Kite
Flyer
July 2000 Issue Route
66 Kite Club (R66KC)
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Kite Club Phoenix, AZ
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NEW Format Due To Our New Web site
Click Here To Go To Our New Web Site
Table Of Contents
(Just Click On The Left
Item Of Interest. It is recommended that all articles be read)
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Hot Buttons |
Descriptions
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Quick Thoughts From The Editor |
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Letter From The Director And/Or AKA News |
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This Months Flying Schedule |
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What Happened On Last Months Flys |
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Long Term Dates And Plans |
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Other Items Of interest |
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Questions To The Club |
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NEW! The Leading Edge |
Special Tips and Tricks From The Fly’n Hawaiian NEW! |
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Notes From Our Very Own Kite And Banner Maker |
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New
Name! Flick Flacks |
Fun Kite Stuff |
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Lost Puppies And Things For Sale |
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Cover My Ass Legal Ease |
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Please Help Yourselves |
Web Site Links
(Just Click On Them And Go!)
Reminder: I will be publishing anything and
everything that comes my way that relates to kites. If you wish to communicate
with me, and DO NOT want something
used in the Kite Flyer, please indicate what part of your E-mail is private.
Otherwise, everything is fair game. Send me something, come on, I dare
you! In any event, I could really use the help so send your articles to: R66KC@TMSquared.com.
Well this last month has been a little sparse for flying, although you
guys have provided numerous fly reports and other editorial notes worth reprinting.
Many, MANY thanks to you all. I believe all of you will appreciate the little
tidbits that have been contributed throughout the month that can be found in
the “Other News” section. PLEASE keep them coming. As soon as we get our acts together,
we have had several volunteers that want to do a members profile section. So
keep your eyes open for this new section. And another new feature for the web
site, coming soon, will be an easy calendar of events so that you all won’t
have to paw through all of the newsletters to find out what is going on.
We have several members traveling the country, and in Hugh’s case, the
world. And hope to have fun fly reports coming from them all. So keep an eye
out for next month’s edition, it should be fun. Perhaps when our wayward kiters
return, we may be amazed with their out of state acquisitions.
We have a great Forth Of July Event coming in just a few days on the 3rd
of July. See the “Upcoming Fly Events” section for the details. And we hope to
see as many of you, that aren’t vacationing or working, as can come.
I will look forward to seeing all of you on the fields soon, enjoying
these Monsoon winds. Keep a wary eye out for lightning, the bane of our Monsoon
winds, and pray for cooler weather.
Keep’em Fly’n
Gadget Man Manson
AKA News Or
Directors Editorial
From Our Region 12 Director, Ron Despojado
(Taken from the AKA Kiting
Magazine May 2000 Issue)
Recently I experienced the loss
of someone as close as family. At the service, the priest said, “Life is a banquet, so don’t starve
yourself.” These words have stuck in my head since then. So, forget
about personal conflicts and let’s go fly a kite and enjoy the day. Bon Appetit!
Written By Charles Stonestreet of Richmond, VA
(Also taken from the AKA Kiting
Magazine May 2000 Issue)
One person flying a single kite in
a perfect sky can touch the hearts and raise the spirits of innumerable people.
Any activity with such depth is surely destined to grow far beyond its present
status.
Upcoming Flying Events
Note: All flying events will be from
12:00 noon through 4 or 5 p.m. unless otherwise posted.
The Forth Of July Weekend
Special Club Event
Club Fly At
The Paradise Valley Park – 07/03/00 – Monday Forth Of July Weekend:
Well here it is! An
early evening / night fly with better winds and less heat. So come on down and
enjoy the fun!
We have been invited
by the Paradise Valley Parks and Recreations Department to display and
demonstrate, to a crowd of about 20,000 people, our kites, talents, and skills.
We have also been asked, wind permitting, if we would launch as many eye
catching single liners for the crowd to see, as we could muster.
This Park is located
on the Southwest corner of Union Hills and 40th Street. We have been
allocated a large area of the field at the North end of the park, next to Union
Hill Road. The Parks and Recreation people were so enthused that we could come
that they moved several vendors around so we could have a prime viewing location
for the public. So lets all attend this event and put on a great show. The
actual times for this event is from 6pm to 10pm, but we have been authorized to
arrive at 2pm to setup and fly before the event. Some assistance will be needed
the previous Sunday 07/02/00 for the tapping off of the flying area for safety
purposes. If interested in assisting please contact the Gadget Man at: thomas.m.manson@boeing.com,
or W-480-891-8042, or H-623-939-6441 as soon as is possible.
Our Club Expert “The
Fly’n Hawaiian” will be present to demonstrate his skills and assist the rest
of us on how to make that breakthrough to the next plateau. Some new super
secret kites made by Hawaiian hands may magically appear at this event as well.
Optional
Fly At The Peoria Sports Complex – 07/04/00 – Tuesday Forth Of July Weekend: - - - CANCELED - - -
This event, it has been reported, has fallen by the way side. The ArFF Group
flier Dave Evans who was coordinating this event has opted to support a Tucson
Forth Of July Event that we have no details on. Perhaps, as communications
improve with the Tucson based ArFF Group, we will get more info on their
events. Next year the R66KC may have to look into picking up the dropped Peoria
Sports Complex Fly due to the fact that the new freeway will take out most of
the Paradise Valley Park that we will be flying at on the 3rd of
July. Keep the faith baby. We keep getting calls from event holders from all
over the Phoenix Metro Area. Maybe the new down town Indian School park will be
in a good enough shape to support an event next year. We will see.
Club Fly At
The Original Hippie (Jim Jennings) Park – 07/15/00 – Saturday: (See web site Kite Field Recommendations for maps.) Let’s try to do dinner and drinks after.
Original Hippie Park (North)
Was the “Jim Jennings Park”, and can be located by going north on I-17 to Bell
Rd., west on Bell to 29th Ave., then south on 29th to
Grandview, and finally west again on Grandview for two blocks.
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Rating: |
Great |
Restrooms: |
None |
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Kiters That Can Fly: |
30 |
Drinking Fountains: |
None |
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Non-Kiter Visibility: |
Poor |
Park Benches: |
Yes |
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Distance To Amenities: |
1 Mile |
Shade Available: |
Lots |
Club Fly At
The Riverview Park – 07/30/00 – Sunday:
(See web site Kite Field
Recommendations for maps.) Perhaps we will be able to join the Phoenix part
of the Tucson based ArFF Group.
Riverview Park (Southeast) This Park is located approximately one quarter
of a mile south of Highway 202 on Dobson Road. Take the 202 to the Dobson Road
turnoff and head south. The park is on the west side of the road.
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Rating: |
Good |
Restrooms: |
South Side |
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Kiters That Can Fly: |
30 |
Drinking Fountains: |
South Side |
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Non-Kiter Visibility: |
Medium |
Park Benches: |
No |
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Distance To Amenities: |
3 Miles |
Shade Available: |
Lots |
Note: By popular demand and the desire
to socialize after a fly with a meal and possibly drinks, the club flying
events will be moving, periodically,
to SATURDAYS!!! Stay tuned as to when
this will start. Park selection will be
alternated so that no single group of individuals will have to drive a long way
all of the time.
Special
Note: Jane
and I have purposely bought three
indestructible Beetles for guests! Please
do not hesitate to ask for them when you have a guest attending our events.
Latest Fly Reports
Club Fly At
The Original Hippie (Jim Jennings) Park – 06/04/00 – Sunday Fly Report: (See web site Kite Field Recommendations
for maps.)
The Following Fly Report By
Rocky
Hey Guys,
We missed you. Tried
to call your cell but could not get through. Dennis, Johnathan and I were the
only attendees. Wind was intermittent at best. "Hours of sheer boredom
punctuated by moments of sheer pleasure". About the best part of the fly
was sitting under a shade tree talking about kites and stuff. Great
conversation, but crummy flying conditions. Sorry I can't provide more detail
but that's the whole story and nothing but the whole story. Hope all is well.
Regards,
Rocky Point Howard
The following Fly Report By Doc
Hey Gadget,
Sorry you didn't make it.
We had a pretty good time. Only Al-Habib, Rocky Point Howard and myself were
there. The wind was its usual, up one minute and down the next. We did get in
some flying before the heat took its toll and we all sought cooler breezes
indoors. My Pro Wren was zipping
through the sky pretty good. Al-Habib
had some success flying his latest creation "#2". Rocky Point Howard
mainly got frustrated by the lack of wind because he really wanted to fly his
new Alpha +. But overall we had a good
day. See ya at the next club fly...where ever it might be!!!
Doc
The following Fly Report By
Al-Habib
I was the first one to
arrive at the park. As I was staring at
the empty park and wondering if I had made a royal screw up in the location of
the fly, Dennis pulled up and set my mind at ease. Dennis and I hauled out the kites and set-up.
Dennis pulled out his ProWren and started to work the light winds that
were coming out of the Southwest. I
pulled out a kite that I had thrown together over the last week. It's loosely patterned after a Prism Vapor
with some changes to the sail materials and dimensions. The frame on #2 (original name, I know, I
know.....) was made primarily of SkyShark 2 Tapered rods. The initial hop into the sky revealed that
it had critical understeer. (as
evidenced by the cringe inducing "thwacks" of delicate 2PT rods
smacking the ground)
As I was fiddling with the bridle, Rocky Point Howard pulled up and added
the third person to our trio. Howard
pulled out his new Alpha + and a Miniature Wind Meter (Kestrel) that he had
scored at a good discount at a local marine supply store. As Dennis played with the new toys and
Howard settled in, I smacked my new Prism Banner into the ground. The winds were up and down with a low of 2
and a high of 6. Howard Tried to get the Alpha + to work, but the winds lacked
the consistency needed to work that wing.
Howard pulled out a Prism Ozone to try the lower wind range and Dennis
pulled out a Beetle to try the gusts.
I was still tweaking the bridle on #2 and discovered that extreme
oversteer helps tighten up that turning radius, but makes control a bit touchy.
Picture a kite rotating around the center "T" connector and you'll
have a really good idea of how much oversteer I had dialed in. Back to bridle tweaking. I finally got something that was close
enough to make it flyable. I switched over to some longer lines and took a
couple of swift passes and caught some good winds. Too good for the light and skinny 2PT spars after watching the
upper leading edge bow in 6 inches, prudence demanded a tougher kite.
#2 got pulled down and the Illusion went up. The winds managed to frustrate us all by going from zip to 6 mph
and back again.
Much time was spent sitting in the shade and discussing kite retailers,
best kite / worst kite, what's in the kite bag, etc... Howard expressed a new found love for Ballet
kiting and shared some music with Dennis.
Dennis suggested a fly up around Flagstaff as a way to get away from the
heat. Howard also chimed in with details
of his upcoming two-month west coast kite junket with planned stops in Long
Beach and Kite Hill in Seattle. (Lucky Dog, can I pack myself in your
luggage?) I'm all over the Flagstaff
idea. We all decided that enough was
enough at about 4:30pm and broke camp.
Another point that was raised is that both Dennis and Howard expressed
interest in purchasing line bags and other kiting supplies from me. I'd like to get a feel from the local flyers
on what items local flyers are considering buying in the upcoming months. If the demand is there, I'll start getting
ramped up to meet local needs and try to provide a quality product at a fair
price.
Work has calmed down a bit and I remember that Jim J. was, at one point
in time, inquiring about a custom banner.
Jim, shoot me a line and we'll talk about it.
Jonathan Dellmar
AKA
Al-Habib, The Tent Maker
Club Fly At
The Schermanator Park – 06/17/00 – Saturday Father’s Day Weekend Fly Report: (See web site Kite Field Recommendations
for maps.)
The Following Field Update
Report By The Schermanator
Hi Tom,
I see a potential
problem with this Saturday's (June 17th) scheduled fly at
"Schermanator" Park. I have
been flying there lately in the afternoons, and I have had to compete with the
lawn sprinklers for space. They have
decided to start watering the fields, and the sprinklers have been coming on at
odd times throughout the day, usually in the middle of the afternoon. I thought rather than risk a "rain-out"
this Saturday, I would propose an alternate east-side flying location for the
club.
I did some scouting around at Chaparral Park, and I found a large soccer
field that we can use. This field is
located at the southeast corner of Jackrabbit Road and Hayden. Jackrabbit is located one-half mile north of
Chaparral Road. This field is
approximately 200 yards north of the field where we flew last time the club was
there (a few months ago).
I checked with Steve Laman of the City of Scottsdale (480-312-2365). He handles reservations for the city parks
for athletic events. He told me that no
groups have reserved this field for this Saturday, and that it should be
available for use. It is available on a
first-come/first-served basis, unless somebody has reserved it. He said we could reserve it if we wanted,
but it would cost $5.00 per hour of use.
I thought it would be better just to take our chances on the field being
open, instead of paying the $5.00 per hour.
This field has very good visibility to car and pedestrian traffic. There are some shade trees and picnic tables
nearby. There are also restrooms and
drinking water available, and there is plenty of parking available adjacent to
the field. The only real drawback I see
is the wind condition there. This field is a little more open than the last
field we used there, and has fewer trees to obstruct the wind. But because this park lies in a shallow
valley, it does not have the good wind exposure that you might find at a park
such as Plateau. But for a park located
within the city, this one is
probably as good as any for wind exposure.
To access this park, head north or south on Hayden Rd. to
Jackrabbit. Turn east on Jackrabbit and
you are there. You will see the field
and parking lot on the south side of Jackrabbit. If we decide to have the fly there, I was planning on arriving at
about noon to stake out a site.
Let me know what you think about this site. If you decide to hold the fly at some other location, that would
be fine too.
Chris Schermann
The Following Fly Report By Mad
Man Manson
Well as you may have guessed, we took the Schermanator’s suggestion and
checked out this new field. It is on the northeast side of town and has a great
wind and field arrangement. Parking was fantastic, park benches were great, and
shade was good. The only concern were some power lines to the north that were
easily out maneuvered by the single liners.
The power lines were of no concern to the stunt kites so this field may
become our replacement to the Chaparral park, which has some parking problems.
YES, we had some single liners up of a good part of the day. The only
concern seemed to be with the humidity combined with the heat. In future we
will have to evaluate these concerns and move the fly times to later in the
day, when the wind is better, and the heat is reduced. Perhaps even making them
early evening flys.
Well there were about five of us, with Al-Habib coming late, and we flew,
and stopped. Flew and stopped, all day long. The single liners enjoyed the same
exercise with a simple point to the sky to re-launch them each time. This made
for an easy day of hot sweaty fun. (Almost sounds sexy.) We enjoyed numerous
spectators and several who quizzed us about the club joining several churches,
and other events. We gave away handouts and offered support with sufficient
notice. (Some wanted next day support on Father’s day.)
All in all not a bad fly, just hot and sticky. Next time we need to move
the times to an early evening/night fly.
Gadget Man
The Following Fly Report By Doc
Hey Tom, Sorry Ryan and I missed the fly on Saturday. It
was my fault...I misread the messages and thought Sunday was the 17th. OOPS!
Anyway Fly’n' Ryan and I showed up about 1:30 to an empty field. We set
up the Beetles and were having a great time flying when all of a sudden this
guy approaches me and wants to take our picture. Turns out he is a photographer
for the AZ Republic and he spent about 40 minutes shooting Ryan & myself
flying the Beetle, Maxima and my Pro Wren. He says the pictures might be in the
paper on Monday or Tuesday or never...who knows. Oh well, there goes my 15 minutes of fame!
I wanted you to know
that I'm off the weekend of the 4th of July so I can help set up on the 3rd or
do whatever. What happened on Saturday?
Doc
(Special Note: We need to find more
parks with an audience to introduce more non-fliers to the sport. Some
discussion at the last fly was made of parks that might fit the bill. Please
send in your recommendations ASAP so that we can start trying them out. R66KC@TMSquared.com.)
Future & Annual Events
Sunshine
Acres Children’s Home/Orphanage Charity Event – We need help in
coming up with ideas for this charity.
I have raised $10,000/year for this Children’s home through the Harley
Owners Group (HOG), but do not have a clue as to how the R66KC can raise money
for these needy kids. Please send your ideas to r66kc@tmsquared.com Thanks.
We still need
ideas for this Charity Event!
Any thoughts
anyone?
Rocky Point
Kite Festival – Is currently being worked on by our
newest member Rocky Point Howard, along with Mad Dog Billy Dines. Anyone
interested in this event should contact R66KC at: r66kc@tmsquared.com Here is what Howard
has found:
Hi Tom,
Just got back from
Rocky Point, Mexico and I've got something interesting to propose. The week was
terrific for kite flying. I met several flyers from all parts of the country
staying at different campgrounds.
I happen to know some very influential people in RP (Mayor, Congressman
and news media people) and mentioned that an International Kite Festival in
town sometime in the fall would be a terrific event. They all agreed. My
contacts indicated they could probably get several sponsors including Tecate
and local American and Mexican business folk. I also spoke to Pablo (The kite
shop owner) and he was very interested.
So what do you think? If this idea sounds reasonable, how would we go
about putting this together? Let me know your thoughts.
Regards,
Howard
09/22-09/24/2000 – September
San Diego Sister Club in San Diego w/ the San Diego Kite Club Event. More information to follow when available. See
the May event below for lodging information.
10/08/2000 – One Sky One World (OSOW) Annual kite event for world
piece. More to follow as information becomes
available.
- - - Next Year - - -
Easter Assention Tradition Next Year
One of our members,
Juan, states that he has a tradition in the country that he is from, Guyana,
which is to fly kites during Easter, especially Easter Sunday. Actually, this
is the only time kites are flown in Guyana he states. The reason being that
sending a kite up into the skies is significant of Jesus's resurrection and
ascension to the Father. He keeps this tradition with his family and plans on
flying Easter Sunday. We may or may not plan a fly on Easter each year, mainly
because lots of us plan on being together with family on this special day, but
we will all be with Juan in spirit. If you remember this tradition from Guyana
on Easter, try to get a kite up and think of this tradition.
If anyone has or knows
about traditions such as this, please send them in so that we can share them
all with the rest of the club. And let’s all join Juan and Guyana in this wonderful
Easter Ascension tradition!
05/18-05/20/2001 – Route 66 Kite Club Fly With Our Sister Club the San
Diego Kite Club (SDKC). Come
and tryout some really great winds with loads of fun for the whole family. Sea World,
Old Down, Seaport Village, Mission Bay, Mission beach, the ocean, shopping, and
a myriad of other things for the family to do. We will be joining the SDKC, (http://www.sdkc.net) at their Mission Bay Park for a Sister
club fly on Saturday, with a night fly on the beach Saturday evening. A
Saturday evening barbecue will be promoted as well. We would like to have
everyone stay at the same hotel if possible for easier logistics. The “Beach
Cottages” hotel is on Mission Boulevard (858) 483-7440 and right on the beach
for everyone’s enjoyment with lots of shops and restaurants within easy walking
distance. The rooms run from $75-$85/night for hotel rooms through $250/night
for a two-bedroom cottage. Jane and I
have a one-bedroom cottage that we all can congregate at, so my recommendation
is the cheaper rooms. Everyone should
get their reservations in early because this is a popular place. Hope to see
you all there!
Note: Any ideas for events, please
contact the Gadget Man at: R66KC@TMSquared.com.
Other News
New Shirt Order To Go In
The club currently has an order for five(5) additional shirts. We have a
deal with the shirt maker that will allow us to submit small orders with no
penalty. We will be ordering these 5 shirts and want to know if there are any
additional shirt orders that should be added. Please contact Gadget Man Manson
(thamas.m.manson@boeing.com)
as soon as possible so we can save some time, effort and money.
Great Web Site Find For Miniature Kites
Give the web site below a click and review the best little Miniature Kite
galleries, kits, material lists, plans, vendors, and associated links that you
can find. Enjoy! And if you get into the miniature kite hobby, let us know with
some photos and a demo when possible.
http://miniatures.kitelife.com
The
Tucson Store Has Lost It’s Lease But All Is Not Lost
(Note: Information obtained from
the ArFF Bulletin Board Site.)
From Jim Jenning’s, Anita
I traveled the long and dusty and hot highway to Tucson only to find my favorite kite store closed. It was this past Saturday around two p.m. and the restaurant next-door where I thought I might find JoAnne or Bryan was