The Many Facets of the Tetrahedrals : A Symposium/ 25 Their Theatrics . and Their Perils/ 26 Real-life tetrahedral adventures. Opinions and Theories/ 27 Comments from enthusiasts-except for Alexander Graham Bell . A Simplified Construction/ 32 By Ed Grauel . If you must build one, here's how . Trials of the Tets/ 33 Comparing the home-built to the commercial model . Tips for Tets and How to Make Them Grow/ 38 By Michael S . Riley. Ideas for working with the stackable kite . England's Jubilee Year : A Rapture of Kites!/ 48 The British are doing more than keeping up . Hundreds of Sleds, Hundreds of Smiles/Kid's Corner/ 62 The Smiles -Part I By Shirley Osborne. A teacher makes kites work-and play-in the schoolroom . The Sleds - Part II By Mel Govig . A great system for kite making with kids . And any number can play. Letter from the Editor/ 7 Letters/ 8 Kites Past/ 12 By Professor Clive Hart . A "new" pennon comes to light. Design Workshop/ 14 Stacked Deltas, a nifty design utilizing available materials, by Neil Thorburn . News from Here & There :/Stateside/ 42 News from Here & There : International/ 54 Flying with the Old Pro/ 56 Classifieds/ 61 New Department : Swap Shop/ 61 Kite Calendar/ 60 Carl Douglass Jewell prepares his tetrahedral kite for a day of glory at the Smithsonian Kite Carnival in Washington, DC . Doug's assembly system makes possible a variety of cell arrangements as well as easy transport . Photograph by Anneke Davis . (Story on page 23 .) Editor What are kitefliers really like? When in the survey registered substantial in over half of these cases two or asked that question I have had to followings except for kites under S1 or more people do so-effectively in- generalize from personal experience . over $30 . Last year, however, you kiters creasing our magazine's readership Now I have some more tangible infor- must have been more spendthrift than by 133/ . Most of these pick-up readers mation, that which you, dear readers, usual ; only 2% of you bought no kites are the same age as the members ; only supplied in the survey which appeared last year, and another 2% of you paid 10% are children. You read the adver- in the Summer issue . It's my pleasure over $30 for a kite . tising, too-62% read all the display now to share it with you . Also a big part of your buying goes ads (not a single person read none By your own self-appraisals, 49% into kite accessories (such things as of them), and 45% read all the Clas- of kite Lines readers are intermediate line, reels, special clothing, carrying sified ads too . In the last year, 44% in kiteflying skill, while 29% of you bags, tails, swivel hooks, drops, ban- of readers ordered a kite product from are advanced . Novices account for ners, etc .). The favorite spending level the magazine . 20% and only 1% are willing to be here, 29%, was $20 to $49 last year. When not reading Kite Lines, you classified as spectators only. Major purchases (costing $20 or more) may be found indulging your catholic You do fly kites! In warmer months, made specifically for kiting were also tastes in such other magazines as the mode (27%) is a frequency of twice common . In the last three years 50% National Geographic (18%), Popular a month, 24% of you fly once a week, of our members purchased at least Science (16%), or Time (16%). But the and a solid 21% fly two or three times one such item and 23% bought three preponderance of magazines read was a week. Only 19% fly once a month or or more . a fascinating range of special interest less, and an energetic 7% fly four or Construction of kites occupies all publications -from Bicycling; Organic more times a week. The enthusiasm but 22% of the people who answered Gardening, American Rifleman, Car and abates in the colder months, though the survey, and a prodigious percent- Driver, Popular Photography, Tennis even then 21% of you fly once a week age (24%) made more than 10 kites and Model Airplane News to the less or oftener. And you've been kiteflying last year, using books, original designs predictable Sky and Telescope, Back- like this for quite some time : two to and Kite Lines (or Kite Tales) as sources packing; Byte, Fibre Arts, Ballooning; three years, 25%; three to five years, for plans, in that order. Beecraft, Fly Fisher's Journal, Table Tennis 19% ; five to 10 years, 15% ; 10 to 20 Our opinionated audience definitely Topics and Mini Micro Systems, to name years, 11% ; and a whopping 20% have votes for May as its favorite month only a few . been flying over 20 years . for kiteflying, nationwide . Ranking Our question 31 in the survey, asking In all this time only 12 .6% of you of the other months is as follows (in you to rank the types of articles in have had injuries from kiting . By far order from favored to unfavored) : Kite Lines that interest you most, the commonest type is line burn (57% June, April, September, July, October, evidently caused a lot of agonizing . In of the injuries .) A few (about 29%) of March, August, November, February, fact, 10% of you wouldn't reply to this the accidents have been relatively December and January. The question question . But those who did showed severe (some sprains and broken bones, of a national kite celebraton brought they strongly favored construction mostly associated with running), but us quite a bit of indifference, with plans and tips and the Design Work- given the time spent and frequency of 10% giving no response and 9% voicing shop department over the others, with flying, the risk appears low, at least objections to the idea. The remaining trends, the What's New section and among our well-educated members . replies expressed their preferences national news coming in with high Kiteflying vacations, specifically thus : 43% for a National Kite Week ; marks, and kite puzzles, fiction and planned for kiteflying purposes, are 25% for a National Kite Day ; 13% for poetry falling to the bottom of the list . taken by nearly half of you (44%) each a National Kite Month. Some of our questions related to year. You generally travel by auto- Our average kiter is well-read, too, AKA as an organization in hopes of mobile on these trips, and 11% of you and typically has three to six kite books gauging the level of interest that could travel as far as 500 miles. in his or her library. Over 75% of be developed there . Those willing to It appears that the flier who buys readers had purchased anywhere from attend a local or regional meeting came his or her kites and the flier who makes one to 20 books on kites in the last year. in at 75%, and an impressive 12% were them are often one and the same . This Where Kite Lines is concerned, you willing to attend a national meeting, finding puts the lie to the notion that seem to have overwhelming avidness : at their own expense . Those willing these types of kiters are mutually 72% of you read the journal cover to to undertake an AKA job as officer, exclusive . Only 12% of Kite Lines cover; 20% read most of every issue ; committee person, representative or readers purchase no kites in a typical and only 7% read Kite Lines less correspondent numbered 62% of the year, and all the rest buy at least one thoroughly. In addition, 88% save all responses. or two each year. Twelve percent go of your past issues, and consult them Ever wonder about the composition for 10 or more models a year and 4% often or at least sometimes (also 88%) . of our membership? The "typical" of these buy over 20 kites a year . The Most of you are not loners in your (mode) kiteflier emerging from our bulk of the purchases are in the $5 to enthusiasm ; 64% of you report that survey is a male in his 30's, married, $9.99 range, though all price categories other people read your copies, and Continued on page 10 . Letters SLED QUESTIONS FILL THE AIR enclosed a description of courses which I I have an interesting phenomenon that I have offered for the past ten semesters and am at a loss to explain . a recent letter to the editor of the Journal- Over the years I have built many sleds News of Rockland County. but have settled on the two-stick ventless Harold R . Wechsler variant of the Scott-Grauel type with a Monsey, NY bridle point at 28 .5% down . Recently I got some lovely .005 inch polyethylene and Rockland Community College CF 232 : KITES-THEIR THEORY, CONSTRUCTION AND proceeded to produce six identical sleds of FLIGHT (For Adults and Children) a configuration that I had been building This course will begin with a discussion of the history, nature and types of kites which have been utilized around for years (900mm or 3-foot sleds), but the world . Included will be lectures on aerodynamics they bucked like a lovesick mustang and and the scientific uses of kites . Schematic drawings for the construction of kites will be distributed, and class performed like Nadia Comaneci : cart- members will build kites under supervision . Half of the wheels, rolls, head stands, no-handed sessions will be devoted to the flying of kites which the round-offs, but like the said Nadia all on students have built . This course is intended for individuals involved in the ground .