Kite Flyer

 

November 2000 Issue

 

Route 66 Kite Club (R66KC)

 

Kite Club

Phoenix, AZ

 

To Visit Our Web Site Click Here!

 

Table Of Contents

Please note that there are several Hot Links usually in blue and underlined for your convenience.

(It is recommended that all articles be read.)

 

Hot Buttons

Descriptions

Editor’s Note

Quick Thoughts From The Editor

AKA News Or Director’s Editorial

Letter From The Director And/Or AKA News

Upcoming Flying Events

This Months Flying Schedule

Latest Fly Reports

What Happened On Last Months Flys

Future & Annual Events

Long Term Dates And Plans

Other News

Other Items Of interest

New Questions

Questions To The Club

The Leading Edge

Special Tips and Tricks From The Fly’n Hawaiian

Al-Habib The Tent Maker

Notes From Our Very Own Kite And Banner Maker

Flick Flacks

Fun Kite Stuff

Used Kites For Sale And Lost Stuff Listing

Lost Puppies And Things For Sale

Disclaimer

Cover My Ass Legal Ease

Copyright Non-Restrictions

Please Help Yourselves

 

Web Site Links

(Just Click On Them And Go!)

Charter

Membership Requirements

Past News Letters

Photos Of Events

Signature Lines To Remember

Kite Field Recommendations

Kite Stores

Al-Habib The Tent Maker

 

 

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.


 

Editor’s Note

 

 

Hey Kiters,

 

Well group we have a new Region 12 director, a Mr. Glen Rothstein. With any luck we will have a little article posted in this newsletter from Glen under the AKA News Or Director’s Editorial section, so we can all get to know him better.

 

And speaking of new things, there is a new Kite Club in Yuma. A Ray Hopkins should be giving us the low down on this club called the “Westwind Flyers Club”. We will have to give them a warm welcome and find ways of including them in our events, and us in theirs. So lets keep an eye out for info in our news letter regarding this new club, and join in when we can. An article should be found under the Other News section.

 

Due to several new people in the valley, wanting to fly with us, we will be attempting to rotate the flying events to Saturdays. Aside from Preacher Man, who of course is working Sundays, we have several others that are working Sunday’s as well. So due to this, we will be attempting to keep most, if not all, of the fly days to Saturdays. Please make special note of it when checking the Upcoming Flying Events section. This one is for you Michael Montoya.

 

I have come across a new Quad Line Kite called the Spirit. This is a design by the famed Steve LaPort. I had a chance to fly one in San Diego in September, and just had to have one. Below is a picture of this great kite, and here is the URL to the LaPort web site: www.spiritsinthesky.com

 

 

In any event, I am now a proud owner of this great kite and will be willing to have those of you that are interested, and have some quad line experience, a try on this great flyer.

 

By the way, Al-Habib had an interesting item of concern, so here it is:

 

November is almost here and I was just thinking.  I know, I know, rare event...  But anyhow.  What are we going to do as a club for National Kite Month in 2001?  It's about time to start planning.

 

Al-Habib, The Tent Maker

 

So lets all get together on the next couple of Fly’s (oops it’s down again), and brainstorm what we want to do!

 

Keep’em Fly’n

 

Gadget Man Manson

 

(Return To Table Of Contents)

 

 

 

 

 

 

AKA News Or

Directors Editorial

 

 

From Our NEW Region 12 Director Glen Rothstein!

Hello Route 66 KC Flyers!

 

My name is Glen Rothstein & I'm YOUR new AKA Regional Director.  I capitalized "YOUR", because I am here for YOU!  My job is to help, in any way I can, to further you & your club's kiting pleasure.

 

I live in Valencia, CA, near Magic Mountain. I plan on visiting your fine state in the next few months & flying with however many of you I can find!

(Note: We will attempt to schedule an event with Glen when this happens.)

 

I REALLY enjoyed perusing your website.  Lots of good info & pictures! Your field layouts with descriptions should be the standard in kite web paging.  Many kite clubs just hang out in their own space.  I hope we can get a regional club retreat planned for next year sometime.  I'll be in touch with your club's "Top Brass" about putting it all together.

(Note: Tom has informed Glen about our Sister Club Fly events in May. Perhaps this will work for the Region. See the Future & Annual Events section for details.)

 

Enjoy your November and hope to fly with you soon.

 

Best Wishes & Winds,

 

Glen E. Rothstein

Region 12 Director - American Kitefliers Association

 

Vice President, Southern California Sport Kite League

 

Kite Flying hits new heights!... Check it out below:

 

http://community.webtv.net/OpusFader/VenturaCountyKite

 

 

WORLD SPORT KITE CHAMPIONSHIPS, 2001

 

The three primary sport kite organizations in the world are pleased to be joining together with the Malaysian Kitefliers Association to produce the World Sport Kite Championship in Langkawi, Malaysia, from February 25 to March 3, 2001.

 

The All Japan Sport Kite Association (AJSKA) from Asia, the American Kitefliers Association (AKA) from North America, and Sport Team And Competitive Kiting (STACK) from Europe and the Pacific now represent over 10,000 competitive fliers. The best of these contestants will be gathering in Malaysia for the first time ever to determine the world champions.

 

The World Sport Kite Championships is significant for several reasons. First, all three organizations have agreed to work together recognizing and supporting this inaugural common event. Second, it is the first time that a single common rulebook has been used by all three organizations. And third, all levels of competition will be offered including individual, pair, team, and multi-line flying.

 

In addition, the prestigious Langkawi Cup will be issued to the organization earning the highest number of accumulated points. This trophy will continue to be used at events around the world, being perpetually won whenever the three Associations gather and compete.

 

The World Sport Kite Championships in Langkawi, Malaysia in 2001 are certain to be an exciting and wonderfully successful event. The entire world sport kite community looks forward to this prestigious gathering.

 

David Gomberg, Chair World Sport Kite Championship Committee

 

Koichi Shimada, Nobuo Tomatsu All Japan Sport Kite Association (AJSKA)

 

Helmut Georgi, Chris Eichenberger Sport Team And Competitive Kiting (STACK)

 

Richard Dermer, David Gomberg American Kitefliers Association (AKA)

 

 

Attention Sport Kite Judges and Staff!

 

The AKA is ready to start selecting staff (Judges and Field Director) for the World Sport Kite Championship (WSKC), scheduled for Feb. 25-March 3 in Langkawi, Malaysia. We already have on file information from those who applied for last year's scheduled event, which was unfortunately canceled.

 

If you applied last year, and still wish to be considered, do nothing! You are still a candidate.

 

If you did not apply last year, and are interested in being a candidate for one of the positions, please e-mail us a brief resume stating your experience in judging at major events, and a statement of why you feel you are qualified to represent the AKA at this ground-breaking event. The committee can be reached at < sportkite@aka.kite.org  >. We are especially interested in people who are able and willing to play leadership roles within the AKA Sport Kite structure in the coming years.

 

If you applied last year, and no longer wish to be a considered, please send a brief e-mail to us and we will remove your name from consideration.

 

This information will be reviewed by the following committee:

 

          David Gomberg: WSKC Chair, AKA President Elect

          Mike Gillard: WSKC Member, AKA Sport Kite Committee Chair, IRBC Member

          Chuck Sigal: AKA Sport Kite Rules Coordinator, IRBC member

          Susan Shampo: AKA Scorekeeper, AKA Sport Kite Conference Chair

 

We expect to have decisions made and invitations extended within the next 30 days.

 

Good Winds!

 

 

(Return To Table Of Contents)

 

 

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 – 11/04/00 – Saturday: (See web site Kite Field Recommendations for maps.) As per usual the fly times are from 12 noon to about 5pm in the afternoon. 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.

Rating:

Good

Restrooms:

South Side

Kiters That Can Fly:

30

Drinking Fountains:

South Side

Non-Kiter Visibility:

Medium

Park Benches:

No

Distance To Amenities:

3 Miles

Shade Available:

Lots

 

 

 

Club Fly At The Hippie Man Park – 11/18/00 – Saturday: (See web site Kite Field Recommendations for maps.) As per usual the fly times are from 12 noon to about 5pm in the afternoon. 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.

Rating:

Great

Restrooms:

None

Kiters That Can Fly:

30

Drinking Fountains:

None

Non-Kiter Visibility:

Poor

Park Benches:

Yes

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.

 

 

(Return To Table Of Contents)

 

 

 


 

Latest Fly Reports

 

 

Report On Club Fly At The Riverview Park – 10/08/00 – Sunday

The One Sky One World event as reported by our very own man in the field, Schermanator!

 

We had a great day of kite flying out at Riverview Park on the Sunday for the One Sky-One World celebration.  The sky was partly cloudy, the temperature was comfortable, and there was a strong, steady breeze out of the east.  It was the kind of weather that kite flyers wish they had every day.

 

We had a big turnout out at the park that day.  At the peak of the afternoon, there were so many kites up in the air that it looked like a large kite festival was going on.  There were lots of people there that I knew, as well as many new folks that I hadn't yet met.  It's good to see that there so many local people who share a common interest in kite flying.

 

Hugh was there with his varied collection of kites, including his buzzing California Wasp and his beautiful big Sutton.  What a kite that is!  For such a large kite, it surprising what little wind is required to keep it afloat.  That big kite is always a crowd pleaser.  It's visible from far away, and certainly must have drawn looks from people driving by on the nearby 202 freeway.

 

Tom and Jane were there with their collection of single-line kites.  They had an assortment of kites and line laundry up in the air.  Tom didn't have his big winder with him, so he couldn't fly his trusty Bertha.  Even without her though, he and Jane still put up a good display.

 

The other flyers included Reggie, who was doing his usual cool tricks with his Jam Session; Howard, who was flying his Elixir and Prophecy kites; Spectra Mike and his son, who were flying Mike's T & T kites with long tails made from police barricade tape; and Jonathan, who was flying a variety of kites, including a Prism Stylus 2.8 stacked onto my 1.8 (those kites gave us some good pulling action). There were many other flyers there as well, and I apologize to them for either not knowing or not remembering their names.

 

I was having fun flying my favorite kite (my Illusion), until I accidentally let go of my right control line and the kite went into a rapid spin and eventually corkscrewed into the ground.  My beloved Illy suffered a broken spine and had to be put away for the day.  I have since replaced the spine and the kite is once again ready for action.

 

All in all, it was a fantastic day of flying.  We are all looking forward to the cooler fall weather that is now upon us, and the fall breezes that are certain to follow.  Now, if it would only quit raining for a while.

 

Chris Schermann

 

 

Report On Club Fly At The Hippie Man Park – 10/21/00 – Saturday

Our director Billy Mad Dog Dines was there and found a soccer match in full swing on the field. So he opted for the other side of the field and had a great time by himself for several hours. Please keep in mind if our normal meeting place, on any of the fields are occupied, we will be moving to the nearest open space. I have a feeling that old Mad Dog would have had company if the others had just looked around a little for the alternate place to fly. Better luck next time Billy boy, and let’s all make a better effort at showing at this park, in memory of the Hippie Man Jim Jennings. We want to keep his favorite park alive with kites.

 

 (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.)

 

 

(Return To Table Of Contents)

 

Future & Annual Events

 

- - - Next Year - - -

 

Easter Assention Tradition

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!

 

 

05/18-20/2001 – 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! 

 

09/21-23/2001 – 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.

 

(Return To Table Of Contents)

 

 

 

 

Other News 

 

 

We Have A New Club In Arizona

Let’s have a big R66KC welcome to the new Westwind Flyers Club or Yuma Arizona! A Ray Hopkins is our point of contact, and here is what he has to say about this new club.

 

We are a very small club, with only 4 solid members and 4 to 7 sometime flyers. Two of our members live in Yuma year around, and the rest are snowbirds (I'm from Idaho), so we are really only together 6 months out of the year. We are not currently signed up with AKA but may look into it. Our colors are as follows: lettering is purple, the diamond kite design is pink and aqua.

 

Two of us are working on some ballet routines. And we our going to have a team name as well. We our starting to plan a fun fly for some time in March and will let your club know more once the plans are finalized. But that is as far as we have gotten at this point.

 

This spring a couple of us did go to the Wildwood New Jersey kite fly, and in August we went to the long beach Washington fly.  They both were great!

 

Well we are hoping to have some winds today so have a great day.

 

Ray Hopkins

 

 

 

We Have A New Teenager In The Group

Doc (Dennis Hardy) reports that our very own Fly’n Ryan has just turned 13 years of age. Lets all give him a razzing the next time we see him on the field. I am sure that as a newly eligible teen, he will be glad to give it back to all of us as a new representative of his piers.

Congratulations Fly’n Ryan!

 

 

 

 

Florida’s Treasure Island International Event

Our very own Billy Mad Dog Dines attended this event with several friends of his that were in Florida. So here is what he has to say about the event.

 

 

Dear Route 66'ers,

 

I decided to fly to Florida a few weeks back to attend the AKA Convention. It was in Tampa, Fl., on a chain of Islands off the coast of St. Petersburg/Tampa called Treasure Island.  Treasure Island faces the Gulf of Mexico side of Florida.

 

Flying in on Monday morning was great. You could see all the little finger lakes where people had homes with docks and boats all over the place.  The Bay between the cities was huge with long low-lying bridges connecting the two cities. I was fortunate to find a place to stay that was only a half a mile away from the festival.  What a place!!  A huge two-bedroom condo with living room, full kitchen, huge bedrooms and closets with all the amenities.  All I had to do was go the grocery store to be in business.

 

The beach where the Convention was held was fronted by three large hotels and the beach extended out about a hundred yards and was practically endless in each direction. The major flying area was right in front of the main hotel and the buggiers had a course built down the beach a little ways.  Buggiers weren't allowed to buggy on the outer most portion of the beach near the water because all that area was public beach.

 

I was there for fun and not to compete----as usual!!  It's more fun for me to be able to fly when I want and walk around and talk to flyers than to be one of them.  (Maybe someday.) The workshops were held in the morning and there was a mass-ascension every day at 11:30a.m. for pins before the real competition started.  I was a bit disappointed at the turnout for the Convention.  I've seen much larger turnouts for the WSIKF in Long Beach, Washington than here. The most kites in the air at any one time was probably during the mass-ascensions and that was probably less than two hundred kites.  I'd say there were less than a thousand kites at the entire festival---lots of open space in the air.

 

I picked up some gossip at one of the evening events where builders and shop owners were displaying their wares.  Apparently there is a lot of talk about splitting up the AKA into two separate groups. There appears to be some major differences as to how this whole industry should be run. I'm sure others of you will hear about some of the details on the kiting bulletin boards.

 

I think the part of the week that I enjoyed the best was the indoor flying events.  It was held in a boy’s academy about three miles from the hotel. They gave us use of their gymnasium and it was perfect for this kind of event. Lots of room to fly (high ceilings) and bleachers for people to sit and watch.  It was a two-night event with the first night being a demonstration event and the second night being the competition.  It totally amazes me at what kind of indoor flying things show up at this type of event.  One guy had a chain of six diamond kites attached to the end of a flagpole that he just walked around the gym with and they flew perfectly in line with each other.  There were several light weight Revs' and lots of deltas.  A few fighters and a number of unusual home built kites and even a cool glider made out of boron-wire and a Mylar type covering on the wings.

 

I thought this little glider was probably an evening job at best but it turns out it was quite an elaborate project taking several months to build. It had some really technical engineering ideas all rolled into this small flying machine. Some of you have been Club members long enough to have known our former director Rod Shelton.  Rod and his wife Cheryl moved to Tampa about three years ago.  I was originally going to stay with Rod but he lives about an hours drive from the beach.  I did meet up with him and a friend of his from the New England area towards the end of the week.  We all sat around and yukked it up as well as do the walk and talk show while taking loads of pictures.  I think some of those pictures will appear in the Kite Flyer at another time in the future.

(Note: For more pictures click or go to the following URL:

 http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=4293513239&code=621446&mode=invite )

 

They have a really nice kite shop on one of the chain of islands about ten miles North of the hotel.  Its called Kitesville USA and it's a nice place to hang out.  They are one of the East Coast distributors for the "Go Fly A Kite" company and have all the neat limited edition stuff that you don't see anywhere else.  I picked up a six foot Rokaku that has great dragon graphics on it.  I also picked up one of those three-foot square kites with the forty foot long tapering tail with a picture of a lion on the main sail and jungle grass making up the length of the tail.  Jimmy has one similar to this kide. They both flew great right out of the package.

 

All in all the week was lots of fun---a bit humid during the day but fairly steady wind.  The wind tended to shift a lot during the day making it difficult for some events.  The buggiers got aced out of their event but I think were able to make it up towards the end of the week.  By the way, there are some really sharp buggies being manufactured right now. One company, Libre, makes a buggy that you can adjust caster and camber on and I think they have some sort of suspension also.  The buggies where much larger than any I'd seen before but they looked and performed great.  A bit pricey but probably worth it if you're a serious buggier.

 

I think I'll try Wildwood next year.  Maybe some of us could plan a little ahead so some more of us could attend.  Wildwood is arguably the largest Festival in the country.  I have a timeshare that I could probably transfer to this area that could house a number of us if we wanted to go. So drop me a line and let me know.

 

Great wind to all-----

 

Bill Dines, Director Route 66 Kite Club

E-mail: wrd3@cybertrails.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

A New Non-Wind Flying Machine

Check this great little device out on the web URL: http://www.hobby-lobby.com/skysurfer.htm This is so cool that I may just have to have one to go with all of my other remote control gadgets. (They don’t call me gadget for nothing.) Be careful when viewing the web site, you will notice that it has a special battery and recharger that are not included in the price. (Note: Contributed from the ArFF site.)

 

      

 

 

 

(Return To Table Of Contents)

 

 

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 (mailto:thomas.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.

 

(Return To Table Of Contents)

 

 

 

The Leading Edge

 

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 unavailable 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.  Below are some ideas for a quick repair kit.

 

 

Repair Kit

-          Fishing tackle or lightweight toolbox.  A good starting point for a repair kit.

-          Lighter.  Most kite materials and line sets are synthetic and can be easily melted with a lighter to seal the edges.

-          Knife, razor blade, or scissors.  There’s always a need to cut something.

-          A mini-saw.  To downsize a rod or spar.  A portable Dremel tool is the ultimate cutting tool!

-          Pliers and diagonal cutters.  Helpful crimping tools.

-          Flathead or Philips screwdrivers.  If anything they make a standby kite stake.

-          An indelible ink pen (fancy way of saying permanent marker).  This can be used to mark line sets when repairing or sleeving the ends.

-          Clear packing tape.  Excellent for sail repairs.  Also, Popular Outdoor Outfitters has ripstop adhesive tape for repairing tents.  That can be used to fix the leading edges of your kites.

-          Plastic tubing.  Clear or black, they provide a quick replacement for old brittle edge connectors.  They can be found at your local home improvement stores.

-          Zap a Gap.  Better than Super Glue.  You can find them at a Hobby Town or Play It By Air.

-          Rubber bands.  Use it to keep your bottom spreaders from slipping off the center tee.

 

If anyone has suggestions on what they would like to see in “The Leading Edge” please send me an email at mailto:romantru@hotmail.com.  My next installment will be on different ways of launching your sport kites.

 

Straighten up and fly right!

The Fly’n’ Hawaiian

 

 

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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.

 

I'm dipping my toes in the water for the simple banner.  I've included an initial JPG of the design.  The banner will be made out of 200-denier nylon with the gold area in Norlan.  Total length of the banner pole will be 16ft so overall height should be in the 13-foot range.  The logo will be double sided.  The battens will be carbon rod.  It will include the banner, banner pole and ground stake.  The cost for the aforementioned items will be $165.00.    A simple bag for the aforementioned items (Like the bag for J. Jennings) will be another $15.00.  Other bags will be on a commission quote basis depending on complexity.

 

 

I'd like to see about 5 orders prior to ordering materials.  This will allow me to get the bulk rate that allows for the aforementioned prices.  A $75.00 deposit must accompany orders.

 

Al-Habib, The Tent Maker

 

 

 

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Flick Flacks

And Other Fun Stuff!

 

 

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Used Kites For Sale And Lost Kite Listing

 

No Kites Lost Or For Sale At This Time

 

 

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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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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!

 

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