6.73 6.83 7.30 27.23 mechanical kite. durable and really nice. The problem is heat setting, which He ties the bamboo parts together with hemp rope, I do with bamboo. Cellular & Dimensional Visual Struct. Crafts. Sum then glues a paper or silk skin onto the frame. He uses raw Kiting: Are there kitemakers outside of China who influ- UFO Flight Visual Struct. Crafts. Sum Chen Zhao Ji 7.20 8.00 8.70 8.97 32.87 silk which has been stretched and sized or starched with a ence you? Chris Dodson 6.97 6.37 7.03 7.70 28.07 Deb Lenzen 7.43 8.07 7.47 8.10 31.07 Greg Bethel 6.60 7.87 6.73 7.90 29.10 bean paste and alum mixture. The starch allows the paint Chen: No. There are two or three kitemakers in Weifang Art Hass 6.93 7.33 7.03 7.73 29.03 to stick and seals the silk. The watercolor paint is put on in who are influential, and one or two more in Xi’an. Figure Flight Visual Struct. Crafts. Sum Roy White 7.20 6.27 7.17 7.70 28.33 layers, working towards darker colors. A toothbrush is used Kiting: In America you’re a superstar, with everyone flock- Jackie Maciel 6.83 7.70 7.23 7.97 29.73 Dick Stolk 7.13 7.63 6.20 6.70 27.67 ing around you. How are you treated when you fly kites in Jerry Houk 6.27 7.13 7.03 7.87 28.30 to make an airbrush effect and to blend colors. He meticu- Phil Broder 6.60 6.67 6.67 6.70 26.63 Deb Lenzen 6.63 7.60 6.63 7.40 28.27 lously paints in every feather and detail by hand. China? Dick Maciel 6.60 6.30 6.70 6.93 26.53 Ed Grys 6.70 6.73 6.27 6.90 26.60 The Dragon is the most complicated kite that he has Chen: In 1987 when I made my first mechanical kite, people John Hlavacek 5.93 6.90 6.40 6.67 25.90 Chen Zhao Ji — — 8.70 8.33 17.03 made so far. It has seven different moving parts; the pearl were re- in its mouth is the windmill, the eyes and tongue move back ally in awe. Flat Flight Visual Struct. Crafts. Sum and forth, the eyebrows and cheeks move up and down, the I still talk Soft & Flexible Flight Visual Struct. Crafts. Sum Paul Fieber 7.40 7.37 7.63 7.93 30.33 jaws open and close, and the whiskers twirl. The turbine to reporters Randy Fox 7.03 7.33 7.30 7.40 29.07 Deb Lenzen 7.67 7.30 7.63 7.43 30.03 Bob Lockhardt 7.03 7.33 6.70 7.63 28.70 has eight spokes; the wheel is made from one piece of often. Since I Chen Zhao Ji 6.67 7.30 7.60 7.97 29.53 Jackie Maciel 6.67 7.13 6.47 7.13 27.40 bamboo that is tapered to fit together in the circle. There was honored Joann Weber 7.03 7.33 7.20 7.57 29.13 is a metal spring that is stretched onto the outer ring that as Grandmas- Phil Broder 7.03 7.87 6.60 6.93 28.43 makes a gear. The gears interlock and move easily, allowing ter of Art in Bowed Flight Visual Struct. Crafts. Sum Dick Maciel 7.07 7.17 6.43 7.13 27.80 for graceful movement in flight. my province, Barb Hall 6.67 7.23 6.83 6.77 27.50 John Pollock 7.37 8.27 7.93 8.93 32.50 We sat down with Mr. Chen and his interpreter, Yuan I have done David Ellis 6.57 7.17 6.73 6.80 27.27 Mike Shaw 7.07 8.33 7.00 8.60 31.00 Hsu, shortly before he won eight trophies at the banquet. many inter- Joann Weber 7.10 8.27 7.20 7.30 29.87 Elmon Morrison 6.90 6.90 6.77 6.70 27.27 Greg Bethel 6.93 7.63 6.53 7.23 28.33 Thomas VanBruggen 6.50 7.07 6.60 6.83 27.00 Kiting: views. David Ellis 6.33 6.07 6.80 6.87 26.07 This is Phil Broder 6.27 6.33 6.27 6.53 25.40 your first For more Arches & Ribbons Flight Visual Struct. Crafts. Sum Barbara Hall 5.77 6.70 6.13 6.10 24.70 AKA con- information Scott Spencer 6.57 6.37 6.47 6.73 26.13 vention? about “Wind Ed Grys 6.17 6.23 6.30 6.73 25.43 Chen: Above, Earth Delta Flight Visual Struct. Crafts. Sum Yes. And Below,” a Mike Shaw 7.27 7.20 7.47 7.67 29.60 Phil Broder 6.87 7.37 6.87 6.97 28.07 Sky Display Flight Visual Struct. Crafts. Sum fourth film about Pete Dolphin 7.10 7.40 7.20 7.97 29.67 Pete Dolphin 6.87 7.60 6.87 6.70 28.03 trip to traditional MAKR Group 6.37 6.73 6.83 7.30 27.23 Ed Grys 6.27 7.23 6.30 7.10 26.90 America. kitemaking Jackie Maciel 5.97 6.00 6.33 6.60 24.90 Kiting: in China fea- Dick Stolk 5.50 6.03 6.43 6.50 24.47 You use turing Chen Fighter Flight Visual Struct. Crafts. Sum

Ronda Brewer Ronda tradi- Zhao Ji, visit tional Winter ’06-’07 | Kiting 29 28 Kiting | Winter ’06-’07 29TH ANNUaL C NvENTION 29TH ANNUaL C Nin 1995v andENTION Darrin became the first Edeiken Award ticket-taker. webmaster. Grand National Results: Fighters & The Edeiken Award is about service • Together the Dallmers organize and Darrin created the first computer- to kiting. As we all know, service offer a variety of children’s kite mak- Individual Rokkaku Battle Experienced Fighter Skills Experienced Fighter Line ized AKA scoring program. He pro- can mean big things and it can mean ing workshops in South Jersey and 1 David Gomberg 1 Nelson Borelli 30 Touch grammed our first online kite calendar. smaller day-to-day things as well. Philadelphia. 2 Ronda Brewer 2 Andy Selzer 15 1 Andy Selzer 30 And he created the first online confer- This year’s Edeiken Award goes to a It is hard to miss the Dallmers at 3 Jerry Houk 3 Bruce Jarvie 15 2 Carl Anderson 22 ence competitor ranking system. Dar- couple that can be counted on for the any festival in Region 2. And even if 4 Andy Selzer 4 Carl Anderson 10 3 Tom Van Bruggen 22 rin has recently completed an overhaul big things, and to do the smaller ones you don’t know or notice them, you 5 Randy Fox Jeremy Terpening 10 4 Jeremy Terpening 19 of his competitor scoring program and without being asked. certainly are affected by their efforts 6 Tom Cross Bill Schumacher 10 5 Terry Mcpherson 17 also the conference ranking system. Mike and Cel Dallmer are con- and contributions. Mike is always on 7 Ken Wilkowski Tom Van Bruggen 10 Bill Schumacher 17 Five times, Susan and Darrin man- stants in kiting. Whether at smaller the field trying to keep the sky filled 8 Carol Jarvie 0 7 David Gomberg 15 flies, major festivals, workshops, local aged the Sport Kite Competition at the Sharon Champie 0 Sharon Champie 15 Team Rokkaku Battle clubs, the AKA Board, or as the leader Nationals. Terry McPherson 0 9 Bruce Jarvie 11 1 Team Bandanna Babies of a national program, we have come The Skinners helped found the Bay (Jeremy Terpening, Tom Van Bruggen, 10 Nelson Borelli 10 to count on the Dallmers as innovators Area Sport kite League (where AKA Tom Cross) 11 Carol Jarvie 8 Novice Fighter Skills and contributors. membership is mandated). They have 2 Team Rainbow Warriors 1 Darrin Skinner 25 12 Cat Gabrel 7 each served as president. BASKL was The Dallmers coordinated National (Rick Kinnaird, Erin Edeiken) 2 John Roberts 10 • named AKA’s first Club of the Year. Kite Month this year, with Mike as 3 Team Past Presidents 3 Lynn Berry 5 Starting in 2001, Susan has chaired Novice Fighter Line Touch Chairman and Cel handling most of the (David Gomberg, Pete Dolphin) 4 Linda Berry 0 1 Darrin Skinner 13 each of our National Conventions. She envelope stuffing. 4 Team Shock & Awe 2 John Roberts 12 has served on the AKA Executive Com- (Ronda Brewer, Dennis Lauer, Ed Grys) 3 Lynn Berry 8 • The Dallmers have been active lead- mittee. In 2005, she administered the 4 Charles Stewart 7 ers in the South Jersey Kite Flyers. World Sport Kite Championships for the 5 Paul Duncan 4 Mike is serving a fifth year as Presi- AKA. dent. Cel is Hospitality Coordinator 6 Linda Berry 0 Programming, managing, organiz- • The Dallmers coordinate auctions for ing, scheduling, and recruiting other two major festivals each year — Wild- volunteers are sometimes invisible Fightin’ Words by Sharon Champie wood and MIKE/MASKC. The entire What a great week for fighter kite enthusiasts! What a great way to cel- with color. And he frequently gives tasks and often thankless ones. But family works on each program. Mike is someone needs to do the work that ebrate the end of a year that has seen every one else. There was such cama- kites away to visiting kids. When not also co-chair of the AKA Auction. allows the rest of us to have fun or these little kites make their presence raderie and fine sportsmanship shown in the middle of the field he is by Cel’s Mike is an award winning kitemaker. be recognized. So it seems fitting to felt at more events across the country that I’m sure it will long be remem- • side making sure everything is going He has served as a kitemaking judge recognize these two AKA stalwarts now than ever before. bered by all who participated. Andy smoothly. for the AKA Grand Nationals. with AKA’s highest volunteer award. Thanks to the hard Selzer taught us all what it means to Cel serves more of a behind the work of Terry McPher- be a gracious winner as he thoroughly • Mike has helped to develop new scenes role. She has stood by Mike’s son and the Bandanna trounced us all, giving up only three plans for the kite community. He has addiction to the kite hobby since the Lee Toy Circle Award Gang, we were treated points in all his matches. published details for a circoflex and his beginning, giving up her sewing ma- This year’s recipient is a long-time to a full week of fighter A surprising agile, nearly naked interpretation of a genki. chine to the cause and allowing him to AKA member and three-time Grand activities that chal- Nelson Borelli turned in a perfor- • Cel is the driving force behind the turn the entire basement into a kite Champion who has taught workshops lenged and entertained mance later that evening in the Indoor annual Wildwood Welcome Bar-B-Que. workshop. Together these two wonder- all over the world. He is a past mem- everyone at every skill competition that also will live in the Mike has traditionally been the chief ful people represent what is best and ber of the Kite Art committee, and level. From the very memories of all. Way to go Nelson! You good in kiting. is on the board of directors for the first day as the newest can see a video of his indoor fighter Drachen Foundation. He willingly flyers were trying to routine at www.kitelife.com under Ingraham Award shares his work and knowledge, and encourages other artists in their ef- control their giggles as John Barressi’s coverage of the con- The AKA has identified the Ingra- forts. This year’s honoree is Jose Sainz. well as their, to fighter vention. ham Award, named for our founder, workshops, to the last Another highlight of the week to honor special volunteers who have rokkaku battle, there had to be Andy Selzer’s make-and- given the Association ongoing service Regional Director of the Year was something for ev- take fighter kite workshop. With help and support. This year’s award goes to Don Murphy, Region 7 ery one every day. from the Bandanna Gang again, Andy two people who were recognized with The experienced line shepherded 25 enthusiastic builders the very first AKA Volunteer of the Year Volunteer of the Year touch event really set through the intricacies of making a award in 1994, Darrin and Susan Skin- Tracy Erzin the pace for the rest really nice, competition-worthy, low ner. of the week. Flying in wind fighter. The kites were so nice In 1992, Darrin created a multi- Club of the Year fluky, uncooperative that Darrin Skinner used one to hand- level automated telephone system to South Jersey Kite Flyers winds, twelve combat- ily win the Novice line-touch and skills provide information about the AKA. ants flew for six straight competitions. This seems almost antiquated now, but hours to complete a at the time it was cutting edge. Mate- full round, each flying a rial used for the phone system became five point match against the backbone of AKA’s new web page

Winter ’06-’07 | Kiting 31 30 Kiting | Winter ’06-’07 29TH ANNUaL C NvENTION Miniature Kite Challenge Results A Familiar Name, Smallest Beauty Flight Originality 5 1 Jim Martin /8” (smallest tail) 1 Donna Houchins 1 Jim Martin 1 Donna Houchins A New Face 5 If you were in Des Moines, chances are you saw a twenty-something woman 2 Donna Houchins /8” 2 Joann Weber 2 Susan Skinner 2 Jim Martin with a video camera glued to 3 Susan Skinner 1” 3 Jim Martin 3 Joann Weber 3 Susan Skinner 1 her face. It was none other than 4 Pam Bowden 3 /4” 4 Pam Bowden 4 Donna Houchins 4 Joann Weber Erin Edeiken, daughter of the 5 Joann Weber 6” 5 Susan Skinner 5 Pam Bowden 5 Pam Bowden late Steve Edeiken. In the early 1980s, when Erin was a toddler, her father, founder of the Rain- Company, was killed Size byMatters Jim Martin or and Most Kites in Des Moines while trying to launch the world’s How I Flew the Biggest, Smallest, largest kite at Long Beach, WA.

Early in 2006, David and Susan was scheduled for Thursday, the mini That night, I made a series of tiny Gomberg asked if I would drive out challenge for Friday. On Wednesday, Eddies, pushing the size down as far from North Carolina to Iowa, and bring Scott Atzen and a crew from Water as I could. A number of non-flying tiny their Mega Flag to fly at the 29th AKA Works Park delivered a twelve-ton, kites were tossed in the bin, but even- Convention. I was looking forward to gravel-filled dump truck to anchor tually I came up with a little kite ¾ the convention anyway, and adding in us, and the forecast was sounding a inch by ½ inch, which flew very steadi- a chance to fly the world’s biggest kite lot better. So we were “Go!” to try a ly at about a 30 degree elevation. for the world’s most knowledgeable flight. Rumor was going around the mini- audience was a very nice bonus. Thursday morning the weather was kiters that somebody had a tiny box I also packed my two boxes of min- perfect for the Mega Flag: six or seven kite smaller than that; later rumor said iature kites, and my mini-kite building mile an hour winds, blowing down the it had been inadvertently squashed. I supplies, as taking part in the Minia- length of the field, and a pleasant also knew that Donna Houchins and ture Kite Challenge has been my favor- temperature to work in. The crew got Sue Skinner had some very small kites. Now, Erin is trying to discover the ite part of past conventions. Here was the kite laid out, under the watchful In the end, it was very close, but I father she never knew. She came a rare chance: to fly the biggest AND eye of several TV and print news crews edged out Donna’s smallest kite by a to the convention armed with the smallest kite at the convention. and we let the wind begin to inflate whisker, and had successfully taken a camera, a volunteer camera Arriving in Des Moines, it became the kite. kite flying at the convention to the crew, and a six-pack of Steve’s clear that there were going to be some As the kite filled with air, I noticed extremes, size-wise. seminal Rainbow stunt kites. Be- challenges in pulling this off. I was a ripped seam in the back of the kite. The next day, I was crossing the fore week’s end, she had learned sure we safely had the biggest kite in Apparently, at our last flight in Dallas field, and noticed Terry McPherson to fly the kites, let many others hand, but wind conditions sounded a seam had parted unnoticed when we lofting a train of Li’l Miss Take fighter try them out, gained wisdom at iffy, with words like “twenty mile an lowered the kite in suddenly gusting kites. Years ago, WACKOS, my home the knee of Corey Jensen, and by hour gusts” used frequently. On the winds at the end of the day. After a club, and TISKK had competed to fly flying alongside Rick Kinnaird in smallest kite front, due to my broth- quick consultation with David and Su- the most of these kites on one line. the team rokkaku battle, healed er’s recent wedding, I had not built san, we decided to fly the kite anyway, Eventually, the WACKOS topped out the rift between the Rainbow anything really small for the mini kite and the crowd cheered as the kite at 24. Terry told me he had 29, and Warriors and the Mama-Sans. One challenge. inflated and lifted into the air. intended to usurp our record. First things first. Flying the big one Winds were very light, but we In a situation like that, there was flew the kite for about only one thing to do: help him, and get week later, she came from her fifteen minutes before a chance to hold the line for a moment Brooklyn home to Wildwood to a lull let the kite fold and add “most on a line” to a superla- present the award named for her up and settle onto tive convention. father to Mike and Cel Dallmer in the ground. When we Thanks to David and Susan Gom- person. Her film-making proj- discovered that the rip berg and the “A” and “B” teams, ect continues; look for Erin at was starting to spread, Charlie Sotich and the mini-kiters and future conventions and other kite it was clear we were Terry McPherson. It was indeed a week festivals across America as she done. But, we had of extreme kiteflying. tries to find out more about the flown, and I now safely man who helped popularize stunt had the biggest kite at kites. the convention under my belt: time to claim the smallest as well. Jim Martin

32 Kiting | Winter ’06-’07 Winter ’06-’07 | K iting 33 Paper In Flight Niagara International Kite Festival Throughout the fall, the Maryland Institute College of Art October 6-9, 2006 celebrated the 20th anniversary of Hand Papermaking maga- Under the Mega Moon you’ll find Dean Jordan, Jose zine with the exhibit “Paper In Flight.” The exhibit explores Sainz, Mrs. Sakuraba, Blake Pelton, Mrs. Nakamura, the use of handmade Japanese washi paper as a medium Masaaki Modegi, Mr. Nakamura, and Yoshizo Sakuraba. for the art of kitemaking. The kitemakers involved included America’s Scott Skinner, Canada’s Robert Trépanier, Hun- Canada’s Jean garians István Bodóczky and son Anthony, Italian Alessia Poisson gets formal. Marrocu, Japan’s Nobuhiko Yoshizumi, and Austria’s Eveline Bischof, Anna Rubin, and Daniella Zitzmann. Also adding to the exhibit were acclaimed artists Lesley Dill and Byron Kim. The centerpiece of the exhibit was Dill’s “Divide Light (Healing Man)”, a 10-foot tall washi paper on bamboo frame collaboration with Skinner, Gail Deery (chair of MICA’s print- making department), and 21 MICA students. The exhibit and related symposia were sponsored by MICA, Hand Papermaking Inc., the Drachen Foundation, and Hiromi Paper Interna- tional.

Above and right: un- titled kites by Robert Trépanier and Scott Skinner.

Left: Divide Light Great Britain’s Martin Les- (Healing Man) by Les- ter flies hisSpirit Man. ley Dill

photos by photos by A cathedral window dopero by International Photo: Doug Isherwood Tasmania’s Rob Brasington. Dan Meyers

SunFest Ocean City, MD September 21-24, 2006

photos by Phil Broder Hank Kleinot readies his multi-flare.

Paul LaMasters gives a Phil Broder’s Seaside The crowd gathers next to Rev lesson on the beach. Thai goes for a swim. What the Duck, ready for the candy drop.

Winter ’06-’07 | Kiting 35 34 Kiting | Winter ’06-’07 KAP he Best Kite AerialTIONS Photograph competition at this year’s Convention attracted a diverse group of kite aerial T photographers. Nine AKA members representing four countries submitted twenty-four photographs, with banquet attendees voting for their favorite. A big thanks goes to Brooks Leffler and Craig Wilson for handling the setup and vot- ing at the banquet.

First Place – “Bora Bora – Coral reef and lagoon” by Pierre Les- age, French Polynesia

This stunning photo was taken with a Canon IXY Digital 600. The camera was lifted by a Sutton Flowform 30 towed by a boat. The only post processing done on the image was to boost the blacks and contrast. Top left: “Asilomar Shoreline” by Brooks Leffler, California Top center: “White Knight and Spaceship One with DC-3” by Craig Wilson, Wisconsin Top right: “Water Jet Ski in Ravenna” by Andrea Casalboni, Italy Right:“Nothing but Net” Runner Up- “Broch by David Hunt, Tennessee of Gurness, Orkney,

Scotland” by James Gentles, Scot- land, UK

Broch of Gurness is a pre-historic gem on the Island of Orkney, dating from around 1000 B.C. The final image is a composite of two images. The cam- era was a Pentax 550 Digital lifted by a Pilot modified for KAP use.

Second Runner Up- “What’s Up!” by Dan Brinnehl, Illinois

Dan says, “This image was taken at Veteran’s Park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, at a sport kite demonstration with the Chicago Fire Kite Team. Between perfor- mances Craig Wilson and I both noticed this group of kids which Craig helped corral for this photograph. Curiosity, wonderment and surprise all show in the eyes of these kids as they looked at ‘What’s Up!’”

Dan finished in a tie for 3rd place with David Wheeler, who’s work will be fea- tured in the Spring ‘07 issue of Kiting.

Winter ’06-’07 | Kiting 37 36 Kiting | Winter ’06-’07 and Russ held all kinds of positions REGIONaL REpORTS since they joined SJKF in 1996. While is endless. Meg and Bill Albers ran a they will be missed, I’m sure they’ll be world class international kite festi- a great addition to Region Four. val that started with a historic kite Region Two kitemakers fared contest over the falls. Masaaki Modegi well in Des Moines. Andy Selzer, Pete brought the Mega Moon, the world’s Dolphin, and Scott Spencer all won largest kite, to this festival. It was a categories, and Phil Broder added an- crowd pleaser and the spectators were other pair of trophies in his first-ever thrilled. There were other monster competition. kites from “The Berkeley Kite Wran- I also am aware of some Region glers” and a whole bunch of other Two members who volunteered their cowboys from around the planet. Kite- making workshops for the public were offered and fugu wrestling for the kids Region 1 ~ New England with a giant inflatable blow fish.

Region 2 ~ Northeast Lindsey Johnson CT-NH-MA-ME-RI-VT-NY I don’t want to overshadow the listed. With Robert “Woody” Woods NJ-PA-(lower) NY old man winter creeping up Todd Little P.O. Box 525 on us you may want to see North Dighton, MA 02764 if you have any indoor flying 832 Meadow Lane 508/669-4114 space in your city or town Camp Hill, PA 17011 [email protected] available. I’m pretty sure if 717/975-2852 their ground display and kites; and End of term: 2007 you can find a gym or hall [email protected] helped open “Mumfest” at Longwood with enough overhead End of term: 2007 Gardens in Kennett Square, PA. And clearance and flying space LVKS already has events booked for Hello everyone. I’m rushing to put you could find plenty of ’07! this report together now that Kiting I know that all of you who were folks to come down and fly The Keystone Kiters are planning has a new editor at the helm. Let’s fortunate enough to attend the con- with you this winter. Con- their annual one-day winter retreat hope things run as smooth as silk for vention had an excellent time, and tact your local kite club and on the Sunday of the “Big Game” in Phil and for Kiting. The AKA is full of some Region Two members brought get the word out. I’m sure February. Look for more in one of my new officers and they are trying to home some excellent memories along Gary Quinton and KONE will Region Two e-mails. keep the AKA alive and well. Let’s all with their trophies. have many events going do what we can to support them. We If you see Mike and Cecilia again this year in Lynn. need more events in Region One like Dallmer, high-five ‘em for winning the time in Des Moines. I’ve seen evidence the Narragansett event that Forrest Steve Edeiken Memorial Kiteflier of of Steve Ferrel, Cliff Carey ran. What a sweet spot to fly the Year award this year! This award Quinn, Joyce Quinn, AKA Convention, and as usual Re- has been spending a lot of time here kites. Nice job Forrest and everyone gion One members did very well in Des Cinda Shannon, Kevin who made it happen. I’m looking for- in Region Two in the last five years or Shannon, Tanna Haynes Moines. Taking home plenty of so, and the Dallmers certainly exem- ward to next year already. wood were the Tinkhams, Doug and Glen Haynes working I’m also looking forward to going plify the spirit of this award for their at the convention. If you Coates and Karl Berg. New- excellence in kite making and kite back to Niagara Falls. What a great comers Dick and Jackie Maciel were there and enjoyed festival. It was just amazing to see flying, and for their generosity and yourself, you have folks took home many honors in kite kindness with all kite fliers. The award some of the world’s best kitemak- making. Way to go you two. The like these to thank. ers and fliers from around the world was presented by Pete Dolphin along Lehigh Valley Kite So- corn on the cob kite was perfect with a new addition to the region, Erin gather for a kite fly in Niagara Falls, in many ways. Congratulations. ciety has continued to do NY. I would name names but the list Edeiken. kite building for kids. It Around the region there Going hand-in-hand with this, the has been seems that their reputa- South Jersey Kite Flyers won the Club tion still exists for these plenty to do of the Year award! No slacking off now, and plenty events. Their display also gang. Keep up the great work. Some is appreciated because of places of their recent events have been the to fly. Local it causes such a splash “Olan and Bernice Turner International of color and excitement. events are Invitational Open Peanut Butter Cookie popping up all By this time, LVKS has Kite Fly and Bake Off” in late October, participated in Science- over our re- two weekends at Longwood Gardens gion. Between fest at Marvine School building more than 200 kites in Sep- in Bethlehem, PA; the the AKA, tember, and their third Annual “Flying KONE and Cancer Walk in Mt. Lakes, at Fort Mott” with a BBQ, kite flying NJ, where they donate ConnectiKit- and friend making. Two long-time SJKF ers websites time, kites and services board members, Pat and Russ Mozier, every year; an event at every event are moving to Florida around Christ- should be the Merion Cricket Club mas. Pat is the Treasurer of the club in Haverford, PA, with 38 Kiting | Winter ’06-’07 Winter ’06-’07 | Kiting 39 kite competitions, our folks helped For the first time in the 26 year managed to launch the 10 foot kite for setup and tear down several venues at history of the Edinburg (VA) Ole Time a moment to the delight of two elder the convention. Here is an impressive Festival, they had kites! WOW and tribeswomen looking on with amaze- statistic: Jon Burkhardt has attended Richmond Air Force descended on this ment. Later that same morning, my 28 of the 29 AKA conventions, plus he small town of 900 in the Blue Ridge youngest son, Eric, and I stopped by built and donated a kite or kite-re- Mountains, and put on a show. The Paitlong Elementary School to speak lated item to the convention 25 years library had a kite display all month, with the principal, offering to return running. He did pretty well in the and the clubs sent the town kites to at lunchtime to give a kite demonstra- bidding department this year too. [Edi- display in store fronts. Conditions tion. My eldest son, Troy, and I quickly tor’s note: Don’t I know it! I bought his weren’t the greatest, but, as always, went in search of locally available ma- kite.] Jon, thanks for the support and they did a fantastic job of introducing terial to demonstrate for the children dedication to the AKA. festival goers to the world of kiting. how to assemble homemade kites. To Before we get started on events, There were four venues to cover. The the delight of about 75 children, my here is something for you kitebuilders. flying field offered challenging winds, son and I made diamond kites from Flyers around Region Three festivals but they pulled it off. There were lots potato chip bags, bamboo taken from have been fortunate to encounter of colorful banners, and a kite corral a traditional broom, and thread. We Region 5 ~ Great Lakes Randy Shenk and see some of his great was set up at the flying field which the tried our best using drawings, their Region 4 ~ Southeast MI-OH kites. He has been painting and exper- crowds found very interesting. Also at surprisingly good understanding of Jerry McGuire Region 3 ~ Mid-Atlantic AL-FL-GA-KY-MS-PR-NC-SC-TN imenting with dyeing kite fabric. Go the flying field, they held bol races and English, our limited understanding of 5031 Mallet Hill Dr DC-DE-MD-VA-WV Mike Agner to these links and you can get an idea judged kit kites. Two kite building sites Tagalog, and charades to convey the Cincinnati, OH 45244 Norman “Doug” Charleville were available, and there was a booth 4801 Deer Glade Court of what he has been working on: www. importance of symmetry, proportion, 513/ 831-8379 1607 Longdale Drive kitebuilder.com/forums/viewtopic. on Main Street. Plus, as a bonus, the Wilmington, NC 28409 scale and weight. We succeeded in fly- [email protected] Norfolk, VA 23518 php?t=3813 and also www.kitebuilder. clubs got to march in the parade! The 910/790-5979 ing a train of the miniature diamonds End of term: 2008 757/852-3522 com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=3855. word is that they would like to have [email protected] from the end of a bamboo stick to the [email protected] Wings Over Washington worked them back next year. A highlight of the End of Term: 2007 cheers of the entire school. With very Hello Region Five kiters. We just End of term: 2007 with the Festival Committee (Arts weekend was the bed race on Sunday. limited space to launch, I managed Get a bed frame, fit it with wheels, a returned from the AKA Convention. It Council) since February to make the It’s been a great summer; the “big to climb on the tin roof of the school, steering mechanism, and a driver, and was a great week. The workshops were Just returned from the AKA Con- First Middletown (MD) Kite Festival winds” avoided us and we’ve been to stretch my 30 meter lines down the compete in heats against other bed a cut above what I have experienced vention in Des Moines, where I had a a huge success. There were music, many festivals. As I write this, I am driveway and, with a gust, my Blast racers. After three heats, the winning at other conventions. And the weather great time along with about ten others banners, great wind, kites for sale, planning the inaugural Cape Fear Kite was airborne. I flew the 4-line wonder bed clocked in at 23 mph — that was more than cooperated....the mid 80s from the region. Sorry we missed many bol races, kite building, a band, food Festival to be held the first weekend in for several passes while the children a hoot! Maybe the kiters should enter in October in Des Moines. Many at- of you there. It wasn’t one of the vendors, and LOTS OF PEOPLE (the November at Wrightsville Beach. I at- and teachers looked on in disbelief. next year!! tendees commented that the number larger conventions, but the weather estimate was between 800 and 900 tended the AKA and was glad to meet Against an amazing backdrop of the September 21-24 was Sunfest is of spectators at this convention far ex- was great and the winds were mostly attendees). WOW had a great turnout so many representatives from Region terraces, our adventure ended with no Ocean City, MD. Because of the windy ceeded those who came to observe at favorable. I hope all of you are mak- of kiters who thoroughly enjoyed the Four. broken limbs or spars. After only one conditions, there wasn’t much in the ing plans for next years convention in day. Based on past experience with This comes from Rick Miessau in hour we felt we had inspired a new way of ground displays. But, there Washington. Speaking of the conven- kite building at first time festivals, West Palm Beach, FL: group of future kite flyers. We hope to were kites in the air. As usual, the Kite tion, I would like to acknowledge all they expected to build about 50 kites “In July 2006, my family made a trip revisit Banaue in 2008 and see the sky Loft auction was fun. WOWsters Dennis the hard work Region Three members and ended up building 116 — all they to the Philippines for our first reunion full of kites.” Hawley and Paul LaMasters each got dedicate to the auction. In addition brought — and could have built more. in 30 years. We also had an oppor- one of the three new Jordan Air Forms to judging both kitemaking and sport They are meeting with the Committee tunity to tour the northern mountain being auctioned. soon to plan next years’ event, so it provinces of the main island, sounds like they enjoyed the event. Luzon. The highlight of our The RAF invaded WACKOS turf over exploration was viewing the th Labor Day weekend for the 4 Annual 2000 year old rice terraces in Mile High Kite Festival. Beech Moun- Banaue. Banaue is perched on tain, NC, is the highest incorporated the edge of these ancient rice city in the Eastern terraces at an elevation above United States and if 3000 feet and are the highest you fly a kite 100’ terraces in the world. After high, it is a mile checking with the local tribes- up, earning you a men, I attempted to fly my new certificate from the Revolution Power Blast, which city. In addition to previous convention locations. Thanks the kind folks at Revolution go out to the local media for coming the weekend kite Kites rushed to me just before festival, there was out to cover the convention activities. leaving for our trip. I had hopes Region Five was well represented by a great street dance of flying my new kite from the Saturday night and folks from all parts of Michigan and most recognized terrace in Ohio, too many names to mention. a cookout dinner Banaue which is depicted on on Sunday after the Most of the kite clubs in the region the back of the 1000 peso note. were represented. I recall chatting festival. With almost dead calm air I

40 Kiting | Winter ’06-’07 Winter ’06-’07 | Kiting 41 able two days in Cleveland. Pegasus, Jim Wirt, Mike Delfar, Dan years I was able to join them. The There are two events Newman, Alison Newman, Paul Ko- day started out gray then cleared and which have published dates epke, the Gordon brothers, and Paula the winds varied in both direction and for 2007. A new kite festival is Schenk. KSWI club members made intensity as the day went along, but being planned in Tawas City, Charlie Sotich kites for the kids during the kiters in attendance kept the sky Michigan for June 2-3. Initial and the event was attended by mem- filled with a variety of ripstop cre- plans indicate that this will bers of several clubs in the region. ations making for some smiles on the be a fun festival on the shores The Kite Society starts off its 2007 faces of the spectators in attendance. of Lake Huron with show season with the Cool Fool Kite Fly on In addition to club events, there kites, team demos, etc. The January 1st at Veterans’ Park. Scott are some kite festivals that are defi- Bay City Times and the local Fisher will have the Gift of Wings store nitely worth checking out. On Febru- Chamber of Commerce are Region 6 ~ Midwest at the park open for a spot to warm up ary 10th and 11th the 3rd annual Kites sponsoring this event. And, IA-IL-IN-MN-WI if you’re brave enough to venture out Over the Bay takes place in Fish Creek, the Third Annual Airwaves Robert Rymaszewski into the cold and join me. WI. Last year this gathering not only Kite Fest in Cincinnati has an- 3266 S. 44th Street The Wisconsin Kiters took part in featured kites flown from the ice on nounce that it is expanding to Greenfield, WI 53219 the 10th annual United Way kick off the bay, but a neat display of kites in two days in 2007. The dates 414/329 9825 event in Marinette, WI, on September the local town hall as well. On Febru- for Airwaves 2007 are April 14 [email protected] 9th. The attendance at this event was ary 17th, the annual Color The Wind Region 7 ~ Great Plains Region 5, continued & 15. Mark these on your 2007 calen- End of term: 2008 good but the winds were too generous, kite festival takes place in Clear Lake, CO-KS-MO-ND-NE-SD-UT-WY with folks from O.S.E.K., P.I.G.S. Aloft, dar. Both promise to be great fun, and limiting the size of the sky show. The Iowa. Each year Larry and Kay Day Donald Murphy Greetings from Region Six. Since Tri-State Windriders, Mid-Michigan opportunities to share your love of childrens’ kite workshop usually held bring in a fun group of kiters who put 9104 Charles Street my last report the region has had String Stretchers and Black Swamp Air kiting with the non-kiting community. outdoors was moved inside to keep on a great show and have a good time Omaha, NE 68114 its share of events including playing Force. And, of course, the Bandanna With winter approaching focus materials from blowing away. despite the cold. 402/391-8503 host to this year’s annual convention. Gang was well represented. My apolo- seems to be changing to building kites The Wisconsin Kiters start out their When I think of good times, I’m [email protected] Attendees included members from st th gies if I did not get a chance to visit 2007 season on January 1 at Deland reminded that MAKR, the 19 annual throughout the region, some of whom End of term: 2008 with you at the convention or failed to Midwest Area Kitemakers Retreat takes came for the fun of it and some who th th th recognize that you were from a club place on March 9 , 10 and 11 at the came to compete in both the kitemak- Well, we’ve come to the end of that I did not mention. Check out the Loredo Taft Campus of Northern Illinois ing and sport kite events. You can find the kite flying season once again. competition results elsewhere in this University in Oregon, IL. The talent the names of all the winners elsewhere We have had some great flies and issue. Many awards went to competi- of some of the folks who have taught in this issue. some rainouts. But after the wonder- tors from Region Five. Congratulations and attended these classes was clearly Major announcements from the ful weather at the Convention in Des to all. Sandi and I really enjoyed the displayed at the convention. Chicago Fire. With the help of several Moines, it has ended well. Since our week and, as usual, came home with I’d like to thank Scott Fisher for other sport kiters and some subter- a couple of new kites that we “pur- his contribution to this report. I’d also fuge orchestrated by David Gomberg, chased” at the Great Kite Auction. like to thank the members of the clubs the team welcomed its newest mem- Getting to news and happenings in in our region who through their input ber, Zach Gordon. And at the end of the region, I had a great time at the make the job of your regional director the week in Des Moines, Paul Koepke Cleveland Kite Festival on September easier. If you have an event you’d like popped the question to Kathy Brinnehl. 9-10. The Ohio Society for the Eleva- me to attend or spread the word about Congratulations to all! Also, the winner tion of Kites does a bang-up job with please let me know. Have a happy and (loser?) of the Fire’s annual spar-bust- this annual event on the shores of Lake safe holiday season and keep looking ing contest was Russ Faulk. Erie. There was nice weather and good up! The Kite Society of Wisconsin and winds both days. And there were quite Illinois held the 28th annual Frank Mots a number of spectators enjoying the International Kite Festival at Veterans’ show each day. Folks flew kites they Park on the shores of Lake Michigan had purchased from the kite vendors and planning for next season. But do in Milwaukee, WI, on September 9th that were on the grounds. Demos, not forget that most of the Region and 10th with cloudy cool weather show kites, and the many neat single Five kite clubs continue their monthly Park in Sheboygan where their kites and great winds. The event featured line kites that were flown kept every- flys throughout the winter or schedule will accompany the Polar Bear Plunge. one entertained. Yes, it was an enjoy- special winter activities. If you are The Minnesota Kite Society starts not a member of an AKA affiliated kite off the year with Lake Harriet Win- club, check out the list of clubs in this terfest on a Saturday in mid- January last issue we spent Labor Day week- issue, and phone or e-mail the contact at Lake Harriet in Minneapolis, MN. end in Callaway, NE. As usual, it was a person. They would love to have you Please check their website for more wonderful festival. The weather was participate in their activities. details if you’re interested in attend- great, good winds and great times. We If you hold and event please send ing. They also have the Frosty Fingers were short a few of our regular flyers, me a short report and some picture so Kite Fly scheduled on January 28th at however we did bring in some new at- I can share them in Kiting. Como Park in St. Paul, MN. tendees. Remember...its all about putting MKS held the annual Flying Colors Convention was a great experi- smiles on faces. Kite Festival in Maple Grove, MN, last ence for us and many from our region. August and for the first time in several We were so glad to see such a good

Winter ’06-’07 | Kiting 43 42 Kiting | Winter ’06-’07 performances by Chicago Fire, Team build something motel rooms. Other rooms are 40-60 bed (Did we get the cap locked down Ploof helped with judging on the Sport new for next year. miles away. However, Callaway does right?) it lasted 20 minutes inflated. Kite competitions. Every time I turned Come and join us offer free camping in their park, and The next time was even less. So Randy around, I saw Rick Hawkins helping at Clear Lake, Iowa many townspeople donate their per- and I, neither fans of camping, laid someone, from workshop presentations on February 3rd. It’s sonal RV campers to kiters who come on the cold flat mattress with a warm to the bag raffle! Plus, it was wonder- cold but really fun! in from far away. I was amazed at blanket for the TOP of us. That cold ful to see the Charlevilles from Arkan- Linda Larkey the number of people camping. Tents flat mattress was laying on our cold sas at the convention, even though of the Kansas City tent floor, which in turn was on the Doug kept them pretty busy! Even the Kite Club had this chilly Nebraska ground in the low 40’s. Weather Spirits were good to us all to share about her It was not a comfortable night, but it week; although the Wind Goddess truly first experience at was a long one. has a sense of humor. Callaway... In the morning Don and Betty Mur- The only bad thing about an AKA “Randy and I de- phy cooked breakfast for some of the Region 8 ~ South Central convention is that there’s SO much cided a few days kiters on the sidewalk in front of the AR-LA-NM-OK-TX to do that I always feel guilty when I before the long Motel 4 on two electric skillets and a Gayle Woodul return home because I didn’t spend as Labor Day weekend toaster. The combination of all appli- 106 Main Street much time as I wanted with the dear to attend Callaway. ances on one extension cord tended to Marble Falls, TX 78654 friends from other areas and the new We have heard blow breakers. As one breaker would friends that I’ve just met! If I blew Region 7, continued 830/598-2414 about it for years, but the distance, go, Don would hunt up another out- [email protected] you a kiss on the run when I really turnout of Region Seven members at- and scheduling had put us off. let in another room. I think they had End of term: 2008 should have stopped and spent more tending. We even managed to score 10 We planned to leave as soon as two breakers to spare when breakfast time with you, please forgive me! I we could make it home Friday. We was finished. Don fixed pancakes in can’t offer enough applause to Mag- trophies at the awards ceremony. core group! I challenge you all... okay, made Callaway about 1:00 Saturday the shape of flexi-foils. What a great gie Vohs, our Convention Manager, for I want to personally thank Dave I challenge myself, too! It might mean to find a field FILLED with kites. This example of a regional director! pulling it all together! Maggie does a Gomberg and the Board of Directors a little more driving and a little more festival is held in a pasture, but not a Even with the camping experience, tremendous job of tackling not only for the honor of being named “Re- gas, so just skip a fast food meal and pasture that I have seen before. I was Randy and I had a good time, and have the enormous task of venue logistics, gional Director of the Year”. I was designate those funds to your gas tank! expecting tall grass, and lots of chig- been talking about returning next year. but also of keeping an eye on the small so surprised and very moved by the If it’s a distance, maybe you could at- gers. Instead there was short grasses, We saw only four people that we knew things in order to cut costs whenever award. Thank you all out there for be- tend just one day of a two day festi- small cactus groups, and rolling hills. were everywhere as well as RV’s. We from other events but we met LOTS of possible. Bravo Maggie! Get ready for ing a part of one of the biggest regions val; don’t let distance stop you! Reach The rancher who donates the use of figured if we were actually going to kiters from all over the region. And Ocean Shores, October 2nd through 6th in the AKA. We have a great group of out, wander on over! Think about his land moves his cattle out a couple go and experience Callaway, we ought we got to see lots of really neat kites. of 2007. flyers. it... what’s your favorite kite festival of weeks before the event, so there to camp. The park is really nice. We even flew a couple, as well as put So, gets the vans packed, dust off Special thanks to all the Region (yeah - I love that one, too!)? Now, are no fresh cow pies on the land. No Large park, two full blocks with flush out our ground display.” the kite bags, make sure your Seven members who created items for do you remember the first time that stubble, either, like many fields kiters toilets. Randy and I figured we could Enjoy the sky! events are on the calendar, and get the Kite Makers portion of the Auction. you went to that event? You may not find themselves in. And KITES. Big camp one night IF we bought a big air ready for the 2007 kiting season! Mike Gee, Dave Ellis and Team Larkey have known anyone there, or where to kites, that looked pretty small in the mattress. It inflated well on the test I’ll see ya out there! were especially successful in their stay, or where to eat, or exactly how wide open spaces. Small kites at the run at home. But when we inflated it Keep looking up! beautiful creations. They brought in to get there. I’ll bet you even passed end of kids hands. All types of kites. at the critical time — Camp Callaway some big money at the auction. the exit getting there the first time. And different kites on different days. at 9 p.m. — no way, Jose. A leak, that We know it is about to be winter, I’ve seen you doing a U-turn as you Kiters from a wide area. And few that accelerated as the night progressed. but don’t forget we still have events to As the year changes, I can’t help passed the kite field — I was in the van we had met before. The second time we aired up the attend. Get those kites repaired, and but look back over 2006. We had a full behind you! Well, in a word, GETOVER- This was the 16th Annual Kite Flight schedule of events in Region Eight; IT! Share your unique point of view, in Callaway, organized by Connie May. from the classics to inaugural festivals; technique, or talent with a whole new Callaway averages over 125 families from local community get-togethers event and group of kiters. Plus, see that participates and flies, and has ap- to events which brought in kiters from what they have to offer for you to take proximately 3500 spectators who enjoy all over the Region with thousands of home and share! the show. Participants pay $20 per spectators! We’ve had it all! We’ve As expected, the AKA convention family to fly and receive a T-shirt, and made new friends and expanded our was incredible and folks from Region a bag of goodies from local merchants. kiting families, but we also had to say Eight stepped up to the plate to make We were amazed at how many a final goodbye to some dear, longtime sure that everything ran smoothly! Rob spectators came. And these were die- friends. Cembalest tackled the massive job hard spectators. They set up tents, It’s a new year, so get your kit- of coordinating the incoming auction chairs, and blankets. Some came in ing events on the AKA calendar now! items. The Dermers, along with Cat RV’s. Kids flew kites outside the roped Kiters and spectators, make plans now Gabrel, ran a tent with AKA informa- off area, blew bubbles, or played to attend events in your neck of the tion, miniatures display, and kite mak- games. Adults stayed for hours, and woods. Heck, go crazy! Besides your ing. In addition, Richard Dermer was in days. usual events, commit to adding at charge of field set-up for the conven- Callaway is a small town with a least one new and different event to tion and Marti Dermer coordinated small town’s charm and enthusiasm. your kiting schedule! There’s no telling and set up the Kite Art exhibit. Dyana It is also a small town with limited who you’ll meet, what new technique Ploof volunteered to assist in the accommodations. Callaway boasts four you’ll see, or which new idea you’ll Auction receiving room, while Steven

bring back with you to share with your Winter ’06-’07 | Kiting 45 44 Kiting | Winter ’06-’07 tionals in Iowa, bringing home awards Not only do kites fly, time has picture to Roy and Hayley Broadley of in several categories. Our Northwest really flown by. I think when we last Kites Up. Roy printed the picture on family garnered a total of 23 top three talked, summer was finally happen- balloon cloth and adding the words awards, more than any other region in ing and now it’s almost the holidays. “The Ticket Chick/Marla”. Hayley the country. We will be putting kites away for the sewed it into a banner. Many thanks As I write this report, we’re gear- winter and start longing for spring. indeed to the White Horse group and ing up for the Lincoln City Fall Festival In August, it was off to Long Beach to Kites Up/Roy and Hayley. I love my on October 14th and 15th... Featuring for WSIKF, traveling with our friends banner. top sport kite pilots and kitemakers Phil Scarfe and Kevin Griffiths from the After Dieppe, it was home for a as part of the show, the Fall Festival UK and the Kytkids, Mason and Vance. few days and off to the AKA. This was is always a great time. Plus, they’ll Great days! Great kite flying! Spent a the best convention I have attended. be welcoming the two-time WSIKF wonderful evening socializing at the The weather was great and everyone People’s Choice recipient, iQuad... Kite Museum. If you have not been to was having a great time. As for me, With 8 skilled Rev pilots, iQuad puts on the museum, it is a must. The team this convention was the winner. How one heck of a show and can be seen at behind the scenes is amazing and yet can you go wrong with seeing good events up and down the coast through- we all go fly kites, visit and have fun. kite friends? Do you know that 2007 out the year. Wow, life is tough. I would really like convention will be at Ocean Shores Region 9 ~ Intermountain I would also like to recognize the to thank the “Workers” for their many next year? We do have a raffle for reg- continued efforts of our affiliated ternational Airport, providing amazing hours they put in for such a successful istration (who would have thought?), ID-MT-OR Region Nine kite clubs: Rogue Valley exposure to thousands of people every kite festival. if you’re interested get in touch with John Barresi Windchasers, Associated Oregon Kiters, day. Home for a week and off to me. Lets make it another great con- 1236 N. Killingsworth Street, #3 and the Lady Kitefliers. England and Dieppe. Kay and Mike vention. Portland, OR 97217 On the non-affiliated front, the Woodring and myself flew to Eng- Home at last! Missed a couple of 503/890-0280 Magic Winds Kite Club in Idaho has land. Spent the night at the Robin- festivals while gone. “Up Your Wind” [email protected] been getting into the news periodi- son’s (David and Janet). We all left at Pacific Beach, has been reported as cally, helping to promote kiting in their the next morning and headed for the a great time, good wind and a great End of term: 2009 all live and fly. It was fantastic to have area. Come on Chunnel. David drove the car onto the banquet. They really had a good turn that many AKA members present. You guys, join us! For train and 35 minutes later we were in out. Way to go! Wow, another amazing year of must ask Charlie about our hot time only $75, you’ve France. We met up with Paul Fieber, Marjorie Taylor says the Whidbey kiting nearly behind us... Next year’s in Paris. We all flew miniature kites got sanctioning the Gombergs, Charlie Sotich and the Island Kite Festival was sport kite competition season has under the Eiffel and insurance for a great success. Sunny already kicked off however, with the Tower. When we your club events! skies and good wind, the Lewis & Clark Exposition held this last got on the train to best in the seven years September in Seaside, OR. Yes folks, return to Dieppe, A special thanks to of this event. Featured I’m happy to say that the sport kite the temperature Terry Zee Lee, who flyers were Ellen Pardee scene is growing in the Northwest, was 103. So when has taken great and Bob Serack. Art Ross thanks heavily in part to the Northwest I say we had a hot steps to have a and Scott Slater added Sport Kite League. time in Paris, I’m kite gallery set up to the colors in the sky. Competitors from Region Nine not joking. Everyone works so

hard to put on these Back in Dieppe festivals. I hope that my friends of the we all support and work with them to maintain such great events in your region. Well, what can I in the Billings In- say? You’re stuck with me for the next three years? Hopefully I will be able to keep up and help any of you White Horse Windjammers. This was the with your questions and be your voice Kite Flyers first time that AKA had a for AKA. We have our new president, of England marquee and was officially Susan Skinner, and new board members presented me recognized by the Dieppe in other regions. I thank you for your with a new Cerf-Volant organization. confidence and I will work hard for banner. It is Miriam Schafler and Barbara Region Ten. a picture of Hall met us on Wednesday, Until next time, be safe and have Fort Worden and my husband Ron flew fun during your holidays. Fly a kite raffle tickets, in Thursday. We spent our when you can and hook someone else taken by David time acquainting people with this great sport. Robinson. with the AKA and where we David sent the went on to attend the AKA Grand Na- Winter ’06-’07 | Kiting 47 46 Kiting | Winter ’06-’07 ings with all the workshops, meeting The Mix 96 Festival held every deal of enthusiasm to the AKA report- rooms, banquets and even an indoor year in Elk Grove happened the same ing in her welcoming message the AKA flying space. There was even a café weekend. The kites part of the festival has a ‘really cool mission that can be and bar, indoor pool, workout room organized by Tom McAlister was moved summarized as, to bring the joy and and plenty of parking. The fields were to a new field closer to the action and value of kiting to the world.’ To that huge for sure, but the winds there seemed like a good change though end, I look forward to working with the were challenging. The week was fun the winds were even more challeng- AKA Board of Directors and regional and full of new and different sights ing. Dave Hoggan and his tribe had all members. and sounds. their big kites up at least once during A little about me… I became in- You have undoubtedly already the day with help from John Kahn and volved in kiting three years ago after heard the good news from Des Moines Mike North. Mike did the candy drops happening across a kite store while on concerning the convention but other and nearly lost his drop kite to a tree a business trip to Florida. I purchased good news for Region Eleven is Darrin when a free kite cut the bridles, send- a two line sport kite and headed out to and Susan Skinner were awarded the ing it out of control into the top of a the beach in front of my hotel to give Ingraham Award for service to the as- tall pine tree! it a try. I caught on to the basics rela- sociation, and Tracy Erzin was awarded tively quickly and found myself looking Region 12 ~ Southwest Region 11 ~ N. California Volunteer of the Year! Also my sister forward to the end of each work day Southern CA-AZ-HI Northern CA-NV Sharon Champie was appointed chair- to fly my new found friend. It was not Wayne Brooks Brian Champie person of the fighter kite committee. long before one kite turned into two … 7050 Shoup Avenue #180 7510 Corrinne St. ( NO, Sharon is not my wife, she’s my into three … well, you know how this Canoga Park CA 91303 San Ramon, CA 94583 sister!) Congratulations to you all! goes …. Before long I was packing a 818/424-1502 925/829-0683 The same day I left for Iowa, I at- kite bag for my work week journeys. [email protected] [email protected] Or was that packing a work bag for my End of Term: 2009 End of Term: 2009 kite week journeys? Greetings to Region Twelve and be- Following my initial introduction, First off I’d like to thank Dave yond. I’m honored to be elected your I was fortunate to have opportunities Gomberg for all he’s done for the AKA representative and will look forward to to attend several kiting events across in the last decade. Dave worked tire- meeting you at a kiting event. I’m very the USA. My kite collection and kit- lessly for all aspects of kiting ,and is a new to ‘organized kiting’ and hope ing experiences evolved rapidly along true ambassador for our sport! THANK you’ll share your thoughts with me with my circle of friends in the kiting YOU DAVE! toward bolstering kiting in our region. community. I thoroughly enjoyed and And a big congratulations to Susan Please say hello and introduce your- developed an appreciation for the Skinner, the AKA’s new President, Susan selves. I’ll be out and about introduc- many different aspects of the world of has a lot of good ideas and I’m sure ing myself and look forward to meeting kiting as well as the members of the the Association is in good hands! regional members. kiting community dedicated to their Thanks to everyone that voted in As you all know by now the AKA various areas of interest. the recent election. I am fortunate to has a new president this year. We are I primarily fly single line kites, be able to serve as your Region direc- Labor Day weekend saw two grateful to former president David banners and ground pieces. I’m fortu- tor for another three years. Remember events. The Golden Gate Challenge in Gomberg for his many years of service nate to enjoy a fairly large collection to send me any information you’d like San Francisco is an annual event put and dedication to the AKA. David re- of single line kites. I have recently be- to see printed here. on by the Northern California Kite Club ported in his transitional notes ‘Susan gun trying my hand at making my own Convention in Des Moines is now with competitions run by the Bay Area Skinner will become our 15th President pieces … how fun. Rarely do I fly one behind us, it was a great location! The tended a new event in San Francisco Sport Kite League. The winds co-oper- and the first woman to hold the posi- kite; I enjoy flying several kites at one hotel had everything similar to Bill- at the Marina Green, Family Kite Day, ated nicely as did the weather. It was tion in twenty years. A new Executive time that have a common theme. I like organized by Ron nice to see the new fliers that came Committee will join her. (The) AKA is to add a few banners or ground pieces Young. Ron put out to play! After leaving the beach I in good hands.’ Susan brings a great and then enjoy the audiences’ smiles. together quite an headed to Monterey to check out the We’re fortunate to event, with well- second year of a “non-event” started have a great climate and defined fields, a by Dave Sabilino, When Dan Whitney fantastic flying fields in stage, sales tents, and I arrived it looked like a huge our region. Please keep vendors and even kite festival going on on the beach! me informed of kiting bounce houses There were dozens of kiters and even events in our region. I’ll for kids! I had to more kites and colors in the sky! The help get the word out and leave early but I wind and weather on that beach was together we can spread heard there were truly the best of the entire year for ‘the joy and value of tons of prizes this kiter. Yeah, Dave I’ll be back next kiting’ to others in our handed out to year! region. winners of differ- And finally I’d like to thanks Susan ent categories and Shampo for the awesome job she’s a good time was done on our magazine for the last few had by all. years. YOU really brought the bar up

Winter ’06-’07 | Kiting 49 48 Kiting | Winter ’06-’07 four hours in on.... the sun, flying At the same time, another group of international kitefliers as pleasure for was gathered at Des Moines, Iowa, for the Annual AKA Conven- others, is defi- tion and Grand National Competitions. It’s gotta be the climax of nitely hard to the year. Oh man, clone me, please!! And clone my travel budget beat. With the too, pretty please! locals, though, Three weekends earlier, the Toronto Kite Fliers and Mandarin it’s hard for Club hosted the Industrial Alliance KiteFest 2006, billed as Can- them to accept ada’s largest kite festival. The impressive list of fliers included that a rock tied a team from Weifang, China, which is considered by many to be on the end of the kite capital of the world. In one of the featured demonstra- their kite tail tions, nine full-sized dragons competed to capture the coveted will NOT make “dragon’s pearl of wisdom” which would bring them long life and the kite fly bet- enlightenment. Imagine the spectacle! ter, but MIGHT Dieppe (Canada) is gearing up for an even bigger and better just knock over international kite festival in August, 2007. I’ve never seen nor Region 13 ~ International their beer as it experienced the east coast of Canada and I’ll be off work at that swings past!! time, so I’m definitely entertaining the idea of going to this stel- Linda Sanders director: I miss this job already! So I must say a big thank you to Sha- lar event in New Brunswick! P. O. Box 758 please indulge me one last time while I ron Musto for suggesting I should try Dieppe (France) took place September 9-17, 2006. (Canada bring you a handful of stories and pho- Willunga SA 5172 AUSTRALIA this role. Whilst I’ve previously had an and France take turns, tos: some “good stuff” from Canada, (+61) 885-562696 editor’s role in the Australian Kiteflyers every other year.) Taiwan and Dieppe, China, Japan, UK, [email protected] Society, my member-base was certain- If you or I had been Oz’n Taz, and more. I’ll try to keep my End of Term: 2009 ly much smaller both in numbers and there, we would have lines short but — you know me — it’s so in area! Do forgive me if I don’t make met Wen-Fu Tsai, hard not to get carried away! Geography was never one of my it to any of your local events! But for Taiwanese kite master Everyone’s favourite Canadian stronger subjects, and physics was my goodness’ sake, let me know how they who won third place multiple kiteflier, Ray Bethell, had absolute worst, but when kiting com- went! in the kite contest. the surprise of his life recently at his bines the two, the end result has to be I agree, not very long for a first Congratulations! He home field, Vanier Park, Vancouver. As fun! effort, but apart from the FUNTAS- and his team were also it, take a jaw-dropping look many of you know, there was a secret Hi, I’m your newly-elected Re- TIC! week at my first AKA Convention featured fliers at the at at another AKA member’s work: Taiwan’s campaign to raise funds for a com- gional Director, and I was there at the (though not my first time meeting Coolum Kite Festival Buteo Huang and his incredible kites featured memorative park bench that would 29th Annual Convention in Des Moines some of the fliers) and some topsy- in Australia the week- in the Spring 2005 issue of the Drachen Journal. face the spot where Ray flew regularly when the results were announced. turvy sleep patterns on my return, end of October 14th. Go to www.drachen.org/toc18.html and select (unlike the other benches that point Overawed? You bet. Keen to give it a that’s about all there is to tell. As Check out some of his the first name on the list: Buteo Huang. Genius toward English Bay so that spectators go? Too true. Crikey! the southern hemisphere heads into beautiful creations beyond genius…WOW!! had to crank their necks to watch him “I didn’t know we even HAD a Re- summer, things can only look UP from online: www.pixnet. Another genius kitemaker is Chen Zhou Ji, fly). The secret was finally revealed to gion 13??” ... seemed to be the catch here, right? net/thumbnails. of Xi’an, China, who was recognised this year as Ray on October 8th. A huge “thank you” cry of some Convention-attending AKA Aussie Aussie Aussie! Oi! Oi! Oi! php?album=1143018 AKA’s GRAND NATIONAL CHAMPION, and deserv- to all who supported the dream and members. Looks like we have a lot of Sharon Musto sends this along... or http://kite168. edly so! Mr. Chen’s mechanical and dynamic helped it become a reality, especially work to do, Region Thirteen-ers, to PS - A ‘post script’ from your former myweb.hinet.net. kites are amazing. To watch this quiet, unas- Gary Mark & Michelle Welsford (Toron- highlight what we’re good at. If you While you’re at suming man demonstrate his skills with bam- agree with me, then let’s hear about to Kitefliers), and the British Columbia boo is mesmerizing and astonishing, to say the what you’ve been up to! Kite Association. Good stuff! least. For a look at some of his work, as well as Here in South Australia, with our That same weekend, in southern a preview of a movie being made about Chinese Mediterranean climate, we can virtu- Ontario (and across the thunder- kiteflying, please see www.windabove.com. ally fly outdoors all year round. Our ing falls on the American side), the Yep, kiting is alive and well, and we chosen spot is the nearest beach, Niagara International Kite Festival have oodles of talent in Region Thirteen! So what if no about ten minutes by car. When the saw kitefliers from all over the world one fully succeeded in bridging the Niagara gorge again tides are right, we often have the gather to fly all sorts of kites including this year — it’s no easy feat! But we love a challenge whole beach to ourselves. For those Mr. Modegi’s Mega Moon, the BIGGEST and we’ll persevere, right, Vaino? And our leadership is in with their atlases out already, look for kite in the world (one of three de- good hands, I’m sure. I trust that you’ll send Linda lots of Adelaide and then move a little way signed by Peter Lynn). It was also an news and pictures … and she won’t even have to remind down the coastline. Westerlies off the opportunity for some fliers to make or coax you, right? Don’t be shy now! To all my kite ocean... ideal. another attempt to maneuver a kite friends: love and best wishes for good health, smooth Occasionally my husband Kevin across the Niagara gorge, just as the winds, much laughter, and few tangles in the year ahead! and I get the chance to fly. Two hours’ ten-year-old boy named Homan Walsh drive takes us into cereal-growing did some 158 years ago. Several brave country, with rural communities fliers tried last year and didn’t quite starved of exciting activities other make it. Better luck this year? The an- than the antics of their local football swer, my friend, is blowing somewhere team, or drinks at the pub. To spend within the next few paragraphs! Read Winter ’06-’07 | Kiting 51 50 Kiting | Winter ’06-’07 Des Moines Was Da Place! photos by Phil Broder, Mike Shaw, and Ronda Brewer

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Kites On Film Paul LaMasters reports, “Andy Burchfield, Barbara Birnman, Jim Cosca, Paul Dugard, Lisa and Ian Willoughby, the Knerr Family from the Kite Loft, and myself were in Balti- Launching Mr. Chen’s dragon. more on October 6th to film a scene for Mark Wahlberg’s new movie, The Shootist. The Dave Gomberg auction’s film is about a government assassin trying to prevent terrorists from doing their evil . deeds. The kites were to show that the conditions just weren’t appropriate to shoot Jerry Houk’s Duke somebody in Baltimore that afternoon! Jim made the arrangements, even providing Another John Pol- specific kites the director wanted to see. We flew foils, sport kites & roks and we were lock beauty. fed a couple of times during the long day. The wind cooperated, but the location was extremely tight and restrictive and the weather was terrible. We were filmed from about noon until 6:30 PM with short breaks in between. There were three separate sessions of filming the kites on camera “A”, using between 3 and 8 takes each time. The fliers were also filmed on camera “B” . . . but my guess is we’ll wind up on the cutting room floor.”

Remember To Look Down Too! Over the Cutting Edge A 30-year-old man from Gloucestershire, England, It’s official: two-time World died after falling 50 feet down a cliff while flying a kite in Cup champs Cutting Edge Devon. The accident happened in the South Hams when the have retired. Jim Barber, Rick man accidentally stepped backwards over the cliff at Black- Wolcott, and Jerry Cannon stone Point, said Noss Mayo of the Coastguards. Brixham have hung up their kites and Coastguard watch manager Sean Brooks said, “The man was are resting on their laurels. flying his kite 200 yards from the coastal cliff path when Or is there more to the story? the accident happened. We would always recommend that An informed source in Ocean A Joann people stay away from cliff edges. They can be slippery Shores tells us to check out the Weber cre when wet and are sometimes unstable. It can also be easy muscular builds of the three - ation. to misjudge distances, especially when you are engaged in flyers. Did Jerry get those Pete Dolphin executes the difficult other activities.” single-line “refueling” maneuver. Tanna Haynes looks for visual appeal. Extreme KAP David Gomberg and the Lincoln City Convention and After two days of judging, the kitemak- Visitors Bureau invite you to point your browser to http:// er’s judges finally lost it. maps.google.com/, enter the coordinate 44.967136, -124.0184, click over to satellite, and zoom in.... Not to be outdone, Jim Martin suggests the same website, but the ripped biceps natural- coordinates 44.25769N, 12.36271E, for a look at Cervia, ly? Is Rick’s golden tan Italy. As comedian Stephen Wright says, “Every now and from the sun only? No, then I stick my head out the window, look up, and smile for we’re told that they a satellite picture....” “...did not want to be the first team stripped of the title due to the illegal use of steroids.” Once again, Kiting is The Member’s Choice: first for action figure Eric Wolf’s Carbon Dragon. scandal!

52 Kiting | Winter ’06-’07