Kite
Flyer
September 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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Special Tips and Tricks From The Fly’n Hawaiian |
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Notes From Our Very Own Kite And Banner Maker |
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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.
Hey Kiters,
Loads of fun was had by all at the Pool party for those few of you that
missed it. We had about 23 people attending. For the most part there was little
drinking and loads of kite stories to go around. Several of the kids, including
spectra Mike, Sheena, and Gadget Man, enjoyed playing in the pool. Squirt guns
drawn, and wet dogs a shaking, many of the bystanders were soaked as well. The
six-foot sub literally disappeared, along with several large bags of chip and
dip. This was a great event and will happen again next year when it once again
gets too hot to fly.
Lots of interesting articles in this issue, with the majority falling
under the Other News category. Hope you all enjoy it.
Keep’em Fly’n
Gadget Man Manson
AKA News Or
Directors Editorial
Dear Clubmembers:
It's that time of year again---actually it's past time---to remind you of
the yearly dues. It's only $5.00 and
what a bargain it is. We have a full
blown e-mail Newsletter with Web-Site and seriously experienced webmaster who
only needs info on kiting experiences to make it all come together every
month. We are getting to be known
nationwide because of this web-site and electronic Newsletter since I have been
receiving written newsletters from all over the country. They are in many different forms and some
are very short and some are very long and chatty. Sometimes too much so.
Why not consider re-upping for three years ($15.00) and also re-upping
your AKA dues at the same time for three years. That way you won't have to think about it for awhile.
We could use some suggestions as to how to spend our money. Some have suggested buying extra Beetle
kites for kids to try and destroy at exhibitions, or to even give away. Others may like to use the money for a fly
and feast of our own. Make your suggestions
and also e-mail or send us your complete addresses and AKA license numbers with
expiration date as soon as you can.
Let's get this out of the way and on to better flying with the coming
cooler weather.
Thanks,
Bill Dines, Director Route 66 Kite Club
Greetings -
Ballots for this year's election have all been mailed.
While we made every effort to insure that every ballot was correct,
aberrations can happen. If you find a
problem with your ballot, please let us know as soon as possible.
The cut-off date for ballots was 8/1/00.
In other words, if the AKA database showed you a member in good standing
on 8/1/00, it generated labels for your mailing.
We would like to encourage you to cast your ballot as soon as it
arrives. AKA is and always has been
member oriented. It relies on those
members to pick the path it is to follow and to set the policies and priorities
that will guide it along that path. It
is very important that all of us are a part of that process.
Again, if you have problems or questions, please give us a call.
Have a breezy day!
Mel Hickman
Executive Director
American Kitefliers Association
300 N. Stonestreet Avenue, Rockville, MD
20850 USA
(800) 252-2550 (509)
529-9171 xd@aka.kite.org
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 – 09/10/00 – 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 |
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 Annual May event below for lodging information.
Club Fly At
The Hippie Man Park – 09/23/00 – 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 |
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 Hippie Man Park – 08/12/00 – Saturday Report
Hola Tom,
I was at the Hippie
Park on Saturday. I showed up at about 1pm.
Winds were out of the southeast at zip-nada to about 5 or 6 mph. I unloaded the kites and setup the new
Prism 2.8s on some 80lb x 70ft lines. Gave a feeble attempt at getting them
airborne on the gusts. I'd get a good
launch and would go to turn a corner and have them collapse. I learned that you can't dead launch a
Stylus. Ain't happening. I decided to pop out the ProWren and try
that out while I waited for the wind to pick up. After a bit, the wind shifted and picked up for a bit. I decided to stack both Stylus' and give it
a try. It worked OK until they get out
of synch and crash. A bit more wind is
needed to really make it work right.
Alas, the winds were not there.
The heat and humidity were tho'.
About 2:30 I noticed that I was still flying alone and decided that the
winds were too fickle to fly alone. I packed up shop and left. (See other news
for the report on the Stylus.)
Jonathan Dellmar
AKA
Al-Habib, the tent maker
Club
Monsoon Pool Party – 08/26/00 – Saturday Report
This past Saturday was
our picnic and swimming party at Tom Manson's house. We all thank him so very much for putting on such a fun
event. Tom must have spent most of the
morning setting up the canopy and putting out chairs and swimming pool toys.
About half participated in the pool activities while the other half just sat
around and drank beer and shared great conversation. Jim Jennings and myself shared some of our club history. The weather was great with a nice breeze and
overcast conditions. We probably should
have gone to the secret park down the street to get in some flying. Jonathan
and his girlfriend were getting ready for a cruise this coming weekend and he
had been working all week to get some kites together for the trip and some to
fly off the back of the ship---what a kick that'll be!!
Howard and his wife shared there experiences about traveling from
Washington State to San Diego along Highway 1 and their experiences along the
way stopping at each and every kite store in their path. Howard suggested that we might get together
as a Club and have a event in Rocky Pointe to try out the conditions and check
out the feasibility of having a future major event down there.
All in all, I think about twenty to twenty five people showed up for the
event. Tom had ordered a six-foot sub
for the occasion and I think it all got eaten.
Had a great time, Tom---thanks for all the effort and use of your home.
Billy (Mad Dog) Dines
After Pool
Party Fly At Riverview Park – 08/27/00 – Sunday Report
After a wonderful pool
party on Saturday, we found ourselves at Riverview Park and some of the best
wind we have ever had. By the time I
got to the Park, it was filled with flyers.
A lot of quad kites had found their way to the wind. I decided to take
advantage of the great wind and put up my eight foot Rokaku and my five-foot
cellular box kite. I don't think I've
every flown them in so much wind before.
It's great to put these giants into the air, tie them off, and forget
about them and go fly controllable kites.
Hugh pulled out his huge (I mean huge) Sutton Flowform kite and tied it
to a tree. It is a real site to
see. If you haven't been to a contest
or kite festival before, you sure felt like you were there on Sunday. I think the Sutton was flying using clothesline
like our Mother's used to hang clothes on outside when we were little (at least
some of us when we were little---maybe just me!!).
We even got a visit from a news cameraman from Channel 12. He apparently was just driving along and
noticed the kites in the air and decided to have a closer look. He got some great pictures of Roman flying a
large metered power kite and I think he got Roman on tape flying through the
air at some point.
While all this excitement was going on, the BIG SUTTON KITE decided to
pay my Rokaku a visit (or maybe was after some kite sex) and apparently after a
short conversation between the two, the Rokaku decided to take a powder. Fortunately, someone was on the ball and saw
it flying off all by itself into a huge field of cotton and corn.
Thanks to Hugh the Rokaku was retrieved and brought back unscathed. Thanks for your heads up Hugh.
While I wasn't paying any attention to my single liners, I spent some time
flying over the pond and doing some tip-dips as well as some whole kite
dips. I probably had to reel the
Prophecy in from under the water about five times. The pond isn't very deep and without currents, it is easily
retrieved.
Dave was out trying his hand at flying a Rev II that he had gotten from
Ron Reich. I think he has come to the
conclusion that not all Rev's fly alike.
The trouble he was having with the Rev II disappeared when he began to
fly the 1.5 Rev. There's something about that 1.5 that makes quad flying a
joy.
Reggie was flying his Millennium and Hugh was pulling out some older
kites to give them their once a year or so wind. Jim was flying whatever came out of his bag first. Chris, Spectra Mike, Kay, Anita, Larry,
Jynchelle, and anyone else I may have missed all enjoyed the flying and special
wind conditions throughout the afternoon.
At the end of the day, those that could, retired to the Woodshed
Sportsbar for some brew and food. We
managed to stay until around 8:00p.m. and after five pitchers everyone was
ready for the sack---at least we had some good food to go along with the
brews.
I hope somebody was able to get a tape of the 5:00p.m. news on
Sunday. The cameraman told me he was
going to use about a forty-second intro the weather with our kite flying. The newscaster was going to promote his
weather report with something like: "And how did you spend this very windy
afternoon? Well here's what some Valley
residents were doing!!
It was a great weekend. Thanks to
all who made it so special!
Bill (Mad Dog) Dines
(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
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!
09/21-09/23/2001 – 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.
Note: Any ideas for events, please
contact the Gadget Man at: R66KC@TMSquared.com.
Other News
Single Line
Delta Breaks Altitude Record
On Saturday, August 12, 2000, at 17:44 EDT, a high tech delta, having 270 square feet of nylon kite skin, measuring 30 feet from wing tip to wing tip, and 18 feet tall, sporting hollow fiberglass spars 1.5 inches in diameter, flying on 270 pound woven Kevlar line 3/32 inch in diameter, flew from a flying field in Kincardine, Ontario, 860 feet above sea level, N44 degrees, 13 minutes and 08 seconds/ W81 degrees, 31 minutes, 41.2 seconds, to a height not less than 13,600 feet above sea level, (altitude exact to several feet still being calculated) thereby establishing a new world record for altitude of a single kite on a single string. (previous record 12,471 feet set in 1896)
For more information, click on the following URL: http://www.total.net/~kite/world.html
Fountain
Hills Update
"Installation of new liner
set to begin Monday"
"The new liner for Fountain
Lake will be rolled out starting next week putting the project on schedule to
start taking water by about Nov. 1, according to Ryan Rhoades, the engineer
overseeing the project. Residents living in the vicinity of the park will want
to know that during the installation work will begin at 4 a.m."
......Hmmmmmm..."taking"
water by Nov. 1st? Would be nice huh...However even though the "lake"
should be filled in November, all the construction on the shore will be in full
swing...
Gonna' be awhile till we can fly
next to the water again....
Dave and Kay
(From The ArFF Site)
The
Health Aspects Of Flying
We went to the beach in
Brookings, OR. to do some flying. When we arrived, we noticed a gentleman doing
a whole range of light wind tricks. This guy was awesome. He could do things
with his kite that I could not imagine could be done. The kite was one I had
never seen before so I wandered over to find out what he was flying. What an
unusual stories this flyer told.
His name is Ted
Forrester, and appeared to be about 50 years old. The thing I noticed
immediately was his fingers on both hands. They were clutched tightly like
fists. Within his fists were the flight lines. Ted told me that 11 years ago,
he contracted an unusual fatal disease called Scalaria. This is a hardening of
the body. He was given four years to live.
He decided to move from
Florida to the Oregon coast and make the most of his remaining years. Ted got
involved with kites and credits God, the Oregon coast and kites for prolonging
his life well over the four years he was given.
He currently builds his
kites and the Dreamwind he was flying was a credit to his creativity. With crippled
hands, he builds about 25 kites each year and sells them to the locals for
$250. Kite sales and social security are his only means of support.
He let me fly the
Dreamwind and it flew like a dream. Within minutes, he had me doing light wind
tricks I could not believe I'd be doing. Sure wish I could afford another kite,
but three already purchased on this trip were a bit much.
Anybody interested in a
custom Dreamwind in any color or design can reach Ted @ 541 469 4401. What a
neat guy.
Howard
Washington
Long Beach Report
By Howard & Maddy
Israel
After 5 full days of
kite flying in fabulous Long Beach, WA we now move on to the beaches of
Oregon. Long Beach is a dynamite place
for kites; pure constant wind 24 hours a day, wide, smooth empty beaches, four
kite shops within a two block area that are desperate for business (and will
deal on any kite), a world renowned kite festival and terrific
restaurants. Matter of fact, we had one
of the best meals we'd ever had in a restaurant called the 42nd St. Cafe. Mark Reed recommended this place to us
during our visit to the Prism factory. We couldn't thank Mark enough. The
food was outstanding. But best
of all, the flying was even better.
On the morning of the second
day, we wandered down to the beach with our kite bag and found a gentleman
doing some serious flying. We struck up
a conversation and discovered that he had been in kiting for just a year and
owned about 20 kites. For the next
three days, Tom Murney and I flew 5 or 6 hours each day, sharing the pleasure
of flying. Mornings were spent flying
light wind: Pro Wren, Wren, Ozone and 3-D.
By about 11:00 AM, winds picked up to about 10 mph and out came Fanatic,
Elixir (my new acquisition) and Illusion. About 3:00 PM winds picked up to about 15 mph and out came the
Prophecy and Windance II. Seems that
Tom and I are Prism and Windance fanatics.
Tom comes from Reddig,
CA and suffers the same problem we Phoenicians do, no wind. As a result, he and his wife Bobbie
motorhome to Long Beach in late June and stay till late Sept., just to fly
kites 6 hours each day, and to attend the kite festival. Talk about a kite nut! He had not missed a day of flying since
arriving in June. While flying, Tom
broke out a Micron and handed me the lines.
He said "it's an easy kite to fly." Yeah, right! Within
minutes I was in love with this little gem and had to have one A quick trip to Devotion to Motion, some
tough negotiation, and now I own a red & yellow Micron. That's the neat part about this place. Every kite urge can be satisfied within
minutes. The justification to Maddy, "It's small enough to fit perfectly
into a suitcase on our forthcoming trip to Spain. Yeah, right
After exchanging e-mail
addresses with Tom & Bobbi, and agreeing to meet in Phoenix in January to
fly with the Route 66 and AFF gang, we reluctantly left Long Beach, heading for
Oregon. We arrived in Pacific City and
immediately headed for the beach with our new Elixir. Wow, what a difference there is in wind. Pretty gusty, ranging from 5-15 mph. The Elixir flies like a dream in gusty
conditions.
From Pacific City, OR,
we're headed to Florence, OR for a few days then Brookings, OR for 2 days and
then into Northern California. More fly
reports to follow.
Regards,
Howard & Maddy
Some Random
Thoughts About Our Travels
By Howard & Maddy Israel
Flying atop a 100-ft. high sand
dune on the Monterey Peninsula, with unlimited, 360-degree visibility and winds
at a steady 18-MPH is, -- to say the least, -- the best.
Flying on the beach in Morro Bay,
in the shadow of Morro Rock is a kick.
There’s something magical about
flying on a deserted beach. On the other hand, sharing a beach with other
flyers is neat.
The resident beach flyers could
not understand why us Arizona flyers end all our correspondence with the phrase
“Pray for wind”.
Beach walkers stopping to admire
our limited flying technique works wonders for the ego.
We visited just about every kite
shop (and every Beanie Baby outlet) between Long Beach, OR and Santa Barbara,
CA. I bought three new kites (Elixir, Micron and a DC) and Maddy bought 27 new
Beanie Babies/Buddies. Wonder who got the better deal?
Being a member of AKA saved us a
bunch of money. Sure wish there were a similar organization for Beanie Baby
collectors.
Without question, the Prism
Elixir is about the best all-round kite to fly! Makes a mediocre flyer like me
look like an expert. And the Prophecy is a hoot with strong winds and long
lines.
After Long Beach, kite shops
along the West Coast go down hill. Most sell diamond kites, salt-water taffy,
and very expensive windsocks and flags. They generally don’t cater to serious
flyers. Few carry top brands or accessories. Those that do, charge outrageous
prices.
Scary the number of kite shops we
tried to visit that were no longer in business. Here’s Maddys take on that
subject:
Of kite shops,
we had quite a list.
There wasn’t a
one that we missed.
Some that we
found,
were just
holes in the ground.
And others did
no longer exist.
A charming gal from India runs
the kite shop in Santa Barbara, CA called “Come Fly a Kite”. She spent almost
an hour explaining the finer points of Indian Fighter Kite flying. We now own
one.
Meeting fellow flyers on the
beach is a terrific experience. We developed several long-term relationships
with wonderful people. And, they gladly shared their expertise.
After flying the beaches in
Washington, Oregon and California almost every day, coming back to Phoenix is a
bummer. Thank heaven for the great flyers that make the time waiting and
praying for wind tolerable.
Regards to all.
Howard & Maddy
Stylus
Review
By Al-Habib
Bear in mind that my fly time was limited with this wing. The following are my opinions and are
subject to change.
Type: Dual line sparless foil
Wind range: 3-20mph. (Claimed)
6+ in the real world.
Pull: Who needs arms?
Winds that are good enough to really fly in are going to drag small
children and pets around. Stack them
for even more power.
Noise: Zip nada. Stealth kite. I want to nerf somebody with it.
(Evil Grin)
Ease of use: If ya got wind, it's great.
Hand it to a newbie. Unless they feed it to a tree, it will still work
when you get it back. If there isn't
wind, forget it. It will make you cry.
Trick ability: It's a
foil. You want tricks, get some sticks.
Construction: Looks
bullet-proof and of course, no spars.
Typical Prism fare.
Cost: $125.00 (Preferred
member discount) Retail was $149.00 if I remember correctly.
Source: Gone with the Wind
Buy another? I've got 2
already. I think that three would look
cool but probably kill me.
Phoenix fly fun: C
Fairly cool kite. Definitely
needs more than the 3-mph minimum that Prism recommends until you get into the
groove. (I didn't make it there) Needs way more to stack them. Turning motions are huge to get a tight
turn. Small hand movements don't cut the mustard. Use long lines to get a bigger window. The long lines won't make a big difference
in precision but will give you more room to move around in. Precision isn't this kite's strength. Think fun fly and pull. The edge of the window is sharp and if you
don't have it turning already, you are gonna have to walk backwards fast to
keep it up long enough to turn it back into the window. Sky good, ground bad... Real bad.
If it crashes, stake your lines and do the walk of shame. Zip dead
launch ability. I'm neutral about the
bridle. It looks like you're splitting
the kite in half when you turn it.
There are no lines that cross from the left bridle to the right sail and
vice-versa. So when you really pull on
the lines, the sail distorts dramatically.
Looks impressive when stacked and draws small children away from model
rockets to ask such questions as:
Is it a parachute?
Is it made out of newspaper?
(My Stylus' are purple with teal trim... Wonder where that question came
from?)
Not the best kite for the fickle Phoenix winds. This kite would be better with a good shore wind on a beach. I probably won't get a chance to fly it much
in Phoenix. Definitely out of the bag
in San Diego and on high wind days. I
like a kite with some pull so this one will put a smile on the ol' face.
As always, if you want to try my kites out, just ask.
Jonathan Dellmar
AKA
Al-Habib, the tent maker
Paradise Valley Park / Fighting Single Liners / And Spools
The other day, my younger daughter and I were doing some
"daddy/daughter" time in the field and had a single line 6 1/2' Rainbow
Delta up over at (what's left of) Paradise Valley park (for those who don't
live close, the whole area R66KC flew
in on July 3rd has been fenced off and the grass has been allowed to die. They
appear to be preparing to extend the 51 freeway further North. This might be
ahead of schedule, but either way, the park is about "done" for being
a good flying park. We flew on one of the Little League fields on the South
end). The wind was blowing out of the South at about 12 - 15 mph.
I was letting line out on a plastic Spectra Spool so fast, my hands were
burning. (Yes, I have gloves, but I had taken them out of our flight box).
After letting out about 400 ft. (really fast) the winds picked up even more
(pre-Monsoon). Ciara (6 1/2) could hardly hang on to the line. Soon, time had
run out on our adventure and the Little League kids wanted their field. That's
when the WORK began!
This was the stiffest single-line wind we had experienced since we began
flying. I was NOT prepared for the work involved in bringing in THAT much line,
in THAT kind of wind, with THAT size kite -- especially with 14 Little Leaguers
and their coach staring me down! I was rolling line in like CRAZY and had
"Pop-eye" forearms by the time I got the thing in. Then I remembered...
When I was just a little guy (about my daughter's age) my dad made me the
"coolest" kite string winder. I was the ONLY kid in the whole
neighborhood who had one and I was the envy of many a kid on my block! I was
telling Ciara about the winder, when we decided to call Grandpa and see what he
could do for us (he lives in the valley and since my childhood has become quite
a proficient wood turner/worker -- ahh, retirement must be bliss).
Well, Grandpa and Grandma came over to the house this weekend and I
reminded my dad of the string winder. He did remember it (a nicely finished box
with a rotating bobbin, external handle and even a leverage break) and was
tickled I still remembered it, too.
After several green-chili enchiladas (yeah, my wife is a GREAT cook), Grandpa's
eyes began to sparkle and one idea led to another. Soon we were digging through
ITW catalogues, going on the internet, sketching designs, etc.
The long and the short of all of this is, Grandpa Green is planning to
begin making some "custom" Arizona prototype single line spools and
winders. Maybe by the time R66KC goes flying again, I'll have something to put
on display? Dad loves tinkering and has a keen eye for craftsmanship. We'll see
what he produces, and my forearms can't wait!
I asked if he'd fill orders if the products meet the likings of club
members and he seemed open to the idea! More details to come, but I'm sure
quality will be equal to commercial stuff and definitely more affordable.
That's all for now... May God's breath fill your sails,
Christopher "Preacher
Man" Green
California Fly Time With Spectra Mike
Well I spent 4 days
down by Cabo beach Ca. All I had with me was a beetle. It was like a new beetle
being as it was the first time I have flown beach wind. I LIKED IT!!!!! So full
so consistent PANT! PANT! I flew at Doheny State beach and also at Huntington
State beach south of the pier AKA south of the city beach. The wind wasn’t very
strong, about 6-8 but consistent. The few little quirks that I hit were no
problem for an Arizona wind veteran. It is true that if you can do well in the
wacky AZ wind you’d do great at the beach! Here we have strange thermals and
weird crosswinds. Is not uncommon to follow the wind window a full 180 degrees
opposite where you started and go back to the same direction between landings.
Tried to practice cascades and did some cool fades.
See ya soon
Spectra Mike
New Questions
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.
Reminder: Renewal Registration For
R66KC Is Now Due!!!
It has been determined
that it would be too difficult to track and contact each one of you
individually, as to when your Club dues become due. Due to this, the May
timeframe has been selected as the date for club membership renewal. Also, dues
collected at any other time of year from new members will not be pro-rated. Our
intent is to keep the process simple, and keep the dues down to
$5.00/person/year, which is cheep compared to some clubs that charge as much as
$25.00/person/year. If anyone has any problems with this please contact me at
your earliest convenience.
Warning: We need responses to the following questions in a
timely manor, from all of the
membership. If we cannot get the needed responses, we may have to call an
actual meeting, eeeeeeuuuuuuuuwwwwwwwww.
:-(
No new questions at this time.
Tips
and Tricks from our own club expert, Roman (The Fly’n Hawaiian) Trugillo.
The Smile Factor
(Definitely Worth Repeating!)
I fly
for the smiles :)
The
smiles I get when I pull off a double axle with practically no wind....
The
smiles I see on a kid when he sees a colorful kite in the air....
The
smiles that go around when meeting new kiters for the first time....
The
smiles that go around when you meet up with long, lost kiters....
The
smiles that are anticipating the next kite you pull out of your bag....
The
smiles that are brought to a special kiting event....
Start
racking up some frequent flyer smiles!!! Go and fly a kite!!
Aloha
Roman
Anatomy Of A Trick
Aloha,
Kite Flyers! In this month’s article I
will describe to you the “anatomy of a trick”.
Most kite flyers will pull off a trick for the first time and wonder, “How
did I do that just now?” or, “What was I doing wrong all along?” If you break up the trick into parts you
will find it is easier to understand what is taking place.
A
trick is comprised of three major parts.
There is the “setup” which is the maneuver that places the kite in
position for the actual trick. Then
there is the trick itself or “core” maneuver in which the trick name may be
based upon. And finally, the exit or
“recover” maneuver that allows you to land, re-launch, or continue into another
trick.
A
setup move can be anywhere from a snap-stall to flying a ground pass. Snap-stalls are perfect setup moves for
Axles. They can also be used as setups
for Back Flips. A flare could be used
for entry into a Fade or Flat Spin.
Launching your kite from a Pancake into a Fade makes an impressive
trick. A Spin Axle can be accomplished
when you spin your kite and at the right moment Axle out of the spin. Land your kite on one tip and execute a Half
Axle for the Coin Toss. Fly your kite
horizontally on a ground pass for a perfect setup into a Half Axle.
Core
maneuvers are great one at a time or strung together for multiple tricks. Axles are the staple for trick flying. Do two or three Axles in succession and you
have Double and Triple Axles. The core
maneuvers can be different tricks strung together to form a combination
trick. I’ve done a Turtle to a Fade to
a Flare and into a 540 Flat Spin for a great combination. Back to back Half Axles create a Cascade or
Up the Falls.
Recovering
from the core maneuver makes the whole trick complete. It leaves the kite in a safe position to
re-launch or land. You could also
recover from the trick and place it in perfect position for the next
trick. Thus, recovering and setup is
really one move. A Fade Flac is an
example of this. Set the kite into a
Fade position, recover to a Flare, and pop it back into a Fade. Repeat as necessary!
Next
month I’ll give you the scoop on how to perfect your Snap Stalls. Until then, I’ll see you on the Leading
Edge!
Straighten up and fly right!
The Flyin’ Hawaiian
Al-Habib
The Tent Maker
Al-Habib’s Charter: I will be more than happy to help
anybody who wants to design or make a kite, banner, or kite bag, (to the best
of my ability), on a one-on-one basis.
Al-Habib now
has his own web site so please go there and see what he can teach you about
Kite Making. Simply click his Icon below.
Hola Tom.
I kinda figured that’s what you'd say that about
the shirts. If I can get my colors,
cool, if not, still put me down for 4 more of the regular colors.
(Tom
stated that having all of the club with the same colored shirts made us more
obvious as a club at events.)
As far as a second logo goes, that shouldn't be a
problem. Toss another 5 bucks onto the
total. Bring it with you to the next
fly, I'll take it home and fix you right up.
(This
is for the new Prism style Route 66 Banner that Jonathan made.)
Speaking of R66KC colors...Picture the banner
that you've got, except with the blue at the bottom and the stripes in yellow
and red. I'm thinking about running up
a batch for sale to the club members. The
price will probably be a bit higher than what you paid. Probably around $150.00, ready to drive into
the ground.
(Get
your orders in soon!)
The two USA Flags that I did are going to be the
only ones with that pattern. They were
specials for the holiday. I've also
begun patterns for wind turbines. I'll
start forwarding construction instructions for the turbines for inclusion in
the newsletter. I was going to post the
huge banner instructions on the web page, but time is a killer. Maybe later
I've got 20 square yards for 1/2oz poly, 60 .08
carbon rods and some other kite making stuff in the pipeline. I'm going to make 15 to 20 single cell kites
and branch train them. I might throw
the patterns for those on-line too.
(Cool
more kite building and designs by Al-Habib!)
I've also got 2 Prism Stylus 2.8s, 2 Prism Triads
and a Sutton Flowform 30 coming in the mail this week. Yeppers, you heard right, I'm buying and
making some single line kites and line laundry. I'm starting to get lazy in my kite flying. Hmmmmm....
Wonder where I got that from.
:-)\
(Sounds
like fun, but he couldn’t be referring to the Gadget Man could he?)
I'm also adding an another Illusion to the
bag. I found one used for $100.00 plus
shipping ($6.00) Too good of a deal to
pass up.
(Where
are these deals when I’m buying a new Kite?!!!???!?!?)
So... Place your orders now for the R66KC
banners, wind turbines and cellular kites.
Make sure you leave your wallets at the door folks. How else am I gonna pay for all this? (Evil Grin)
(Count
me in Al-Habib. I guess I’ll have to get a part time job to help pay for all of
the new goodies, ha ha.)
You will be attending the next fly, right? I'd hate to have to play with my new toys
all by myself.
See ya there
The
Latest On Al-Habib
The Web Page and life: I've had the web
page up since the end of April. Unfortunately, work and other events have
prevented me from taking it in the direction that I wanted it to go. It
all boils down to a matter of priorities. I only have so much time to
dedicate to kiting and the web page fell to the bottom of the list.
I'd rather be designing, building, flying and telling lies about
kites. The upside to this is that I'm going to focus on getting more
information to Tom M. for publication in the newsletter, thereby
adding to the team effort that is R66KC. Smaller audience, hopefully
better content. I will also be more than happy to help anybody who wants
to design or make a kite to the best of my ability on a one-on-one basis.
The pool party at Tom and Jane's was a
blast. I had a chance to see people that had fallen off the face of the
earth (Bill Dines - last seen at Anthem in April and Rocky Point Howard - last
seen in San Diego in May) and, once again, Tom and Jane were stellar
hosts. The pool was cool and refreshing and the kite chat abounded.
Most of the local members were in attendance and it was nice seeing everybody
who attended. My only question is when are we all going to get out and
fly with each other?
As those of you who talked to me at the pool
party know, I've been building a few (20 - I've always had a problem with
scale...) triangular cellular kites. I've finally finished those
kites. I had planed to publish the plans and a list of needed materials
for the upcoming letter. However, I haven't had a chance to fly and
do final troubleshooting on the design. I will put the kites to the wind
in Alaska and see if my design is good. Look for the design next time
around after I have a chance to fix any problems that pop up. I'm also
drawing up plans for a cheaper ($150-$160) R66KC banner. I will be
running up a batch of them after vacation and in-between fly days. It
will still be a 16ft tall banner, just a less complex design. As soon as I
draw scale designs, I'll hand them over to Tom for
publication. If anybody wants a big (and I mean BIG) banner like the
ones that Tom and Bill have, I will still make one of them for you. Due
to hindsight and a much more accurate idea of what all goes into one of those
beasts, the cost on a big one will be around $325.
The summer hasn't seen too much of me on the fly
field. I've been to busy making banners, bags and kites. In
addition to my creations, I have added the following kites to my bag in the
last few months:
Rev Indoor
Rev Supersonic
Prism Micron
Sutton Flowform #30
2 Prism Stylus 2.8
2 Prism Triads
Prism Illusion (early model in custom colors)
used, but not used up.....
This is the week that I leave to go to the family
reunion. We decided to hold it on a cruise ship this time around.
On Friday August 31st, Christina and I will fly up to Vancouver B.C.
We'll bum around for a day and then board the ship for a 7-day cruise up the
inside passage. The fact that the ship will be moving at a fairly good
clip ensures that there will be lots wind to be found. I'm packing
the bag for heavy winds and the choice of kites reflects that.
The upcoming trip to Alaska will find the
following kites in the bag:
The Sutton Flowform
3 3-foot wind turbines
1 7-foot wind wheel
2 4-foot spin socks
6 45-foot tails
20 triangular cellular kites
2 Stylus 2.8s
the Micron
the Alien
both Triads. (Gotta give my niece something
to fly..)
I will also be packing a GPS unit (eMAP from Garmin)
and the Kestrel Wind Meter so I can give y'all a great report when I get
back. I'm also tracking down my 600,000-candlepower strobe for a single
line night fly. I'll stuff it in the Sutton and watch it glow.
Christina will be taking pictures and I'm sure that there will be a ton of
video. I've also picked up a digital camera. It's a Sony cybershot.
so I'll have a bunch of cool pictures ready for the web.
Well, I have a 1000 and one things to do in the
next 36 hours before that shuttle arrives to take us to the promised land.
See ya all on the flip side.
Jonathan
Dellmar
AKA
Al-Habib,
the tent maker
Flick Flacks
And Other Fun Stuff!
Used Kites For Sale And Lost Kite Listing
No
Kites For Sale At This Time
Disclaimer
The Route 66 Kite Club (R66KC), the editors of the “Route 66 Kite Club - Kite Flyer” (currently Thomas Gadget Man Manson), the American Kitefliers Association (AKA), and any contributors to this editorial, make no claims concerning the accuracy of materials appearing in this publication. Any and all information relating to kiting, rumors or otherwise, will be published without efforts in authentication or verification of the source. Efforts will be made to screen out items of malicious intent, without any guarantee of the success of these efforts. Updates or clarifications of previously posted information or rumors, are requested, and will gladly be posted in the following edition.
Copyright
NON-Restrictions
Reprints or redistribution of
this publication ARE permitted.
Notification of the editor is required, and the “by line” or “photo by”
required for all reprints. Default to: “Reprinted from Route 66 Kite Club-Kite
Flyer By Tom Gadget Man Manson” unless otherwise specified. So help yourself!