Kite
Flyer
August 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.
Don’t miss the really great Pool Party coming August 26th and
hosted by Lady Hummingbird and the nasty old Gadget Man Manson. This can be
found in the “Upcoming Flying Events” section.
Official thanks from the Parks and Recreation Department, which can be
found in the “Other
News” section. And a special report on the 3rd of July
event that will touch your heart by Doc, which can be found under the “Latest Fly
Reports” section.
Look for the note in the “Other News” section by Surf Doggy. His
inspirational words say it all.
And speaking of inspiration, don’t miss the “Smile Factor” as related to
by our own club expert the Fly’n Hawaiian. This can be found in two places,
(mainly because it is worth repeating), and because he said it best, under his
own section tips and tricks section “The Leading Edge”.
Watch for the updates from Rocky Point Howard and his wayward lady Maddy,
and the flying excursions all over the country. You can find these adventures
detailed in the “Latest Fly Reports” section.
And last but not least, our Route 66 Kite Club web site has finally been
registered with numerous search engines and we should be seeing some hits when
people start looking for Kiters in the Phoenix area.
Keep’em Fly’n
Gadget Man Manson
AKA News Or
Directors Editorial
Treasure Island Convention
Greetings -
Just a quick note to let
all of you know that you can now register for the Treasure Island convention
via our web site at:
http://www.aka.kite.org
See you in October!
Have a breezy day!
Mel Hickman
Executive Director
American Kitefliers
Association
352 Hungerford Drive,
Rockville, MD 20850 USA
(800) 252-2550 (509) 529-9171 xd@aka.kite.org
Event
and Class Changes for the New Season
This update is for members interested in sport kite competition. You are probably
hearing scattered reports about changes in the competitive sport kite world
next year. Actually, "next year" begins August 1 with the start of
the 2000-2001 season.
AKA's KITING magazine remains the official source of information about
the Association. But things are happening quickly now and KITING has already
gone to press. So here are a few important pieces of news relevant to
competitors as the new season approaches.
In early June, I was appointed to Chair the Sport Kite Committee. With
limited time before the start of the new season, I asked the Committee to
review the most pressing issues that have been circulating over the past year
or so. Some were controversial; some were not. One of our options was, of
course, wait and allow more discussion. But waiting even a month meant that the
new season would begin and nothing would be changed for more than a year. So we
proposed, we discussed, and we voted. Here is where we now stand.
1) For purposes of Conference Rankings and Grand National Competition,
the Novice and Intermediate classes have been combined. This becomes effective
in August and will control Convention invitations for 2001 in Billings. We will
call the new class Novice.
This difficult decision was made for several reasons.
First, with the addition of new events and the demand to add even more,
it was felt that running four classes was a luxury we could no longer afford.
Competition time schedules are extremely tight, each event requires more staff,
and trophies are expensive. It was also noted that STACK does not run Intermediate, although that has little bearing
on what we do.
Over the past two years, we have had an *average* of nine Novice fliers
compete at the Grand Nationals. Last year that included both ballet and
precision. So the evidence is that the actual number of people affected by this
decision seems limited. A combined class will show better strength on the field
and better reflect a true champion at that flying level.
And finally, many on the Committee felt there may be more effective ways
to encourage new fliers to enter competition. (See below.)
The bottom line -- with the start of the new season, all "old"
Novices will fly in the "new" Novice Class. Intermediates who
qualified to move up will fly Experienced; other Intermediates will fly in the
new Novice Class. I think it will be a more challenging, more interesting, and
more exciting event for everyone that participates -- even if it is harder to
win.
2) While removing a class, AKA was also looking for better ways to
encourage and support new competitors. Our conclusion was to create a series of
"Beginner" events at sanctioned competitions.
"Beginners" would differ from Novice in that (a) they are not
ranked, (b) they are much less formal, and (c) AKA membership or registration
fees would not be required. The idea behind the proposal was to create a
process that was less intimidating for new fliers, but which introduced them to
the competition arena and did a better job of supporting, teaching, and
encouraging them than Novice does now. The goal is to get more people involved
by trying something different.
I should stress that these are not required activities. The decision to
offer "Beginners" is up to individual organizers. However, AKA will
provide materials and support to any that do.
Here is what one Committee member wrote:
> We need incentives to keep
new competitors coming in to the sport.
When we eliminated >Novice, we did NOT eliminate the need to display
leadership to get new people in to the sport.
I believe that throwing a new flier into the "old" Novice
scenario, with a sound system and audience, a panel of judges, penalties and
rules is intimidating and discouraging. I'm looking for a more positive and
constructive (and fun) experience.
The Beginner events are not so much a "competition" as they are
an "activity". Many events now do a 'learn to fly' field. Beginners
would be a 'learn to compete' field -- one judge, one field director (the two
could be combined), a marked field, and a set of basic maneuvers (square,
circle, figure eight). I also envision a one-page scorecard (with
illustrations) that can be given to the flier and a certificate of completion
they get when they "pass". AKA will make up templates which
organizers duplicate. And of course, we post these materials on the web page
for downloading.
Ideally, the beginner field would also provide more advanced kites for
new fliers to perform with.
The flier gets an introduction to the competition environment, and also
gets feedback on their performance in a post-flight briefing. Then hopefully,
they run over and sign up to compete in the more formal competition. (And of
course they need to join AKA to do that.)
Overall, I'm looking at something informal, un-intimidating, fun, and
free. I want to get new people into the sport. Charging registration fees isn't
the way to do it.
3) The Committee has also voted to rank Precision for Pairs and
Individual Quad next season. Invitations to the 2001 convention will be issued
for these new events.
Precision is already being run in many parts of the country. Adding these
events is seen by the Committee as a logical progression. It also puts us in a
much better competitive position when send fliers for international
championships where these events are run.
4) A final issue that is being discussed but has not yet been voted on
involves combining a competitors performance in ballet and precision to
determine an overall Champion in each class.
Presently we rank fliers, issue invitations, and then present convention
awards in *both* precision and ballet. The suggestion has been made that we
combine scores for ballet and to determine Conference rankings. Similarly we
would combines convention scores in ballet and precision to determine the
winners. In other words, we'd rank the Masters Individual *flier*, rather than
both Masters Individual Precision and Masters Individual Ballet.
There are a number of issues in this simple proposition and good
arguments pro and con.
* The present system rewards more fliers by issuing more trophies.
* Dividing precision and ballet means we issue a *few* more convention
invitations.
* More trophies mean more expense for organizers and the AKA.
* We now recognize a precision and ballet "champion" in each category,
but no overall champion.
* When there are opportunities for rewards based on convention results,
it is difficult to determine who the "best" Masters Individual is
since not all fliers qualify to compete in both categories.
Again, this issue has not yet been decided and will be discussed at
length at the Sport Kite Symposium in during the annual convention.
So these are the current facts. It is regretful that there was not more time
to involve the flying community in these decisions. But as I said before, we've
been talking for several years. Waiting until the new season would mean that
nothing new could be implemented for another year.
The sport kite community is diverse and there is no easy consensus on how
to make improvements. Fliers at different classes often have different wants
and needs, and often these desires conflict with the objectives of organizers,
judges, staff, and even spectators. Here are two quick examples:
We get many requests from fliers to add new events but resistance to
dropping old ones. Meanwhile organizers tell us there simply isn't time, staff,
or money to run them all.
Often we are asked to allow more fliers to compete at Nationals. Three
per conference seems restrictive. But the "Top Three" rule was
developed to cap convention competitors at 18 per discipline. This allows us to
run one flight, instead of two qualifiers and a final. It also allows us to
predict how many competitors are coming so we know how much time to allocate
per discipline.
It is a complex and politically charged mix of decisions. We expect
strong reactions because we want people to care about the sport. And the best
news is that the sport kite community now has a clearer and more direct link to
the decision-makers through their local Sport Kite Commissioners. Previously
those people were simply score collectors. Now they vote!
The job of the Sport Kite Committee is to try and determine the "big
picture" and make decisions, which are beneficial to both individuals, and
to the sport in general. Join us at the annual Sport Kite Symposium and share
your ideas on how we can make things better.
David Gomberg
Chair
Upcoming Flying Events
Note: All flying events will be from
12:00 noon through 4 or 5 p.m. unless otherwise posted.
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 |
Club Fly At
The Hippie Man Park – 08/12/00 – 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 Pool Party @ Gadget Man Manson’s House
– 08/26/00 – Saturday:
Come one and come all to the
Monsoon pool party and Bar-B-Que
@ Gadget Man and Lady Hummingbird's
house.
BYOB, and a 6-Foot Sub along with special hot wings and Garlic Pizza will
be served from Tommy's Pizzeria.
So bring your suits
and a big appetite. (Please hold off on bringing anything other than your own
drinks, a towel, and your trunks), Jane and I want you to eat our food so we
don't have leftover’s for the next three weeks!
This event will start at 3:00pm and
go to 9:00pm on Saturday the 26th of August. The address is:
4422 W. El Camino Dr.
Glendale, AZ
Phone: 623-939-6441
Attached is a map with a drive through liquor store identified for your
convenience. An out door refrigerator is available for storing your drinks. For
your enjoyment squirt guns and a pool volleyball net will be provided for
everyone's entertainment.
This
should be a lot of fun in the hot summer monsoon.
(Please come whether you respond or not, but respond if you can so we can
get a ball park head count. Thanks!)
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
The Forth Of July Weekend
Special Club Event
Club Fly At
The Paradise Valley Park – 07/03/00 – Monday Forth Of July Weekend Report:
Paradise Valley Forth Of July Celebrations
07/03/00
It was a wondrous evening, with 15 to 20 THOUSAND spectators, and 30 plus
kiters from all over the valley joining in at the Paradise Valley 4th
of July Celebration! It all started
with the Sunday setup at the 40th Street and Union Hills park, which
went smoothly with Doc, Fly'n Ryan, Al-Habib, Lady Hummingbird, and the Gadget
Man staking out the flying area. A very large area was allocated to the Route
66 Kite Club with food and kiddy ride vendors to fill in all around. Perhaps
next year they will allow retail vendors so we can invite Play-it-by-air to
come and sell there wares.
When Monday the 3rd of July came we started setting up at 3pm
with four tents set up by 4pm and numerous banners, single liners, and stunt kites
coloring the field. By the time the event was supposed to be started, 5:30pm,
we had nine camp site setups, 30 plus kiters, even more banners, (see
Al-Habib's new design), and even more single liners up, (and down), in the sky.
Stunters were all over our chunk of the field with food vendors and kiddy rides
all around. The crowds started to trickle in around 6-6:30, and it looked like
we would have lots of spectators, which turned out to be a major
understatement.
Many an old face from the Club was there supporting the event, with even
more new faces from old events making re-appearances. It appears that the Kite
Flyer newsletter has a greater circulation than was realized. Many of them
actually reading the articles! (Wow) And this kind of turnout occurred with
almost half the members working or out of town.
From out of the blue we had about eight new kiters whom mostly showed up
with there own kites asking if they could join the fun. We happily had them
join our ranks and share the entertainment. These unexpected, and un-notified
kiters, enjoyed the fun so much, that we now have five new members getting
their AKA licenses so they can become official members of the R66KC. What a
great surprise!
As the crowd grew, (and boy did it grow), Doc and Fly’n Ryan dazzled the
onlookers with several smoke flares, (one at a time), attached to their Maxima
scrawling messages in the sky. Hippie Man and the Fly’n Hawaiian were sharing
their knowledge and expertise with many a member, and Gadget Man was running
around like a loon re-launching single liners right and left. With the winds so
gusty, both of his Rok’s popped their earthly bonds and took a tour of the
adjoining field.
New people to the valley, who have been following the Kite Flyer, joined
us as well. Reggie and Sheena, who I believe are from Main, joined in the fray,
with their son John who wants to go into law enforcement when he grows up.
Reggie can fly to beat the band, and had a new trick to share with the experts.
Sheena was a joy to chat with and helped Christina the Tent Makers lady, (man
we have got to get her a nickname), and Lady Hummingbird answer questions from
the growing crowds. They also handed out info on the club web site to the
growing number of enthusiasts. (Did I mention the growing crowd?) Another new guy to our sky is Christopher
Green a surf bum from California, whom we have already dubbed “Surf Doggy”. He
and his family loved the group and have already provided us with a new
signature line for the web site.
“May God’s Breath Fill Your Sails”
Surf Doggy has already provided us verse that will appear in the next
newsletter, and will have a permanent place on the web site as well. I suspect
that Surf Doggy may be a regular contributor to our news letter so keep an eye
out for his fly reports etc. (Who knows what these California types might
conjure up for a new letter.)
Well back to the growing crowd, (did I mention the growing crowd?). As
the evening went on, the people kept coming. As the time for the fireworks grew
near, more and more people just kept arriving. It got to a point where this
huge field was darn near standing room only. The line to the blow up kiddy
slide next to our field grew so long that is ran half way across the front side
of our field. This was all that the Fly’n Hawaiian needed. A captive audience
waiting in line. All gawking at his stunts in awe. The grin on his face grew as
he and Hippie Man plied their skills for the people. Taunting them with tip
stands and axles just of the ground, and a few feet from the spectators. A
light pool made the corner of our field and Romey could not help but paste his
kite against it like it was hung there with a hook. Just to pop it away with a
follow up axle just as the crowd thought it was stuck. As the Hawaiian says, he
flys for the smile factor. And boy was it paying off today.
As the dusk settled on the field, Al-Habib broke out numerous glow
sticks, which were scattered about, on the kiters and the camps. Numerous kite
lights were setup on stunt kites and began dancing in the sky. Lady
Hummingbird, normally to shy to fly in a crowd, could not resist her passion
for night flying, and grabbed her lighted Prophecy and took to the sky. Some of
the glow sticks even made it high into the night sky on some of the single
liners as if beacons beckoning even more people to come and watch the show.
(Did I mention the 15 to 20 THOUSAND people?).
And then..............................
all at once............................... the lights went out to the cheers of the crowds!!!!!!!!!!!! And the
only lights that remained were the dancing Stunters and the beacons in the sky.
It was awesome, and at the same time inspiring. And I could feel at once the
reason Lady Hummingbird could not resist the lure of a night fly.
We sadly realized that we had better get these fire flies down from the
sky in the event God’s Breath were to blow some sparks on our fragile fabric.
And as the last one came down, the show began!
And once again we all were
reminded of the freedom we share in this great nation of ours.
A Special Report For The Event
By Doc
Hi Tom,
I wanted to officially pass on several things we have already talked
about. First a story from the 4th of July fly at PV Park.
I was taking a break from flying, getting a cold drink and sitting down
for a rest when 3 small boys, about 8 years old came up to the barrier tape and
shouted at me "Hey mister! What kind of kite is that big purple one?"
They were referring to Gadget Man's Big Bertha with all of the spinners
and line laundry.
They had lots of questions about the kite and if they could fly it. It
was the last question they asked that makes the whole story though.
"Who does it belong to " they asked. When I pointed Gadget out
to them their response was one of awe and the final question... " Do you
think we could get his autograph?"
I chuckled and said I'm sure he would be delighted to give you his
autograph. I went to get Gadget Man but
before I could reach him I looked back and all 3 boys were gone.
For one minute Tom was a hero to those boys! And our club for having presented the kites to them. I have a
feeling that we have not seen the last of those guys. Someday we might see a
Big Bertha in the sky with 3 boys trying desperately to keep it from pulling
them all over the field.
Or even in a few years when one of them is out flying their own Big
Bertha as an adult and a group of boys walks up and asks them, "Hey
mister! What kind of kite is that big purple one?"........................................
Doc
(Edited by Gadget)
The Forth Of July W