Spring 2014 Volume 36, Issue 1

the black & white issue Monochrome Photography How To Pick Colors Nightflying Kites Snow Kiting Celebrating 33 years in the sky Since 1980, Into The Wind has carried the best- Contents flying kites in the world. For service, selection and the best guarantee under the sun, we let Frozen Lines KAPtions you fly first class at competitive prices. 2 These aren’t 32 48 Treasure Island reindeer games. An homage to White sand beats It’s snow kiting one of the white snow for above the Arctic greatest reels to winter fun. Circle! ever take up line. 5 Monochrome Debatable 34 Indonesia 50 Black & white Does your A Jersey girl finds photography anchor need a that kiting is an will color your babysitter? international opinion. language.

How Color 6 35 52 Transatlantic Works Windless Kiteboarders Understanding No breeze? team up to cross how to pick parts Who cares? an ocean. of the spectrum.

Hybrid KAP Trade News 36 8 Regional Reports Taking some of The Kite Trade 10 President’s Page the color out of Association wants 20 Merchant Members aerial photos. you to hear about 22 what happened 24 AKA Directory Into The Wind in Vegas. 25 Empty Spaces In The Sky ® 26 Voices From The Vault Kites & Wind Art 30 Fighting Words 9 Jakarta B & W 31 Sporting Life 38 56 People Places & Things If the weather Some of the 2 • O • outside is 1 • 3 coolest kites On the cover: A little bit of frightful, go to have it made electronic manipulation, Indonesia in two shades. by Lori Robinson.

Check out our website. Shop our complete inven- Coming in the Summer issue... Oregon > World Sport Kite Championship tory of Kites and Wind Art at 21 40 Visit our Boulder store. Kitemakers > Estate Planning 101 intothewind.com (double the Retreat Kiting After Dark > Dyeing For a Color Located on the historic Pearl selection that’s in our catalog). Light up the night Street Mall, it has twice the Sewing up a storm at Rocka- with kite flight! inventory of our website. Touch way Beach. The best deal in your kite before you buy it and Get our 2013 Catalog. play with our incredible collec- advertising! Request our free catalog tion of unusual toys. filled with hundreds of all- Let 3000 kiters know about your upcoming 28 Kite Plan 42 time favorites and the Subcontinental event for just $100. Any AKA-sanctioned The last two event is eligible for a 3”x3” black and white ad best of what’s new. An ex-President Grand Champs in Kiting. Let everyone know what your festi- team up on a spent January val or workshop is all about. If you’re tired of Into The Wind light wind de- lost in India. slipping attendance while you use the “same 1408-D Pearl Street, Boulder, Colorado 80302 sign. old advertising,” it’s time for an AKA Event Ad. 800-541-0314 • www.intothewind.com Contact [email protected]. The world’s best flying kites since 1980 Wholesale inquiries invited.

Spring 2014 | Kiting 1 Flying Into The White the black & white issue Six hundred kilometers north of the Arctic Circle is the toughest kiteflying race on Earth: on snow, through canyons and hills, Over lakes and rivers. Vent Du Varennes n April 8, as spring flowers are blooming and baseball season is gaining momentum, 80 Okitefliers will ski up to the starting line in Berlevåg, Norway. Four days later, 200 kilometers away, they’ll land their kites in Vardø, on the other side of the Varanger Peninsula. In between, they’re completely on their own. This is the Varanger Arctic Kite Enduro, a six-year-old race for kiteskiers from 11 nations. Not just anyone can join VAKE. Organizers tell you, “To be accepted it is necessary to have broad experience in snow kiting and be able to kite with sled in varied and rough terrain and wind. Participants must be able to stay out in the cold, have experience and knowledge of winter touring equipment and know how to pitch a tent in bad weather. Knowledge of map-, compass- and GPS navigation is also required.” Despite this, there are more teams applying for entry than there are open spaces. Varanger juts into the Barents Sea, in the farthest northeastern reaches of Norway, and is considerably closer to Murmansk, Russia, than Oslo. Once the race begins, teams navigate freely from checkpoint to checkpoint. Flown in a straight line, it’s a 200 kilometer race. But that dis- tance is easily doubled as kiteskiers tack back and forth, and work around the unforgiving Arctic terrain. Since the teams must also be fully self-contained, they’re also pulling sleds stocked with food, water, tents, and winter survival gear. The last part of the race goes through Varanger Peninsula National Park. Due to the rare and fragile population of polar foxes that lives here, only 25 teams are allowed to enter. The first 25 teams to reach the Bergebyvann checkpoint continue on; everyone else is eliminated. Despite its icy winter, Varanger promotes itself as a tourist destination. In its warmer months, it’s become a birdwatching hotspot, with a thriving ecotourism economy. And once the aurora borealis begins to twinkle in the dark winter skies, the Varanger Kite Club bills the area as “the Hawaii of snow kiting.” Want to follow the race without risking frostbite? Each team carries a tracking device, linked in real time to www.vake.no. Tune in to see which nation becomes the new champion of snow kiting. k Ingrid Jordal

2 2 KitingKiting | ◊Winter Winter 2011 2013 Spring 2014 | Kiting 3 the black & white issue

The New Old School For all the time kitemakers spend find- ing just the right color, Lori Robinson’s pictures show Thats getting rid of col- or lets you see things anew.

lack and white images are making something of a comeback of late as digital camera own- Bers rediscover the beauty of mono images. Why? Versatility. It’s a format that suits almost any type of photography: portraits, landscapes, urban landscapes, architecture. Not only that, it’s a medium that adapts really well to all lighting situations. Whereas color photography often works best on sunny days or in brightly lit studios, low light just makes a black and white image moody. No distractions. Colors can be terribly distracting in some images and can take the focus away from your subject. Taking the color out of an image lets the subjects speak for themselves. It’s raw, it’s stripped back, it’s honest and it allows you to show the true person. Subtlety of tones. In a world that often boasts about how many millions of colors a TV is able to produce, it’s great that in mono there is such a variety of what can be achieved in a pho- to. Black and white sounds so boring, but the fact is that there are so many shades in between. Variety. The creative process with black and white images is so… artistic. It’s like mold- ing clay: you can shape it into a myriad of shapes. Black and white images can be strong, high contrast and powerful, or they can be so soft, gentle and subtle. you don’t even have to mess with your camera to get black and white images. Modern photo manipulation software makes it easy to convert color photos to monochrome. In Photo- shop, it’s called “mode.” Your digital photos are in RGB (red/green/blue) mode. With a single click on the Mode menu, convert it to Grayscale. In Lightroom, look for the “treatment” option, and switch between Color or Black & White. Don’t like the results? Switch back to the original color version. lori Robinson takes things a few steps farther. First, she shoots using the RAW format, in- stead of the JPEG format that most people use. RAW gives you the most control to manipulate the image afterwards. After uploading her images to Lightroom 5, she makes adjustments to the saturation and contrast. Then she uses Google’s Nik Collection Silver Efex Pro 2 for black and white editing. The same software has a tool for selective color, letting her highlight an area of the photo to remain in color, with the remainder of the shot converting to monochrome. Then it’s back to Lightroom to check for contrast, shadow, black, and white adjustments, and reduce noise if needed. Finally, she exports the image to Photoshop Elements for a final polish to get rid of lint and other noise. The results are what you see here. k

44 KKitingiting | | S pring Winter 2014 2013 WinterSpringSpring 2013 20142013 | | | Kiting K Kitingiting 5 5 7 decrease in intensity and hue of colours when they are perceived in the black & white issue adjacent positions. Colour combinations which include black and/or white achieve dramatic graphic impact. Black can give a kite a strong visual presence in the sky.

Certain colours can create a greater sense of space and depth. For

example the changing colours of mountains as they merge into the sky

demonstrates the distancing effects of blue, grey and violet. By contrast colours such as red, orange and yellow can appear to advance towards

the eye. Generally bright colours foreshorten whilst pale colours give

depth.

An achromatic colour scheme, one consisting only of black and white, can have particularly striking qualities, either by using negative and positive shapes or by creating visual rhythms and graphic illusion. Kites and Colour Black and white can work with col- or, or against it. Welsh Kitemaker Michael Goddard explains some guidelines for finding your place on the spectrum.

Working with colour schemes is very subjective, and ultimately taste is a matter of personal preference. When designing kites I have drawn inspiration for colour from the work of many artists, including Josef Albers, Victor Vasarely, Patrick Heron and Bridget Riley. k

By introducing a strongly contrasting colour from the opposite side of the colour circle, such as blue, the overall effect becomes far more lively. Complementary colours exert the greatest changes in ap- pearance and intensity on each other. orm balance and colour are fundamental to the success of a kite tion. This is the way in which a hue will appear to change when sur- The proportional use of colour — that is, the amount of any design. A useful starting point to creating a harmonious scheme is rounded by different coloured backgrounds. To understand this, place F single colour included within a scheme in comparison to other colours the twelve part colour circle. — plays a large part in determining the final appearance. It establishes the development

of colours from the primaries — red, yellow, blue — and the secondary colours — vio- let, green, orange. In the example at right a small area of red on a green background, then observe the same red colour harmony has been on a white. You will notice that the red appears to have been modi- achieved by using analogous fied. This effect is known as simultaneous contrast — the increase or Subtle hues can be used side by side to create depth, in much the same colours — those which lie way as looking at a distant landscape reveals paler hues in contrast to next to each other on the more strongly defined areas nearby. For the kitemaker layers of ripstop colour circle. nylon can be overlapped to create subtle changes. Layering can also Of real significance is Congratulations to 2013 Steve result in colours with greater saturation and opacity. the effect of colour interac- Edeiken Award winner Ray Bethell! 8 Kiting | Summer 2013 Winter 2013 | Kiting 7 66 KKitingiting | | S pringWinter 2014 2013 Spring 2014 | Kiting 7 the black & white issue Mike LeDuc Jim Powers, edited by Dave Bowman Jim Powers, Simon Harbor

KAPturing Hybrids if aerial photography isn’t challenging enough, Jim Powers shows how tweak- Tom Benedict Tom ing the images with post-processing soft- ware yields mixed results. Jim Powers ost-processing kite aerial photography images always brings smiles esting and eye catching outputs. Benedict Tom as you see what your kite has KAPtured. Tools of the trade include Gradients or pixel feathering are used for soft transitions between

P Erich Chew a mix of software applications including Adobe Photoshop, Light- color and black and white regions. Special tools in Photoshop like lasso room, Apple Aperture, less known tools like Gimp, and many more. can be used to select specific parts of an image. The “Select Color” Creative expressions are endless. function can also be used to select areas of the image with the exact Modern post-processing tools can rapidly transform color images same color. Modify the rest of the image using Hue/Saturation adjust- into black and white. With a few twist and turns,a splash of color can ments to pull all remaining color out, yielding a hybrid KAP image. be added to selected regions. The most common approach is to use Acknowledgements are due to the KAP Discussion Forum for layers or masks within Photoshop and define processing rules for each their contributed images of black and white post-processing. k layer. Combining color layers with black and white layers yields inter- Dave Mitchell 8 Kiting Winter 2013 8 Kiting | | Spring 2014 WinterSpring 2013 2014 | | Kiting Kiting 9 marking your dates! Coming up in March tending! Stay tuned for more details in upcom- Region 3 ~ Mid-Atlantic and April we have festivals, festivals, and ing newsletters and regional reports. DC-DE-MD-VA-WV festivals! March 22 is the annual Indoor Fly Remember to keep an eye on your club Regional reports at the National Air and Space Museum fol- calendars, the Eastern League calendar as well A sample of upcoming events (please lowed by the Blossom Kite Festival, March as the AKA calendar. Please don’t forget to Region 1 ~ New England check with your local kite club and/or on the Region 2 ~ Northeast 29 on the National Mall. More information post your club events to the AKA calendar for CT-NH-MA-ME-RI-VT-NY AKA Event page for dates and details): NJ-PA-(lower) NY can be found on the official National Cherry newcomers and out-of-region travelers looking in upstate NY, Sullivan County Family Fun Blossom Festival website at www.national- for some local action. Fly, Loch Sheldrake, NY. In Connecticut, the cherryblossomfestival.org. Although these are Breathe deep, look up and let out some Hammonasset Kite Festival. The Nor’easters not WOW-sponsored events, WOW and the line, it’s therapeutic. I look forward to seeing Stafford, VA VA Stafford, Jack Wilson of Maine host the Bug Light Kite Festival as 703/307-2080 Maryland Kite Society do an excellent job you at one event or another. [email protected] well as the Capriccio Festival of Kites, Ogun- End of term: 2016 supporting and participating in these wonder- quit Beach, ME. There is also the Newport ful events. If you have the time, put it on the Region 4 ~ Southeast Kite Festival in Rhode Island. Several kite calendar. The clubs can always use volunteers. Hello Region Three. Brrrrr, aside from Horsham, PA Max Barker and the New Era Kite AL-FL-GA-KY-MS-PR-NC-SC-TN

festivals in Massachusetts are planned for 215/913-7215 Thom McAdams the cold, the other thing I dislike most about Club will be busy hosting the New Era Kite Hull, MA Revere, Neponset, and Brookline. The Great End of term: 2016 [email protected] winter is the short days and daylight savings Festival, March 22-23 in Mineral Wells, WV,

781/ 925-3277 Lakes Kitefliers Society of Western New York

Greg Lamoureux because it cuts down on my after work kitefly- End of term: 2016 holds monthly events in Gratwick Park, on and the following month at the West Virginia

[email protected] ing! The one thing I like and admire about the Niagara River in North Tonawanda. Kite Festival in Wellsburg’s Brooke Hills Park kitefliers? We’re an obsessive bunch that stops Some other upcoming events for SJKF will on April 26. They have many more activities be the 2nd Annual Voorhees Environmental at pretty much nothing to fly a kite! It’s been planned throughout the spring and summer Greetings Region One, and welcome to Park Kite Fly on April 27, and on May 10 the a pretty slow and for a brief time really cold so head on over to their facebook page to get spring 2014. As we enter the beginning of a always fun Philadelphia Kite Fly and Food winter but the skies beckoned for kites and the

updates. The club is also providing displays John Lutter Titusville, FL Titusville, new season, we have a few annual events to 321/412-1368 Truck Fair. local clubs were more than happy to oblige for several libraries in West Virginia and Ohio End of Term: 2016 Term: End of look forward to. But before that, a few high- [email protected] up in North Jersey, Kurtis Jones and the with first Sunday flies as well as whenever and for National Kite Month. lights of several great events to close out 2013. “Overpeck Tribe” are looking to have a July wherever we could find a breeze. KONE honored and paid tribute to our 19-20 fly at a new location in Bergen County. Kicking it off on New Year’s WOW, those are funny hats. U. S. Veterans with a Red White and Blue fly They are very enthusiastic about having this Day, my wife and I joined a small As I’m sitting down to write my Regional on November 9, at Hampton Beach, NH. Al- take place so save the date and plan on attend- Richmond Air Force turnout for Report, I’m overwhelmed by all the great though the winds were gusty and it was cold, ing. More information will follow. the ITDCTFAK (It’s Too Darn events that have happened since the last time I we said, “Thank you to all who have served.” Keystone Kiters had a kitebuilding work- Cold To Fly A Kite Kite Fly). wrote. What a great winter we’ve had, and its Following the kiteflying, we adjourned to the shop January 25-26 where Kevin Shannon Wings Over Washington held shaping up to be a wonderful spring! Ashworth Hotel for good food, good com- New Year’s Day on taught a class on a delta kite in the shape of a their annual Funny Hat Fly which Following a successful kite festival last pany and a few cocktails. A good time! Compo Beach in devil ray. saw a good number of folks show June in New Smyrna Beach, the Central Flor- The Connectikiters Veterans Fly at Westport, CT. up and fly for what turned out to ida Kite Club, Kite Stop, and Kiting Tampa Hammonasset State Park in Madison, CT, Nancy and Larry Krablin be a very nice day for January 1. Bay were invited back to New Smyrna Beach was a sunny, warm day with great wind! Lots To view the affiliated kite clubs’ websites with their devil ray deltas. The following Saturday, RAF for a fall addition of the festival in November. of big, red, white and blue kites were up in for regional information, event dates and held the annual Chili and Chinese While the winds were a bit challenging, Kiting the air. Several families brought kites and flew details, visit the contact information on the Gift Exchange at the home of Tampa Bay was able to put on a great show along with us! The morning’s great weather Regional Resources page of the AKA website. Corbin and Stephen Ensign. that could be seen from miles away! turned with a wind shift early in the afternoon Remember to put your event into the AKA We had good friends, good food Thanksgiving on the Outer Banks, and dark clouds and rain squalls starting to calendar. Mark your calendar with the correct and some pretty interesting gift sponsored by the Corolla Island Airheads come in which had us packing up in a hurry. 2014 AKA National Convention dates of exchanges. It was great fun and a and Flying Smiles, has become a tradition in Connectikiters held their annual Christmas September 29 – October 5. Advertise your wonderful time for all. In Virginia, the Frederick County Kite Corolla, NC. Kitefliers from all over converge Party, including a pot luck lunch and gift National Kite Month activities, events, kites WOW also held their annual Picnic in Festival in Winchester will be held on April 5, on the Outer Banks to enjoy good food, good swap. The Nor’easter Kite Club hosted their for kids, and fun flies in the NKM calendar. January and again, as with most kite-related Bel Air Kite Festival on April 12, followed by friends, and kites! This year was a bit chilly annual Bug Light New Year’s Day Kite Fly gatherings, lots of fun and friendship. I don’t I hope everyone has kept warm since the the Rockfish Kite Festival near Nellysford the and didn’t have the best winds, but everyone and Pot Luck in South Portland, ME, which know about you but I find kite people to be last report. Here on the East Coast it has cer- next day, and the Blue Ridge Kite Festival is made the best of it! This is definitely an event was very well attended and enjoyed as the first the most interesting and fun bunch of people tainly been snowy, cold and windy. Maybe not set for April 19 at Green Hills Park in Salem. I’m marking on my calendar for next year! fly for 2014! to hang with. Who needs bowling anymore? the type of wind you want to be in, but windy There’s also the Annual Kite Day at the The Emerald Coast Kite Club (ECKC) Many Region Three folks headed south all the same. It is making us all think about Calvert Marine Museum on Solomon’s Island, hosted John Barresi for a quad- and dual-line New Year’s Day at to Tampa to participate in the Treasure Island what is coming when the weather breaks. MD, (the date will be posted on the WOW clinic in Destin, FL, the first week of Decem- Bug Light in Maine. Kite Competition. Technically it’s a Region Spring! When we can get outside and start calendar once confirmed), the Great Delaware ber, and our esteemed President did not disap- Four event but in mid-January any kite event flying. It is always welcomed. If you are stuck Kite Fest in Cape Henlopen State Park on point. Jason Wheeler of the ECKC said, “I that entails sun, sand and a warm breeze is inside, I hope your winter project is going very Good Friday, and if that isn’t enough the end have flown with some of the finest people in extremely hard to pass up. well or is very close to completion. Pocono Kite Symphony is continuing of April will close with the MIKE/MASKC kiting these last two weeks, and most of them February was a quiet month and a good As spring approaches, sights will be set their meetings and workshops through the event in Ocean City. live right here locally. All in all this was the time to clean out the kite bags and get those on the big festival that opens the summer winter. They had their Volunteer Kickoff National Kite Month will officially end best time ever and I’m glad I got to spend it repairs done in preparation for a busy spring. around here. The Wildwoods International Buffet dinner. They do this for members that on the weekend of May 2. The Atlantic Coast with fine people I’m proud to call my friends.” Once again the Maryland Kite Society held Kite Festival happens over Memorial Day helped at various events the Club put on such Kite Festival is usually this same weekend That’s what it’s all about! the annual Maryland Kitemakers Retreat at weekend from May 23-26. Make your plans as their kids kitebuilding sessions. Everything held in Virginia Beach and Portsmouth. The ECKC was also asked to fly and th the Turf Valley Resort in Ellicott City. There now. Some good things are in store this year. is moving forward for the 24 Annual Kite There’s also the Quetzal Festival in Fluvanna display banners at Pensacola Naval Air Sta- were beautiful winged box kites designed by SJKF will again be sponsoring the Scott Day in the Park at Louise Moore Park in County. Check the RAF calendar for updates, tion during the Jubilee Run Walk or Drag Bobby Stanfield and a really cool cellular kite Spencer Memorial Kitemaking Competition. Easton, PA, on May 3. This is always a real www.richmondairforce.com. with Color Run over the Martin Luther King by Drake Smith. For information on next Winners in the Judges’ and Participants’ good festival with a lot of fun for everyone in Although it’s quite a ways out, for those Jr. holiday weekend. This is the third run the year’s retreat check out www.mdkites.org. Choice competitions will be awarded a $100 a beautiful park setting. that haven’t heard, this year the National ECKC was asked to participate in, and while We’re looking at an exciting spring with cash prize. The prize for Novices is a one year Convention will be held on the Outer Banks! the winds didn’t cooperate, they were able to many events filling the calendars so start membership to SJKF and the AKA. I expect to see many Region Three people at- put up a nice banner display for the runners.

1010 KitingKiting || S Winterpring 2014 2013 Spring 2014 | Kiting 11 12 resi. Shewillbesorely missed. the housedown withhertributetoJohn Bar- forget thenightatTI2011whenshebrought with herhelpfulnessandhumor. We’ll never never akitebuttouchedeachflier’s flew heart to feedingthekitersforweekend. Claire Pat Beckman’s righthandgirlwhenitcame Deuel. Clairepassedaway recently. Shewas much saddernote, missingfromTIwas Claire to know asmanypeopleIcould.Ona blast wandering thefestival beachandgetting experience foreveryone. Ipersonally hada a spectacularjobinmakingitpleasurable Jared Leaguedid Hayworth fromtheEastern this year, butJoe Fala atWindworks and were somechallenges tosettingupthefestival in Florida,andpossibly ourRegion. There and Competition.Thisisthelargest festival the 17 convergedclubs fromaroundthecountry for season are: feel freetocontactmeavoid conflicts. Organizers,the mostup-to-dateinformation. aneyekeep ontheAKAevents calendarfor is thattherewillbemanymore. Y this season,andfourtentative ones. Myhope fourevents scheduledfor ing this, Iknow of Kite Festival, Grand Haven, MI. It was acolorful andmoving experience with Memorial Park inMilwaukee onNovember 9. lighted withthe annual HonorFly atVeteran’s

K iting Hello Region Five. AtthetimeI’mwrit Windworks, League, theEastern and May 16-18—26 The events I’msurearehappeningthis Hello fromRegion Six.Thefallwas high th Region 5~GreatLakes

| Annual Treasure IslandKite Festival S Region 6~Midwest pring IA-IL-IN-MN-WI 2014 MI-OH th Annual GreatLakes

Steve Rothwell Ed Grys ou’ll have to Ann Arbor, MI Shawano, WI 734/995-3680 715/526-9399 [email protected] [email protected]

- End of term: 2014

- End of term: 2014 ami hostedtheir21 kites. date andmetonTreasure Islandtojustfly to coordinatetheirtravel schedulearoundone trips toFlorida.Asagroup, theyalldecided talkingabouttheirupcoming Canada) started (and fromaroundthecountry when kitefliers by theirtriptoAntelopeIslandlastyear, ing event calledKiteMania!Thiswas inspired osity andpromoteactive play usingkitesand activities andevents that engage culturalcuri initiative tobuildcivic pride, enhancedwith Soaring!It’sSpartanburg “acommunity-wide South CarolinafromJanuary 1toMay 31is Great jobguys! really kitinginSouthFlorida. represented and demonstrationsthroughouttheday and at Haulover Park. Theyhadpaperkitemaking date of thisevent changed soitcouldbeincor date of July 19—L thisyear!conflicts It looksliketherewon’t beanyscheduling MI. Thisfestival hasbeengoingonforyears. May 31—BreezeontheBay, EastTawas, on thebeach. fly on Saturday, bigkites, andahuge kitestore kite demos, indoorkitesFriday evening, night gan. Beautifulbeachvenue. Two fulldays of This istheoldestandlargest festival inMichi www.mackite.com/glskc.htm schedule.html fordetails. www.osekcleveland.org/Club_Schedule/club_ on “secondweekend Watch inSeptember”. Kite Festival. Thedatesareaguessbased 12-13—ClevelandSeptember International fly your own kites. spaceto thingsforkidstodo. Plenty of lots of lovely festival now in itsfifthyear. Thereare porated intoalarger three-day event. Thisisa arkey Notch Sled pattern. Thekiteincludes Larkey NotchSled pattern. to makeapocketsledkite,ary usingtheTeam Kite Societymembers gatheredinmid-Janu - donated prizesavailable. for membersandguestswithan abundanceof tickets by all,withafreemealand raffle reaching justover 70.Agoodtimewas had withtheholiday withattendance ary party Halloween fly inNovember followed inJanu- service. and have throughmilitary served ourcountry ing community toward thosewhoareserving a fittingandcolorfultributefromthekitefly - theparade route. Itis kites neartheendof large crowds, alongparade andaskyfullof In mid-February, Skyward KitesinMi Kiting Tampa Bay putonanotheramaz Another event thathasbeenhappeningin Pam thatthe Minnesota Hodges reported The Wisconsin Kitershadtheirannual yon Township KiteFestival. The st Annual KiteDay Festival - - - - -

Steve Nicol way! everyone thatwe theAKAinabig support October 4,solet’s outandshow really turn year (OuterBanks, 29- NC)on September This isgoingtobeheldinRegion Four this attending theAKANationalConvention! looking toward theskieswithothers. advance tothisvibrantandthrillingday of previous community-based competitionswill the Park.city together Winners atBarnet of the lastSaturday inMarch,bringingtheentire KiteFestivalburg Soaring!International on pride.” encouraging collaborationandbuildingcivic inspired playfulness acrossgenerations while activities andevents aredesigned topromote Soaring!asacommontheme.Spartanburg All it againthisyear. Region Five lastyear. We’re hopingthey’lldo end inJune. Thiswas theonly competitionin for manyyears, traditionally thesecondweek - back2thewind kiteclub)have hostedthisevent ship. Dave Hoffman(of BushandMary the lastweekend inJuly. ready thisseason.This istraditionally heldon year. We hopethey’re tanned,rested,and Wind Riderstookawell-deserved breaklast other thingstodointhepark. there’s stablefootingforseniors. Andlotsof thefieldhave pavedtwo sidesof sidewalks so shaded tables. Theflying fieldisgrass, but pavilion isadjacenttotheflying fieldwith beach, sogoodwindandniceviews. Thefood physicalThis isagreat venue. Rightonthe two weekends inMay. festival, St.John’s, thefirst MI,usually oneof tentative. We really hopetheycancontinue. Honor Fly. Tom andSusanTowner attheVeterans It’s thinkingabout nottoosoontostart - thehighlightswillbeSpartan One of Michigan KiteFestival, RichlandTown Kites Over BranchCounty. TheTri-State Metro Beach/LakeSt.ClairPark. St John’s SplashPark fundraiserandkite The following festivals areabitmore -

Steve Nicol answer the questions of “How doesthat answer thequestionsof IN. Thefairhelps bothchildrenandadults Prairie, museum aliving inFishers, history Fair onJune 14-15,sponsoredbyConner event thissummeristhetwo-day Curiosity Society issendingoutword thatanothernew the hospitalinIowa Cityaswell. tolineupsomethingwith istrying kids. Cliff for education,kitemakingandflying withthe schools inGrinnell,Brooklyn and Waterloo May 12-16.Theywillbevisiting the week of Joyce QuinnwillbejoiningtheminIowa inthelarge space.” green the library to hostakiteflying practicesessionoutbehind After eachkitebuildingsession,we are going Scouts, 4-H,andotherorganizationsaswell. We arehoping toinvolve themetro schools, building onMarch8,April5,and26. festival, we aregoingtoholdclasses onkite thefestival. Leadinguptoour at theendof aswellsional kitefliers aswineandmusic kites, thensomedemonstrationsfromprofes bothhomemadekitesand store-bought of festival. Thiswillinvolve akiteflying contest Librarian)willbedebutingakite lic Services (Community EducationDirector),andI(Pub Schmitz (Parks Director),NancyBuryanek Johnston, IA,Mayor Paula Dierenfeld,John the event calendarfordetails. coloranddiversity. event,great fullof Check val onApril26inShipshewana, IN. Thisisa upcoming Shipshewana KiteKomotion festi Fool’s fly onApril5. St. Patrick’s Day fly on March 16 and anApril Kiting issue of theseevents inthenext of for somereporting 14onLakeDelavan,on February WI.Look another new event calledSkyCircusonIce festival inClearLake, IA.Thereisalso WI, andthewell-established ColortheWind Long akeWinter KiteFestival nearSpooner, kite retreat,GreenBay Winter Fest, thenew iswritten. TheyincludetheU-MAKE report were notwell attended. New Y theearly winterevents. Therewassome of a name thisyear. Thecoldhasputadamperon future workshop isbeingplanned. thetail,were completed!A the cuttingof a fuzzytail.Allkitesandthetail,except for David Zavell andChow Chong Angie Chau of the Hoosier Kitefliers theHoosierKitefliers Angie Chauof and Sis andDickVogel addedthatCliff Sis Vogel reports, “OnMay 3,in I have alsoreceived onthe information In Minnesotaupcomingevents includea Several events willhappenafterthis The frozen tundrahaslived uptoits ear’s fly ortwo intheregionbutthey . - - - zard. George recalls, “Flew at the top of Bald zard. George recalls, “Flew atthetop of mountaintop overlooking thecity, inabliz around Boulderover theyears, includinga theimpromptugatheringhasmoved cation of Airworks Studio.Melanie Walker The lo of conditions —hostedbyGeorge Peters and weather 30 years forkitestofly regardlessof theFirstFly —atraditionforover of return so itcanbehighlightedhere. in your areaandbesuretosendmeareport for theAKAandyour localclubsforfestivals family event. inJackson, MN.airport, Thisisanothergreat 6attheJacksonwill beSeptember Municipal us thatthe12 lookingeven ahead,Crystal farther Centeralerted thePrairieEcology Dunker of today’s kiting world.”of looking forward toshowing morepeopleabit We’re welcoming thisyear’s exception and themid-1800’s (afiasco). the timeperiodof were restrictedtousingmaterialsspecific club toconductakitemakingworkshop, we tions. Thefirsttimethemuseum invited the materialsforourdisplaysern anddemonstra “Fortunately, we willbeallowed tousemod work?” and“What’s that?” Angiereports, George Peters’ banners The new year inBoulderwiththe started Keep lookingupandholdontight! Be surethecheckoutevent calendars CO-KS-MO-ND-NE-SD-UT-WY Region 7~GreatPlains th Annual PrairieWinds KiteFly

Robin Allen McCracken Denver, CO 720/ 237-2727 [email protected] - - End of term: 2014 - - contests. May 4willbeenteredintooneormoreNKM can doso. Events postedwithinMarch29– you would liketoaddanevent toit,you If thenumerous kiteevents inyour area. most of kite.org/activities/events/event-calendar/ tofind anytime forassistance. Pleasevisit Month sopleasefeelfreetocallore-mail on thesameday! you in,manyfestivals canparticipate overlap may have topick andchoosewhich kite events WSIKF. you’re driving tothosefestivals,if orfrom Over LakeMichigansoconsiderstoppingby Callaway Kite FlightinNebraska,andKites Labor Day, KitestockonAntelopeIsland, gust 23and/or24.Thisistheweekend before Cook andIaretentatively settingthisforAu- Jackson HoleToyand owner of Store, Corey in theworks. InPinedale, WY beach’.” this locationandperhapsdevelop itasa‘kite ers inthearea.We hopetofly moreoftenat Region Nine)withtheBengalBreezeandoth few atBearLakeinIdaho(in larger funflies Fliers have beenworking onsomeplansfora nice smalltown withfantasticprairiewinds! additional kitersareplanningtoattend.Very 19. AlanSparling, Roger Kenkel, andsome & WheelsKiteFestival inLeoti,KS, onApril am proudtoannouncethe2 inRegionupcoming news Seven. toreport I at Valmont for2014. then Veteran’s (Legion)Park.” We were back for nothaving ThenValmont apermit. Park, Boulderuntilrangers kickedusout south of less success, thentheGreenMesatrailhead views.Thengreat ChatauquaPark witheven Mountain manyyears tolittlesuccessbut I am now Chairman of NationalKite I amnow of Chairman This willbeavery busykiteseason!Y Not farfromIdaho, anew kitefestival is Todd Copelandreports, “TheUtahKite Aside fromNew Y ear’s, there’s more Winter 2013 S pring nd Annual Wind , AKAmember 2014 http:// | Kiting | K iting ou 13 - 13 Craig Wilson Robin McCracken 14 14

Linda andSteven Kaleidok- Rogers, owners of Altitude, onMarch23inEurekaSprings, AR. that went swimming. water. Ispentaday cleaningandre-sewing one thatthey really don’tI learned likethesalt dolphins andakillerwhale. Unfortunately, Blais Martin Bear Dip. apodof SPIKEflew saw intheSPIPolar about700participants theirmachines. set thetensionof and orcas. Somepeopleeven how to learned tin Blaisworkshop, building dolphins, awhale morning, a group of us participated inaMar usparticipated of agroup morning, kitesdown thebeach.Thenext mileof a half in theairwithlittleattention.We hadabout wind was steady at14 temperature stayed at34°allday long, butthe Sky Pirateswere well-represented there. The Mother Nature. SHARK,SPIKEandthe Christmas Celebrationwas asuccess despite December 7,inconjunctionwiththeRockport are outonallgooddays. every month.Localfliers the firstSaturday of Padre Island,SPIKEhasbeengoingstrongon endar orgive meacallornote. HereonSouth out anytrouble. Merely checktheAKACal one. Y on manyweekends therewillbemorethan March therearefestivals every weekend and Beginningin kiteflying seasonhasstarted.

Kiting |Winter 2013 K iting Cat Gabrel reminded me about Art WithCat GabrelremindedmeaboutArt New Y The GreatTexas KiteClubFunFly, on Welcome tospringinRegion Eight.The Region 8~SouthCentral ou shouldbeabletofindafestival with

| S pring ear’s Day onSouthPadre Island AR-LA-NM-OK-TX 2014 mph andthekitesstayed

Guy Blatnick South Padre Island, TX 956/299-0731 Martin Blais(center)andhismarinemammal makers.Martin [email protected] -

- End of term: 2015 - topics at interesting the AKA.Socialmediahaslotsof time. Renew your membershipandsupport theAKAatsame goods andhelpsupport a fantasticway toget dealonkiting agreat thebestways toget itouttothekitefliers. of please putitontheAKAcalendar. Thisisone having anevent, workshop, funfly or kite fest, youanswer, are Icanfindtherightperson.If Idon’tEight, pleasecontactme. know the If kitingandRegion know abouttheworld of you have anythingthatyoucerns. If want to goodCajunfoodavailable.also beplentyof tivities you’d expectfestival, atagreat there’ll Louisiana,andbesidesallthekitingac tal of Baton Rouge hasbeendeclaredtheKiteCapi students cameoutonFriday forkidsday. West event drew 20,000spectators, andalmost3000 Soccer Complex onApril 5-6.Lastyear the Fest Louisiane, attheWest BatonRouge fly.you so you cansometimeshearlionsroaringwhile area. There’s even nearby, abigcatsanctuary thebestkitingevents inthe year foroneof kiteenthusiasts, andcollectorseach artists of ites, foundedtheevent, whichattractsavariety Linda andSteve Rogers Check the AKA raffle frequently.Check theAKAraffle What I amalways opentoquestionsandcon Kite Don’t missthetenthanniversary of www.facebook.com/akasocial . - - - At ourclubbeach, thebannerswere flying at CrescentCity, CA,was inthehigh60°s. were below freezing withdensefog, thecoast 4-5 was noexception. Whiletheinlandvalleys every monthforourclubFunFly andJanuary Windchasers meetthefirstfullweekend of Park fortheirannual New Y fromalso meetingatDelta the Portland fliers indoor soccerarena.Theweather didn’t stop is goodaboutgetting regular accesstoan Friday fly afterThanksgiving. Wayne Dowler hadtheirannualarea kitefliers indoorBlack thinking aboutflying atalltimes. ThePortland no windatall.Way togoEli,you me keep Medford freeway overpass, whichtypically has day orunderthe ornightinthetenniscourts Y wind conditionhewould beflying hisRev. work, nomatterthetemperature, weather or Club members, EliRussell, stoodout.After ourWindchaser thisicyweather oneof all of low coldweather normal andsnowfall. During seems everyone atonetimeoranotherhadbe flying kiteswillnext takemy wifeandme. my 2014calendar, Iamexcited toseewhere Convention. Goodtimesallaround.AsIplan events. Mademy firsttwo kitesattheAKA you, andlaugheven moreatsomany many of Always eager tomeetnew friends, fly withso Eli Russell, underthefreeway inMedford. ou canalmostalways findhimflying hiskite Region 9~Intermountain This winterwas toughforsomany. It 2013. I have wonderful memoriesof ID-MT-OR ear’s Day Fly. The

Brett Morris Medford, OR 541/944-5588 [email protected] End of Term: 2015 - a beachnearyou. Look fortheRogue Valley Windchaserson This year thethemeis from allover cometodemonstratetheirskills. lincolnCitySummerKiteFestival is another must attendevent, June 24-25.Fliers see you there. small community beach.Hopeto withagreat datefromprevious years. Itisa change of place MemorialDay weekend. Thisisa this shouldbebigger andbetter. overwhelming successtheyarebackagainand Bengal BreezeKiteClub. Afterlast year’s IdahoStateUniversity,and facultyof asthe Falls. Thefestival isputtogether bystudents this year onMay 17atSandy Downs inIdaho aboost. a bitof have beenvery leanforAKA,anditcoulduse a taxdeductibledonation.Thelastfew years kitesgoing. Thismighteventhe love mean of 50 years oldthisyear. Let’s makesuretokeep new. Y kiteflying withsomeone to shareyour love of their secretstosuccessfulkitemaking. brought insometopnotchkitemakerstoreveal people fromtheEastCoastattendingandthey is theretreatyou needtoattend.OKRhad and you how want tomakekites, tolearn this and atthefestivals you thisyear. didn’t go If thesenew creationsonthebeaches some of and mostclasseswere full.Ican’t wait tosee out inspiring success. turn Theyhadagreat Rockaway Beachcontinues tobeanawe- movements and makeitlooksoeasy. appreciation atthosethathave masteredthe indoor events, Iwillwatch withconsiderable to fly! Idon’t seemtoget asdizzyoutside. At take outthoseindoorkitesandhave something So farithasn’t. Now onthoselow winddays, I move way acertain andthatitwillget better. Amyall theturning. DorantellsmeIneedto I have foundisthatIget motionsicknessfrom endeavor Ifly thosekitesinside. Theproblem vention inAlexa King’s class. Itiswithearnest agarbage bagatthe AKA con- door kite out of indoor flying several times. Ieven madeanin theirkitesintheair.doors tokeep Ihave tried sunshine andgoodfriends. and kiteswere intheairaswe allenjoyed the Rockaway BeachKiteFestival willtake The BengalBreezeKiteFestival continues April isNationalKiteMonth.Besure The OregonKitemakersRetreat in continueMany fliers flying, butgoin ou know thejoy itcanbring. AKAis Unleashed . - - Kite Championships theWorld Sport of tory few occasions inthehis guaranteed win. Ocean ShoresKites, isa Colors, putonby of Ocean Shores. Festival the season,June 7-8,in first outdoorevent of forthe preparing start nwskl.org. at information Library. There ismore will beattheSouthHill and whereit’s at.This about whattheleagueis west. We willbetalking intheNorth sportkiting to hangoutanddiscuss seminars andhastime KiteLeaguehosts Sport March 8,theNorthwest Annual Meeting. On passed over, theNWSKL event thatoftengets in thewater. with solittlepractice.. Maybe itissomething ever. thebasics Iwas of touchedbyhis grasp Nicholas Knight,competedforhisfirsttime this year. Evidence, Thenewest memberof new facesthere Museum. Therewere plentyof success. fundraiserfortheWorld Agreat Kite less KiteFestival in LongBeachwas ahuge the year forkitinginthenorthwest! TheWind near you. even morethisyear. Lookformeatafestival time tofly kites. Iplantobehelpingandflying helped alittlemore, we would allhave more people val, orjustwatched everyone else?If make ithappen.Have you helpedoutafesti soon, everything intown gets bookedearly. rienced kitingbefore. Getyour reservations in share kitingwithpeoplewhohave never expe- and personalwiththefliers. Itisachanceto This iswheretheaudiencecanget upclose July andthisyear itis Julyweekend of 19-20. Brookings. It’s alwaysunique Port of thethird We have hadquitea It’s already timeto Coming upisan thefourbestseasonsof Spring isoneof Events happenbecausemanyvolunteer OregonKiteFestivalSouthern isinthe Region 10~Northwest www. AK -WA - - in LongBeach. little August get-together It’sInternational? that Kite Trade Association the year, accordingtothe The bestkitefestival of

Scott Davis Puyallup, WA 253/732-5743 [email protected]

End of Term: 2015 - - years inarow. Team 6 impact ontheChampionshipsbywinningtwo be invited. Team CuttingEdge madeahuge Northwest participate. It’s anhonorjustto where we have seenateamorteamsfromthe prayers. usinyourUSA. Pleasekeep thoughtsand help theteamgrow. We the gorepresenting going thistime. Iknow theexperience will Evidence and Iwillbethethreemembersof best intheworld. Travis Reedy, KristianSlater, 15teamscompetingtobethe France, oneof with intent.OnApril12-21we willbe in each other. We writeroutines, we fly together stop there. We alsospendthetimetoteach thesekitesontheirown. Butitdoesn’ta setof members wouldn’t have theresourcestohave the thesekites. Manyof have accesstouseof kites. Theeightorsomembers or foursetsof work together, raisefunds, andmaintainthree come. Inaway you couldsay it’s aco-op. We I’m very happy toseewhatthisteamhasbe team, inafew ways. I’mtheteamleaderand the Northwest, Team Evidence. Anew kindof times. Now it’s timeforthenewof teamin A fraction of theEvidence. A fractionof We’ll seeyou soon! th Sensewent anumber S pring 2014 | K iting - 15

John Chilese 16 16

Kiting| Winter 2013

answer toourwinterseasonwas tohostan still days. toys toplay withonthose gives usplentyof low-wind, easy-to-fly glidingkites tion of days. Thegoodnews isthatthenew genera - recall awinterseasonwiththismanywindless windhereandthere, Ican’tgetting abitof along withourrains. Thoughwe have been year ourwindsseemedtohave disappeared would give usamplekiteflying time, butthis fall.Y of goldenbrown tones clingingtothedry bornly grass,green butthisyear thehillsidesarestub San Francisco Bay would belushwithtall Eleven.] Usually bynow thehillssurrounding here attheKiting spring. [Editor’s aneternal note:it’s 1° tures of ing we have beenliving inthebalmy tempera- winter weather, itseemsthatsinceThanksgiv- hasbeenexperiencing brutal thecountry of therest son inRegion Eleven. Whilemuch of Joanna Chen K iting The Bay KiteLeague’s AreaSport It has been a bit of astrange wintersea It hasbeenabitof Region 11~N.California

| ou would thinkthattheniceweather S pring Northern CA-NV 2014 office today. office Staysmug,Region

Tom McAlister Richmond View, CA 510/235-5483 [email protected] -

- End of Term: 2015 not enoughwindforthekitestobecomeair ing inadifferentdirection.Thoughtherewas arrows asthegraphic, eachkite’s arrow point twelve 4’rokswithbold asetof constructed sharing theirhomebuiltrokkakus. Theyhad transplants fromtheEastCoastwere out Paul andJessica inBerkeley. Thesetwo recent thislastweekend whenImet was remindedof were abletoget freeindoorflying lessons. timeand people whoattendedhadagreat alittlelowerMiddle Schoolgym thannormal, to have attendanceat theLarkspur kept theyear. Whileholidayof distractionsseemed indoor fly andcompetitionjustbeforetheend conference. outthat2014willbethe Itturns thiswonderful of stone inthe30-year history 13-16. Thisyear mile marks animportant ers Conference, whichisscheduledforMarch time toregisterfortheFort Worden Kitemak thereshouldstillbe kitemaking instruction, to sharesuccessstories, please contactme. you have anyquestionsabouttheplanorwant lineKites.com/PDF/BKF/2011/Kite-Plan.pdf be flying inminutes! Hereisthelink: letter-sizedcopy paperandyou’ll a pieceof that isgoodtogo. Simply printtheplan on out thereforsledkites, Ihave plansforone kites tomake?Thoughtherearemanyplans theeasiest about abasicsled,whichisoneof winter anddon’t know how where tostart, week? wind ontheweekends andtherainduring one doingthewishing, canwe pleasehave the perhaps somerainaswell. AslongasIamthe to adesiredfuturewithlittlemorewindand borne, Iimaginedthatthearrows allpointed Paul andJessica maketheirpoint. Winter timetobuildkites. isalsoagreat I If you areinterestedinsome hands-on If you want tobuildasimplekitethis If High- - If If - - - to the craft Vic has passed on. Of course, the to thecraftVic has passedon.Of proud thathelost, duetohisson’s dedication he mightbeable todefeatKevin andisvery father Vic several days later, whothought Club’s FighterKiteChallenge. Ispoketohis again tookfirstplaceintheSan DiegoKite report.] temperature-related commentinthe RegionEleven note: Hey, Region Twelve! Pleaserefer to my earlier you dare.air, sogofly akiteif see everyone flying soon. visit more information one foryour practicetimeandpleasure. For not have amulti-line kite, BASK L willprovide you you may do nothave seensincethefall.If chancetoreconnectwithfliers and itisagreat thenew year March 8.Itistheirfirstevent of toFly Workshopline Learn inBerkeleyon thanatBASKbetter placetostart L lastly, multi-line kitesarewhatyou if moreaboutthisyear,want tolearn thereisno visit at itsoriginalandhistoriclocation.To register chance toattendtheFort Worden Conference to beeven moreamazing!Don’t missyour last success. Iknow thenext 30aregoing years of Fort, my pleaseaccept on30 congratulations bright asitspast.To crew alltheterrific atthe theevent willbeas ensure thatthefutureof their continued optimismandhardwork will the Fort Worden family is. Iamconfidentthat but Ialsoknow how amazingandtalented thisyear’s event,sadness onthefinaldays of Fort Worden site. Iexpect therewillbesome last year thisevent willbeheldonthe historic Rolling backtoourchilly (76°) Greetings Region Twelve! Springisinthe Happy New Y www.kitemakers.org/ New Y ear’s Eve, Kevin Herediaonce ear toeveryone. Ihopeto www.baskl.org. . ’s Multi- [Editor’s Tying in with the rest of theaviation portion Tying inwiththerestof Imbach’s award-winning Peacock andTut. Wongkites fromTyrus alongwithDoreen History, featuringcentipedesandmini um of Other Flying Things”atthePasadena Muse- there’s stilltimetovisit“Kites, Wings and for anindoorfly? Letmeknow! have orauditoriumsuitable accesstoagym finding anindoorvenue forusaswell. Doyou Kluczynski andcompanyareintheprocessof dress addedtoourlist.)Dave Tom Corning, drop mealineandwe’ll get your e-mailad- not receiving themnow andwould liketo, you’re which,if e-mail blasts. (Speakingof late March.Expectanupdateonthatviamy your kiteintheSouthBay. dayment makeitagreat tohangoutwith where theaddedmusic andotherentertain Redondo BeachPieralways event hostagreat SunshineKiteCompanyonthe Ani Fineof trophy toKevin Heredia. SDKC’s Dave presentsthedragon Corning ing atthe66 March 1hastheSDKC andyours assist truly slated foryou totravel toinMarchandApril. all day. and textbook thefabricinair windskept New Y the 40 to get betterandbetter. AlsoonMarch9,is show upforthisoneandevery year, itseems fun onSunday. Fliersfromallover theworld Beach beginningonMarch8alongwithmore withKiteParty 12inHuntington off starting visitors, flying ornot. new events todelightall and afullscopeof kidskitemaking continuing thetraditionsof been toall65prior)andhisfamily willbe Kite Festival whereDr. JimNickel(whohas As NationalKiteMonthapproaches, The SDKC hasanotherevent brewing in As of thiswriting, therearemanyevents As of The next weekend isadoublewhammy, th Region 12~Southwest ear’s withoutahitch Day Fly went off Annual theKite. Festival Tom of and Southern CA-AZ-HI th Annual OceanBeachKiwanis

Glen Rothstein San Pedro, CA 213/407-3515

- region [email protected]

- End of Term: 2015 you’ll beabletoenjoy the5 up theroadinSantaMaria, Campus. Thatsameday, just Barbara CityCollege West Rakesh BahadurattheSanta Dave and Hefferman tesy of Kite Festival onApril13,cour the 29 already oncalendarinclude html. tosee/KitesWingsFlyingThings. www.pasadenahistory.org/things 1990.Moreinfoat in Aprilof Goddard SpaceFlightCenter Joe Hadzicki’s seminaratthe ing theirquadlinepatentand voted toRevolution, highlight theexhibit isasectionde of cast, the sign-upsheetis fillingfast. Lady 2015.Thevotes in September have been the Purple have announcedtheReturn of news fromvarious reporters! intrepid ties/events/event-calendar/. Here’s theworld events at the calendarof Canadian festivals. Apply forsanctioningvia Kite Event insurance policyofferscoverage to old friendsormakenew friends, plannow. workshops, watch indoorflying, relaxwith want tocompete, new techniques, learn do Carolina? Whether youin NagsHead,North atthisyear’steen turnout Annual Convention [email protected] kiting… not yet toldmeaboutyour of sort you’ve us!If is notUSA…there’s alotof which ers inRegion Every country Thirteen. I would enjoy hearing from those of you in I would enjoy hearingfromthoseof either. California Southern the “hotbed”of even experience. greater Thisisnotlimitedto thisintoan call ore-mailmesowe canturn you’dule. liketohelpinanyway, If kindly thesched of lessons aspart day withdual-andquad-line akite the planningstages of good ideas. Currently, I’min a few folkswhogave mesome or fly, I’ve beenincontactwith must crawl beforewe canwalk Region andfully knowing we kitecompetitionstoour sport be happy tohelp. word out,letmeknow andI’d together orjustneed to get the assistance inputtinganevent month.org ter events at e-mail blastsaswell. thesecomingthrough both of Kite Festival. Moreinfoon Discovery MuseumFamily Annual SantaMariaValley Other NKMevents ENGLAND –WhiteHorse KiteFliers For Canada,areminderthatthe AKA Can we hopeforthelargest Region Thir Warm- kitefli toInternational greetings In my questtoreturn There’s stilltimetoregis th Annual SantaBarbara . If you would like . If www.nationalkite anytime. http://kite.org/activi- - th - -

- - - - Museum of History.Museum of WongTyrus atthePasadena www.whkf. - before you know it.Bestwishesandwinds. events plannedorwant toshareotherinsight. you haveArizona, Hawaii any andGuamif persistence. “Computersays no”doesnot box. wen workshop tomakethefive-sided twisted print, they’re fortheirJan preparing van Leeu to thelist. org.uk

Region 13~International Enjoy thespring. Summerwillbehere David Johnson, onyour congratulations Contact Arthur Dibble to add yourself Dibbletoaddyourself ContactArthur [email protected] S pring

Linda Sanders Aswe goto 2014 P. O. Box 758 Willunga SA 5172 AUSTRALIA

| +618 8556 2681 K

iting [email protected] End of Term: 2015

- 17

Kim Wong Australia Day, 26 South Africa’s January, presented this Keith Mould TV ad suited perfectly to our culture. Cop an earful of this, give it a butcher’s. www.youtube. com/watch?v=nILh3lFJi WU&feature=player_em- bedded (Cop means grab, butcher’s is rhyming slang for look – butch- er’s hook.) Rod Steere from Geelong has released Carlos Simoes and the Lamson Aerocurve. his results of first-time sewing… it’s LEGO apply! Thanks to Karl Longbottom for the man. October AKA Raffle donation (won by an Welcome back renewed member Rodney Australian member). Gray. Humans beat computer, again! Thanks INDIA – A wonderful collection of pho- to OzFeathers for the July AKA Raffle dona- tos from the Kite Festival in January are here tion (won by Alexa King) and Rob Brasington via this link www.weather.com/travel/amazing- for his January 2014 raffle donation. th photos-indias-international-kite-festival-20140116 CANADA – Preparing to travel to 19 Jakarta GERMANY – Thanks go to Ralf Maser- WSIKF 2014 are Antje and Auke Vanderkooi ski for his August AKA Raffle donation. of Calgary, following their recent trip to Maui NEW ZEALAND/CHINA – Peter and Hawaii’s unpredictable winds. We’re sure Shula Shavit is a veteran of Kites On Ice, Int’l Kite Festival Lynn recently hosted Tan Xinbo on a windy the beach certainly made up for that. so this is really nothing new. hilltop where the new sport originated called, Swedish native, Bali News from Carlos Simoes, on the To- ber. We received 40 – 60cm of snow for more the flying of the shoes. resident Andreas Ågren ronto Kite Flyers 2013 Ceewan Midi Pointer than four days in December 2013 with very Kite workshop. Twenty six kites were made in low temperatures of 1°C outside,” said Eli and Testing the aerodynamic per- total, followed by the chili potluck and fun!- Shula Shavit, who then decided to add colour formance of Tan Xinbo’s shoes. raising raffle. Proud participant, Don Brown- to the pure white surroundings. ridge, included maple leaves for his stunning ARGENTINA – A new challenge, poses design. Gustavo Di Si, for indoor kiteflying and figure skating? His 7-year-old daughter, Edna, is competent in both, while Gustavo performs a duet with older daughter, Leila, in the Phan- tom of the Opera routine. Carlos Simoes www.elalmadelpiloto. com.ar/indoor/index.html until next time, less talk… more fly!

Rod Steere’s LEGO Man. Rod Steere Rod

Peter Lynn Peter Jakarta, Indonesia Anne and Peter Whitehead also went head-to-head with the membership renewal November 30 - December 1, 2013 computer, but persistence paid off. The White- heads could possibly be AKA’s most distant members? Or, could it be Jim Nicholls in Christ- church? Jim has generously been making and uploading video clips as his own kite resource for new or interested kitefliers. Pay- Don Brownridge ing it forward to others, so they can benefit. Thanks Jim. www.youtube.com/results?search_ Carlos, Thom Shanken and George query=Jim%27s+kites+nz&sm=3 Paisiovich worked recently at the Canadian AUSTRALIA – AKA’s October 2013 Kite Museum where they assembled a collec- Raffle won by Noel Shaw in New South tion of historical kites including a half-scale Wales. Only one problem, the spars were too replica of an 1896 Lamson Aerocurve manlift- long for the postal service. Never fear, Ron er. and Marla Miller negotiated, and the kite ISRAEL – “Since 1879, there was no travelled “soft”, to be re-sparred on its arrival. such snow storm in Jerusalem in mid-Decem-

1818 Kiting Kiting | SWinterpring 2014 2013 WinterSpring 2013 2014 || KKitingiting 19 19 The President’s Page

ello fellow kitefliers. This Hissue marks my favorite time of year, when enthusiasts around North America are ramping up to defrost and venture back out for Alden Miller, casual gatherings and spring kite Ralf Maserski events. Some of you have spent and Rod Beamguard the coldest months polishing Ron Bohart and Brianne Howard your indoor technique, building new kites or braving the elements Diane Weber anyway in search of a quick fix. I’m right there with you, looking forward to another great year of kiting ahead. I won’t bore you with nitty gritty details, but the volunteers who comprise the AKA leader- ship have also been busy. The Association is still having a tough time adapting in the current envi- ronment, figuring out the AKA’s place and the services we can offer to members in the years to Barbara Wright and Jerimy Colbert come. It’s an ongoing challenge, as we’re down to roughly 2,000 members (the lowest it’s been in many years) and still relying on creative fundraising to make ends meet. While the core of what the AKA does (communication, magazine, facilitation and supporting services like insurance) contin- Having sat on many sides of organized kiting over the past ten ues, active volunteers and contributing members have been sharing years (President, Regional Director, KTAI director, etc.,), I can’t help but feel in my gut that we’re all working so hard to maintain the AKA some very difficult discussions regarding what should be done with Matt Cyphert the Association as we move forward. Suggestions have gone all over infrastructure with only half the members we had when most of our the map from lowering our overhead by dropping some services (like current programs and committees were created, keeping it all alive. insurance), to focus on Kiting magazine, the website and regional It’s difficult to focus on growth. And sadly, any effort to streamline resources, to a wide range of expansive efforts such as outreach to par- the Association into something easier to manage would also mean allel associations, revamping our Regional Director communications, eliminating one or more services that cannot help but impact various Dave Butler etc. sectors of organized kiting (clubs, festivals, etc). I think what I’m seeing from my particular vantage point is that So in good faith, I must ask you, the members who actually rep- Anne Huston folks are simply less eager to dedicate time and labor to volunteer, so resent the Association’s core mission, what you envision for the future, Oregon Kitemakers Retreat the amazing infrastructure created by my predecessors is woefully and how we might best go about reaching that ideal for you. Debi Sherman-Colvin undermotivated or staffed. I certainly own this as the person elected Honesty isn’t always popular, and I have no doubt this letter will to be responsible for rallying interest and participation, but we’re also prompt some passionate responses (welcomed directly via president@ Rockaway Beach, OR facing an interesting transition between our dwindling older member- aka.kite.org) but I think it’s more important than ever that we think and January 16-19, 2014 ship and new generations who are hesitant to become involved with act as a group with shared passion(s). The time for executive changes such a large association in favor of simply flying kites. This is apparent or presumptions from “on high” is past, and we need all hands on photos by Rob Pratt in volunteerism, technology and huge differences in their vision for the deck if we’re going to make something out of this for our members future. and future kitefliers alike. and Ralf Maserski Whether the AKA has ten members or ten thousand, it will In the meantime, remember that the real work is done out there in continue. The question is, where do YOU see it going in the future? the field by regular folks. Spreading the joy and benefits of kiting, ex- Cliff and Gerry Pennell Internal political strife is totally gone from the Board of Directors (all tending it to those who might need it, and remembering that without good folks) and we’re trying to ask both members and nonmembers a healthy AKA we would lose a lot of festivals, the last full-color kite some very honest questions, totally open to the “hard to hear” answers magazine in North America, and a central nexus for kite enthusiasts that may have been dismissed in the past, all in an attempt to remake to discuss, support and implement ideas that can only be maintained this association in the image of those who would be a part of it. A lot with the structure and repository of an association behind it. has changed in the past decade, and I truly believe the AKA must go End of the day, we fly. That is the heart of what we do, so where through a major structural evolution but without building member- do you want to go from there? ship from the bottom up with new, younger members and volunteers. Always flying (in my mind), It’s difficult to actually gain a consensus and implement changes that will both serve the community and keep the association stable moving forward. John Barresi

Winter 2013 | Kiting 21 2020 KitingKiting | | S pringWinter 2014 2013 Spring 2014 | Kiting 21 Merchants in BOLD sell Kiting! Rhode Island G&Z International The Kite Shoppe OzFeathers

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Box 113 Life’s A Breeze Kites Milwaukee, WI 53202 935 Rte De La Seigneurie 67 Rehoboth Avenue Kansas Kite Connection Neotsu, OR 97364 2125 Staples Mill Road 414/273-5483 Saint-Roch-des-Aulnaies Rehoboth, DE 19971 th 541/996-3083 Farmer’s Kites 1806 16 Street Picture Pretty Kites Tennessee Richmond, VA 23230 www.giftofwings.com PQ G0R 4E0 302/227-6996 www.gombergkites.com 1108 Front Street Great Bend, KS 67530-4110 6512 N. 44th St Flags and Kites 804/405-4515 418/354-2182 Morro Bay, CA 93442 316/793-6164 3846 Shores Road [email protected] Gift of Wings www.legiteducerfvolant.ca Omaha, NE 68112 In The Breeze 805/772-0133 Murfreesboro, TN 37128 9955 W. 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Killingsworth Street, #3 About Kites 360/642-3541 805/654-0900 3870 Russell Road 2022 Washington Street Portland, OR 97217 PO Box 263184 www.aboveitallkites.com JAPAN www.harborwindkite.com KiteStop.com Online Store Las Vegas, NV 89118 Two Rivers, WI 54241 503/890-0280 Houston, TX 77207 AGAIN www.kitestop.com MAINE 702/736-1476 866/UFO-4FUN www.kitelife.com 713/305-6777 Big Kid Kites Joyfull Tsurumai 1F Highline Kites Of Berkeley Cricket’s Corner www.awindofchange.com www.uniqueflyingobjects.com 41 Shore Road [email protected] 14236 142nd Avenue NE 3-14-16 Chiyoda Naka Ku 6809 Del Monte Avenue Lighten Up Kites Ogunquit, ME 03907 Northwest Winds - Lincoln City Renton, WA 98059 Nagoya, Achi 460-0012 Richmond View, CA 94805 348 S. Park Ave Windpower Sports 207/646-2261 130 SE Hwy 101 B & S Kites 206/713-2366 WYOMING (+81) 52-339-3830 510/235-5483 Winter Park, FL 32789 3111 S. Valley View #A-1116 www.cricketscornertoys.com Lincoln City, OR 97368 2812 Padre Blvd., Ste. 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Highway 101 Fly It Port A 408/914-8812 404/815-4271 Blue Hill Observatory www.ruidosokitefestival.com (+61) 2 9529 6894 Yachats, OR 97498 405 West Avenue G Ocean Shores Kites [email protected] www.piedmontkites.com Top of Great Blue HIll United Kingdom Observatory Road 541/547-3060 Port Aransas, TX 78373 172 W. Chance A La Mer KiteSmart Australia Kiteworld UK NEW YORK 361/749-4190 Ocean Shores, WA 98569 San Francisco Kite Company IDAHO Milton, MA 02186 21 Roxby Street 6 Cottage Grove 617/696-0562 Celtic Winds www.facebook.com/pages/ 360/289-4103 Manifold Heights, VI 3218 Clacton-on-Sea Pier 41, Fisherman’s Wharf Sunrise Kites PENNSYLVANIA www.bluehill.org 8 Hale Hollow Road Fly-It-Port-A-Kite [email protected] (+61) 3 5221 6908 Essex CO16 8DQ San Francisco, CA 94133 80 N 3400 E Burlesque Kites Croton on Hudson, NY 10520 www.kitesmart.com.au United Kingdom 415/291-8770 Rigby, Idaho 83442 1670 Limeport Pike Sea Side Kites 484/554-5225 promo code = AKA2013 www.kiteworld.co.uk www.sfkites.com 208/524-5551 Coopersburg, PA 18036 1 Pleasant Street www.celticwinds.net [email protected] 610/965-0867 Second Wind Cohasset, MA 02025 www.kitesonconsignment.com 1805 N. Highway 1 781/925-3277 NORTH CAROLINA Bodega Bay, CA, 94923 ILLINOIS www.SeaSideKites.com Flying Smiles Kites Grandmaster Kites 707/875-WIND Ade’s Kites Corolla Town Center 216 W. Third Street, P. O. Box 276 www.secondwindfun.com 701 North Point Drive Corolla, NC 27927 Mifflinville, PA 18631 Winthrop Harbor, IL 60096 MICHIGAN Air-Fun Kites 252/453-8442 570/759-3167 Wind & Fun Kites 847/731-6081 167 S. Hancock Street www.flyingsmileskites.com www.grandmasterkites.com Burns Valley Mall www.adeskites.com Pentwater, MI 49449 14824 Olympic Drive 888/AIR-FUN1 Kites Unlimited - Atlantic Beach KitesRUs Clearlake, CA 95422 Chicago Kite/Kite Harbor www.airfunkites.net Atlantic Station Shopping Center 1482 River Road 707/994-KITE 5445 N. 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22 Kiting | Spring 2014 Spring 2014 | Kiting 23 AKA Directory Empty Spaces in The Sky

american kitefliers aka committees Sally Kinash association 1944-2013 education & public service Sally embraced the kiting community not long after moving to Mel Hickman, Executive Director Astoria, OR, in 2000. Attending that year’s Washington State Inter- Web/Internet Outreach John Gillespie 415/927-7430 Mailing: PO Box 22365, Portland, OR 97269 national Kite Festival she met several kitefliers and quickly became Phone/Fax: 609/755-KITE (5483) Kite Records Jim Martin Jr. 704/535-4696 Web: www.kite.org Education Glenn Davison 781/359-3421 an integral part of the Northwest’s kiting community. She joined the E-mail: [email protected] National Kite Month Robin McCracken 720/237-2727 World Kite Museum and began more than a decade of volunteer/ staff service. She was active with several area clubs, and was one of officers and festivals / competitions the Lady Kite Flyers. She participated in many of the festivals and workshops up and down the coast, demonstrating skills with sewing, executive committee Fighter Kites Andy Selzer 856/728-8870 John Barresi, President Kitemaking Simon Crafts 419/721-4888 painting and innovation. Portland, OR Sport Kites Ann Vondriska 708/423-8329 Sally loved and cared for all things, from her beloved pets Cosmos 503/890-0280 [email protected] Kite Art Rob Cembalest 512/554-5933 and Jasper, to her work in mental health care and counseling, to her Kite Aerial Photography Jim Powers 610/659-2094 friends and family. She was an amazing photographer, avid reader and John Lutter, Second Vice President Titusville, FL administration was active with the local poetry club. Sally was a remarkable woman. 321/412-1368 [email protected] She found kites as a great release for expressing herself. She had a lot Ways & Means Marla Miller 253/752-7051 of plans that were never finished. She died way too young. Cel Dallmer, Treasurer Contract Services Gayle Woodul 830/598-2414 Philadelphia, PA Safety & Insurance Catherine Gabrel 215/722-4092 [email protected] By-laws Ted Manekin 716/639-7679 Archives & Records Mel Hickman 609/755-KITE Alexa King, Secretary Elections Gayle Woodul 830/598-2414 Tacoma, WA Nominations Kathy Brinnehl 630/271-0765 Kelvin Woods 253/531-4924 [email protected] England’s Kelvin Woods passed away in December at age 48. Kit-

Simon Crafts, Director at Large Membership Marla Miller 253/752-7051 ers all over the world have seen his vast collection of beautiful butter- Vanlue, OH Renewal and Retention Mel Hickman 609/755-KITE flies flying together in the sky. His large Edos with legendary characters 419/721-4888 [email protected] International Linda Sanders (+61) 88556 2681 such as Clint Eastwood, Debbi Harry and Johnny Cash are simply fan- Industry Liaison Will Smoot 540/471-4949 tastic flying portraits. Kelvin was not in the kiting scene all that long. Gayle Woodul, Director at Large Club Liaison Todd Little 717/975-2852 Marble Falls, TX Merchandising Amy Doran 609/755-KITE He entered and asked a lot of questions and quickly learned many 830/598-2414 [email protected] techniques from experienced kite builders. It did not take Kelvin long annual meeting to expand on this and create his own artistic visions. Kelvin was always Will Smoot, Director at Large Reston, VA Annual Meeting Will Smoot 540/471-4949 more than happy to pass on all that he had learned. He held several 540/471-4949 [email protected] workshops to teach others his techniques. I recall Kelvin sharing many of his butterfly techniques with me at a festival in Niagara Falls. He Glenn Davison, Director at Large inspired so many with his passion for kites. I also enjoyed our chats Boston, MA 781/359-3421 [email protected] about family life. Kelvin spoke of his family often. It was obvious how much he adored his family. Kelvin, you left too soon and are missed by so many. Carlos Simoes KITING magazine Phil Broder, Editor 904 Bayview Road, Rio Grande, NJ 08242 609/602-0130 E-mail: [email protected]

Kiting is published quarterly by the American Kitefliers Association and distributed free to members. Please contact the editor for information on submissions, advertising, and deadlines.

Summer issue deadline: April 20 Autumn issue deadline: July 20 Winter issue deadline: October 20 Spring issue deadline: January 20

Send address changes to [email protected]

Founded in 1964 by Robert M. Ingraham, the American Kitefliers Associa- tion is a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating the public in the art, history, technology, and practice of building and flying kites.

4224 KitingKiting || S Winterpring 2014 2012 Spring 2014 | Kiting 25 2001 she was appointed to the AKA’s Annual Meeting and Kitemaking Committees. From there she joined the Board of Directors before tak- Voices From The Vault ing up office as a Regional Director. In 2010 she took on the AKA’s top leadership role and began her three-year tenure as President. Looking back, Barbara recalls it was a “great journey” where she met “lots of by Patti Gibbons interesting people along the way.” Combining fun with a little elbow Barbara Meyer grease, Barbara marvels at the amount of work that These articles are based on inter- gets accomplished behind views recorded for the World Kite the scenes and says, “We Museum’s Oral History Project. owe a debt of gratitude to The Museum’s growing interview our Regional Directors” and archive captures kite memories, ex- club representatives through- periences, and thoughts from kite paper diamond kite with her dad. “I don’t even remember if it flew, I out the ranks. With their enthusiasts and notable fliers. As a just remember that sense of exhilaration of running and playing with dedication and service, fliers former intern Patti Gibbons helped the wind.” Childhood kites may have lost wind and stalled in those Barbara’s kitemaking took a quantum leap around 1986-87, “when can tend to the sky and fly. launch the oral history program and fields, but the joy of that outing is remembered affectionately and we adopted our son and I decided to stay home.” Shortly after, in 1991 “I think at heart people still remains involved as author of these replayed often later in her life. her daughter rounded out the brood, and Barbara fondly recalls carving love that feeling when the articles. If you would like to be an Fast forward a bit to the late 1970s and Barbara’s future husband out space and time for family fun alongside household chores. “My kite takes to the air. They are interviewer or get involved in any Alex surprised her with a bright orange French military kite. The kite room is my laundry room” and multitasking Barbara would toss still kids. It is that joy and other way, please contact the World couple quickly embraced the kite, and “we really had a good time” in a load, set a kid on her lap, and they would sew together. “That was wonder…that never gets old” Kite Museum at our time” and everyone was happy. that Barbara enjoys sharing experimenting. Interested and [email protected]. poking around in search of more Around the time Barbara took up kite making, the young fam- with fellow kitefliers. k kite fun, they happened upon a kite ily set down roots in Minnesota and was in a Land’s End catalog. The now invited to become members of the newly- clothing-focused company once forming Minnesota Kite Society. Meeting peddled 6’ deltas, and “we ordered kitefliers in her backyard was surprising. several of those.” During their Thinking, “‘Where have you been?’” yet salad days, the young couple lived thrilled to meet kite neighbors, Barbara in Indianapolis and would duck out got involved with the fledgling club to to the rooftop of their apartment strengthen ties and expand the organiza- building to fly kites year-round. tion. Putting her new Apple II computer to Expanding their kiting reach use, she first volunteered to make mailing beyond the chimneys, they hit the labels for the club newsletter. Having fun road with a kite in tow when Alex helping the group, she kept volunteering traveled for work. Before gassing and worked her way through every office up, they sought out kite events and from Treasurer to President. As her kite re- earmarked time for flying. Business sumé lengthened, she gathered experience met pleasure and the couple made with her local club that uniquely qualified friends and nursed their growing in- her for leadership roles in the AKA. In terest in kiting. Soon, the hold kites rowing up in a land nearly picture-perfect for kiteflying, the Kan- had on their lives gained primacy, Gsas wheat fields of Barbara Meyer’s youth can be remembered and Barbara recalls telling cowork- Membership Application Membership Dues 1 yr. 2 yrs. 3 yrs. Amount with fuzzy edges and regarded with warmth. A particularly bucolic ers, “‘I really need a winter coat, o New Member o Renewal Individual (Kiting via 3rd class mail) $40 $78 $116 ______memory Barbara carries is of running through a wheat field flying a but we bought a kite instead.’” o Reinstatement (Kiting via 1st class mail) $50 $98 $146 ______With that purchase, perhaps came o Don’t publish my name in the Directory the proud realization that kiting Canada, Mexico, and Overseas $50 $98 $146 ______officially had earned an honored and protected place in their lives. Sponsor $125 $250 $375 ______Name ______With kite fevers rising, Barbara grew curious about different types (Kiting via 1st class mail, includes tax deductible contribution) of kites and sought out patterns. “Since I was little I have always sewn, but for some reason I thought kites were too difficult,” and Barbara Address ______Additional family members in same household asked her mother-in-law to sew a parafoil. Without experience, no Per person add $6/year ______one knew that the heavy material they selected would require stronger City______Please remit in US$ ______winds then they could reasonably count upon. Trial and error is full Sorry we cannot accept Canadian cheques of lessons and the challenge invited Barbara to explore kitemaking Home Phone ______Cell Phone ______herself. She and Alex spotted kite patterns in Popular Mechanics and soon learned about Kite Lines and the AKA. Dabbling with plans, these E-mail ______For information call Send this form with your payment to: American Kitefliers Association new AKA members went from bedsheet Edos to colorful ripstop kites. 609/755-KITE (5483) Over time Barbara confidently tackled more elaborate kites and picked URL ______P.O. Box 22365 Portland, OR 97269 up better materials. While perfecting her blue ribbon handiwork, she developed a genuine flair for kitemaking and somewhere in the 1980s Other family members joining ______she found her signature style. “Having been a math teacher, I like Referred by ______geometrics,” and Barbara pairs shapes with bursts of strong color. For Visa/MC/Discover/AMEX # ______her, the secret to kite design is to drop inhibitions. She advises students Exp. ______Local kite club ______in her kitemaking classes to “go ahead, be adventurous…because what is going to look good in the sky” is not the same color or pattern com- Signature ______binations you would wear. She urges, “if you are going to do all that Join online at www.aka.kite.org work, make people notice it.”

26 Kiting | Spring 2014 SAutumnpring 2014 2012 | |K iting Kiting 27 41 ite lan Warm Orbit K P 13’ Flo Tail Delta Crafts/Conn Genki by Simon Crafts

• Build light! Use appropriate reinforcements without building an armored vehicle. Choose ½ ounce poly sail cloth if available. Use wrapped carbon spars or carbon as the For 2013, Premier created his is a superb flying kite. It will handle a wide range of winds, budget allows. many new kites Tis very stable and efficient, and – if built with lightweight materi- The sketch is a base drawing for the overall kite that can be scaled to whatever size the als – is often the only kite in the sky during those lulls at the festival. builder chooses, as the dimensions shown are relative to each other. For instance, if a base for you to add to Adrian Conn and I put our heads together, and actually each developed dimension (L) is chosen to be 52”, as I have done, the kite will be 143” wide, or right at 12’ your collection. this “improved” genki plan at the same time and separate from each wingspan. Of course, Adrian has to one-up me all the time, and his genkis are a little larger. other, yet we ended up with the same thing. Funny how that works sometimes! It is important to note the relationship of the width of the wings to the center panel, and that the aspect ratio of the kite has been slightly 8’ Black & White reduced from that of popular plans (2.75:1 vs 3:1). This, combined Kitten with the clipped wing corners, provides an extraordinarily stable and efficient kite. Construction is simple, and the details can be copied or transferred from most other kites that are commonly built. Use light spar pockets at the bottom wing corners for the wing battens to land in. Sleeve the through. I have a tightly fitting sleeve going across the entire wing. longerons and use your preferred tensioning method. For fastening the This helps stabilize the spreader (and the kite!) under heavier wind spreader to the wing tips, Adrian and I both prefer to use arrow nocks loading. and a tension line with a knot tied fast to the sail and pulled over the • Do NOT – I repeat – do NOT use a pocket at the top end of the nock. Don’t forget a bow line; a good rule-of-thumb is to set the depth battens, nearest the longerons and the spreader! Use an APA leading Ask your local kite of the bow (or the distance from the line to the back of the sail in the edge fitting, like for the spreader on a delta kite. Attach the fitting to shop for a copy center when set) at 10% of the wingspan. So a 10’ kite would have 1’ the spreader where it stays. Insert the batten in to this fitting and then of our all new of bow depth, for example. into the pocket at the wing corner. Then, slide the fitting itself on the Collections Brochure A couple of important details for improved performance: spreader as needed to tighten up the entire wing; sliding towards the to see more! • If using lightweight spars for light wind capability, use a sleeve wing tip will put the batten in compression and improve performance. Neon Tronic 65” or put some loops on the backs of the wings for the spreader to pass Sliding towards the center of the kite will loosen the fit. Borealis Diamond My 12’ genki is framed with wrapped carbon and sewn from ½ ounce poly. I used tapered SkyShark 7PT tubes on the wings (full length, each) with SkyShark 8P tubing in the center (about 50”). I used SkyShark P300 tubing in the longerons, and I used full-length tapered SkyShark 2PT for the wing battens. The battens needed about 2” of scrap tube on Or download a the upper end to make up the total length. k copy of the brochure from our website:

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4228 KitingKiting || S Winterpring 2014 2013 Spring 2014 | Kiting 29

toll free 1-888-416-0174 Fighting Words The Sporting Life The Evolution of Lines Indoor Single Line Ballet by Scott Davis by Andy Selzer

ighter kiteflying over the last twenty years e have a new competition in the kiting scene. The Indoor Single • Chair: Ann Vondriska (IL) [email protected] Fhere in North America has generally evolved WLine Ballet discipline has taken off like a rocket. Seeing fliers • Scott Davis (WA) from the larger, slower kites to the smaller, more taking the single line to new heights has been a treat. This started a • Pauly Berard (RI) nimble fighters we know and use today. Many of little over a year ago with discussion about how the single line perfor- • Jeff King (MD) us started flying with kites like Kevin Shannon’s mances didn’t often score as well as the others in the unlimited class. • John Farrell (CO) GA fighter or Joe Vaughn’s Grandmaster. A It was hard to compare the two with the same criteria. So there were • Francisco Navarro (CA) popular line of the time was the very heavy Irish some indoor events that ran a single line competition just for fun, both linen line. Not only was it thick in diameter, it to test overall response and to demonstrate interest from the fliers. The The newly formed Indoor Kite Committee has new rules, adopted was also heavily waxed. Also popular at this time turnout and response has been great since day one with participation by the Board of Directors for the new Indoor Single line discipline. was a regular 20# Dacron. The main positive comparable to that of Indoor Unlimited. It went so well wherever the On paper the difference appears to be that you are limited to using point of these lines was that the fat diameter was fledgling discipline was run that the AKA Sport Kite Committee took one-line kites, but really the judging has had to step up in considering easy to grab and not slip through your fingers. a big leap by voting to recognize the new Indoor Single Line Ballet glide flight, control, choreography, technical difficulty, and finesse in a Another positive was that the lines were smooth- discipline for points and a slot at Nationals. whole new way. er and softer than most of the synthetic lines of Starting at the beginning of this season, on August 1, the single We on the Indoor Kite Committee will be working on score sheet today. In the right higher wind conditions these line indoor competitions earned AKA Conference points toward improvements for both of the indoor disciplines, Open Indoor Unlim- lines were fine, but drop that wind down lower Grand Nationals like any other sanctioned discipline. There have been ited and the new Open Indoor Single Line Ballet. One of the improve- and the negatives came into play. The overall line more than eight single line indoor competitions already this season ments would possibly be to develop and add some suggested criteria for weight and drag caused by the diameter would with plenty of competitors. each of the scoring categories, something to help the judging standards cause the kites to barely fly, if at all. The linen While this was going on the Sport Kite Committee also voted be nationally universal, particularly while indoor judges accustomed to line also had a very sticky beeswax coating that to release indoor competition to a totally new, dedicated Indoor Kite judging sport kites increase their detailed observation of a totally new would pick up a lot of sand on the beach, making Committee within the AKA, that better represents all disciplines of class. Any suggestions for this or any other project for the Indoor Kite it a bear to fly with. indoor flying, rather than being governed exclusively by sport kite Committee are welcome via the e-mail address above, or on the AKA Shortly after using these lines for a couple fliers. This decision was voted on and approved by the AKA Board of KiteTalk Forum. of years, a lot of us were introduced to Stafford Directors. Seeing Indoor Single Line Ballet off to such a strong start, we Wallace of Great Britain and his Indian style fighter kites. Beside his great mylar Indian The current members of your Indoor Kite Committee are: know great things are coming. k fighter kites, Stafford introduced us to lighter Indian cotton line. This line was a lot thinner in diameter and lighter overall. It had about a 5# test breaking strength, but was still strong enough to fly most fighters as long as the wind wasn’t howling. This line was a big step in the right direction because it got rid of a lot of the weight and drag issues of previous flying lines. On the not so good side, but correctable, was the fact that it was uncoated, limp, and tended to knot easily. Being the inventive sort, fliers from the Northwest soon put together their own waxing rigs using old crock pots and paraffin wax. These consisted of a couple of sets of eye screws and a piece of plastic tubing to act as a scraper to take off the excess wax. With a spare hour you could do up a couple of spools of line for the season. This paraffin wax was not sticky at all and taking off the excess kept the weight to a minimum. In the not- so-correctable department was the overall strength of the line. If during a line touch competi- tion you got the line wrapped around your hand it usually resulted in a break and a loss of point. Also, being cotton-based, it would pick up a lot of moisture from the ground and air. The next big movement in fighter kite line usage was the use of the synthetic line, better known as Spectra. The positives here are many: smaller diameter-to-strength ratio than any natural fiber line, generally low moisture absorption, virtually zero stretch, and with a coat- ing stiff enough not to knot up easily. You can now use lines from 10# to 50# test and still be under the weight and diameter of most other lines. The lighter pound test uncoated lines still have a tendency to knot up and get tangled in your hand; you have to be more careful about dropping the line to the ground during a competition to avoid this. If you get a line that is coated it tends to be stiff enough to get rid of the problem. The smaller diameter also leads to problems gripping the line and cuts in the fingers. A lot of newer fliers are not comfortable using these lines. From a judging standpoint the lighter lines are also harder to see during a line touch competition. At times it is virtually impossible to see the point being scored. Can you still use the older style lines? Yes, I like to use 20# Dacron line for teaching new fliers how to fly fighter kites. It is thicker, smoother, easier to grab, and doesn’t cut your hands easily. Because it also has a tendency to slow a kite down a bit, it should be considered for precision events. It is spring time, have you checked your flying line lately? Now is the time to get ready for a new season of flying, perhaps with some well thought out line choices. k Winter 2013 | Kiting 45 30 Kiting | Spring 2014 Spring 2014 | Kiting 31 he received a phone call a few days later requesting a reel to try out. tant. KAPers sometimes fly in very tight spaces in order to capture Soon he was guaranteeing them a one year supply of Stratospools. a selected photographic subject. A large open flying field where one KAPtions Orders followed with 10 to 25 Stratospools per month flowing through could run backwards against the wind during a lull may not always be Russ’s wood shop. Peak production averaged about 200 Stratospools available. A good example of this is a narrow boat dock or bridge. Lat- per year. eral movement may be restricted. Under these conditions line control The Stratospools showed up faithfully each year in the Into The needs to be carefully monitored. The Stratospool can rapidly pull in The Stratospool Story by Jim Powers Wind catalog. Very little advertising beyond the catalog took place. line (equivalent to running backwards against the wind) or let line out Safety warnings were added to instruct users to be aware of the spin- quickly at a controlled pace that will keep the KAP rig in the air. ning knobs when the line was going out fast. A third factor is Russ stopped making Stratospools in 1995. There was lack of speed. It takes time to profit compared to the labor and material costs. Russ explored increas- launch a kite, let out ing the selling price with Into The Wind, but they declined. A lack of line and finally retrieve interest combined with a new focus on more profitable cabinet making the kite from the air. brought the decision to stop Stratospool production to a head. After The Stratospool helps seven years of production the last Stratospool order was completed in with all phases of kite aking pictures from a kite requires many skills. One is pulling large lowed in 1988. The reel 1995. Over 1000 Stratospool reels were produced during this period. flight. Many of my Tkites out of the sky to get your camera and kite back safely on the worked as intended and KAP sessions are after ground. One of the best pieces of equipment to help with this impor- represents the basic design A User’s Perspective a long day of work with tant task is the Stratospool reel. in all reels that followed. One word sums up my experiences in using the Stratospool: dream. the sun setting, leaving The ease of rapidly bringing in a kite from high in the sky in just a few just minutes to get the Commercialization minutes simply puts a smile on my face. Late in 1988 I purchased a kite in the air, take a Russ built five or six Stratospool 8 from Into The Wind. A year later I purchased a Strato- few pictures and pull additional Stratospools, spool 16. They immediately became my favorite pieces of kite equip- everything down and A Stratospool made tweaking the design, fit and ment. The reels were high quality, had smooth operation, strong and pack up as it gets dark. by Jim Powers. finish with each one. Next durable under most circum- The Stratospool speeds he expanded the design stances. The 16 seemed to be the process at each step to two different sizes to the best fit for the medium to with the biggest gains being the rapid winding in of the kite under ten- cover different kites and line large kites that I was flying sion at the end of the flight. strengths. The small Strato- with 150# line. A few years spool was designated “8” passed and I purchased a The Future and was designed for small- second Stratospool 16. Late in 2013 Russ Jolly on a whim googled “Stratospool” and was er kites with lines strengths One of the main at- stunned to find a number of people using and building Stratospools. of 50-75#. The medium tractions of the Stratospool Russ quickly narrowed his search down to the KAP Discussion Forum Stratospool was designated is the capability to wind in and reached out to the KAP community, which seems to be the center “16” and covered kite line a kite while under tension. of gravity for in the 150# range. A larger This is both a strength and a the continued Russ Jolly with a Stratospool 16. “24” version came later, for potential weakness. Techni- evolution of the lines in the 200-250# range. cally there is a lot going on Stratospool. Russ considered submitting a US patent for the Stratospool design, but with the stress placed on Good news: after consulting a few legal experts he decided against this path and just the reel components while Russ is planning to copyrighted the design without a patent. winding under tension. The resume produc- Baltic Birch plywood was the main ingredient for the reels. The 8 cumulative force or stress tion of the original and 16 reels were built with 3/8” Baltic Birch and the 24 was built with Russ Jolly using the from each turn of the crank Stratospool (and ½” Baltic Birch. The Stratospools were composed of seven individual adds significant stress to hopefully a few original Stratospool. A Stratospool elements. Special jigs held the working pieces in place. Batch process- the reel. On a windy day a enhancements) in fractured by winding ing was used to make a run of the same component when supplies ran kite may be pulling hard at 2014. Russ and I line under tension. low. This semi-mass production let Russ build a single Statospool in close to 10# of line force. discussed potential The Early Days about four hours. Each turn of the crank adds avenues for the fu- Russell Jolly grew up as a young man working with his dad as a car- In early 1988, Russ sent a letter to a small kite retailer (Into The 10# of force. Turn the crank 100 times and the force on the reel climbs ture. A few of the penter in New England. He picked up his inventive DNA and mechani- Wind) to see if they would be interested in selling them. To his surprise quickly to over 1000#. Stratospools need to be built strong to support subjects included: cal drawing skills during this time. Formal studies in civil engineering, these pressures. A short story illustrates this point. A few years back I • Metal reels from a period in the Coast Guard, and hands-on experience in maintaining An original Stratospool (bottom), was working in Rome. I was KAPing over the Colosseum and had to Asia old farm equipment added to his skills and experience. with production model Stratospool 8, wind in a fair bit of line in a light rain with a moderate line force. Back • Advance designs Kiteflying entered the picture for Russ in the early 1980s with 16 and 24 (bottom to top). in my hotel room I kept hearing a mysterious cracking noise. After a bit and materials dis- friends in northern New Jersey. During one of these fun flying days of inspection I isolated the source of the cracking noise to one of my cussed on the KAP with single line kites a friend asked Russ for help in pulling in a kite us- early “hoop reel Stratospools” that I was flying with over Rome. The forum including ing a primitive H-style winder. After a few minutes of using the winder cumulative line stress on the reel from winding was slowly crushing the use of carbon Russ felt there had to be a better way. This was the inspiration for the the reel with large fractures showing up in the components. I needed a fiber Stratospool. stronger reel. • Online distribu- Simple wooden reels were fabricated in Russ’s wood shop and tion tested in a large flying field nearby. The prototype winders were good KAP and the Stratospool • Russ’s initial for letting out line but not so good in controlling the pace or speed. KAP requires special kiteflying skills combined with photography focus will be on his Full size mechanical drawings came next. Enhancements included skills. Maintaining steady line tension while in flight with a KAP rig wood Stratospools. a simple off-set lever brake design inspired by an old piece of equip- and camera hanging on the kite line is critical. The Stratospool permits ment on Russ’s farm. Several iterations of drawings followed refining rapid winding during lulls, keeping the rig and camera up in the air. For more and working up the design on paper as a proof of concept (this was During gusts the Stratospool can quickly play out line to avoid the kite information, check before Auto CAD!). being overpowered. www.deerfieldvalley- Construction of the first Stratospool with the off-set brake fol- Situational control of the kite in tight flying spaces is also impor- woodworking.com. k

32 Kiting | Spring 2014 Spring 2014 | Kiting 33 Debatable Debatable Have an opinion? Express yourself on the KiteTalk Forum! Anchors: Love ‘Em Or Leave ‘Em?

Travis Reedy Paul deBakker Jerry Cannon 13 th Windless Kite Festival

’ve done it, you’ve done it, we’ve all done ow would kite festivals change if Long Beach, WA Iit. With a dogstake or a sandbag or a piece Hevery single anchor needed a babysit- January 18 - 19, 2014 of rebar, we anchor a kite to the ground, ter? Well, say goodbye to fliers like Robert make sure it’s flying well, and then wander Brasington. He’s known for launching a away to do something else. Maybe we’re train of kites, anchoring it, then launching launching other kites, grabbing a snack, go- another... and another... and another... and ing to the bathroom, or just socializing. But another. Robert might have 50 kites in the nobody is watching the kite, and sometimes air at once, but that goes away if he has to things go wrong. Stakes pull out of the mind each anchor at all times. Goodbye to ground because of a sudden gust. A sandbag David Gomberg and Jim Martin and Mike wasn’t buried deep enough, and it starts to Agner and their strings of inflatables. They drag across the beach. Or a child wanders spend a lot of time digging deep holes for by and starts to fiddle with things they anchors before tying three whales onto the shouldn’t. We never mean for the kite to get line, then moving a few feet over to send up away, but they do. an octopus or trilobite. In the photo at right, the blue sandbag The truth is that a well-placed anchor Donna Wendt Elliott Brogren Connor Doran was holding a small rokkaku. The flier left is nearly risk-free. Most kites can fly all day photos by Matt Cyphert it alone while he went to launch other kites. untended, freeing the flier to help with other But then he noticed that the anchor had duties like announcing, running bol races, or pulled loose, dragged across the beach, and judging. At most events, kiters have multiple become entangled in the dune fencing. Good roles; they’re not just kitefliers, they’re also thing, too, because if it had kept going it making the event go. would have hit the power lines, gone across a The important thing is that the anchor busy road, and smacked into a historic hotel. be placed properly from the start. Holes I’ve seen kiters launch a kite, leave for for sandbags need to be dug deep, not just lunch, and return to find the kite gone. The hurriedly scratched into the sand. Stakes line broke, and the kite flew out to sea. I’ve need to be driven in at the proper angle so seen kites flying beautifully, but when the they can’t be pulled loose just by the wind. flier was away the kite suddenly nosedived If necessary, driving in two stakes might be directly into the bridles of a giant inflatable. the safe thing to do. If you’re not sure how These aren’t hypotheticals, they’re real world to properly set an anchor, there’s no short- accidents. age of information online (check out www. Scott Davis We talk about safety in kiteflying a lot, gombergkites.com//F-ANCHOR.PDF and Amy Doran but we need to pay it more than lip service. www.gombergkites.com/faq/faq-a.html), or just Penny Lingenfelter Leaving an anchored kite ask other expert kitefliers. Paul deBakker untended is a recipe for We can never com- Connor Doran disaster. A dragging sand- pletely remove risk from bag may be easy to catch, kiteflying, but we can but what about a metal take sensible precautions stake that is suddenly to minimize it. Requir- ripped from the ground? ing constant oversight of It could easily hit another anchored kites is a burden kiter or a spectator. so heavy that it could The solution seems wreck many festivals. easy. Watch your anchors. But using common sense, If you need to go else- knowing how to handle where, ask someone else the kites that you’re fly- to watch your anchors. If ing, and asking for help nobody else is available, from your fellow kiters bring the kites down for a should make it possible bit. Go off and do what- to keep lots of kites in ever you need to do, and the air without constantly then relaunch them. k watching each anchor. k

Winter 2013 | Kiting 49 34 Kiting | Spring 2014 Spring 2014 | Kiting 35 Susan Gomberg raids the snack table.

HQ’s Symphony 2.5 Pro power foil. Great Winds Kite Company offers Premier will distribute these butterfly kite kits for kids. HQ was into Cody variants this year. Jon Trennepohl’s Wolf. The women of Revolution.

A New Tech delta.

Another HQ Randy Tom designed cody variant. this turtle for SkyDog. 26 th Kite Trade Association International trade Show & Convention Las Vegas, NV January 27 - 30, 2014 The HQ booth.

The SkyDogs try a photo-op in a 50mph wind.

photos by Into The Wind now distributes John Chilese Paul deBakker’s Skate. Suzanne Sadow and Ken Conrad staff the Great Winds display. The next in the Rev Signature Dodd Gross with a series. SkyDog ultralight. MaryAnn McVay launches a diamond.

Paul deBakker’s Hydraby is nowInto Thedistributed Wind.

50 Kiting | Winter 2013 36 Kiting | Spring 2014 WinterSpring 20132014 | KKitingiting 37 51 the black & white issue

The Best of Black & White Kites

Deb Lenzen

Chen Zhou Ji Steve Brockett

Andreas Ågren

George Peters

Peter Schmidt Bob Lockhart

George Peters Eugen Palmers Simon Chisnall

Halit Cebici

John & Mary Gabby

5238 Kiting Kiting | SWinterpring 2014 2013 Spring 2014 | Kiting 39 one side. The same fabric is the issue black & white used in firefighting gear and safety apparel, so it gives off a blinding reflection un- der the glare of headlights or a camera flash. Seattle Fabrics carries both kinds. Obviously, reflective fabrics are heavier and more costly than plain ripston nylon. The latest example of a kite built for night flying Flying Into The Black Kites by Les Cerf-Volant Stylistes using was Ben Huggett’s midi glass bead-coated reflective ripstop. pointer, which he unveiled at the AKA Convention last here’s something flight? The experts in this field leaving his hands free to fly his Acid Queen, a long train of reflective autumn. The kite uses both Tabout flying a kite are clearly the Chinese, who have diamonds. aluminized and reflective at night that’s so un- combined kites, small LEDs, and Switzerland’s Olivier Reymond has a red genki he uses for night ripstops in its lunar graphic. wholesome,” cartoon microchips to create flying bill- flying. When first seen in the sky, it’s nothing out of the ordinary, just a Almost anything goes mom Marge Simpson boards. At the Weifang Interna- red kite in the black sky. But take a flash photo of it, and you’re in for a in nightflying. Thinking once opined. But tional Kite Festival’s night fly, you surprise. Tinkerbell flies across the kite, sprinkling a trail of fairy dust! about mixing kites and what does she know? can see basic geometric patterns The graphic is invisible until illuminated. fireworks? It’s been done, Ben Huggett’s midi The setting of the sun of flashing lights, but also intricate by both Chinese sport kiters pointer in daylight. doesn’t have to mean moving scenes of pedalling bicy- and Bruce Flora’s Kiteman the kiteflying day is clists, Olympic logos, and entire Productions shows. Want to over. Any kite that sentences scrolling from wingtip to add sound to the light show? Sure enough, there are already kites with flies during the day wingtip. It’s only a matter of time Nocturnal Sports’ NiteKite speakers and iPods on them. So be creative. If your idea doesn’t work, can continue to fly at until this technology crosses the take comfort in the fact that in the dark, most people won’t notice. k Rick Agar night, of course, but kiters being kiters, there’s no end to the advance- Pacific, giving American kiters the means to advertise their favorite kite ments made specifically for flying at night. club or beer. Huggett’s kite used both alumi- The simplest way to set up a kite for night flying may be the basic nized and reflective ripstop nylon. chemical glow-stick or necklace. They’re available at camping and party stores, bait shops, and big box retailers. Crack them, shake them, and affix them to your kite or line, and in seconds you’ve got a greenish glow in the sky. The next step up are battery-powered lights, of which there are hundreds of varieties. Tiny flashing lights, powered by hearing aid batteries and affixed with magnets, are quick and easy. Larger strobes are available at some kite retailers. There are even lighted arrow nocks on the market, so you can build illumination right into your kite. But battery life will always be a problem. Small batteries rarely last beyond a single night fly, so you may need to carry backups in your kite bag.

Nocturnal Sports’ NiteKites

Of course, lights may not be your style. You might just want to adorn your kite with sparkly or reflective materials, and spotlight it from the ground. It’s not difficult to find an There are already kites that have the lights built in. Nocturnal ultrabright handheld Sports makes the NiteKite, which won the prize in 2012 as the best spotlight in retail new product at the Kite Trade Association’s show. The delta kite incor- stores, which is all you Olivier Reymond’s genki porates illuminated strips directly into the sail. need for a basic night But you just knew that computer technology would come to kite fly. Al Hargus had a The secret is reflective fabric, which comes in two varieties. lighting. If you can rig up your house with a computer-controlled belt-mounted light Aluminized ripstop has a micro-coating of aluminum, making it very Christmas light show to dazzle your neighbors, why not adapt it for which shone upward, shiny. Reflective ripstop has a coating of silver glass beads applied to

Autumn 2013 | Kiting 49 40 Kiting | Spring 2014 Spring 2014 | Kiting 41 A Kiter’s Darjeeling Limited Barbara Meyer spent January touring India, traveling between kite festivals in Kolkatta, Ahmedabad, Jodhpur, and Delhi. Over the next six pages, she offers her thoughts on those events. Photos by Barbara Meyer and Bob Cruikshanks.

Sachin Badiani Kite by Shalish Meta. Gufran Turner Gantam Chauhan

Holland’s Raymond deGraaf Barbara Meyer’s Ganesh Gujarat International Kite Festival rokkaku with an Estonian foil. Bird on a wire by Ahmedabad, India Barbara Meyer. January 11 - 14, 2014 Ahmedabad is the reason kitefliers go to India. The festival is a build up to January 14, the day to fly kites from the rooftop to celebrate Uttarayan, the coming of the wind after winter. Vokatta Int’l Previously organized by Gujarat Tourism, this year it was contracted to an event organizer. Between some policy changes, and the infamous bus trip from Delhi or Mumbai to Ahmedabad, Kite Festival only seven international kitefliers joined the tour beginning on January 6. Nine of us, (six who’d Kolkatta, India gone to Vokatta, and three more from Malaysia) arrived in Ahmedabad on January 10 to fly on Gufran Turner the riverfront and the rooftops. Last year, 56 international flyers attended January 5, 2014 To bolster the ranks, the organizers drafted 300 exchange students from 50 countries. None Only in its second year, and the first year owned a kite; few knew how to fly one. They were flown to Delhi or Mumbai to fill the field. with international participation, Vokatta was And, fill the field they did. After the opening ceremonies with a parade of flags, they sat in the that magical combination of just enough middle of the field. At one point, I was backing up to launch my kite and fell over a group of wind, just big and open enough field, lots of them. Others had their kite ripped when it landed and was pulled by too many hands. volunteers, enthusiastic organizers, and hard- Several people lost kites or had them damaged by manjha. The organizers did nothing to police working fliers that all came together to fill a the area, making it all in all very disappointing. The USA booth with sky with kites all day long. Present were kiters The venue is above the riverfront to catch whatever wind there was. The hotel was very security guard and helper. from Belgium, France, Netherlands, UK, nice, the food probably the best we had in the month. The organizers were not organized, or at USA, Malaysia, Singapore and from many least did not communicate with the fliers until the last minute. Because the group was smaller, both international and Indian, we had a chance to really get to know our fellow kiters; that’s a Even the security guards had to try the kites. Indian states. Imagined and organized by a property plus and a big reason to attend. developer to give back to the community, the The true highlight for me was being invited to dinner at the homes of local fliers. Bhavna festival took place in what is known as New Mehta hosted us one night. The next night several of us went to the home of Jeem Turner for dinner on the roof with his extended family, and then a visit to the night kite market. Kolkatta in the Eco Park. The park features Kite by Rajesh Nair. a man-made lake, walking paths, garden, Would I attend again? Maybe, if the organizers change, or if I’m in India already. Ahmed- children’s play area and more. The kite field Kite by Gantam Chauhan. abad is one of those festivals that every kiteflier should attend at least once, not for the flying on was a paved parking lot. While the field was the riverfront, but for the chance to experience the tradition of flying on the roof. crowded with the public wanting to be right next to the flyers, about the time the crush be- Kite by Sachin Badiani. Vietnamese parafoil came unbearable a volunteer would appear to help push back the crowd and generate space. After the festival, the organizer treated us to a river cruise in the Sundarbans (mangrove and tiger preserve) and two night stay at a resort. No tigers were spotted, but there were lots of birds, reptiles, and other animals. One morn- ing we visited the local farming village with a trained guide who also lived there. The vil- lagers found us as fascinating as we did them. No power lines, but solar panels and dish TV antennas graced many homes. This is one festival I’d love to attend again. Since the field is so small, the danger is that it gets too big and loses its magic. Luckily, the organizer’s goal is to be the best festival.

56 Kiting | Winter 2013 WinterAutumn 2013 2013 | Kiting| Kiting 57 51 42 Kiting | Spring 2014 Spring 2014 | Kiting 43 Barbara Meyer’s barndoor. Bhavna Mehta

Russia’s Stanislav Kolbintsev on a rooftop. Looking down from the rooftop. Kites for sale in Ahmedabad’s market.

Jodhpur International Desert Kite Festival Jodhpur, India January 18, 21 - 22, 2014 Once Ahmedabad was finished, six of After touring the fort, we headed for Jais- Preparing a train. us headed for Jodhpur via overnight sleeper almer, the Golden City, and the desert to view bus. At some point in the future, India will the sunset over the dunes. In two cars, the trip Ashraf Hamzah have a network of highways that will make was five hours of sheer terror each way as we such a ride comfortable, but now the bumps played chicken with other traffic and animals launch you from the platform of your bunk to on the road. Arriving at the budget resort, an Barbara Meyer the roof with a great deal of regularity. There hour before sunset, some chose to ride a camel are also random stops where cargo, including up into the dunes. Others of us followed in the Having traveled on a third class train in auto body parts, is loaded onto the roof. And car and climbed the dunes. With haze obscur- China, I foolishly thought that a first class no heat during a 50° night. ing the sky, the sunset was not really impres- train in India would be no problem. Let’s The best part of our visit was the Sarvar sive; the shadows over the dunes with camels just say it was the better of the two classes of hotel. Located close to the markets and and people to the horizon more than made up coach available on the train. The cough I ac- downtown, the roof looked over the blue for it. quired from the smoke and dust being blown houses of the city and underneath the fort at Back in Jodhpur, the festival was held through the heating system is almost gone the top of the hill. With water heated by wood in the cricket stadium for two days. Unfortu- now, two weeks later. boiler, and no sheets, towels, soap, or toilet nately, the walls of seats blocked most of the If you go from Jodhpur to Delhi, take paper until requested, it was clean, charmingly wind, but we gave it a good try with long line a flight both ways. The train was only about decorated, and run by three generations of a launches of light wind kites. Finishing on the $20, the bus cheaper, but the airfare is less very nice family. It truly was a haven from the 22nd, it was time to catch the overnight train to than $100 for much less time and discomfort. chaos of the streets. Delhi and the final festival. Bob Cruikshanks France’s Lucy and Antonio Lino join The Malaysians arrive at Jodhpur. Hong Ha Pham flies Lanterns in the Ahmedabad night sky. and Ashraf Hamzah Barbara Meyer on the sleeper bus birds in the desert. from Ahmedabad to Jodhpur. An Ahmedabad market stall. Carrying kites in the market.

Winter 2013 | Kiting 59 5844 Kiting Kiting | SWinterpring 2014 2013 Spring 2014 | Kiting 45 Team All India meets the press. Indonesia’s “Zulu”

Yumna Turner checks the Lebanon’s Sami Sayegh Bob Cruikshanks flies a pair of doves. wind on the cricket pitch.

Inside the kiter rest area in Jodhpur.

Team Chandigarh fliers. Birds by Indonesia’s Tinton Prianggoro. Vietnam’s Banh Van Nguyen flies a bird. Mylar kites by the Zulu is an imaginary Delhi Kite Club. Indonesian lizard. Delhi International Kite Flying Festival Delhi, India January 24 - 26, 2014 Delhi was the good, the bad, and the ugly. Under the good category was the wind, the field, the security at the field, and the Delhi Kite Club. The bad? The hour drive from the hotel, the long days of 9 am to after 8 pm, inconsistent food, being stuck in an isolated area with nothing around. For ugly, we have the organizers not communicat- Kite by ing with the flyers and treating them as the hired help, not honored guests. Jignesh Kanubha Rokkaku by Indonesia’s Just as in Ahmedabad, the tourism bureau turned over the festival to a profes- Tinton Prianggoro and sional event organizer, to the detriment of the festival. With no information provided, Sari Madjid. each day the kiters would assemble in the hotel lobby and wait until the organizers Kite by Delhi Kite Club founder finally arrived somewhere between 10:30 and 12:30. On the last day, upon arriving at Jignesh Bhai Mian. Kanubha the field, we were told that no kites could be flown until about 2 pm due to the security lockdown for Republic Day. This festival has lots of potential, if some changes are made. If you go, be sure all the details are in writing before you commit. India is a land of contrasts and challenges. It is always a guess what you are eat- ing, and the air is some of the most polluted in the world. Although not an easy trip, it is memorable with the chance to connect with some of the nicest fliers in the world Team Mangalore opposes and to see some very interesting kites. k global warming.

46 Kiting | Spring 2014 Spring 2014 | Kiting 47 Xaysana Songkharm

Barry Poulter Pete Dolphin

Steven Pigeon Colleen “Jynx” Baker Treasure Island Sport Kite Championship

dean jordan and Ben Dantonio Wisconsin Kiters Catherine and Pat Mozier and David Piotrowski and LeAnn Lauer Gary Engvall Treasure Island, FL January 18-19, 2014

Ben Dantonio and Shaye Layton

Pete Dolphin

Eliot Shook Mike Kory photos by Jared Ben Dantonio Haworth, John Lutter, Mike McEwen, Laura Berg and Peter Boyton Winter 2013 | Kiting 63 6248 KitingKiting || S Winterpring 2014 2013 Spring 2014 | Kiting 49 Fly Play Love It’s a small world after all, as lisa willoughby figured out traveling to Indonesia. traveled to Jakarta last fall as a performer for I the World Puppetry Convention. My trip to Indonesia taught me again how beautiful and small our world of kiting can be. Soon after arriving in Jakarta, local kite- flier Lia Anggraini contacted me to organize time to fly with a group of local kiters. We only knew each other through social media. I traveled by cab to a beach town an hour outside of Jakarta, not really knowing where I was going or who I was meeting. My excite- ment to be in a beautiful country to meet people who share the same passion for flying was huge. The beach was a little strip of sand with more local fisherman than tourists. When I meet Lia, she brought two other fliers. Riga- luh Tanresila and Muhammad Nasir fly quad pairs in many of the local festivals and com- petitions in the region. We were also joined by my travel partner, Heather Morrow. We spent hours team flying, translating maneuvers from English to Indonesian. As the sun was setting, we packed up hoping we will all have the chance to fly together again. It was one of the best experiences of my trip to Indonesia. My second amazing experience was meet- ing a kiting legend and inspirational woman, Engang Layangan. She owns and runs the Indonesian Kite Museum. Her museum houses many traditional kites from the region as well as kites she has acquired during her travels to festivals around the world. Heather and I decided we wanted to visit the museum. I didn’t know that the same woman I had been contacting about kiting in Indonesia was the curator of the museum. When we arrived at the museum and met Engang, it was like meet- ing an old friend. She gave us a tour of her museum and kites. She talked about the school groups for kitemaking and the educational projects her museum offers to the region. She invited us into her home at the museum and shared with us her vast and beautiful collec- tion of traditional sarongs from every part of Indonesia. It was a personal history lesson of Indonesia I am grateful to have learned. My experience in Indonesia showed me again how kites connect people from all over the world. I met school children in a Jakarta park flying kites as part of their school day. They invited me to join them to fly simple small paper and bamboo kites they had made. We laughed, shared kites and took pictures. Many wanted me to autograph their kites and practice English with them. They wanted to give me kites to take home to other children. These children showed me again the generous and happy spirit of the Indonesian people. Kit- ing continues to connect me to the good in the world. k

50 Kiting | Spring 2014 Spring 2014 | Kiting 51 A long downwinder Six Kitefliers, 6000 Kilometers, and the Deep blue sea. Kiteboarding across the atlantic isn’t a day at the beach.

fter almost two months away, Eric Little was looking forward to coming home. Just not yet. A “It’s 86° and I’m watching my friends out on the waves,” Little, 30, said from Puerto Rico — 1,900 miles and 90° away from his icy Michigan home. little was the only American on a kitesurfing team that completed a first-of-its-kind Atlan- tic crossing in December. Called the HTC Kite Challenge for its sponsor, a smartphone manu- facturer, the trip was put together by international adventurer Filippo van Hellenberg Hubar. Little, who surfs under the name Eric Pequeño, was selected as the team’s final member. The team departed from the Canary Islands, off the north African coast, on November 20 and arrived December 17 in the Turks and Caicos Islands. Each member of the five-man, one- woman group kitesurfed for two hours each day and two hours at night. Using the catamaran Double A as their floating basecamp, the kiters would climb into a trailing dinghy to launch their kites. little recalled the beauty and tranquility of his journey, with dolphins swimming beside each kiteboarder as they put in their daily shift on the board. But, he said, “There were a num- ber of close calls,” like the time his lines got tangled, nearly keelhauling him beneath the dinghy. And they nearly ran out of provisions as the journey took longer than planned. you can catch up on all the details of the expedition, including videos and daily blogs, at http://enablepassion.com. Some excerpts from the blog follow....

December 10 and again picked up the lights on the horizon “All hands on deck!” Ike yells. “What hap- and went straight for it. Everyone got into pened?” No response. I quickly get dressed and position, and were able to grab it on the first ran up on top to find out Camilla was down in pass, pull it onboard, and roll it and the lines the water, separated from the kite, temporarily up without any damage. “Well done everyone, didn’t have VHF communication, although it very well done,” Captain Erik shouted. appeared to be working again. Nothing else As the seas grew, and the wind howled had been determined yet. I could see two lights pushing 30kts, we had a quick team meeting far in the distance, quite a ways away from to discuss what happened. Turns out the VHF each other. Not sure which one was Camilla, lost communication, so Max got in the dinghy, and which was the kite. Strong winds, and and went back to switch out her current unit. growing swell made the lights vanish and then As he was trying to put it in here vest, a big reappear every few moments. So intense the wave hit them, causing slack in the lines situations we are all getting so used to waking and sending the kite falling to the water. She up in on this journey. As Captain Erik per- hopped out to relaunch it, but it had rolled, fectly maneuvered the Double A into position to inverted, and was dragging her through the pick up Camilla, she was able to grab the din- waves underwater, so after a few attempts to ghy rope on the first pass and climb right into stabilize, she released it. Once sitting in the it. First priority accomplished, Camilla’s back water with just her board, was able to pull out safe, now time for the kite. Although it was out the VHF and see that it had turned to another of sight for a moment, we engined downwind, channel, so thankfully could change it back and communicate again with the team. December 11 “We need a medic”, Ike yelled. Sophie our Medic/ Sailor looked to the back of the yacht to see Max was coming in, with blood all over his face. Our board change procedure consists of the current rider bringing their board with them in the dinghy, as the new rider grabs the kite and hops into the water, and someone on board throws out the new board, for the new rider to body drag to it. As Max exchanged the kite with Dennis, and was tossing and turning

52 Kiting | Spring 2014 photos courtesy of Enable Passion neath the almost full moon, we soaked up every second of it. The moon stayed bright all through the night giving each of us the chance to appreciate mother nature in all of her might and beauty. Sometimes it looks like you are staring downhill in the moonlight as far as you can see, then again in an instant it appears you are looking uphill just as far. I had the gift of the moonset to sunrise session, as I entered the water with the bright round orange moon near- ing the horizon, while at the same time the sun beginning to rise behind me. December 17 By sunrise, land was visible in the distance on the horizon. What so many believed to be impossible, was now a reality! in the dinghy on the way back to the Double December 12 Dennis first, myself second, Camilla third, then Filippo, Ike, and finally Max. As A in the still huge swell, a combination of As we get closer and closer to the Turks and I tacked back and forth around the Double A, wind and waves picked up his surfboard, and Caicos, it’s a bittersweet feeling. The wind waiting for the rest of the team to join, I began slammed the nose directly in his face! Sophie has come down a bit, making the attitude grabbed her medical kit and immediately be- all a little more relaxed giving each of us the everything we could have imagined gan to look Max over. Thankfully it appeared time to turn our energy a little more inwards and more. Truly a night of celebra- she could tape it together, rather than have to for some reflection. We are all so proud to be tion! suture it. coming close to achieving the goal, and the beautiful experiences this crossing has gifted us Over these last 27 days, we Very thankful I didn’t talk the team into feelings of accomplishment are already start- with. learned to work together as a team, a larger kite tonight, the 10m was perfect! I ing to feel amazing. Yet I don’t believe any of and push the boundaries of not just never would have thought coming into this us are ready for this adventure to be over. December 14-16 adventure kiteboarding, but also challenge, that by the end of it we would be As my session was coming to a close, I As we get further and further into the Caribbe- overcoming obstacles and struggles comfortable out at night, in the open water, had my first chance this trip to kite with some an, everyone is wearing their wetsuits less and against all odds. We learned from riding storm cloud to storm cloud, just as long dolphins. Camilla now on watch, let me know less. The temperature is hot, in and out of the each other, shared our joys, as well as as they didn’t show lightning. This realization they were all over the Double A, so I kited water, even at night. The final days between our fears as we conquered them to- became ever so apparent as the cloud passed, right back to it, and as I got close, I saw them our distance goal, and the white sandy beaches gether. We learned to trust one anoth- and the wind dropped, and I looked over my jumping on all sides of it. When I made my of the Blue Haven [Resort], have continued to er, save one another, and challenge shoulder excited for the next one to come in jibe to ride next to the team, three dolphins be testing ones. Considering we only planned one another, proving if you never and bring back more wind. The shapes and swam directly underneath me to check me out provisions for being at sea for 21 days, and give up, anything is possible. We sights in the night sky are images I hope I can before returning over to the front of the yacht now are at day 27, our rations are depleting chased the sunsets for over 6000km’s, save in my mind for the rest of my life. with the rest of their pod. So many absolutely fast. We finished off the end of our milk and into the dark of night, and back again juice two days ago, and the last bottle of water to the beauty of the morning sun. We yesterday. The only drinkable liquids left is experienced the deep blue water, and the tap water supplied by the water maker. It the wildlife that gets to call it home. doesn’t taste the best, but we are making due. We got a feel for how small each of Our equipment is seeing the wear and tear as us are in this amazing world we live well. We had another kite explode due to hav- in, yet also felt how connected we all ing a GoPro attached to the leading edge. We can be within it, working together for also lost our favorite board of the trip as Ike one purpose. We confirmed what we did a backroll kiteloop, came down too hard, set out to do from the beginning, if and broke it nearly in two. We are almost out you want to go fast, go alone, but if of batteries, and have only enough to power you want to go far, go as a team. k the few lights we have left to continue riding at night. Our VHF’s have been failing, leaving us just enough to keep operations going, and have to see kites on land raise into the air. One by of our safe haven the lost function of all of our dog trackers, making one, they started to line the beach. The local Double A, we have all watch much more intense not having a way to riders were all coming out on the water to ride been so happy to come locate a rider if visual is lost. with us in for the final stretch! Timing worked to know as home. With We have all had to face fears and chal- out perfect that Max hit the water at the same a brief moment to share lenges out here in so many ways. For me a moment the group of kites reached us, and some much needed large one was being left sitting in the water, we all set off in the direction of the island hugs and tears with our and it felt amazing to be able to have one more together. With the help of the local riders, we friends and family that chance to test myself and being able to keep a checked off the final leg of our trip. came to support us, we calm mind. It is only by facing your fears, that As we pulled up to the Blue Haven Re- were escorted to the you overcome them. At other times it has been sort, music was blasting and lights were flash- stage by the Governor wildlife, others going out into the darkness ing, flares in hand, as everyone stood cheering and Premier of the with lightning flashes and squalls around. For us on at the dock. We signed a few necessary Island! each of us the test has been different, yet as customs forms, and hoped off of the yacht and The energy and ex- a team, were facing them all together. As we onto the long awaited dry land! A moment citement of the incred- all took one of our final night rides under- filled with so much joy, still difficult to step off ibly warm welcome was

54 Kiting | Spring 2014 Spring 2014 | Kiting 55 Wedding Bols After 38 years together, Mike Petty and Don Pignolet were finally able to get married on December 29. The South Jersey Kite Flyers tied the knot in front of the Christmas tree at a bed and breakfast in Cape May, NJ. Don says that their marriage license is now framed and hanging on the wall right next to the kitemaking trophy that Mike won at the AKA convention in Gettysburg in 2008.

Mapping The Wind Last year, designers Fernanda Viégas and Martin Wattenberg brought us the Wind Map (online at http://hint.fm/wind/), an artistic visu- alization of wind patterns across the United States. Now their map has inspired another Web developer, Cameron Beccario, to adapt the concept to a global scale. Beccario started with a wind map of Tokyo, where he lives. Then he took on the world. You can see his animated map at earth.nullschool.net. using data from the Global Forecast System, Beccario’s map updates every three hours, showing near-current weather patterns worldwide. You can spin the map like a globe, zoom in on a particu- lar region, or just soak in the oddly soothing sight of the neon lines Fort worden On The Move steadily making their way across the globe. A few years ago, the State of Washington turned over management of much of Fort Worden State Park to private contractors, and the head- aches began for the Fort Worden Kitemakers Conference. Prices rose, services diminished, and the Conference’s board began considering their options. They recently announced that in 2015, the Kitemakers Conference will move to the Warm Beach Camp and Conference Cen- ter in Stanwood, north of Seattle. That means that kitemakers won’t get to watch the sun rise over the Cascades, but instead will be treated to views of the sun setting over Puget Sound.

From the mailbag... We get holiday cards here at Kiting, like these good wishes from France’s Michel Gressier.

Mes meilleurs Vœux pour 2014 accompagnent cet instant qui retrace et résume toutes les complicités et partages, que j’ai pu mettre en place dans ma passion.

What Does The Fox Fly? Steve Nicol found this inquisitive spectator in Milwaukee’s Veterans Park, looking for learn-to-fly lessons.

6456 Kiting Kiting | SWinterpring 2014 2013 General Store AKA The Kiteflier's Choice

Handles, Bags,Shirts, Hats, Offical Badges & much more online! Go to AKA.KITE.ORG/RESOURCES/STORES/GSTORE for more information contact: [email protected]