Kite
Flyer
October 2000 Issue Route
66 Kite Club (R66KC)
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Kite Club Phoenix, AZ
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To Visit Our Web Site Click Here!
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,
Well we finally are getting some relief from all of this heat and some
wind to boot. Unfortunately we also are saying good by to one of the original
members of the Route 66 Kite Club, Hippie Man Jim Jennings. He and his wife
Anita are moving to Omaha Nebraska for more money when Anita sets up a new Lab
for the Mayo Clinic there. This will be a good thing for them, and Jimmy Boy
has found a Kite Shop that is up for sale there that they are looking into
buying. Needless to say, the Hippie Man will be in seventh heaven doing what he
loves. They leave us with their daughter Jyn and her husband Larry Olsen who is
a member of the club. We will all be wishing Jim and Anita the best of luck in
their endeavors in the future, and lets all offer Jyn and Larry all the support
they might need now that their family is so far away.
Additionally there was a private farewell dinner for Jim and Anita, and
Hippie Man was presented a Red, White, and Blue, Prism style Route 66 Kite Club
banner, from the entire club. Many thanks to Billy Mad Dog Dines the Director,
Johnathan Al-Habib Delmar, and yours truly for putting the banner gift from the
club together.
I found a great new quad-line kite called a Spirit when I was in San
Diego. I am in the process of purchasing this great new style quad, and will
share it with you all as soon as I get it, and can meet you all on the field.
Keep’em Fly’n
Gadget Man Manson
AKA News Or
Directors Editorial
The Annual International Kitefly for Peace
How "World Kite Day" Began
The historic 1985 summit meeting of
Presidents Ronald Reagan of the U.S. and Mikhail Gorbachev of the U.S.S.R.
marked a significant step towards peace between the super-powers. The spirit of
that meeting inspired One Sky One World (OSOW) founder and Colorado kite maker,
Jane Parker-Ambrose to create a kite commemorating this new promise of global
harmony. The flags of the U.S. and U.S.S.R. are joined on the face of the kite.
Halley's comet, which revisited the Earth in 1986 for the first time in
seventy-six years, is shown as a portent of peace. On a
"people-to-people" visit to Moscow in the Fall of 1985, Jane
presented her kite along with a letter of friendship, signed by some 300-kite
fliers from the U.S., Canada, Japan and the United Kingdom to the Soviet
Women's Peace Committee. This gesture of global good will gave birth to the
idea for One Sky One World, which has become widely recognized in the U.S. and
internationally each year on the second Sunday of October as "World Kite
Day". Since its inception in October 1986, hundreds of thousands of people
have attended One Sky One World events in more than 30 nations. The 15th Annual
One Sky One World will take place on Sunday, October 8, 2000.
The Goal and Purpose
The mission of OSOW is to focus individuals and communities around the world on the needs for friendship and peace between all peoples and to protect the environment. The name of the organization expresses this theme and connotes the purpose metaphorically.
One Sky One World's
organizational purpose is to develop awareness of and respect for human and
cultural diversity, nature and the environment at home and around the world.
Public education in the technology of kites, art, history, and participation in
age old practice of flying and building kites generates a greater sense of
global community, enjoyment of nature and greater appreciation for all life on
earth. The message becomes clear to thousands through the activity of flying
kites in the universal sky.
Note
From The Editor: Can you think of any other activity that brings people
out of the wood work, total strangers, that come up to you and want to know
about your activity (flying Kites!). This DOES bring all sorts of people
together better than any other activity I know. And all in the forum of mutual
appreciation. So let’s get out there and do it!!!
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 – 10/08/00 – Sunday:
(See web site Kite Field
Recommendations for maps.) This is the annual One Sky One World event. This is to promote
peace across the world no matter where a kite may be flown. Perhaps we will be
able to join the Phoenix part of the Tucson based ArFF Group. Let’s try to do dinner and
drinks after.
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 – 10/21/00 – 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 Riverview Park – 09/10/00 – Sunday Report:
This was a low wind day, and
after a nice cool spell the week before, became very hot. The summer was not
going to let go easily this year. We had lots of old faces, and a few new ones.
Yep, our membership is still growing. Well we talked a lot, and enjoyed
Veektor’s (Hugh’s) generosity with some of his rubber band launched spiral
copter toys that we were shooting into the air. Time was also spent with the
boomerangs and on rare occasions, we were able to fly a kite or two. Oh well,
here’s too cooler and windier days ahead.
09/22-09/24/2000 – September
San Diego Sister Club in San Diego w/ the San Diego Kite Club Event Report.
Well the San Diego joint venture between the Route 66 Kite Club (three
members attended) and the Glendale Harley Owners Group (HOG) with 70 members,
was a great success! The day Friday was fun with lunch and settling in the
first order of business in San Diego, and then, of course, up with the kites.
Lots of the HOG group came to enjoy the displays and a few came out to fly the
Beatles that were made available.
The next day was great with the single lines going up for most of the
day. About 10 kites and a ton of line laundry was enjoyed by all. The Beatles
again got a workout, and near the end of the day, as the wind died down as it
always does on the beach, we had a mad rush to bring in some of the bigger
kites. One even came down on the other side of the hotel which gave the Gadget
Man a heart attack, but turned out OK with one of the primary members of HOG
being on the third floor balcony when this happened, and he just pulled the
kite in. Whew!
The evening dinner party was a great success with the theme this year
being Plaid. A surprise guest was a Scottish Bag Piper, which everyone within ear
shot enjoyed. We had people from bars and the beach come and join us once he
started playing. And if you are not familiar with a Piper's music, it was
easily heard for about a mile in all directions. After all of these
festivities, Hummingbird and Gadget pulled out a couple of Pro Wren’s, and with Al-Habib’s ultra-lite
light set, (the winds were faint), dazzled the crow with a night fly. This was
a lot of work due to the low winds, but everyone enjoyed if for about two
hours.
The next day, some recovery was in order as most everyone departed for
the trip home. Lady Hummingbird and the Gadget Man spent the next few days
flying and sharing the fun with the few stragglers that have been there in
years past, and are now, like them, adding more days to their trip.
Finally when all had left, Billy Mad Dog Dines appeared on Wednesday, and
the whole show started again. Single liners on the beach all day long on
Wednesday, Stunt Kites and a visit to Kite Country the next. The purchase of
new kites and line laundry, and back to the beach the next day for some more
single liner action. With many enjoyable and laid back days under our belts, we
regretfully renewed our reservations for next year and headed home. And the
discussion turned to why we don’t live here, and what it would take to buy
Victor out of his interest in the Kite Country store.........
Keep your eye out for Mad Dog, and ask him if his ship has come in.....
Club Fly At
The Hippie Man Park – 09/23/00 – Saturday Report:
No report available.
(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
- - - 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.
10/07/2001 – One Sky One World (OSOW) Annual kite event for world piece. More to
follow as information becomes available.
- - - Ideas For New Events - - -
We need help with these so if you have any ideas
that will support this event, please let us know by dropping us a line at: r66kc@tmsquared.com
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
Note: Any ideas for events, please
contact the Gadget Man at: R66KC@TMSquared.com.
Other News
New Members
We have several new people
looking to join our ranks, so lets give these new people our warmest welcomes,
(as always), when we see them. Chuck, Marv, and a Michael Montoya are just a few
that have contacted us, so keep an eye out for them on the field. I believe
that Michael stated that he would only be able to join us on Saturdays. So we
will try to rotate our locations and days to accommodate him when we can. Marv,
unfortunately is in the Cottonwood area and will only be able to join us on
rare occasions. Like the big fly in May. So if you are heading to the
Cottonwood area, give Gadget man a call and he will put you in touch with Marv,
whom I am sure is dying for some kiting companionship.
Michael is an old hand with Kites
and writes:
Hello,
I'm Michael Montoya, I just moved to Chandler from San Diego. I would like to join your club and get back
to flying with folks that enjoy kites.
I have been flying for 16 years and in "my prime" I was
sponsored and competing solo as well as team flying for an old company
"Hyperkites". . .(remember them?) anyway, I've got kids now and those
days of constant flying are over. I
feel I have a lot to offer your club,
from static displays and information at schools and clubs to hanging out and
talkin' kites.
Hope to hear from you soon.
Michael
Spectra
Mike Saves The Day!
Hi
Well I done a good thing today. I was at Riverview Park taking advantage
of some rare wind and noticed a mom and young son, then noticed the mom again,
then noticed they were flying a rather nice single line kite. Then I saw them
put it in a pine tree. This was no 99-cent jobber. The wind had it pinned to
the tree and it was not likely to fall out on it's own. So up the tree I went
and retrieved the kite and got mom off the hook and the little guy was pleased
too.
I am happy to say I lived up to my Spectra name today and flew one of my
small spectra sports. It was doing great and after a while I added 75 feet of
yellow "caution do not enter " barricade tape and had fun with the
tail. I was going to add two red danger barricade tape on a beetle but the
local high schools had a cross country race at the park and well,,,,gee I
didn't wanna hit anyone (cept the few people who cant see string) and it was
ONLY Spectra wind THAT ONLY COMES AROUND once in a WHILE!!!! and shady day nice
cloud cover,,,,, sun AND WIND at my back....... so I didn't mind wrapping it up
............no...............not a BIT!..... he he he :o)
Uh well I had a good 3 hours of fun flying and saved a nice single liner.
Not a bad day. I put some wind in a bag for the next fly, hope nobody snags it.
catchya-round!
"Spectra" Mike
Did Someone
Say Kite Fishing?
Well, SOMEBODY really
makes a kite just for "kite fishing"....
Check it out.
http://www.aftco.com/catalog/kites.htm
From the ArFF Site.
Tips For A
Night Fly
Hey there,
I wanted to let you in on some fun we had Monday night. We went to Riverview
park after dark. There was an intermittent wind blowing so we took out a
beetle. I had bought some luminous glow sticks from the Army Navy store.
Several big ones and several small ones. First we tried the small ones. They
had no loops so I had heated up a needle
and melted a groove at the tips so a thread could be tied on. Green on
the left wing tip, red on the right and yellow on the top. It looked cool and
the loops were great to watch. Well of course this was not going to satisfy us.
So I used rubber bands on the larger sticks and secured them to the edge of the
wings. If the wind had been more consistent(shock AZ wind was squirrelly) it
would have been more fun. But the time in the air with the bright glowing red
and blue was really cool. Glow stick tips. The sticks are two chemicals that
when mixed glow in various colors. They are good for up to 12 hours for the
large ones and 8 for the smaller ones. Oh I know wed love to fly them until
they are spent, but not in AZ ha ha
ha. So when not in use put them in the ice or freezer. This will stop the
chemicals from reacting and preserve the life of the stick until the wind comes
back.
Lots of fun lots of strange looks from passers by. They range in price
from a buck to two bucks. Give it a go!
Spectra Mike
Note: There are several
different battery operated, with low weight, light sets that can be bought on
the internet. Hummingbird and Gadget love using this type of light on their San
Diego flys. Due to our bad winds, and our love of the Pro Wren, we had Al-Habib
make a special ultra-low weight light set that works great with the Pro Wrens.
If you are interested, you will have to contact Al-Habib through his web site.
(Click the logo below.)
Sponsor
Request
Well our club has received a sponsor request from “The Kite Closet” in
Texas. As we are not designed to handle incoming monies from sponsors, or
advertisers, we have simple requested a swap of Links from our site to theirs,
and visa versa. If you are interested, please visit there site at the following
URL: http://www.thekitecloset.com (or just click it.)
Sister Club
In San Diego Event That Was Missed
(Hopefully we can prompt them to give us more notice next year.)
Hi You all,
Thought you might be interested in this. it's right in front of the
hotel where a few of you stayed this past summer. If any of you are
interested let me know and I’ll get back to you.
The San Diego Kite Club has been invited to be a Major participant
at the Pacific Beach Fest ‘2000 on Saturday October 7. The event will run from 11 AM to 7:30 PM followed by a Fireworks display. They are anticipating
a crowd of 50,000 people, so this is really a fabulous opportunity for the club
to show its stuff. Last year was fabulous, let’s make this year better.
We will be all flying in the
SOUTHERN AREA of Pacific Beach in front of the Green Flash Restaurant See the
enclosed map.
This area will be for Sport kites and the Single-liners. We will have a
300’ of coastline to fly our Sport kites and Single-liners. This year we will
try to coordinate our flying areas a little better. At 3:00 PM our club will
have a 15 minute front stage presence to perform for the crowd
As of today the sponsors of the event will be Beach and Bay Press, KyXy
96.5 FM, San Diego Parent Magazine, and Time Warner Cable all who have made
sizable donations to the event. We are being given one huge flying area and 2
booths (one for Kite Country and one the Club gratis).
What they want from us is to have the single lines in the air as much as
possible and a steady stream of sport kiters flying at the northern end. (The
foot of Grand is really the absolute center of PB).
We might also want to think about a Mass fly or two, one of Dual-line and
one of Quad-line kites. Those are always impressive. All things considered I
think we could have just a wonderful time and spread the Wonderful World of
Kiting throughout the city. TV and the media will also be there in force.
Now the nuts and Bolts. We have up until 10 AM to drop off our equipment,
after that time cars will have to be out of the Festival area. There is street
parking just outside the area and if we get there before 10 AM we shouldn’t
really have a problem with parking. Getting out if you want to will be up to
each individual, but I really don’t see a problem if we get there early.
The PB Town Council has suggested that we all bring our families as it is
that type of event. There is supposed to be things going on all day, so when
you’ve flown enough you can go party with the rest of the town.
The only thing I ask is could you contact me as soon as you are able so I
can get started on the rest of the preparations.
Thanks,
Greg Lawrence
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
Roman was unavaliable
and could not provide a tip for this news letter. Look for his insights next
month!
The
following is a partial reprint from the Fly’n Hawaiian’s first edition.
Kite Tips
This
tip was borrowed from the Boy Scouts of America’s motto…Be Prepared.
Have
you ever been to a kite field and forgot your line sets? Or your kite handles? Or even your kites? I’ve heard horror stories of people driving
across cities, states, and even across country to festivals and forgetting one
of these things. Provided is a
checklist of what you might want to bring to the kite field to save those
embarrassing moments including ideas for a quick repair kit.
Checklist
-
Kites. The most
important thing in kiting! Bring them
all. You never know when the wind is
going to die down or kick up.
-
Line Sets. Make
sure those kites don’t get away. Have a
variety of lengths and strengths on hand to suit the mood or conditions of the
moment.
-
Handles or Finger Straps. Color-coded handles are a good way of distinguishing the left
line from the right. I usually go by
the rule “red is right” when using red and black handles. Use any method you like, but when flying
someone else’s kite be sure to ask which is which.
-
Banners or lawn ornaments. It’s nice to splash the flying field with a little color.
-
Shade.
Especially here in the Valley of the Sun! Bring a wide brim hat to keep your head cool. An umbrella shade or EZ-Up tent is the ideal
portable shelter from the hot Arizona Sun.
-
Tent Stakes. Keep
your EZ-Up from doing Lazy Susan’s over your head.
-
Hammer. For
pounding in your tent stakes.
-
Sunscreen. Even
in the cooler days of winter the Sun will burn your skin with prolonged
exposure.
-
Sunglasses.
Protect your eyes from the UV rays.
-
Spray bottle.
These make great portable misters.
-
Liquids. Bring
a jug or cooler of ice water, Gatorade or soda pop. Flying kites is good exercise and you can get dehydrated before
you know it.
-
Snacks. Most
kite fields are a long way from a convenience store. On the way to the kite field, stop by and pick up your favorite
snack. If not for you, pick me up a
Twinkie.
-
Camera. The
disposable ones are cheap and take great pictures.
-
Trash bags.
Help keep our flying fields beautiful and useable. Clean up after flying.
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 everybody. I'm back from Alaska and
have finally managed to dig out from under the stuff that always piles up at
home and at work when you leave for a week and some change. The cruise
was wonderful and the weather (for the most part) was nice. Temperatures
varied from the low 70's down to the mid 40's. Nice change from the oven
that is Arizona summer.
We got into Vancouver B.C. after the plane trip
from hell. Two flights to get there and two broken planes and 6 hours in
the Sea-Tac airport. Our luggage arrived in Canada 7 hours later than we
did. We were only 8 hours late into
Vancouver. Not a really good way to start the vacation.
Saturday morning found us down at the pier waiting
for boarding to commence. We decide to stroll into Vancouver's Gas-town
district and hop over to Chinatown. Within 3 blocks, I found a Kite
Store. Fate finally decided to shine on me a bit. I scored a
Diamond Kite with the Canadian Flag on it. We made it into China town and
browsed a bit. Couldn't find a kite to save my life. Bummer, I was
really looking forward to scoring a "dragon kite" We
discovered a cool Chinese style garden to rest our feet in for a bit before
continuing our trek back to our ship. We boarded with a minimal amount of
fuss and settled into our stateroom for our week stay.
Sunday morning found me at the back of the
ship trying to figure out how to keep the Sutton from yanking me off
the back of the ship in the 20mph wind. I finally wrapped 3 turns of the
500lb-test line around the rail and then attached the Sutton.
Launching the foil off the back of the ship proved to be a challenge due to
the swirling winds caused by the ships passage. After a few
attempts, I managed to get the Sutton airborne. It pulled like a
freight train on speed. When I realized that the line was carving a
groove in the wood rail of the ship, I decided that a bit of sanity was
called for. After pulling in the Sutton, I launched one of my cell
kites. The winds whipped it around the sky. I pulled it back in and
added a 100-foot tail to calm it down a bit. This made it possible to
follow the kite in the sky. As I was standing there in my R66KC shirt, my
fellow passengers were always stopping and asking questions. "Which
shop did you buy that in?" was the top question. Complements of the
wisdom of bringing kites and the kites themselves were also expressed.
After a couple of hours, I decided that food was in order and broke down
shop.
The next kite experience was in Skagaway
Alaska. After arriving in port, I decided the wind blowing across the
ship was too good to ignore. I cracked out the Sutton and all the line
laundry. With a 15 to 20 mph wind it flew like a champ. The gusts
kept on collapsing some of my wind turbines, but the display was enough to have
people using the kite as a backdrop in cruise photos. Even the staff
of the cruise ship got into the action. For a while they had a staff
photographer taking pictures of people with the kite in the background. I
pulled the kite down when we pulled out of Skagaway for the short
trip into Haynes. The passage acted to funnel the wind and created some
of the highest winds I saw on the entire trip. The wind meter
screamed as I subjected the vanes to the 64-mph winds. Haynes was a
quiet little town with a nice narrow beach. I shot down and set up
the Stylus 2.8 for a run. More people taking pictures as the kite skimmed
the mirror smooth waters of the harbor at dusk. Night fell and dinner
called. A good day for kiting.
On the trip back down from Alaska, the wind
almost exactly matched the speed of the ship. With just 2 to 4 mph
of wind, It almost felt like home. I pulled out a couple of cell kites
and gave them a shot. I established the design's low wind range. 2
mph caused it to sink like a stone, 3mph was enough to loft and 4 mph was
enough to play. Not bad. That, combined with the 20mph winds
(it survived!!) on day 2 has established it as a working
design. As soon as I work out a couple of niggles in the
"building" part, I'll blab the design out to everybody. After
breaking down shop, I stopped in at the drink bar to get some tea. One of
the staffers was from India and stopped by to chat about kites in his native
country. We blathered about kites for 30 minutes before he went back to
work.
It was worth packing the kites along
for the trip. Flying off the back of the ship wasn't as hot of an
experience as I thought it would be. Throwing some color in the sky
while in port was a welcome change to the tourist zombie walk. By the
time the cruise was over, I was "the crazy guy from Arizona flying kites
off the ship" to my fellow passengers.
On a non-kiting note... The cruise was
wonderful. You almost forget that you are on a ship. All the staff
are there to help you and there is plenty to do. Nobody will ever starve
on a cruise ship. I think I gained at least 5 lbs. on the cruise and
I had to get used to not being able to score a cheeseburger in the Solarium at
2am when I got back home. I saw humpback and killer whales, sea
lions, bears and eagles. I watched glaciers fall into the sea and had the
thunder that is tons of ice falling wash over me. More green than you
could shake a stick at. Do it at least once before you cut your
lines.
I'm working on taking some pictures of the cell
kites and drawing up some detailed plans for templates. Please forgive me
for not having them ready for this issue.
Till I see ya'll at the fly field: sky good,
ground bad.
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.
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