Kite
Flyer
January 2001 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
Please note that there
are several Hot Links usually in blue and underlined for your convenience.
(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.
National
Kite Month Events
Well I hope that everyone has had a most joyous
and happy holiday season, and will have the greatest of new years. To this
end we are starting to focus on the
Springtime events and National Kite Month. Along those lines we have some good
news and some bad news. The good news is that Brian and Joanne from Tucson, who
have done such a fabulous job of the Anthem Days Event last year, have jumped
in and agreed to continue the Anthem Event once again (See the note below). The
bad news is that even though we will do what ever we can to support them in
making this a great event, the club is now left with no major event of it’s own
for NKM. Now we had a simple fun fly at Plateau Park which turned out great,
but we could use a larger corporate event that we could support that would
better support the NKM ideals. So lets all keep an eye out for these spring
time vents in our communities, and pass along any ideas that you might have so
we can gave an even better event of our own for NKM. Please send all ideas to:
Gadget Man Manson ( thomas.manson@arz.boeing.com
) so he can share them with the rest of the club.
Note From The Tucson Group
Just to let you know, we are putting on the Anthem Fly again this year
per request of Del Web. If you would
like to register any performances or other, please register with us so we can
put it on the schedule. We also are the kite vendor for this festival. If you have any questions please feel free
to email us. Hope to see the Route 66
Kite Club's presence at the fly.
Sincerely,
Jo Anne
Grabe
Along the lines of future events, our own Spectra Mike is working on
getting us in on supporting a Fall event called “Simply Citrus”. This was a
pretty big event in 2000 and Mike felt that it would be a great event for us to
support in 2001. It has been reported however that the budget for the 2001
Simply Citrus event has been cut drastically, and may be merged with another
event. Even so, we could easily support whatever comes up along these lines in
2001. So lets give Spectra Mike any support we can in his endeavors to setup
this Fall event for the club.
The Preacher Man Chris Green has been busy with several events to raise
monies for his church perhaps he will have an idea or two for an event we can
support and aid him in his efforts as well. And the WestWind Flyers of Yuma
have maintained interest in what events we can stir up this spring, so we
should keep them in mind when setting up our events as well.
ArFF Resurection
Roman the Fly’n Hawaiian Trugillo along with support from the infamous
Dave Evans has resurrected the popular Arizona Free Flyer (ArFF) bulleting
board/chat room. It can be found at the following URL: www.delphi.com/arff It doesn't have a calendar as yet but it
sure has a lot of other features built-in.
So have a look see and pass this on to any other kiters. The R66KC
website will be updated with this link in the near future as well.
Other Items Of Interest
And our wandering Hippie Man Jim Jennings was in town for a few days but
could not break away to join the Kiting Clan for a fly. The latest word is that
the Omaha Kite Shop that he hoped to buy, fell through. Anita’s job is going like
gang busters, and we all wish them the best in their new home in the middle of
the frozen tundra of Omaha.
Keep’em Fly’n
Gadget Man Manson
AKA News Or
Directors Editorial
Nothing from the Region 12 Director, nor our own Club Director so here is
a stolen poem from the November issue of the AKA Kiting Magzine. When I read
it, it brought a tear to my eye. So I have to share it with everyone.
The Kite
I never saw the carefree wind
That sends the schooners roaring,
And slaps the windmills to a whirl,
And keeps a glider soaring.
But once I went out fishing
For this splendid carefree thing
And caught it for a minute
On a little piece of string.
By
Margaret Friskey
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 Hippie Man Park The Riverview Park – 01/13/01 – 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.
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Rating: |
Great |
Restrooms: |
None |
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Kiters That Can Fly: |
30 |
Drinking Fountains: |
None |
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Non-Kiter Visibility: |
Poor |
Park Benches: |
Yes |
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Distance To Amenities: |
1 Mile |
Shade Available: |
Lots |
Club Fly At
The Riverview Park – 01/28/01 – Sunday: (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.
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Rating: |
Good |
Restrooms: |
South Side |
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Kiters That Can Fly: |
30 |
Drinking Fountains: |
South Side |
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Non-Kiter Visibility: |
Medium |
Park Benches: |
No |
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Distance To Amenities: |
3 Miles |
Shade Available: |
Lots |
Note: By popular demand and the desire
to socialize after a fly with a meal and possibly drinks, the club flying
events will be moving, periodically,
to SATURDAYS!!! Stay tuned as to when
this will start. Park selection will be
alternated so that no single group of individuals will have to drive a long way
all of the time.
Special
Note: Lady
Hummingbird and the Gadget Man 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
Fly Report
At The Riverview Park – 12/03/00 – Sunday:
No report available.
Fly Report
For The Hippie Man Park – 12/17/00 – Sunday:
By Al-Habib
Sunday was a nice day to go flying. The winds were the usual
Arizona light winds. When I arrived at J. Jennings Park, Doc and son were
finishing up a quick game of toss with the baseball. The park was mostly
empty with just a few people playing Frisbee golf. We both unloaded the
kites and set up at the picnic table. I dragged out the Illy Y2K and
launched into the sky. The winds were a bit on the light side but still
flyable. Doc dragged out the ProWren and a Trick Tail (I think... maybe
I'm wrong). The wind faded a bit and got shifty (big suprise). I
pulled out my new Ozone and Flashlight. Doc upped the ante on light wind
kites with a Buena Vista Pi.
About the time we stated to really clutter up the field
with kites and lines, we got company. I noticed Doc chatting with a
couple and decided to park the Ozone and investigate. I walked over
and met Al Fernandez ad his wife, Dawn Malone. (sorry if I goofed the
spelling on either one.) They both call the Pacific North West home
during the warmer months and are spending the winter with family in the
Valley. Judging from the pins on Al's hat, they've been kiting for quite
a while and are very active in PCKA, West Washington Flyers and of course,
the AKA. Al unpacked the car and started to set up camp. His bag
seemed to be blessed with a lot of one-off designs and custom kites.
While Dawn searched for the elusive bathrooms, Al set up some custom dual
line kites. As I listened to the origin of the kites that he pulled
out of the bag, I realized again how much of a kiting backwater Phoenix really
is. After a bit I returned to my kites. I broke in both the Ozone
and the Flashlight. (check the reviews below) Both are nice kites
and welcome additions to the kite bag. After a bit Al unpacked a few
fighter kites and didn't o half bad with them. As the day progressed al
put some flight time on the Flashlight and seemed to like it. Dawn tried
her had at a fighter or two. (My blessings to anybody who can handle one
of those babies. Beyond my abilities.) Al had some really cool
wings. A few custom painted fighters and a ultra light made out of smoked
Mylar were some of the trick offerings out of Al's bag. We all started to
break camp at about 4pm and head our separate ways. Al and Dawn stated
that they would try to make the next fly. All in all, a good day. I
would have liked some more company, but the low attendance is understandable
with the Holidays around the corner.
Jonathan (Al-Habib, The Tent Maker)
Delmar
Fly Report
For Riverview Park – 12/30/00 – Saturday:
Well the wind was poor
and teased the small troop of flyers, about eight of us, who all broke out the
ultra-light Pro-Wrens, or Wrens and took to the sky when the winds allowed.
Lots of talk about the holidays and the Sky Surfer held it’s own for the most part
of the day. A new remote control car was produced for the troops enjoyment, and
designs for new kite bags as well as kites brought out many an idea. Jonathan
Al-Habib the Tent Maker, our own kite builder, had a couple of new kites, a
Prism Flashlight and Ozone, to share with us as well as the new Prism Speedbag
he has been talking about. For more on these see his reviews below in the
“Other News” section and keep an eye out for his own versions of the same. Jane
the Hummingbird and Catharine spent some great time sunning and gossiping, and
all was well with the world. What a beautiful day! We just could have used more
wind. Oh well, we will catch you all on the next field.
(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
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?
- - - Next Year - - -
Nothing as yet scheduled for
next year.
Well you guessed it, I finally came up with an idea. With
all of the events that enjoy having us signal their events with a kite, would
could request donations to our charity on our behalf for our efforts! (yea like
right, what effort... ha ha). So keep this in mind and perhaps we can get more
big event planned, and some real monies for the Sunshine Acres Children’s Home.
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
Prism Flashlight Review
Prism's Flashlight fills the void between the small and twitchy 3D and
the pricey Ozone. I bought mine through Dan at GWTW. The purple and
while color combo looks nice on the field and in the sky. The Kite is
framed in think carbon fiber tubes with a poly' sail. The only major
fault in the kite is the bloody rubber O-rings that Prism is using to tension
the sail. They do not do the job. I know that they are easier for a
newbie to handle, but bad is bad. I'm going to cut mine off and replace
them with a Dacron loop so I can have a tight sail. In flight, the
Flashlight did well. There was some noise from the sail. (Bloody
O-rings) It seemed to soak up the occasion burst of wind and will trick
fairly well. (I think I'm getting better at handling kites in 3D flight
tho.) The frame gives it a softer feel and seems to want a bit more
thought when trying something weird. The Flashlight is not an indoor
kite. The compromise in framing materials (due to cost) makes for a bit
too much mass to make true zero wind flight easy. A bit of
breeze tho', and it's flying. A good kite for the price and it seemed to
soak up the few lawndarts that I threw at it without dying. It was fun to
fly and I don't regret the money that I spent on it. The sail design is
the newest in the Prism ultra light line and it's abilities show it.
Wind range: 0 to 12 (Claimed) .5 to about 6 or 7 in
the real world. The frame will get bent out of shape with more than
that.
Price: $78.00 plus S&H from GWTW. (sale
price, but Dan seems to always be running a sale or two)
Quality: Good. usual Prism workmanship.
Bloody O-rings tho.... I'm gonna hack them all off and mail them back to
Prism. Postage Due.
Fun factor: Good. I enjoyed flying it and didn't
feel bad about bashing it around. None the worse for wear either.
Newbie factor: Great. It has enough mass to not
be twitchy and works will in light winds. Soaks up punishment.
Think ultralight Beetle and you wont be too far off the mark... (except for
price, but worth it in Arizona)
Try it next time you're out at the field with me.
Jonathan (Al-Habib, The Tent Maker)
Delmar
Prism Ozone Review
Prism's Ozone was their mid point Ultra light kite entry. With the
advent of the Flashlight, the Ozone moves up the field. The combination
of wrapped, tapered graphite and carbon tubes gives this wing a stiffer and
lighter frame. With the Flashlight out of the running for a true indoor
kite, the Ozone remains the midpoint indoor kite choice from Prism. The
better frame resulted in a crisper kite. Flying the Flashlight and Ozone
back to back really shows what the upgrade in frame does. The Ozone
is an older design and does suffer for the changes in technology that have
happened since it was designed. Still a capable kite and I managed to get
it to do some light wind tricks, even with my ham-fisted, amateur
abilities. The Ozone needs less wind than the Flashlight and was a
joy to fly. I'm happy to have added it to my bag. Not a as
much of an entry level kite as the Flashlight, the Bloody O-ring
tensioners didn't make a bit of sense on a kite as high on the food chain as
this one. Chop-Chop. Good bye. It's fun and you'll see me
flying it on those typical Arizona Days.
Wind Range: 0-8 (claimed) Real world is fairly
close. Anything above 4 will see me reaching for the Illy Y2K
tho'.
Price: $159 plus S&H from GWTW. (Sale price,
but I think that you'll see them a lot lower than the $200+ that is the list on
this kite. That price is a bit too high for a wing this old.)
Quality: Bloody O-rings were my biggest
problem. I seem to be finding these on too many Prism Kites lately.
Tom had them on an Illusion and I've had them on three of the last four
Prism kites that I've bought. They were appropriate for one of those
wings (Flashlight) Now I'll step off my soapbox and say that the rest of
the wing was sharp.
Fun Factor: Kite, wind, fun. Tricks nicely and
will be there to help me expand my abilities. Its design
is getting a bit long in the tooth tho. I'm expecting a redesign to
update it or a upframed Flashlight to take its place. Till then, I'm
flying mine.
Newbie Factor: A little too pricey to hand over to a
virgin flyer. I'd be a bit worried about lawn darts and skinny graphite
spars going "pop" I'd hand one over in the lightest of breezes
but any wind over 2 mph would make me flinch. If they could avoid the big
green sky, it would be ok until about 4 to 5 mph when the kite gets a bit
on the quick side. Not the best first choice for an ultra light kite.
Once again, step on up and take a ride on the Ozone next time you
see me.
Jonathan (Al-Habib, The Tent Maker)
Delmar
Future Reviews Coming Soon
Prism's new Speedbags. I've got two coming in on December
20th. In the near future, I'll hopefully be reviewing the Illy Y2K SUL
variant. I've got a preorder in with Prism and they should be calling me
when It becomes available.
Jonathan (Al-Habib, The Tent Maker)
Delmar
Well The Sky Surfer Mania Continues To Spread
Yep. Here are the Sky Surfer Pictures
once again. And you guessed it, the little gadget continues to be
contagious. Aside from the Director
Billy Mad Dog Dines and the Gadget Man, we now have two new members of the Sky
Surfer club. That mad kiting fool, Fly’n Ryan Hardy, received from Dennis (Doc)
his dad, a Sky Surfer for Christmas and cannot wait to share it with the rest
of the club. He has bounced it around on some of his maiden flights, but
reports that he has it under control now. And if that is not bad enough, our
very own Tent Maker, Al-Habib, is currently constructing his own, (it would be
too easy to buy one). He has created his own carriage from a remote control car
he had, and has turned the drive axle into a double propped turbine monster
that could double as a leaf blower. His plans include a nine foot, that’s right
nine foot, sail for the canopy, and plans on chasing the local helicopters with
it. We will all have to wait for Jonathan’s latest creation and anxiously await
it’s maiden voyage. I might add that Mad Dog Dines and the Gadget man have been
teaming up to enhance this fun toy and so far have swapped the props with ones
with better pitch, added more battery power.
To date, they have burned out four motors flying the skunk out of these
great gadgets. These low wind flyers should be at most of the up coming flys
and should be available for sample flights depending on the owners discretion.
So don’t hesitate to ask for a test fly.
New Dodd
Gross Master Kiter Web Site
For those of you interested in
the masters of kite stunting Dodd Gross has a new website for the masses that
can be found at the following URL: http://www.its2k.com/doddskites The feature "Dodds Diary" is a
glimpse into the design process of the making of a stunt kite.
Found By Arff’s Dave Evans
New Arizona
Feather Banners Available