Kite Lines - Vol. 4 No. 3 - KiteLife

ContentsVolume 4, Number 3, Winter-Spring 1983The International Exposition of Small Kites / 10Announcing a new event for 1984, a challenge from Kite Lines andWilliam R. Bigge . (Get our your jeweler's magnifying monocle!)Quickites : The Harpers Ferry One-Piece Delta / 18By Margaret Greger . A great new simple kite .The Rokkaku Kite Team Challenge . . . posed by Bevan Brown / 24The physical elements, the spiritual elements and "A Few Thingsto Know about the Sanjo Rokkaku," by Valerie Govig ."I've Flown at Blackheath" by Jon Burkhardt / 28A Yankee view of one of Britain's most successful kite festivals .A Beauty of a Convention / 32By Valerie Govig . The 1982 American Kitefliers Association meeting .Detroit Panorama, by Oscar Bailey / 34-37We have no words for this picture . (Turn to this page first!)Kites of Trinidad, by anthropologist Judith Johnston / 40A student of the East Indians of the Caribbean describes the Mad Bull,the Common Kite, the Chickichong and the way kite knowledge istransmitted . With a creative detour, the Flying Chataigne Leaf .Maebashi City Has Family Fun / 50By Larry W . Hoffman . One of Japan's more recently established kitefestivals-and one of its happiest ones .Coup de Vent dans le Prairie : Caen 1982 / 53By Stephen Huffstutler . Fanciful air happenings, serious organization .Addendum : Alternative Kite Greasing Procedures / 54By Kathe and George Qualls . The peanut butter method .Fighter Kites Follow-Up / 56By Mel Govig. Some further notes from enthusiasts .DepartmentsLetter from the Editor / 6Letters/ 11What's New : A New Roundup of Kite Reels / 12By Mel and Valerie Govig and A . Pete lanuzzi . Many choices plusadvice on use of reels . Also a Hungarian kite book reviewed .The Kite Lines Bookstore / 21Design Workshop : The Peter Lynn Box / 26As interpreted by Mel Govig . An elegant but easy-to-build kite .Profiles : The Quiet Pride of Adrian Conn / 38By Valerie Govig. A kiter who likes perfection-and it shows .Empty Places in the Sky / 57The deaths of Frank Watlington and Harry Booker .Directory of Outlets / 48News from Here & There : Stateside & International / 58For the Record / 60Best of Show : Kite by Dan Leigh, Photograph by Bev Leigh / 62-63Classifieds / 66Cover"Soft Wind, Big Sky for a Kiter" is part of a sequence of photographstaken on the east coast of Scotland by Frank G . McShane . Thebeautiful eight-foot red Cody kite was made by George Coombe ofBuckinghamshire, England . Frank's kite aerial photography willappear in a future Kite Lines. Frank says, "My main interest in lifeis photography and kiteflying . To combine both pursuits all at thesame time is truly a delicious beverage ."Kite Lines is the comprehensive internationaljournal of kiting and the only magazine of itskind in America . It is published by AeolusPress, Inc., of Baltimore, MD, with editorialoffices at 7106 Campfield Road, Baltimore,MD 21207, telephone : (301) 484-6287 .Kite Lines is endorsed by the internationalKitefliers Association and is on file in thelibraries of the National Air and Space Museum,Smithsonian ; the National Oceanic and AtmosphericSciences Administration ; the NationalGeographic ; and the University of NotreDame's Sports and Games Research Collection .Founder : Robert M. IngrahamPublisher : Aeolus Press, Inc .Editor : Valerie GovigBusiness Consultant : Kalman IllyefalviCirculation/Reader Services : Anneke DavisDesign and Mechanicals : Weston Phipps,Cathy Pasquale, Valerie Govig, ElizabethBaile Douglas, Kari CressInternational Correspondents : Jacques andLaurence Fissier ; British Correspondents :Ron Moulton and Clive C . O . RawlinsonEditorial Advisory Panel: Robert M. IngrahamGuy D . Aydlett Domina C . JalbertWilliam R . BiggeRichard F. KinnairdBevan H . BrownNat KobitzWyatt BrummittArthur KurlePaul Edward Garber Curtis MarshallMelvin GovigRobert S . PriceEdwin L . GrauelTal StreeterGary Hinze G. William Tyrrell, Jr .Ray Holland, Jr . John F . Van GilderA . Pete lanuzziWill YolenKite associations and clubs are located aroundthe U .S . and the world . Kite Lines works forand with all of them and maintains anupdated file on them . Write for informationabout your nearest group .Subscriptions to Kite Lines : In the U .S .,$9 .00 for one year (4 issues), $17 .00 for twoyears (8 issues) ; in Canada and Mexico : $10 .00for one year, $19 .00 for two years ; in all othercountries, $11 .50 for one year, $22 .00 fortwo years. Special air mail rates are availableat $4 .00 per year additional for CentralAmerica, $6 .00 per year additional forEurope, Israel, South America or NorthAfrica, and $8 .00 per year additional for allother countries . Foreign drafts must be inU .S . dollars through a U .S . bank or the postoffice . Single copies of current or back issuesare available ® $2 .50 from America's finestkite shops or the journal offices.Change of Address: Attach or copy mailinglabel in letter, giving new address . If mailinglabel is wrong, please correct it .Advertising rate sheet and information isavailable upon request .Contributions to Kite Lines of information,articles and photographs are always invited .Notification is required if contribution issubmitted to any other publication . Return ofany material must be requested and a selfaddressedenvelope with adequate postageprovided . First rights reserved in materialspublished unless otherwise specified . Writersand photographers should request our guidelinesbefore submitting . Accuracy of contentsof Kite Lines is the responsibility of individualcontributors . Diverse views presented in KiteLines are not necessarily those of the editor,staff or advisory panelists .Closing Dates for advertising and articles are8 weeks before publication .

the EditorConventions don't come much better thanthe one this year in Detroit for the AmericanKitefliers Association (see pages 33-40 for more about it) .There was only one off-note . RobertM . Ingraham, the founder, wasn't there .We had expected him . He had beerhoping to come . And two leading AKAer :had assured him emphatically that histransportation would be taken care ofBut no one ever officially confirmed it .I wrote to Bob afterwards to tell himhe was missed and he wrote back :"I do not like to be in this position-asort of old pensioner who has to be helpedout in a backhanded way . The truth is Ijust couldn't spend that kind of money . . .Actually, I had already made six deltaswhich I was going to ship ahead for theauction and they would have made up agood part of the expense . I did that itSeattle so there was little drain on AKA'smoney . But when I never got any woreabout it I just forgot about that . . .Fromyour description I am sorry I didn't makeit . I am glad you [Valerie and Mel Govig]could, at least, and hope it didn't costyou too much ."It's not surprising that after the previousconvention in Houston, with itszero proceeds leaving AKA flat, the officerswere feeling cautious . The cost is not thepoint, though . Remembering is . Effortshould have been made at least to explainwhat was happening to this gentlemanwhose name was synonymous with theAmerican Kitefliers Association from1964 to 1977 .The convention was beautiful andnothing can or should take away fromthat. But we weren't the only ones whosaid, "Hey, isn't Bob here?" On thatheart-filling weekend, this thought was alittle nick of hurt-and by contrast it wassurprisingly painful .P .S . Office News-The Copier Is Here!At last Kite Lines has a small office copier .Now we can make copies of rare materialsfor our readers or for visiting scholarswho use our Kite Research Library .That's the good news . The bad news isthat the copier is slow and uses expensivepaper . So we can't make copies as cheaplyas we'd like . We have set fees only to coverour expenses, with service to you ourreader in mind rather than profit . Feesare 50d per copied page plus 50d per mailingof one through five pages . Each additional1-5 pages adds 17U postage for firstclass mailing in the U .S . or surface mailfor foreign . Payment for copies must bemade in advance .It's our general policy not to copymaterial that is in print or has copyrightpresently in force . Exception : pages fromsold-out issues of Kite Lines and KiteTales. Orders for copies from the journalmust specify page numbers wanted anduses to be made of the copies . Only "fairuse" (such as personal or internal referenceor classroom teaching) can be accepted .Copying for all other uses of copyrightedmaterial requires prior written permissionof the copyright owner . In the case ofKite Lines, the owner is Aeolus Press,Inc ., 7106 Campfield Road, Baltimore,MD 21207, USA .If you need reference help to find acertain type of material, we can researchfor subscribers if it is not too timeconsuming. Let us know your needs . Wewant to help you fly . 0

LettersQUESTION SEEKS ANSWERA few months ago I was digging in a localjunkyard and I suddenly found a yellowbasket!-but not Ella Fitzgerald's . It wasthe basket of a collapsible yellow boxkite which was marked with black letters :Kite M-357, a part of Radio set SCA 578A .It also included two inflating tubes . Itsskeleton was made of '/,--inch aluminumtube, and had umbrella constructionbraces. The upper and bottom cells measured12 x 17 inches each . Overall lengthwas 36 inches . Two towing points wereset along the front spine : at the upperend for 15-40 m .p .h . winds and a secondone for 7-20 m .p .h ., 8 1/2 inches beneath .Along the two sides of the front spinethere were two strips, each two inches'wide, filled with cotton, like two softnarrow and long cushions . I wonder ifone of the readers can explain the reasonfor this fact, which can clearly be seen inthe attached pictures .Alex CohenRehovot, IsraelAlex, you've made a find! You have ascarce "Gibson Girl" box kite, made toloft radio antennas from life rafts in WorldWar II . The kites and radio apparatuswere made in America and Great Britainand possibly other countries .About the padded edges : the Kite Linescrew has been theorizing about this . Icame up with a guess that the purpose ofthe padding might have been for flotationof the kite if it dunked in the ocean . Wealso checked with Paul Garber, designerof the Navy Target Kite, for a moredefinitive answer and he said he couldthink of nothing better than the flotationtheory . We open the floor to furtherdiscussion from readers.BOAT-IN-THE-BASEMENT SYNDROMEA friend gave me a Kite-A-Maran, whichis well described in the First Quarter 1982Kite Lines-except for one thing.After a look at the instructions andbefore the issue arrived, I decided toassemble the kite in the living room ofour apartment before taking off for aweekend on the beach . About 45 minuteslater, the kite was quite beautiful and Iwas concerned only about the weight ofthe two hulls and the skill level andwind required for it to fly . But I hadnot reckoned on my inability to get itthrough our front door! (We also triedour porch door.)The front door is a standard door,almost two inches thick and the openingis exactly 36 inches . But when the dooris open to its maximum, what with thehardware, etc ., the width through whichthe kite had to pass was not quite 3 3'hinches . It did not matter how we angledit, we could not get the kite through,presumably because of the height ofthe mast .I suppose we could have derigged themast, but as your review pointed out, itwould still not be easily transported .Well, I disassembled it after a number offriends admired it as an objet d'art inour living room and have neither flownit nor sailed it .I hope you are right in your predictionthat it might become a collectible .Eugene L . Lozner, M .D .Tampa, FL

What's New :Kites, Books, SundriesA New Roundup of Kite ReelsBy Mel and Valerie Govigand A . Pete lanuzziChoosing a reel is complicated and personal.It's complicated in part becausethere are so many models available to adiligent searcher . (This seems odd whenyou consider the limited market for reels,which is a submarket within the alreadylimited group of buyers of fine kites .Yet new reels keep coming out all thetime .) And it's personal because no twopeople ever seem to agree on exactlywhat is an ideal reel .For example, if you've ever stumbledaround Mel Govig's paraphernalia on thefield, you'll know he regards reels as merestorage devices for line between flights .But he respects (and is slightly intimidatedby) such artists of the Reel Thing asTakeshi Nishibayashi and Robert S . Price,From top left : first row, The Kite Commander, the Reel-Quick and the Kiteway Reel ; second row,the Solent and Shooters Reels, Roger's Reel and the Will-E-Winder; bottom, the Hi-Flier Kyt Reel .who seem to disdain the crudities ofhand-over-hand hauling .GENERAL COMMENTSWe first discussed kite reels in the Fall1977 Kite Lines, where we defined fourbasic types : the bobbin, the hoop, thespool and the true reel (on an axle, distinctfrom the general term "reel" as looselyused for all line winders) . Those groupingsstill apply, though the examples nowavailable are new . However, some trendscan be observed regarding all of them .• First Trend, Aesthetics : We note withpleasure that most of today's reels arecrafted as objects of beauty . They areoften of wood, a material that invites thehand (not to mention the eye ; we haveheard that people sometimes buy kite reelspurely as objects to possess or display) .• Second Trend, Hazards : These beautifulreels are not always safe-especially, ofcourse, when the flier is handling hardpullingkites . The worst reel hazard isrunaway feed-out combined with flyinghandles and other protrusions . This is acontinuing trend and reels like this arestill being sold . May the buyer (and/oruser) beware . We repeat a dictum of Petelanuzzi : No reel should be used to haulin heavy-pulling kites under pressuredirectly onto the reel .• Third Trend, Bobbins : We are seeing averitable explosion of bobbins, as if they

Top, Halo hoop reels are similar to yo-yos .Bottom, Spectra Star does a classic in plastic .had just been discovered . Despite theirsimilarities, the bobbins are made withenough individuality to merit a separatedata chart comparing them . However, practicallyspeaking, a kiter probably wouldbuy a particular bobbin not on the basisof personal preference for one over anotherbut of availability in the local kiteshop . If so, the real competition may turnout to be between the manufacturers' salesabilities . Who would guess as to whichreels will win out? Might as well placeyour bet on your favorite-whether for itsshape, its name, its handling, its pedigree .It will be an interesting horse race .SPECIFIC COMMENTSIn price order within type groups :True Reels• The Hi-Flier Kyt Reel is a small polypropylenedesign with the look of a toy,in keeping with inexpensive kites soldmostly to children . The "suggested retail"of $4.99, although it includes 300 feet ofline, seems a little high for a toy . The"Snap-Loc" assembly requires-but survives-apowerful jam . To be fair, thisseemingly flimsy reel did a decent jobwinding the light line supplied with it .One might compare the Hi-Flier Kyt Reelto the Gayla Kite Reel, a handy and moresolidly built device, which comes with 400feet of line and a $7 .95 price tag .Many choices in bobbins : top left, Charlie Miller's solid and frame bobbins ; top right, the SkyfieldTwin-Arm Reel ; center, Leading Line Kitewinders (Models 5, 10, 20 and 15) ; bottom, The Handle .• The Will-E-Winder is a stronger versionof the pie-tin reel idea, nice for small kites .Wilmer Heckler makes it out of paintedparticle board and wood knobs . We debatedabout classifying this winder as atrue reel, which it appears to be, when infact it's a circular bobbin and has bobbinbehavior . It's about $8, available at KlassyKites, King of Prussia, PA and other shops .• The Reel-Quick is made of very strong,high-pressure "Duolite" type Masonite . Ithas a large diameter with good windingleverage and an unusual brake disk on theinside of the reel . The holding point isnear the center of pull because of therecessed handle . We thought this reel wasquite a good buy at $19 .95 .• Roger's Reel is a beautiful piece ofwood work . We fell in love with its handcraftedlook and feel . It's a sturdy jobwith no unfriendly surfaces and has unusualfelt bearing surfaces and leatherfinishing parts . Last we heard, youngRoger Hollings was selling these for only$21 .95 at beach festivals and kite shopsin Oregon, such as Eugene's Kites andOther Delights . "Way underpriced," saidour smitten reviewers .• The Kite Commander is a beautifulKorean reel with excellent workmanship .It combines hardwood spokes and aluminum+plastichub very attractively at areasonable $30 .80, including shipping . Theaction is good and adequate to fly fighterkites (not just Korean ones) in theirnormal sizes for those willing to practicethe skills required . Those skills, we mightadd, are well worth the time investment .• The Kiteway Reel (by "Wild Bill"Isenhart) is a well-finished wooden reel,somewhat larger than most reels on themarket. The size is an advantage for reelingin, but a disadvantage in storing andtransport . There are some good featureson this reel : the belly brace, the largecapacity and the manual tension peg andline guide, which can be used as a brakefor slowing or stopping line . We thoughtthat for all this the $35, $40 and $45prices (for different sizes) were not bad .• Solent and Shooters Deep Sky Reels byPatrick O'Driscoll, England, are very wellmade, the Solent in heavy-gauge aluminumand the Shooters in marine plywood . Featuresinclude ball-bearing axles, a uniquehandle and arm brace with strap, a fingertipbrake and separate line stop . Severalsizes are sold in prices from $56 to $91including air mail . Given the quality of thereels, the prices are very reasonable . Thesesturdy, large capacity reels do have weight,which can be a disadvantage but also contributesto their special ability to haulhard-pulling kites . The "Deep Sky" reel isa type produced by several British firmsand also by a maker in Colorado (supplierto Hi Fli Kites in Aurora) . But we don't seehow any Deep Sky could surpass Patrick's

Note the new measurement on our Data Chart for kite reels, above . We are giving pounds of nylon line to help you gauge how much a given reel willhold . Because the diameter of line varies, it is difficult to apply manufacturers' claims of line capacity to a reel . Pounds of nylon line on the chart willgive you variable footage according to the size of the line . Line manufacturers have charts to convert line from weight to feet . Thus, if you know theweight capacity of a reel, you can find the length of line it will hold for the various sizes available . We have made calculations for nylon line only(twisted or braided, not monofilament) and not for cotton or polyester line . However, if you know the weight per cubic inch of a kind of line, youcan calculate what a given reel will hold from the volume per cubic inch reading on the chart .What's New. . .Continuedfor care expended in craftsmanship .Other true reels that have survived themarket a few years and deserve a look are :the Pole Reel by the New England KitecraftingCo ., available in some shops atperhaps $20 ; Bob Ingraham's fine RaycoReel-E-Z at about $25 ; and the elegantHauler by the Cloud Connection at $39 .95the last time we checked . All of these goodreels make it tough picking for us kiters .Hoops• The Halo is similar to the popularCuban Yo-Yo and Peter Lynn hoops . Ithas a deeper line trough, and both sidesare the same shape (that is, there is nospill-off side) . It is made of fiberglassreinforcedplastic and is very strong . It isused in the Orient for fishing but importedto the U.S . by Great Winds of Seattle, WAfor kitefliers . The value is good at about$3 and $4 for the 6- and 7-inch diameters .Other hoops which have many advocatesare the Flightube from The KiteFactory at $4 and the Spool Proof fromSpectra Star Kites for about $4 .80 .Spools• The Spectra Star Kite Spool is nowout in plastic of several bright colors, costing$3 to $7 or so, with line . The longestablishedwooden Shanti spools in manysizes and with various strengths of line arestill the standard and run from $4 to $8 .Also still popular, despite their crushablebamboo cores, are spools imported fromIndia at about $2 and up . Finally, stillspinning is the nice wooden Tiger spool atabout $5, sold in California kite shops .BobbinsSuddenly there are bobbin line winderseverywhere, the old favorite flatties in apassel of variations : with handles, withhole grips, as frames, as solids, spillingline, grabbing it, softwood, hardwoodit is definitely multiple choice . There areat least 10 bobbins now on the market .About a year ago there was only Carey'sKite Winder, a rugged molded plasticversion . Now Carey's is available in twostrengths, at $8 .98 and $10.98 respectively.But besides Carey's we can considerthe following (in price order) :• Charlie Miller's bobbins, at about $3for the frame style and $7 .50 for thesolid one, are both in soft wood, wellsanded . The slight frame has fixed handleswhile the solid bobbin has turning handlesand shaped pagoda-like horns that helpguide the line on and off the reel . Miller'sreels are distributed widely by What's Up .• The Leading Line Kitewinders are agroup of nicely finished solid bobbinsmade in North Carolina and distributedby The Kite Site in DC . All have line tieoffholes, a helpful touch . The simplestone is the Model 5, a small bobbin withrigid handles, priced at about $5 .95 . TheModel 10 at the same price is a large bobbinwithout handles but with a cut-outhand grip. This became a favorite of ours-compact, easy to store and use . You canstop the line by throwing a loop throughthe hand grip and around one end . A littlefancier is the Model 15, which gives you achoice of turning handles or cut-out holegrip and is around $8 .95 . Most "engi-

What's Newneered" of the lot is the Model 20, atabout $13 .50, which has no cutout gripbut has a removable handle which can beplaced at the center for fast launch layout .You have to be careful not to lose thelittle attaching parts on the field in exchangefor this advantage .• The Handle is the creation of a kiterwho renovates MG cars and has a tastefor solid oak . The attractive contours ofthis large, comfortable grip hole bobbinprovide a natural feel and simple handlingfor mid-size kites. The craftsmanship isoutstanding for the $12 or so tab . Distributedby What's Up, it's in many shops .• The Skyfield Twin-Arm Kite Reel is aframe bobbin which, like the LeadingLine Model 20, has a two-gear advantageby a removable handle, held with a cotterpin . Fine crafting shows in the finishedwood (our sample was solid oak), extrafeed-out handle, steel cross bars and boltsand 5-year guarantee . The Skyfield Reelseems fairly priced at $16 postpaid, buta flat body version at $11 (not seen intime for this review, assumed also to be agood value) may compete better with theLeading Line reels . Also a strong new bobbinby Shanti which we've seen in prototypehas two handle positions . This advantageof two arms on a bobbin wasused in 1977-79 by the L-I VariableSpeed reel, if not by others before it, sothe idea is not new . Apparently the designBookshas been independently reinvented byseveral makers . We hope the increasinglysophisticated kite market will give all thesebobbins-and other reels-a good whirl .A HUNGARIAN PELHAMSarkanyepites [Kitemaking], by BodoczkyIstvan, illustrated by the author (Budapest :Technical Publishing Co ., 1982), 207 pages,83 Forint (in Hungary) ."It's a great book!" exclaimed myfriend Kal Illyefalvi, who is Hungarian ."That's easy for you to say," I moaned,unable to read the Hungarian text . Kalwent raving on about the book's contents :kite history and types, aerodynamics,wind, safety, launching and flying, altitudegauging, trains and manlifters, kitedueling and, finally, kitemaking, usingmaterials available in Hungary .Without reading the book, though, onecan still appreciate the delicate drawings,which are admirably correct and consistentin style . The pages of knots and reelswell exemplify the artist's deft hand . Nearlyhalf of the book is given to kite plans,which are drawn fully enough for abuilder who has absorbed the techniquesoutlined . Some of the kites are onlyvariants of "generics," but even so thenumber is extensive and includes somerather rare designs, such as the Pomorsev,a Russian box kite of 1910 . Of specialinterest are a nicely detailed Marconi jibkite, a rotor, and a delightful two-pagespread of paper kites. Several recentdesigns are included, such as the Waldofbox kite, Helen Bushell's fluted kite, theFlexifoil (called Foilflex in Hungariananddrawn complete with bridling andcontrol bar details), the Dunford FlyingMachine, the Peter Powell stunter andsome individual inventions by TakajiKuroda (convertible cubits), TsutomuHiroi (raincoat kite) and Oscar Bailey(asymmetrical kite) . The debt to KiteLines is obvious and acknowledged .The book ends with a bibliographyand a portfolio of color photographs ofkites that apparently were all made byIstvan, using materials at hand . The cameraskills are adequate to show the kites, ifrarely imaginative . However, the book asa whole shows a great deal of care, timeand work in several disciplines : research,kitemaking, writing, drawing .As Kal said, it's a great book if youread Hungarian, and we hope it will flysome kite ideas behind the iron curtain .But would a non-Hungarian want acopy of Sarkknyepites? Maybe yes : for analternative source of many competentkite drawings ; for the plans not availablein other books, such as the Pomorsev, theWaldof box and the Flexifoil ; for the colorpictures as inspiration ; or just to completea library . Not least of value, if this bookreaches a wide audience, is the seed offriendship it could plant among peoples .

.75-ozTHEHARPERS FERRYONE-PIECEDELTABy Margaret GregerHere I am at the Maryland Kite Society'sKite Retreat in February at Harpers Ferry,West Virginia, feeling a lot like Alice inWonderland . There are wonders to beseen here . There's Len Conover with apole that expands to the length of theroom, and he's floating his kites from thetip of it . Bill Bigge is over here, and youcan barely see what he's doing-everythinghe touches shrinks out of sight . BillTyrrell, the legendary Fabric Lady (a WhiteRabbit if I ever saw one) is making plansto wrap the whole sky in the biggest Americanflag ever, so that the next eclipse willcome to us courtesy of the Fabric Lady .If there is a Mad Hatter's hat in allthis, then it must be where the HarpersFerry One-Piece Delta was pulled from .At least I think that's where Mel Govigfound this sweet little fabric kite . Start tofinish, you can make it in 30 minutes,and it will smile in the sky like theCheshire Cat's grin .Delta ancestry may go back to thepterodactyls, but the immediate forebearsof the Harpers Ferry Delta areBurton and Rita Marks, Margaret Greger,Mel Govig and Alice Mackey . The gussetkeeledpaper bag delta from Kites forKids, by Burton and Rita Marks, was firsttranslated to high-density polyethylene(bag) by me for a simple classroom kite .Then Mel Govig saw the completed kite,with the keel folded forward out of thesail material, as a pattern for a delta in fabric.It would allow the fringe to be cut offgrainalong with the kite, to flare away ina lovely partial bias. Alice Mackey sewedthe first sample, gathering from the groupsuch tips as Angela Dittmar's for the nobreak-in-the-stitchingsequence for thekeel . The kite flew so well, especially fora small delta, that we were all astounded .Like the Harpers Ferry experience, thislittle kite shows there's no Wonderlandlike the colleagueship of kiting minds .MATERIALS• 1 1/2 yards of .5- rip-stop or nylonfabric (spinnaker cloth, coated) . Yardage36 1 ! wide or wider will make three kites .• Dowels, "8 " dia . : two 1411 and two 17 11• Dowel, 1/16" dia.: one 7" (I used a bambooskewer, or 1/8" dia . dowel will do)• Thread and optional grommetTOOLSHot cutter, sewing machine, yardstick orstraightedge, optional grommet setter .INSTRUCTIONS1 . Make a tagboard pattern of the kite'soutline . (This is a first-time step only andalso is optional if you want to work directlyon the fabric .)2 . Fold the fabric end to end . Place the"fold" edge of the pattern on the fold ofthe material, the long edge of the patternon the selvage .3 . Cut out the kite with a hot cutter,using a yardstick for straight cutting.Using a pencil on the fabric, mark thecenter spine line (base of the keel), thebase line (or trailing edge) of the kite andthe spreader spar pocket position lines(Dia. 1) . With hot cutter, cut fringe . (Yardstickmay be used as a fringe width guide .)4 . Without opening the kite, stitch asshown (Dia . 2), beginning 1/411 from thetop, going around the entire keel, andbackstitching at beginning and end forsecurity . Specifically, the stitching goeslike this : (1) exactly on the spine linewhich separates the keel from the bodyof the kite, (2) as close as possible to thefree edge of the sleeve (edgestitching) forsnug casings, (3) % 11 from the fold alongthe top of the keel, (4) back down thebase of the keel again, this time %11, withinthe keel, from the previous stitching .There should be room at the kite's nosefor inserting the center spine and the keelreinforcement spar .5 . Open the kite, carefully separating thesealed edges (using a thin blade) .6 . Using scrap material or 1 1h""-wide ribbon(preferably heavier than the kite fabric),form two pockets to be attached tothe kite and to hold the spreader spar asillustrated (Dia . 3), stitching as shown .7 . Turn 1/411 hems on the side (wing) edges,clipping 1/411 of fabric at the kite's nose(about 1/4 11 down from the tip) and stitchingto form wing spar sleeves, aligning thetwo stitched pockets on the marked positionlines (11 11 from each end of the wing)and catching each pocket on its longfolded edge in the seam on each wing .Stitch a second time (edgestitching) forsnug sleeves (Dia . 4), closing the trailingtips of the wings across the base line .8. About 1/211 from the keel tip, insert agrommet for towing. (A loop of cord putin with a large needle will also work .)9. Insert dowels as follows : the 711 spar inthe keel sleeve ; the 1411 spar in the centerspine sleeve ; the 171 1 spars in the side(wing) sleeves . The remaining 1411 dowelis the spreader and goes into the spreaderspar pockets . If the spreader seems tooloose, use a longer spar (14 1/2-15 11 ) .NOTESUsing 1 1/2 yards of fabric gives you a kiteor kites with 611 of fringe, but with moreyardage you can make the fringe longer ifdesired . I have scaled this kite up 1 1/2times for another good little flier, framedwith 3/,6 11 -dia . dowels . Other sizes are remainingto be explored . V

The Rokkaku Kite TeamEmulating the Japanese is not easy . Bothin spirit and in form, Japan's kite customsalmost require that the participant beborn in the culture . Yet with audacityand thoroughness, Bevan Brown has repackagedsome of the ideas from Japanesetraditions and presented them in the formof a challenge adapted to American andwestern cultures .He is not the first to do so . LarryAmbrose of Denver, CO, mounted a majorbattle of Edo-style kites a few years back .The Maryland Kite Society prepared ashow of "bedsheet o'dakos" made byseveral members following plans by Petelanuzzi . Rick Kinnaird and his Cody KiteCrew, though they used a western kite,attained the mass frenzy that Japanknows and Bevan admires . It was seeingthe Hamamatsu kite festival on video at abrunch during the 1982 AKA conventionthat sparked Bevan and others to developtheir ideas .The Rokkaku Team Challenge packageincludes :Physical Elements1 . A large kite of 40 to 50 s q .ft . i narea . This size was selected as the bestbalance between drama and manageabilityfor two people . The Rokkaku is the suggestedfirst design "because it is easy tomake, flies well and is a good surface fordecoration ."2 . A crew of two or more people,coordinated in making and flying the kite,uniformed; choreographed, etc .3 . Optionally (as possible within establishedcontests), awards may be given to"outstanding kites, team uniforms andaccessories, team spirit, or other categoriesyet to be developed."Spiritual Elements1 . Systematic competition is banned,in the true Japanese spirit .2 . Befogged and sublimated competitionis encouraged . Alternative triggers toexcitement are sought-or, as Bevan says,"appropriate enthusiastic noises and runningback and forth ."The results of the teams' efforts willsurely produce spectacular kites and a lotof fun . But the best part of the "plan" isthe way it allows for uncertainty, surprise,even shock . It is a good way of thinkingabout kites, and at least two big Rokkakusare to come out of wraps during thespring of 1983 . V .G .A handsome rokkaku kite by Leland Toy, editorof KITE FLYER, the San Francisco Bay areanewsletter. Lee has been on a motorcycle tour ofkite friends around the U .S . In Pennsylvania hestayed at The Fabric Lady Co. long enough tomake a rokkaku, inspired by the "challenge ."a few thingsto know aboutthe SanjoRokkakuBy Valerie GovigMost of what America knows of this greatclassic kite of Japan has probably beenimparted to us by Tal Streeter . In hisbook,* his workshops and in person, Taloften talks of the rokkaku. The design isjust over 100 years old, he says-whichseems strange at first because we knowthe hexagon is an old kite, a favorite ofGreece and Latin America. The rokkaku(pronounced with the accent on the lastsyllable) was originally made with twodiagonal cross members, but was changedfor "fighting." The two horizontal crosssticks and single spine now make therokkaku livelier and more maneuverable .Is the kite exclusively Japan's? True,it is an elongated hexagon, as Baden-Powell's Levitor was, but the Levitor'sproportions are different, and it appearsthe rokkaku and Levitor were independentdevelopments . Too, as Streeter and othershave noticed, the rokkaku could havebeen made by Eddy if he had thought tooverlay one of his kites upside down onanother to form one kite .The name of the kite, Sanjo rokkaku,is taken from a town, Sanjo, near Shirone,in the Niigata prefecture . For the famousShirone village battle, local kitemakersproduce big, utilitarian rokkakus . Small(two- to three-foot) rokkakus, more elegantlycrafted and with traditional paintingson them, are made by masters suchas Toranosuke Watanabe . Raised in theapprentice system that maintains thecontinuity of traditional Japanese arts,Watanabe makes about 5000 kites a year .tTal's workshops (sometimes also ledby his wife, Dorothy Ann, or his studentAtsushi Moriyasu) are full of the lore ofthe rokkaku as well as practical tips forbuilding an "American" version using an18 x 21-inch sheet of washi (Japanesehandmade paper) and dowel (in place ofbamboo) . Degree of bowing varies andtails are permitted-though they are notmuch seen in Japan . A typically organicJapanese touch is the incomplete cuttingaway of the corners of the paper to fitthe frame, leaving little tabs to hang looselike a lock of hair astray over an earlobe .In many respects the kite is traditionalrokkaku : the upright fits behind the twocross sticks ; the four-point bridle is madeof two exact-length strings marked withpen and brought together and tied aninch or two aft of the top center crosspoint . Bridling of the Shirone fighterrokkaku diverges from this ; a strongcenter line is flanked by two weak sidelegs through which opponent kites cansaw to unbalance and topple the kite .In any challenge such as this, wherethere is no decisive elimination of onekite by another, the determination of a"winning" kite is not always obvious .A downed kite may drag its victor intothe village canal with it . The crowd'sresponses affect the perceptions of whatmay or may not be a "victory ." Newkites rise as soon as others are fallen andno one seems to count them or "referee"the action . American emulation doubtless

Challenge . . posed by Bevan Brownwill not employ quantities of kites but asingle durable team rokkaku reinforcedonly by plenty of preparation for fieldrepairs, recoveries, adjustments and psychologicalwarfare .Rokkakus fly at a high angle and witha pleasing stability in steady winds . Theyare, however, easily jarred off course inchanging breezes or when struck by anopponent kite . No amount of skill orexperience can prevent this, an inherentcharacteristic of the kite . Fliers need tobe prepared mentally for a high-risk kiteexperience .Tautness and slack in the right placesare important for the rokkaku . The leadingedge needs tautness, and fabric modelsshould be made with straight grain there,not bias, which places stretch and distortionin the sail . However, beware of theextreme of tautness that results frommaking the kite to fit a bowed frame .Pete Ianuzzi's second rokkaku, made witha smooth skin, fell like a rock from thesky . His first, "sloppily made" rokkakuhad flown like a bird . He learned that theA classic rokkaku works out to about five unitswide by six units tall . The cross spars are locatedat points about 1 .25 units of the spine's lengthwithin each end of the spine. Proportions ordimensions, though, are not fixed or absolute .Bridle points are indicated by Xs for smallerrokkakus, by circles for "fighting" rokkakus .kite should be built as a flat kite, so thatthe bowing later applied creates pocketingand dihedral through the kite's midsection .Rokkaku kites may utilize any ofseveral covering materials, spars and constructionmethods . Those of you whohave been trying to grow bamboo willhave an opportunity to use it here . No"modern" synthetic spars are better thanbamboo for the rokkaku, but availabilityis not what it is in Japan .** The importantfeature for any large rokkaku istension adjustability at the corners, toallow for variation in humidity, wind andfabric fatigue . Tension can be controlledin various ways .The rokkaku may be as decorated asyou wish, like those in Japan with theirbold and colorful samurai . But perhapsthe most beautiful rokkaku I have everseen was one Tal Streeter made . All rednylon, with beautifully crafted bamboospars, it was large and stirring in its easypower as it rose, a pure shape, to meetthe sun . The rokkaku IS a challenge .

The PETER LYNN BOXAs interpreted by Mel GovigAbout two years ago I was looking (as Iusually am) for an unusual kite to build .Glancing back through old issues of KiteLines, I chanced upon the huge box kitemade and flown by Peter Lynn of NewZealand at the first American KitefliersAssociation meeting in 1978 .For the first time I was struck by thesimplicity of the design, and I decided tosee if I could scale it down .I based my model on 12-inch squaresof fabric with/, . -inch dia . dowel rods forspars . I cut the sails from scrap blue ripstopnylon with unsuccessful silk screenprinting on it. (After all, this was onlygoing to be a prototype ; I could makeanother kite later from good material .)Well, it worked beautifully and Ifound myself flying it all the time . Thatfirst "prototype" has flown more thanany other kite I ever built and, happily,has spawned many copies, from makersincluding Pete lanuzzi, Bill Rutiser, MartyLowell, Bill Kocher, Jon Burkhardt and,of course, Bill Tyrrell, recent builder ofthe 40-foot monster that ate Ocean Cityand west Detroit .Inspired by the see-it-do-it copiers, Ifelt an urge to share what Pete lanuzzi calls"the best box design I have ever seen ."It has been suggested that a 60-degreetriangle wing would be better-that awider front wing but 45-to-90-degree rearwing would improve it-that guy lineshere or there are needed-that a slight upwardtilt of the rear cell would help-andso on and so on . I don't know for surethat my version of the design is either the"best" or an accurate rendition of PeterLynn's . I do know that it works .A 34-to-36-inch version in .75-oz . ripstopnylon and '/, 6 -inch dia. dowels willfly in winds as low as 4 m .p .h . and up to18 m .p .h . The kite flies consistently atangles of greater than 60 degrees and upto 75 degrees .But the real fascination I have with thisdesign comes from its pure economy andmathematical simplicity . Given a square ofdimensions from 8 1/2 inches to 30 inches,all of the dimensions of the kite are functionsof the natural angles subtended bythe basic square . The one imperative is tochoose sticks for the structure that willmaintain the necessary rigidity .MATERIALS• Six squares of nylonor Tyvek in thedimensions of yourchoice . Here I am using12 3/4-inch squaresonly as an example .• A 2x12-inch piece of adhesive-backnylon ("crack-and-peel")• 2 yards of grosgrain ribbon (or similar)There are only six sticks in this kite :• Two longerons twice the length of A(see drawing), or 36 inches in this example .• Two wing spars the length of A+B, or30 3/a inches in this example .• Two vertical spreaders the length of B,or 12 3/a inches in this example .Suggested spar materials, based on thelength of member B :8 1/2-10 inches " -inch dia . dowel10-13 inches 3',6-inch dia. dowel13-17 inches '/a-inch dia . dowel17-22 inches " -inch dia . Graphlexor fiberglass tube22-25 inches '/,6-inch dia . dowelINSTRUCTIONS1 . Measure and cut (preferably with a hotcutter or pencil soldering iron for frayproofing)your six squares of nylon orTyvek (12 1/4x12 1/4 inches in this example) .2 . Stack three squares together and hotcut diagonally through all three . Repeatwith the other three squares. This willgive you four sets of three triangles,welded together at the long edges .3 . Stack the triangle sandwiches two bytwo and cut about a half-inch off one endof each stack of two . At this point youshould have two sets of six sails, eachconsisting of one set of three sails weldedtogether and then welded again a halfinchfrom the end of another welded setof three sails .4 . Cut two 37-inch pieces of inch-widegrosgrain ribbon (or similar material), or along strip of rip-stop can be used) . Sewthe grosgrain ribbon, folded lengthwise,around the welded edge of the two sets ofsails . This makes tubular housing for yourlongerons . Use a straight stitch, six toeight stitches to the inch, placed '/a-inchfrom the open edge of the folded ribbon .5 . For corner attachment points in thisexample, cut 12 pieces of adhesivebacked ("crack-and-peel") rip-stop inone-by-two-inch patches . Place one pieceon the corner of each sail, folded so oneinch is on one side and one inch is on theother side . Iron these adhesive patches oneach of the sail corners with a dry iron onits lowest setting .6. Now with your hot cutter, burn a 33,6 -inch hole in each adhesive patch about'/a-inch from each edge .7 . Insert your longerons into the sleevesyou formed with grosgrain ribbon . Cut offexcess longerons and stitch the ends of thepockets closed with a needle and thread .8 . With a hacksaw blade, notch the endsof the vertical spreaders and wing spars3',6-inch deep . (It is a bit tricky to notch

A 36-inch-long Peter Lynn Box in flight : topphotograph views it from directly underneath ;bottom photo views it from the side rear .Not as taut as the smaller ones is this 40-foot version by Bill Tyrrell and Bob Sessions . It flewwell in windy Ocean City, MD, in September . Here in Detroit it flies briefly . These photographsplus the drawings of the Peter Lynn Box still leave some of this kite unrevealed .small dowels, but I do it a lot and havea filed-down hacksaw blade I use for smalldowels and a pair of blades I bolted togetherfor wider notches/dowels .) Be carefulto keep the notches at each end of thestick parallel to prevent twisting your sails .9 . Now you're going to make pass-throughholes for the wing spars . Locate and markthe center of each upper cell at the edgeof the ribbon sleeve . ("Upper" in thiscase is arbitrary because this kite doesn'tknow up from down or right from left . Ilike the wing stick to be at the back foraesthetics, so once it's in place the back/face relationship is established .)10. Using your hot cutter, melt a 1/4-inchhole through the sail at your mark (notthrough the ribbon or through the wingor lower box sail) . You are now ready toassemble your kite!11 . On a table or floor, lay the sails withthe top sails up (the ones with the holes) .Slide your wing spreader sticks throughthe holes side to side and insert thenotched ends of the sticks into the holesat the wing tips .12 . Insert one vertical spreader in oneend of the kite, hitching it to three sailsand stretching the fourth sail onto thespreader last . Repeat with the secondvertical spreader .BRIDLING AND FLYINGTie your flying line directly to the kitearound the tip of one of the verticalspreaders . (This is what we call a "oneleg"bridle, but it's really "no-bridle" andembarrassingly simple .) Again, the kitedoesn't know the difference, but I flyfrom the sail side, wing spars to the back.Go to the field and if there is any windat all your Peter Lynn Box will rise rightout of your hand . It will move aroundgently and pull lightly in the wind, butwill react to gusts with healthy tugs .TIPS AND VARIATIONSIf you do not wish to use the adhesivepatch-and-melted-holemethod for yourwing spreader installations, try wingpockets or tape loops :• For a sturdier kite (one that will flymore than the 100 hours my "prototype"has flown?), hem the edges 1/4-inch allaround before cutting the sails, whilethey are still squares . Allow an extra1/2-inch to make '/-inch hems (that is,start with 13'/-inch squares) .• You can use any of a variety of enclosingties or fixtures for the longerons inthe sleeves, but in any case I recommendthat you use a tubular sleeve to keep thetension even over the length of the sails .• For large versions of the Peter Lynn,use reinforcements at the sail tips andsail edges to accommodate the tensioningnecessary in final assembly . Also in largermodels, allow for adjustment to humidityvariations by making the vertical spreaderslonger and lashing the bottom end tothe bottom sails with strong cord .• A color note : before you do step 2,carefully consider your final assembly .With only two colors of covering material,you have 64 possible symmetrical variations,from all-one-color to all-the-othercolorand 62 variations in between . If youadd a third color, the combinations go toover 144 . That's before you add anystripes or fancy touches-which, frankly, Ithink do little to improve the appearanceof this kite . Even though Peter Lynn putsome French-curve prints on his original,I like the kite to show itself as a purestructure-best seen in a solid color . Suchas plain blue (but not printed scraps!) 0

Story and Photographs by Jon Burkhardt. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .It was billed as the European Kite Extravaganza(second edition), and the festivalat Blackheath in London on April 11 and12, 1982, more than lived up to itsbilling. Two glorious days of kiteflyingand meeting marvelous people left meand my wife Gloria with a great sense ofan adventure fulfilled .Our hosts were amazed that anyonewould "cross the big pond" just to attendtheir kite festival . Being a bit amazed ourselvesat our good fortune to be able todo it and the craziness to try, we werestill more surprised by the warmth of ourreception and by h 'such a short time .The Ingredients of SuccessBlackheath must be considered a nearlyideal flying spot, for many reasons . In fact,it is so good that many of its features areworth copying, if possible . It is a lovelylarge treeless site, nearly a mile on eachside . There are several roads through thearea, offering excellent access and parkingright next to the flying field . The roadsalso provide a natural division of the flyingfields, helping (to some extent) tokeep the stunters to one side while therest of us tangled lines more sedately .The field is distinctly urban, which hasmany advantages . The first is the ease ofaccess from all points of London . In fact,John White arrived (as usual) by subwaywith his 10-foot-long packages of kitesand his trusty flying crew of four children .The site is also adjacent to a number ofother attractions, in particular the Greenwichpark and observatory plus an amusementpark . This location provides a verylarge source of spectators, which addedgreatly to the festival's success . It alsoprovided welcome diversion for familymembers not yet willing to eat, sleep anddrink kites for several days in a row .The organizers of this festival addedseveral touches that could benefit manyfestivals . First was the availability ofshelter-fully enclosed tents to shield andwarm you when the elements were toomuch for even the stout-hearted . Secondwas the display area, a small roped-offsection on the grass where kites could beplaced so that one could get a veryclose look at some fascinating designs .Third, stores and individuals were prominentlybut tastefully selling kites, books,line, reels and other hardware-plusfood and drink-throughout the festival .The result : everybody benefited-kitefliers,merchants and the kite club .The festival itself was a delight . Twofull days in a row of kiteflying provided asense of immersion, an indulgence thatwarmed the soul-which was useful, sinceit was cold! despite the warm weather theweek before . But the winds were alwaysgood, if not quite enough for long trainsof stunters . Our kites flew for more thansix hours each day .New Friends_The two full days of kiteflying afforded agrand opportunity to meet people . Manufacturers-andthere seemed to be manybrand new ones-were there showing offtheir new beauties, which ought to bemade available in the U .S . The booths setup by the local kite stores provided manytemptations as well as focal points forserious discussions .But the combined excitement of newfaces and new kites was such a sensoryoverload that some parts of the puzzlegot lost . I can't believe that I came backwithout pictures of a lovely triple Conyne,or what my notes say was a "delta box onedge" (I don't even remember what thatlooked like), or the frisky kiskedees thatinadvertently but often cut larger kitesTop left, a complex geometric kite represents a European trend . Top center, a colorful Cody War Kite by Jack Spiers is a handful for its maker/flier .Below, festival tents provide shelter . Top and bottom right, Tony and Barbara Cartwright's Japanese Windmill kite is a kaleidoscope of surface interplay .

BlackheathBlackheath Kite Associationout of the skies . Similarly, while greatlyvaluing our new friends, we lost the namesof many . We enjoyed meeting everyone,particularly :• Our gracious hosts, Tony and BarbaraCartwright, who went far beyond the callof duty to improve Anglo-American relations. Their hospitality and friendshipwere really heartwarming . And, althoughno awards were given at Blackheath,Tony would have won the inspirationalcreativity award for his wonderful Japanesewindmill ;• Jon and Gill Bloom, producers of the"Kitefliers Occasional Newsletter," withtheir beautiful kites of many kinds ;• Ron Moulton, welcoming old and newfriends, practically shaking hands andautographing books at the same time ;• John Clarke, with a great variety ofboth reels and kites, from Welsh dragonsto the Queen of Hearts to seagulls to aningenious tiny kite made from three littlehonesty plant leaves ;• Keith Stewart, with his team from theAir Training Corps helping him use whatlooked like an inflatable Flexifoil to racehis Amp hi-Cat buggy around the fields ;• Jack Spiers, with his colorful "bustedbrollies" kites-including a Cody war. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .kite, a Conyne, a delta and more ;• Terry Shea, not flying kites but takingcare of all the grubby details so thateveryone else could have fun ;• Alan and Carol Peacock, with theirgeometric wonders ;• The French group, whose smiles andlovely kites (especially the big tetra withthe tricolor in the corner) more thatmade up for our language barriers ;• And everyone else, including those whohad never flown before but were capturedby the spectacle and joined in .Similarities and Differences_Finding that the intense enjoyment ofkites spans the Atlantic was a treat . Thesense of camaraderie at Blackheath was asalive and vibrant as in the U .S ., if notmore so . That these interests cross nationaland cultural boundaries, as well aslarge distances, is a hopeful sign in lightof the many issues that divide nations .But probably the greatest excitement incross-cultural interchange is the realizationthat people who share your interestsmay have a slightly different approach toyour common joys . While more experiencedkitefliers than we may have alreadyseen what appeared to us as distinctionsor innovations, we noted the following :• More experimentation with complexgeometric shapes in England (or perhapsthroughout Europe) than in the U .S .,among manufacturers as well as individualdesigners ;• The display, use and sale of more highlycrafted "deep sky" winders than weare used to seeing here ;• A refreshing openness about allowingand even encouraging the sale of kitesand related paraphernalia on the flyingfield at the festival ;• And an interest (more fully realized inprevious years) in spending relativelylarge amounts of money to sponsorspecial groups or events, such as a kiteteam from Japan, the manlifting kitesteam or a record attempt for the world'slargest kite .The Real Extravaganza_We were greeted everywhere with theutmost openness and friendship . I like tothink that this represents a bond amongthose who reach for the sky with theirhearts on the end of a string, as many ofus there were doing . Blackheath was atrue extravaganza of fine kites andwarm hearts .Below, John Clarke holds up his colorful Welsh dragon kite inthe display area . Top center, a box kite by Alan and CarolPeacock shows off its many wings, layers and colors . Bottomcenter, ready for launch is one of many spectacular flat kites byJon and Gill Bloom . Far right, John White's Flying Trapezium,an extra-wide delta, reaches for the spires of All Saints Church .

A Beauty ofAll the elements came together in Detroit,MI, October 6 to 10, 1982, at the start ofthe fifth year of life for the AmericanKitefliers Association . The annual meetingand festival drew 190 registrants (plus afew additional kiteflying kibitzers) fromCanada and Japan as well as all regions ofthe United States, to talk, eat and sleepkites-and certainly to fly them .The trade members arriving early onWednesday were given the news that tradeactivities were incompatible with the nonprofiteducational purposes of AKA, sothe business group met outside the scheduleto start a separate trade association,led by AKA's management company . Thegroup voted, however, to continue supportof AKA . The dense display of kites bythe trade in the Holiday Inn of Southfield,MI, was an affirmative festival in itself .Members who arrived on Thursdaywere in time for the talks by Jack VanGilder, Bill Tyrrell, Garry Woodcock, andthe 3M Company, but most of the ideasbubbled informally everywhere in thekiter-to-kiter frenzy . That evening theassembly was treated to a condensed tourof the fascinating kite places of Japan andChina with Dave Checkley and his slides .The wise advance, planning of Hankand Nancy Szerlag and the 5/20 KiteGroup paid off the next day, when Friday'sschedule was exchanged with Saturday'sto take advantage of good flying weatherwhen it was available . Friday brought awarm and sunny day on Evergreen golfcourse, where we kitefliers startled everyone-thegolfers, the children in a nearbyschoolyard, passersby and ourselves-withour finest kites . Winds early in the daycarried everything up into a sky that wasdominated by trains : 100 Eddys by MauriceKartch, 100 deltas by Jack Van Gilder,200 Eddys by Mr . Kawazoe (flown byMasaaki and Sachiko Modegi of theJapan Kite Association), plus centipedesby Rod Chima, Dave Checkley and OscarBailey, a pretty row of flowers by Janand Wayne Hosking, and a magnificentprocession of flags of the Canadianprovinces strung out by Hugh Harrison .L ater in the day the wind slackened,but the kitefliers gamely lofted their kiteswith high starts and skillful handling. Theparticipants were partly inspired, perhaps,by the ABC-TV crew with Hughes Rudd,who put together a 3'h-minute segmenton kites for a colorful show on theSunday evening news two weeks later ."These people are MAD," Hughes exclaimedas Bill Tyrrell's 40-foot-long boxkite (a Peter Lynn design) was hauled upon its rope by a gloved, shouting crew .But how could video or any shortaccount of the occasion really cast a netaround everything? Well, providentially,Left, Maurice Kartch beams from the end of his trainof Eddy-type kites, comfortably held in a sling .Center, a square delta looks earthward, one of a series of face kitesmade by Judith Johnston and her two daughters .Top right, Charlie Sotich's whimsical bubble anemometer .Lower right, Miller and Betty Makey unroll a Navy Transfer Kite,a Garber design, 84" x 60" tall, linen covered, used for Arctic mail .

a ConventionSara Bailey had suggested to her husband,Oscar, the artist-photographer, just asthey were leaving home for Detroit, thathe bring his Cirkut camera . Made in 1915,this big varnished box camera is woundup with a key (like a music box) andmechanically advances the film in onedirection, the camera head in the other,to produce a panoramic picture. Oscarbuys his film spooled to fit : 8 by 60inches long . On this occasion, Verichromewas used to capture the color of over 100enthusiasts holding their kites . It hadbeen announced that at a certain time thekiters would be called to assemble aroundthe line that Oscar placed on the groundin a horseshoe shape . We came at the calland positioned ourselves, rather in haste .Quite a few people missed the momentaltogether, and it happened but once .Few of us (including Oscar) believed theresults would be spectacular .Readers, judge for yourselves . Oscargenerously permitted Kite Lines to reproducehis historic picture of this unsurpassedassemblage of kitefliers .That night the festivities continuedwith the always-exciting kite auction,which raised over $6000 for AKA .The next day we gathered for morekiting at Bonnie Brook Country Club,another golf course . The stunting competitionsdelayed from Friday were brilliantlyrescued when Corey Jensen commandeereda golf buggy to whisk the fliers about andmake up for the fickle winds .That afternoon the business meetingwas held as a barely-noticed pause in thekiting . Jack Van Gilder was elected presidentof AKA for another year on thebasis of 12 total ballots cast by mail . Theofficers' reports had been printed in advanceto save time, so the meeting wasfinished in only 18 minutes, for whichmany seemed to rejoice .Evening brought another deliciousdinner, highlighted by so many awardsthat the unawarded person was unusual,but all would agree that a real standoutwas Adrian Conn . He won several awards,including the most coveted "People'sChoice," representing the recognition ofhis peers . Many kiters did not compete,though . Possibly they felt as Les Varleydid when he said, "I don't enter thesecompetitions . If I win, then someone elseloses, and I don't want him to lose . Iwant him to win . So I don't compete ."On the last day, tireless Pat Gilgallongave a brunch for the remaining visitors .There were many last-minute conversationsand reluctant farewells .Next year's convention site has beenselected for Columbus, OH, home of theCentral Ohio Kitefliers Association,chaired by Miller and Betty Makey . Theywill have a hard act to follow .By Valerie GovigLeft to right : Masaaki Modegi puts up a200-kite train with methodical efficiency .AKA President Jack Van Gilderis ever-smiling under his kite-printed hat .A daisy chain of kites in multicolorspulls tails of green leaves through the sky,as lofted by Wayne and Jan Hosking.Below, Oscar Bailey sets up his Cirkut cameraand directs the crowd before taking hispanoramic photograph of thecolorful kites and kiters (see inside) .

1 . Leonard Conover 5 . John Rausch 9. Robert Weiss 13 . Liz Hegg 17. Masaaki Modegi 21.(obscured) 23 . unidentified)2 . A . Pete lanuzzi 6 . Nancy Szerlag 10. Valentine Deale 14 . Cindy Moeller 18. Sachiko Modegi Takeshi Nishibayashi 24 . Carl Poehler3 . Judith Johnston 7 . Barbara Younger 11 . Aaron Harris 15 . Ken Bannasch 19 . Dan Gooderow 22 . (obscured) Dave 25. Milly Mullarky4 . David Wagner 8 . Bill Sontag 12 . Larry Moeller 16 . Ron Witt 20. Tara Johnston Checkley 26. Ted Manekin

27 . Carolyn Staples 31. Tom Pisa 35 . (obscured) Julia 38. Jane Ambrose 42. Claire Johnston 46 . Bevan Brown 50. Harold Rice28. Marty Lowell 32 . Bob McCort Hegg 39. Pat Gilgallon 43. Maxine Hoke 47 . Randy Tom 51 . Rick Kinnaird29 . Bill Kocher 33. Adrian Conn 36. John Hegg 40 . Mike Loftus 44 . Reza Ragheb 48 . Eileen Kinnaird 52. Brooks Leffler30. Tom Casselman 34 .Domina Jalbert 37 . (unidentified) 41 . Hank Szerlag 45 . Margo Brown 49 . Ron Hugo 53. Vic Heredia

58 6270 74 . 78 82Wayne Mel Govig GrauOscar Bailey. Oscar Bill Jonathon Roderick William Isenhart Bailey Pase Malhalab Chime6659 . Sara Bailey 63 . Alan Wheeler 67 . Doug Hagaman 71. Marjorie Harrison 75 . Hugh Harrison 79 . Leland Toy 83 . (unidentified)60. David DeBolt 64 . (unidentified) 68. Steve Edeiken 72 . Garry Woodcock 76 . William Rutiser 80. Gary Williams 84 . Scott Spencer61 . Valerie Govig 65. Fran Gramkowski 69 . Jack Lough 73 . W.D. (Red) Braswell 77 . Charles Sotich 81 . Betty Makey 85 .Anita Hoover

90 . Leroy Hoover 94. Karen Schlesinger 98 . Linda Metheny 102 . Tim Preston 106. Carla Peterson 110 . John Hegel91. Charlie Henderson 95. Don Tabor 99 . (unidentified) 103 . Dorothy Smith 107. Clyde Smith 111 . Bob Sachs92 . (unidentified) 96. Les Varley 100. Jack Van Gilder 104 . Laura Hood 108. Jon Burkhardt (Outside of camera :93 . (unidentified) 97. Helene Sachs 101 . Al Hargus 111 105 . Olan Turner 109. Tom Abrams Corey Jensen)

ProfilesThePride OfAdrianConnBy Valerie GovigQuietHe just went crazy," is the way JodyConn describes her slim, quiet husbandAdrian in his first reaction to a sky full ofkites . He saw them at the 1981 FreedomFestival in the Conns' home town ofWindsor, Ontario, Canada . Many of thekites were flown by Bob Katkowski ofthe Sky Line Kite Shop, Detroit, MI .Adrian was further inspired by seeing KenBryan's Parafoil and by visiting the UniquePlace in Royal Oak, MI . He started goingto the home of his mother-in-law everynight to sew kites on her Husqvarna .Then he borrowed the machine . Finallyshe asked him, "Why don't you just buythis?" And ever since, Adrian has been anear-permanent resident of the Conngarage-workshop .Adrian's first kite and first sewingexperience (a 50-hour job) was a ninefootFlexifoil . He bought one as a patternand became fixated on the design, figuringout the sewing sequence and makingventing refinements and larger versions .He tried five types of spars in the courseof his experiments .His next step was to explore a doublemodifiedFlowform Parafoil . "I had seenan article on it in Kite Lines and it seemedI could improve it, do it my way," Adriansays . His Flowform is five feet tall, six feetwide and vented differently from standard .Inspired by George Ham's Parafoils,Adrian then did a high-aspect-ratio versionhe called a "Paradragon," which hedesigned as a golden rectangle, in a ratioof five to three . He added a long "dragon"tail and a little drogue at the end to stopthe flapping . "I like bold stripes," he says ."And economical cuts of fabric becomepart of the color scheme." He tinkeredwith the keels and bridling to get the kiteto work as he liked .The next phase was "The Windsor Bug"(People's Choice, above), based on theHewitt Flexkite . Adrian attached a lanterntail composed of spherical segments . Toachieve the curves he wanted in thespheres, he had to cut eight pieces of clothfor each one-"six doesn't work ." To cutfrom flat patterns he had to calculate thesections of the spheres. Adrian then madean aluminum pattern to save cutting time ."I like perfection and everything has to fitexactly-it's the only way I can do it," hesays, admitting "It's slow work ." His businessis embossing and making rubber andmetal stamps, which call for related, exactingskills . Yet he describes kiting as "an outlet. I have to constantly be on the move ."Together for 16 years, the Conns haveno children and can give their quiet eveningsto avocations like kiting . Jody's firstflying project, a fish windsock, recentlybrought her more into her husband's orbit .Adrian muses, "I never know what I'llcome up with next . But all I've done isother designs with my own ideas in them ."It's a typically unassuming statement froma maker of singularly showy kites .

At Trinidad's Maracas Beach . the men of Katwaroo Trace fly the Common Kite over the palms . The kite is a descendant of the fighter kite of India .. . . exploring the Mad Bull, the Common Kite and the Chickichong as part of aculture - and discovering the Flying Chataigne Leaf . . . while studying theWest Indian people who make them . . . by anthropologist Judith JohnstonFor the past 13 years I have beendoing anthropological field workwith the East Indian population ofthe Caribbean island of Trinidad .In the fall of 1979 I was strickenwith kite fever and began to fillup my house, my station wagonand often my arms with kites .With several Trinidadian friends Iorganized a cottage production ofdeltas, Conynes, sleds and diamondsin rip-stop nylon-all newkites to the Trinidad marketplace .These helped my introduction tothe kites of Trinidad .Soon curious conversations beganto take place between Trinidadiansand me on various streetcorners ."Hey, look, a Mad Bull! Lady, isthat a Mad Bull?""No, it's called a delta .""Did you make that? Well, youshould make the Mad Bull ."What puzzled me most aboutthese conversations was that manyurban Trinidadians endorse theview that the traditional Mad Bullis all that a kite should be, butthey don't quite know what aMad Bull looks like. Nor, at thattime, did I . So I set out to learnmore about this Caribbean classicand other indigenous kites .Kitemaking is an amateur activityin Trinidad . Those men who wantto make kites have learned as boys,by watching older kitemakers . Theopposite was true for me ; likemany Kite Lines readers, ii came tokitemaking as an adult stimulatedby written material (in my case itwas the Newmans' book KiteCraft) . Once bitten by the kite bug,I read everything I could find inprint, and I continue to do so .Actually this is a curious way tolearn ; we are drawn to imagine anexperience by an abstracted descriptionof it on a printed page,Jonas Sampath, sugar cane farmer, trims bamboo for a kite . Childrenare tolerated at the work table only if they stand silent and immobile .The only words they are apt to hear are "Don't interfere with that!"which impels us to seek out actualexperiences, which then stimulatesus to vicariously add more experiencesby reading more abstracteddescriptions . In this process wemove fluently from image toimage and broaden our sense ofpossibilities very quickly .But at least two things are lostto us . First, as individuals, we don'tlearn at our own pace ; our traininghas taught us to consume everythingavailable, to stuff ourselves,to eat a whole book in one day .So we miss some of the unfoldingof our own thoughts-they arepreempted by what we read . Theother loss is one of clarity andquality ; the accumulation of ideas,creations, kites that work, kitesthat almost work, adds up to farmore than we can know well andtruly evaluate . We are not verylikely to develop a sense of theauthority inherent in good design,but rather to develop an ever-increasingappetite for more design .Trinidad's kitemakers do notuse literature about kitemakingbut they are sure they are on to agood thing when they begin aMad Bull or a little Common Kite .

The activity of making the kite,like a ritual or a game, lets the kitemakerpartake of an impressivepiece of cultural production . Aslong as the crafter stays withinthe traditional definition of thekite design, he works with a certaintymuch deeper than if herelied only on his particular personalskills . The kitemaker takespride and pleasure in his handiworkand finesse with cutlass,knife and knots-but there is nomotivation to be "original," toexplore the edges of a form'spossibilities . There is no creativity,little egotism . Indeed, a kitemakerwould refer to his skill by sayingthat he "has a little idea about it ."The men who have learned howto make kites have selected themselvesas carriers of the tradition .No one is pressured to learn thisor other crafts, such as tattingfish nets, making drums, or decorativepaper cutting . Each craft islearned directly from an olderpractitioner, by observing andassisting. As a result, the forms ofthese crafts are stable over generations. Time hones an elegantintegration of form, techniqueand available materials . Thesecrafts rarely fall into the handsof artistic explorers and agitators .Change comes slowly and mostprobably from shifts in the availabilityof particular materials . Thefour kitemakers I observed allcarried the repose of confidencein their heritage .THE MAD BULLKnown abroad as the Bermudathree-stick, this kite in Trinidadis called by the more apt title MadBull . I found four opportunitiesto see and photograph the makingof this kite . Each time the kitemakingprocess combined fidelityto a tradition with personal variationsof technique and skill .MaterialsThe work begins with the selectionof stick material, either coconutbroom fronds or bamboo . Onlyone kitemaker, ShamshadeenNizamudeen of Chase Village, prefersthe coconut broom. Theothers prefer bamboo, and offerthe following advice about how toselect and cut it :There are said to be two kindsof bamboo, "male" and "female ."You look for the lighter, morepliant female bamboo . If you mustcut it fresh from the tree, do so ona moonless night, taking care toselect a mature tree rather than ahalf-young one . Cutting at thistime will prevent the piece frombeing full of wood lice. It is preferableto use bamboo which was cutsome time earlier and is thus only"half-green" now . Since bamboo isused to create canopies for guestsat weddings, funerals and religiousLeft, Gangai Ragobar trims bamboo for his Mad Bull . His workbench isone of the cars he dismantles and rebuilds . Right, Gangai has createdthe kite's basic frame and now he examines and reties the cross bow .services, it may be possible to findsome at a neighbor's home .Kite tissue paper can be boughtat most general stores, along withcrochet or sewing thread . Flourand water will serve as paste, althoughcockroaches are "overfond"of this paste and care mustbe taken to hang the kite out oftheir reach . The only other materialneeded is tail cloth . This willcome from discarded clothing ofcotton or polyester knit . For tools,the cutlass (machete), a paringknife, a pencil, scissors and measuringtape will suffice . Young boysand girls will be dispatched in alldirections to obtain these items ;when they reassemble, the boyswill be put to the task of splittingthe bamboo and paring sticks .A typical length of bamboo inTrinidad is about 3 to 4 inches indiameter and hollow . The thicknessof the outer wall when thepiece is "half-green" is about halfan inch . The length of the bamboois marked by nodes, knobbyjoints, at intervals of 15 to 18inches . These joints are tougherand thicker than the rest of thepiece . The kitemaker takes advantageof the nodes to create adihedral angle for the kite by cuttingthe length of bamboo to includeone joint as the center of thecross spar. Thus the finished lengthof the vertical support sticks islikely to range between 26 and 30inches. To go beyond that wouldrequire the inclusion of two nodesin addition to the center one andthese would need arduous paring .The sticks themselves aretrimmed to a flat shape, a bitwider than their thickness . GangaiRagobar of McCauley Park Tracetrimmed his to 29½" x ½" x3/8° .Jonas Sampath of Forres ParkTrace worked for an hour to bringhis sticks down to 26 1/411 x3/8" x3/32" . Each of them prepared extrasticks and chose among themwhen the paring process wasnear completion .Five sticks are used : two forvertical support, one for horizontalsupport, one to form a bowedcross spar at the head of the kiteand the fifth to serve as the"headstick," extending far abovethe kite proper . The vertical andhorizontal sticks will be joined attheir centers and then splayed outto form the three-stick shape ofthe kite . The diagram shows themajor decisions setting the angleof splay between the two verticalsticks and the length of the horizontalstick .ProportionsShamshadeen's miniature broomframe shows a horizontal stickwhich is 86% the length of thevertical sticks . He has set the verticalangles to approximately 52degrees, leaving each of the vertical/horizontalangles at about 64degrees . When he later tied stringaround the perimeter of the kite,he put a bit of English on the twovertical sticks by pulling themslightly inward across the top . Inmaking these angle decisions,Shamshadeen relies on eye judgment; he uses a tape measure tolocate the midpoints of sticks andto affirm the balance of the horizontalsticks .Jonas Sampath used a horizontalstick the same length as the verticals,but like Shamshadeen he setthem at an angle of 50 degrees betweenthe verticals and 65 degreesbetween vertical and horizontal .Gangai Ragobar's kite is fullysymmetrical : he employed threesticks of identical length and setthem at 60-degree angles . None ofthese Trinidad kites were centeredlow as shown in some kite books .*The Center JointThe angles are not firmly set untilthe perimeter of the kite has beenoutlined with string, but prior tothis the center joint must be firm-*David Pelham, The Penguin Bookof Kites (New York : Penguin,1976), p . 165 ; and L .S . and J .H .Newman, Kite Craft (New York :Crown, 1974), p . 59 .ly tied . For his delicate broomfronds, Shamshadeen used sewingpins to hold the sticks in placewhile he tied them . Jonas markedhis center points and then notchedthe sticks slightly, 1/4-inch to eachside of the center . These notcheshelp anchor the actual tying .Gangai Ragobar took an additionalstep to define the center joint . Hecarved indentations into eachpiece to create a mortised jointwhich dovetails all three sticksinto their intended angular relationship. On all of the kites, thehorizontal stick was positionedbehind the two verticals .String-FramingTo prepare the ends of the framesticks for the string, the kitemakernotches them slightly, either atthe sides just short of the tip, or ifthe stick is broom, inward at thetip itself. Beginning at any stick,the string is tied from stick tostick around the perimeter . Thestring is not broken off until eachlength of string has been carefullymeasured and readjusted . WhileGangai checked these measurementsa third time, he commented,"It will fly no matter ."Shamshadeen became dissatisfiedwith his frame during thestringing process . He had usedcrochet thread and now consideredthis too heavy for the broomframing sticks . So he carefully removedthe crochet thread andbegan again with sewing thread .When this frame was almost fullytied, he noted that one broomstick tended to buckle slightly .When he could not correct this byreadjusting string pressure, hecarefully unwound the string, disengagedthe broom sticks, selectednew ones from the broom andserenely began again .All six edges of the perimeter aredefined by stringing . Shamshadeenthen began a second round ofAfter stringing the kite's perimeter,Shamshadeen anchors more threadfrom the broom tips in looseloops which will be drawn towardthe center to create a pattern .

loops linking every edge sectionbut the top one . Each loop wasabout 25% longer than the distancecovered . When these were completedover five edges, he brokeoff the thread and began again atthe center joint . This time helooped the thread from the centerout around the slack string andback to the center, then out tothe next slack loop until fiveloops had been drawn taut towardthe center joint . These stringsformed the surface on which variouslycolored kite tissue would bepasted . Gangai created a patternof interior strings by notchingeach stick at a point 5 1h inchesfrom the perimeter ; he thenpassed a string across five sectionsof the kite face . The sixth sectionwas left unelaborated until theaddition of the vaulted arch of theheadstick and bowed cross spar .The Cross BowIf the kite frame appears properlytaut and balanced, the preparationof the cross bow begins . Thisstick will be bowed into an archanchored at the tops of the verticalsupport sticks at a 90-degreeangle to the plane of the kite face .The cross bow will be prepared tothe same width as the other spars,but ideally should be thinner andsuppler . Gangai pared the ends ofthe cross bow to assure thesecharacteristics .At one end of the cross bow,slight notches are made 1/2-inchfrom the tip of the stick ; with theaid of these notches, a firm tie ismade from one end of the crossbow to the upper edge of one verticalstick . Jonas and Shamshadeenboth placed the cross bow intoabutment with the inside edge ofthe vertical stick, but Gangaiplaced his cross bow next to thevertical stick's outer edge . Withone end tied, the stick is bowedinto a curve to locate the secondend point . In Gangai's view,"More higher is better" ; his crossbow was 20 inches long andbowed over a 141/2-inch span, withthe arch 6 inches at its highestpoint . Shamshadeen's cross sparspanned 6 inches with a highpoint of almost 2'h inches . Jonasspanned 11 inches with a heightof 43I inches .The HeadstickThe last major frame piece is theheadstick, which extends fromthe center joint over the crossbow to a point well above the kite .It is first trimmed and pared likethe other sticks and then one endis fastened by notching and tyingto the center joint . Next, theheadstick is notched and tied tothe center point of the bowedcross spar . Now the headstick isbowed downward to the plane ofthe kite face and its final length isdecided and marked .Jonas cut off the headstick atthe cross spar, leaving the kiteframe with an arched vault butwithout an overhead projection .Shamshadeen's headstick measured11% inches and thus extended notquite 50% beyond the length ofthe kite . Gangai's headstick measured29 inches long, extendingslightly more than 50% beyondthe length of the kite . The headsticktip is notched on each side ;string is then passed from one verticalsupport tip to the headsticktip and down to the other verticalsupport tip . Gangai also reinforcedthe headstick's position by extendingthe interior stringing doneearlier to include the headstickand the span behind it . Shamshadeenwrapped thread around theAbove left, Shamshadeen's kite frame has thread wrapped around theheadstick's upper arc to facilitate pasting tissue over this curve .Above right, Jonas ties the cross bow into place, to abut the inner edgesof the vertical spars . Dihedral angle is formed at the kite's center .Below left, Shamshadeen takes pleasure in the meticulous papering ofeach section of kite face . Although parts of the design are mirror repeatsof each other, he never cuts two tissue pieces at once, preferring to fiteach side individually . Below right, fringes of tissue in many colors canbe added one on top of the other at the kite's lower edges . Shamshadeencrushes the fringe in his fist to give it a lively appearance before applying .whole length of the headstick sothat tissue paper would adhere tothe curved surface .PaperingKite tissue paper imported fromIndia seems to have been a staplein the Caribbean forever, alwaysavailable in six or seven colors . It ismost frequently used not for kitesbut for the intricate handcut tissuebanners which decorate the ceilingsof Hindu homes and temples .Shamshadeen began to paperhis kite by pressing a piece oftissue over a lower section withhis fingertips . Using the lines impressedinto the tissue as guides,he cut the needed pieces with 1/4 -inch hem allowance . With flourand-waterpaste, he placed thepiece over the strings and foldedeach edge over upon itself . Pieceswhich adjoined sections alreadyfolded over the string weretrimmed by 1/8 inch and pasted atopthe previous edges . Working onesection at a time, Shamshadeencreated a symmetrical pattern ofcolors over the five sections of thekite by using interior string frame .The sixth section he envisioned asa female face ; after papering eachside of the vault, he added an eyewith glittering lashes ; a smilingmouth was pasted just below .Shamshadeen also pasted fringedtissue strips over the extension ofthe headstick above the bowedcross spar, to the string runningfrom the tops of the vertical supportsticks to the tip of the headstick,and to the string runningacross the top of the kite behindthe vault . This last fringe createsthe "hummer" sound of an angryinsect in small Mad Bulls and thedeep roar of an irate bull in thelarge ones . Finally Shamshadeenadded fringes to the lower tips andside tips of the support sticks . Forthese he cut many colors of tissuesto approximately 2x6 n and fringedthem lengthwise . After cutting, hecrushed them up in his fist andthen carefully separated them forindividual application in layers .Gangai added extra fringes bylooping string loosely along theside edges and pasting foldedtissue over the strings . Tissuepaper pompons and a gold starcut from a cigarette-pack linercompleted the kite surface .BridlingAll of the Trinidad kitemakersused the same formula for determiningthe length of the threebridle legs . Using needle or coconutbroom to pierce the paperface, the kitemaker attaches thebridle legs at the center joint andthe two points where the bowed

Margaret Gregory, the TrinidadCommon Kite replaces the bamboocross bow of India's classicfighter with a coconut frond spikebow, and reduces the size of thekite in accord with this moredelicate spar .Two examples of the CommonKite were made on two separateafternoons by my Trinidadianfriends Shamshadeen Nizamudeenand Gangai Ragobar . Each manintended to demonstrate for methe far more exalted craftsmanshipof the Mad Bull kite ; theyproduced the little Common Kiteas a kind of warm-up while waitingfor the young boys to fetchthe Bull's bamboo .Materialscross spar meets the vertical supportsticks . The length of the lowerleg should equal the distance fromthe center joint to the junction ofheadstick and bowed cross spar,while the length of the other twolegs (or one string forming twolegs) should reach from their startingpoints at the upper edge to thecenter joint . I n effect the threeJonas bridles his papered kitewith #0 crochet thread . The headstickof his kite does not extendbeyond the bowed cross spar .legs are almost equal . If the archof the bowed cross spar truly representsa half-circle, the three legswill be equal ; if the arch is lessthan a half-circle, the third legwill be slightly shorter than theother two . Flying line, called marline,is bought by the pound athardware stores and seems aboutequivalent to 50-lb .-test line.TailingThe tail or tails on the Mad Bullare suspended free of the kiteitself . Each kitemaker attached aline to the lower ends of the verticalsupport sticks and allowedconsiderable slack in it. Althoughthe men did not measure the slackallowance, it was roughly doublethe width of the bottom edge ofthe kite . The amount of tail theseA Mad Bull is made inrecord time (30 minutescompared to the adultaverage of 5 hours) byOscar Rambharan, 16,his brother Wayne andneighbor Azad Mohammed,both 10 . Theyhad never seen a bookabout kites until theauthor showed themher copy of Pelham'sPenguin Book of Kites .The small Mad Bull made byShamshadeen is seen here in frontof the larger one made by Gangai .Both kites took off with thediving, swooping, rapid ascentthat is characteristic of MadBulls. Once up, however, the kitesare very high and stable fliers.kites need and can carry is extraordinary.The kite designs of PeterTravis* suggest the tail-haulingpower of this type of kite .Trinidad winds are strong enoughfor all the tail one desires . Theisland's location off the northeasternedge of the South Americancontinent provides highly reliableNE winds, that is, winds from theopen Atlantic Ocean across theTrinidad plains toward the easterncoast of Venezuela . From Decemberto July, the dry season, thesewinds average 16 m.p .h . everyafternoon, with a slight reversebreeze from the west in the eveningand early morning . In therainy season, from August toDecember, the direction shiftsslightly to NNE and becomesmore variable, with winds up to40 m .p .h . In these wonderful flyingconditions, 100 feet of taildistributed over two or threestrips of cloth is not unusual .THE COMMON KITEIn Trinidad, I asked what had becomeof the Indian fighter kite . Ifound it in a diminutive form andcuriously titled, but as zesty andvivacious as its prototype .Known to Trinidad as theCommon Kite, this little fighter ismade quickly and with an economyof materials which suits itto the budget and attention spanof young schoolboys. Like theVietnamese kite reported by*David Checkley, "Flags, Banners& Kites Exhibition in Seattle,"Kite Lines, Vol . 1, No . 3 (Fall1977), pp . 48-49 .The kitemaker of any age beginsto make a Common Kite by sendayounger boy to the grocer for apiece of "shop paper," a lightweightbrown paper of 10'f x 1411used to wrap sugar and salt . In theinterim, the kitemaker selectsfour or five spikes of coconutfrond that are used to make localbrooms . (Indeed, the spikes arecalled "broom" and the Caribbeankitemaker begins most kites byraiding the household broom forthe desired spikes .) The householdbroom consists of perhaps100 spikes about 36 inches longbundled tightly together at thetougher spine junction end . Abroom may be bought at the localmarket or spikes may be takenfrom the broom of a friend .Now someone is sent for a spoolof thread from the sewing basket .Another youngster is dispatchedto the kitchen for flour paste . Thego-fers then reassemble aroundthe kitemaker in silent witness .The Bois CanoeAnother choice for spine materialis the leaf stem of the bois canoeor Beulah tree . The leaf stem ofthis tree is used in the Caribbeanto make kites and birdcages . Thedried leaf itself is used as a medi-The leaf cluster of the bois canoeor Beulah tree is a friend to kitemakers. The dried stems are usedas spars in making kites .

cinal tea and may be smoked . Althoughthe mature tree standsabout 40 feet high with foliageonly in its upper reaches, theuseful stems with drying leaf maybe collected from the groundbelow . The stems average 17inches in length, making themparticularly appropriate for thecross bow of the Common Kite .The diameter is about half aninch. While its outer surface isfirm, the inner core has a corklikeconsistency which makes the stemlightweight and easily piercedwith broom . To use the boiscanoe stem as cross bow, it shouldbe split vertically into quarters .(I think Kite Lines readers wholike to use balsa blocks or plastictubing to hold crossing sticks inalignment would enjoy exploringnew structural possibilities withthe stem of the bois canoe .)ConstructionFirst the shop paper is folded todefine a 10'h-inch square and theexcess strip is trimmed away andsaved . This fold defines the verticalspine position on the kite . Twopieces of broom are then trimmedto the length of this spine andtied together with sewing thread .This is done by knotting the twotogether at one end, then windingthe thread around the two atintervals of about one inch, thentying off at the other end .The next step is to lay the spine(bound broom or bois canoe leafstem) in place along the paperfold and to paste one-inch squaresof paper (from the excess strip)over the upper and lower tips .The kitemaker's skill is exhibitedin the next step, the shaping ofthe cross bow . Two pieces ofbroom are selected and held togetherin an arc over the upperThe Trinidad Common Kite made by Gangai Ragobar . The lovelymottled color developed when Gangai left it out in the rain .half of the kite, connecting itstwo horizontal corners . Thelength of this arc is about 171/2inches . The two brooms are tiedtogether at one end, then thethread is wrapped around the bowat intervals and tied at the otherend . Without being broken off,the thread is bow-strung across tothe first tie point and knotted,establishing the desired curve .The cross bow is now ready tobe placed on the kite and pastedin place with five small squaresfrom the excess strip of shoppaper . A sixth square or rectangleis pasted over the junction ofcross bow string and vertical spine .Finally the last of the paperstrip is used to make fringes forthe lower edges of the kite . Shamshadeenused a second piece ofshop paper to create two additionalhalf-circle fringes . These arepasted onto each lower side of thekite surface with a'/4-inch overlapand attention to balance .By now the boys sent off forbamboo have returned, so attentionshifts to the real kite ofchoice-the Mad Bull . The CommonKite is left to dry . (Gangai,who had made his Common Kiteout of kite tissue, casually lefthis handiwork out in the rain .)BridlingBridling is done with #0 crochetor sewing thread on the face ofthe kite . To bridle, the kitemakerthreads a sewing needle and passesit under and over at the junctionof the cross spar broom and thespine broom . The second tie pointis at the lower end of the spine,about a half-inch from the tip . Asshown in the diagram, Gangaiallowed 5 1/2 inches for the upperleg and 10'/4 inches for the lowerleg. He added a tail half an inchwide by about five feet long .In flight this little Common Kiterises, dives and dances in responseto the most delicate touch . TheCommon Kite is indeed the descendantof the Indian fighter, asEast Indians of Trinidad are descendedfrom the indenturedlaborers brought from India tothe New World between 1847 and1917 . In Trinidad, the Hindi wordfor kite (patang) has droppedfrom usage, but manjha, the kitestring saturated with ground glassto cut down the kites of competitors,is well known, and manjha issometimes used . Razors are occasionallysewn onto the edges ortails of the Common Kite as well,a practice which Dinesh Bahadur*suggests is South American ratherthan East Indian .The small size of the kite as it ismade in Trinidad is consistentwith use of broom as the crossspar, since the portion of broomlength which is uniform in thicknessand flexibility is no more than24 inches . This does not explainwhy larger fighter kites are notmade with bamboo in Trinidad .The Learning ProcessPerhaps the answer lies in the traditionallearning style of EastIndians . Children are not urged tolearn tasks or skills early in life .Active teaching is rare outside theformal school system . Learning isconsidered to occur best througha process of self-selected selfknowing; a youngster interestedin an activity or skill will watchunobtrusively as others do it .Later the young crafter will tryout an activity and with any successwill soon attract his owncrew of silent little observers.Verbal articulation of the activityby the doer does not occur,partly because it is thought to bea detour from experience towords and back to experience,and partly because the traditionof respect toward elders requiresthat they not be directly pressedfor information .The active kitemakers in thebarracks of the sugar estates ofthe last century may have utilizedthe coconut broom cross bow becauseit was quicker to prepareafter long hours of estate labor, orbecause it needed less paper, orsimply because some of the peoplewere Madrasis from South Indiawhere coconut broom is more intimatelyknown . Because thetradition of learning dependsupon direct observation ofprocesses with relatively little discussionor written abstraction,any methods which happen notto be used by earlier carriers ofthe tradition are lost to latergenerations .Another aspect of this traditionof learning is that creativity as wethink of it, the invention of prodigiousvarieties of form, is dis-

couraged by the isolation of thecrafter from a dialogue aboutwhat he or she is doing. On theother hand, this learning traditionassures that the skills and methodscarried down over time evolveonly very slowly and conservatively. There is less dross in what isactually learned and valued . Thusthe Indian fighter kite is alive andwell in Trinidad .In flight, the chataigne leaf kiterose swiftly and steadily as itsdiamond shape suggests . The visualimpact of the kite aloft was somethingquite beyond what we hadanticipated . The kite was a visitorfrom our prehistory-a movingevocation of primordial humanintelligence at play with nature .THE PASTAND THE FUTURETHE CHICKICHONGor DINKYAnother kite I found in Trinidadis the Chickichong or Dinky, aCaribbean schoolboy's first kite .The beloved characteristic ofthis tiny kite is that it can bemade by a : determined backbencher right, in the classroom,indeed almost under the teacher'snose if one is careful not to dropthe spool of thread . In the openair classrooms of the tropics, theChickichong may even be launchedbefore official discovery .The paper is a' page torn from acopybook (traditionally 7 x 8 1 1) .A margin of ° one inch is foldedback along` each side . For tail asecond piece of copy paper mustbe patiently torn into one longstrip by folding a half-inch marginalong one edge, tearing almost tothe end of the fold, turning, foldingand tearing again, and so on .THE FLYINGCHATAIGNE LEAFWayne Baldwin's intriguing storyof kite fishing in Palau* led me totropical adventures with kite materialsforaged from the flora ofTrinidad . I learned how to make avery simple but soul-satisfyingkite, the Flying Chataigne Leaf .With my Trinidadian friends, Istudied Baldwin's Kite Lines photographsof breadfruit leaves transformedinto kites . No Trinidadianwe knew had ever done it-but whynot try? Breadfruit trees aboundin Trinidad's tropical terrain . Leafsize varies from tree to tree . Dueperhaps to soil variations, theleaves range from 15 to 36 inchesThe Flying Chataigne Leaf risesover Tacarigua Recreation Field .from stem junction to tip . Whilestanding on top of a chicken coopto reach for specimens, we noticedan even more likely kitecandidate-the chataigne, a cousinof the breadfruit with a distinctivefruit and less deeply indentedleaf margins .Baldwin reports that the Palaupeople dry their leaves betweenwoven mats . We stacked oursamid layers of newspaper weighteddown with a spare tire . In fourdays, the leaves had dried on theouter two-thirds of their surface .We were too eager to wait for totaldryness, so we proceeded to thenext step . (If you intend to flyleaves during a week's Caribbeanvacation, remember to forage forspecimens on the first day .)Coconut palm fronds are usedby the Palauans to reinforce thekite surface, and we followed theirexample . Unlike the kite leaf itself,these fronds do not need to be collectedfrom living trees . Browningfronds can be found on the groundbelow most palm trees . Each spikecan be easily detached from thefrond spine with a pocket knife .It is then trimmed to pare away asoft undefiber . We prepared about12 of these for each kite, sharpeningone end of each spike topierce the leaf surface . (We couldmore easily have raided the householdbroom for spikes .)With the leaves, broom, sewingthread, Kite Lines and white winein hand, we constructed thechataigne leaf kite .Treating the leaf's stem as thetop of the kite, we first wovebroom across the surface of theleaf at intervals to include eachlobe of its perimeter . Then we introducedthree brooms at intervalsfrom upper left to lower right andthree at the reverse angle . Onebroom was entered along the verticalspine . We then reinforced severalbroom junctions with sewingthread and trimmed the ends ofbroom to approximately 5 inchesbeyond the edges of the leaf. Wetook about two leisurely hours atthis, primarily because the weavingof each broom above and belowthe leaf's surface must be donewith care to avoid tearing the leaf .For bridle and flying line, weused #0 crochet thread. For tailwe resorted to plastic. At the flyingfield, we discovered that caremust also be taken to avoid catchingthe bridle string on any of theprotruding broom ends . A twopersonlaunch and a steady breezeof about 12 m .p .h . solved thisproblem, but I wonder how thePalauans do it from canoes .As Jonas Sampath, Gangai Ragobarand Shamshadeen Nizamudeeneach made kites, we talked aboutpolitics, food prices, unions, agriculture,marriage, religion andwhy young people are not as interestedin kites as they used to be .No one could explain why feweryoungsters are interested in learningto make Mad Bulls, but peoplecommented on the parallel declinein the popularity of pitching marbles. Perhaps the most importantreason for the decrease in kitemakingis Trinidad's aggressivelyexpanding economy since the oilboom of 1974 . Hurried electrificationand telephone programs havesent wires by the dozens acrossonce-open recreation grounds andschool yards . The technologicalupgrading of industry and governmentoperations has made formalschooling increasingly importantand competitive . The flow ofmoney and ideas from New Yorkand Toronto has brought toTrinidad such fads as rollerskating and video games .Even rip-stop kites are becomingknown ; as I departed for New Yorkfrom Trinidad's Piarco Airport, Isold a Conyne to the baggagecheckerand another one to thesecurity guard . 0Amrta Ramlochan, age 3, ofKatwaroo Trace. flies her first kite .

MAEBASHI CITY HAS FAMILY FUNSeen at Maebashi City'skite contest are manyinteresting kites made byadults . However, most ofthe prizes are awardedto the children .Right, insectkites by Mr .Kihara . Thedragonfly isa "great flier,"says authorHoffman .Below, anunusual "koi"(carp) kite .The morning of May 9, 1982, dawned toa clear sky and a light wind-just the kindof day for an outdoor event. And such anevent was about to start at Maebashi City(two hours from Tokyo) as the organizersprepared for the Seventh Annual MaebashiCity Kite Fly Contest .Spawned as a community project tooffer fun and games for the whole family,the kite contest impressed city officials asa good thing when persons attending demandedmore of the same . Thus it becamea yearly affair with attendance increasingeach year .Blessed with a large park facility, thecity had plenty of room for the hundredsthat attended the kite fly . There was evenroom left for more than one baseballgame . Sponsors of the event are the CityCouncil and the Junior Chamber of Commerce. Prizes in three categories wereawarded-and won mostly by children!-for original design, group-made kite anda one-design 'kite, which this year was theairplane kite .The soft wind that welcomed the dayrose slightly toward noon, allowing mostkites to get aloft . The biggies, however,never really caught their piece of theAbove, elephant kite which flew well andwon a prize for original design . Below, one ofthe many student groups attending the contest .action and remained land-locked for mostof the day .Having no trouble at all flying was Mr .Kihara of Tokyo, whose insect kites aremade from the lightest materials he canfind . For example, the dragonfly's bodyis made of styrofoam and the wings arelight paper with bamboo reinforcement .He also uses balsa wood and very thinplastic sheet for some kites . For string, hetakes silk stockings apart and uses theindividual fibers. He also uses very lightsynthetic materials such as nylon .Kihara's reels are, I think, unique. Heuses flat spools from thin fishing line withwooden dowel attached to the center,much like the stick-and-plate act a juggleruses . By holding the spool parallel to theground, he lets out or spins the stick withhis right hand while guiding the flyingline with his left . Since he never flies toohigh or far away-mainly because he can'tsee the kite at a distance-small spoolsand short lengths of line are used .During the Maebashi contest when Mr .Kihara was demonstrating his bug kites,one of the people watching said to becareful "or a bird will take it for the realthing" and try to eat it .Naturally, these kites only fly in verylight winds . In order not to be left out,Kihara always has one or two Japanesetypesquare kites for the heavier breezes .I was invited to this contest as one ofseveral judges and after enjoying a greatday in the sun I am now looking forwardto returning to old and new friends . Foranyone planning a visit to Japan in May,put Maebashi City on the list of places tosee . You will not be sorry .

Text and Photographs byStephen HuffstutlerLetters and posters had proclaimed toCaen, to France, to the world that in alarge field called The Prairie there were tobe kites, parachutists, wind machines, inflatablebuildings, wind vanes, wind sculptures,hot air balloons, boomerangs-anythingthat uses the air to work . This wasnot to be an ordinary kite event!The idea grew from a festival of kitefilms in 1979 sponsored by an organizationcalled Atelier d'A . It seemed to them thata festival for flying kites would be morefun than just watching them on film .Workshops were started four monthsbeforehand, set up at a place in the centerof town called Eole 5 . Here teachers,parents and children were taught how tobuild kites . Many of the kite builderswere doing it for the first time . Startingwith simple deltas, sleds and hexagonkites, some of the students went on tobuild kites of their own design . Teacherswent back to their schools to teachstudents from 3 years old to high-schoolage how to make their dreams fly . Insupport of this grass-roots effort, somemembers of the Cerf-Volant Club deFrance came to offer assistance for theworkshops and to fly their beautiful kiteson the festival days of May 1 and 2 .During the week before the kiteflying,there were film showings and expositions .For the weekend, parades of arrivingparticipants . began to appear at thePrairie . Displayed inside an inflatablebuilding were beautiful Chinese, Japaneseand Filipino kites provided by TsutomuHiroi of Japan and Jose Maceda of thePhilippines . In another inflatable buildingone could build kites, buy them readymadeor get books on kites and kiteflying .Meanwhile, unusual wind vanes wereturning, boomerangs were whirling backto their throwers, parachutists were maneuveringto land in the center of thefestivities and kite fanciers were gettingtheir kites ready .The afternoon saw 108 kitefliers fromthe French kite club, 11 members of theDutch kite club, 40 students from theEcole des Beaux Arts in Caen and hundredsof kiteflying families trying tocatch the wind with their creations . Thestudents from the Ecole des Beaux Artsflew their kites wearing costumes andmakeup to match . It seemed that thecrowd was determined to fill the sky withevery conceivable kite design, though rainwas threatening to dampen spirits and thewind was blowing strong. Soon the raindid fall, but afterwards the festivitiesreturned with fireworks and an attemptto launch a hot air balloon .Sunday the wind was not as strong .The French and Dutch clubs, after recoveringfrom a dinner that included singingand piano-playing, flew Codys, Flexifoils,Parafoils, French military kites, largesleds, variations of Hargrave box kites,Bell tetrahedral kites, square-shaped flatkites en train and many other beautifulkites . Since this was not a contest, thekitefliers could fly as many kites as theycould find room to handle .In another part of the field, childrenplayed with an inflatable "worm" whichseemed to jump about among them . Inthe evening there was a light show whichincorporated kites and inflatables . Later afilm on Japanese kites was shown on alarge screen .It was estimated that 20,000 peoplecame to fly or watch the kites and otheractivities . From this festival, a kite club isbeing developed in Caen, and hopes are inthe air for another festival in two years .Two stores in town now sell fine kitesand another shop is selling Tyvek . Thewind in Caen will never be the same .1 . The wormmoves as theblower speedis changed .2 . Coeur de CielParafoil flown byDominique &Philippe Pallut .3 . Self-imprintstudent art on aJapanese-style kite .4 . CVCdeF kiterColette Geffroy .5 . Erole des BeauxArts fantasy .6 . Chinese kite onstatic display .7 . Girouette (windvane) sculptureturns and hasindependentlymoving parts.

Addendum : ALTERNATEKITE GREASINGPROCEDURESBy Kathe and George QuallsA technique which we have found to be alifesaver in the lubrication of large kites isapparently not widely applied . Althoughwe dreamed it up, it is likely others havehit on the same practical idea in the past .In flying first our M-9 delta-Conynes(83 square feet) and then our M-12s (148square feet), we were often worried whenwinds gusted to 20 m .p .h . To protectboth the kite and the kitefliers, we triedto lubricate for maximum expected windspeed, but this left much to be desired, asthe kite often came down between gusts .A two-minute brainstorming sessiongave birth to the next natural step, whichwas to stop using the Japanese syntheticlubricants we have all become dependentupon in these last few years and get backto something more basic and indigenousinthis instance a perfectly ordinary mixtureof mayonnaise and peanut butter . Itmust be admitted that this discovery wasdue less to rigorous "brainstorming" thanto some rather sloppy picnic arrangementson the kite field . In my case, it issufficient to state here that the mixtureclarified itself aloft with the peanutbutter adhering to the "windward"surfaces and the mayonnaise to the"leeward ." This change from mixture toprime ingredients was a fascinating thingto watch . Many on the field called thegradual change from a light tan to theclear definition of brown and white atruly moving aesthetic experience . Themanner of control should be obvious toall those who have been into lubricantsfor the past decade ; we simply changedone of the Lubricant Control Cords fromwhite to brown! In other words, "Grabthe brown one when in trouble!"This concept worked so well that wedecided to expand the application to kitefliersas well as the kites themselves . Wehave found this procedure produces areally thrilling symbiotic relationship betweenthe flier and his kite although itdoes demand a high level of both teamworkand discipline . The teamworkcomes in with careful application ; wehave, as the result of many experiments,found that the peanut butter works beston one's back and it is obviously beyondmost of us to get a smooth and evenspread without assistance . The disciplinecomes in always keeping the mayonnaiseout of the wind .Postscript : Since the appearance of theabove article, we have had many indicationsof similar experiments both in thiscountry and around the world . One of themost intriguing of these was performedby Jimbo and Sue Ellen McPhearson fromLittle Falls, Arkansas . They report thattheir kites work almost as well as ourswhen they substitute Log Cabin syrup forthe mayonnaise and a thin coating of deviledham for the peanut butter . It is ourfeeling that it probably works all rightbut that it is not as pretty as our recipe .Another one from France, however, doessound quite fetching : Marie and PierreLechien report they have had greatsuccess with a bottle of Chateau Lafite-Rothschild 1928 and a film of pate .

Fighter KitesFollow-UpBy Mel GovigA number of readers have responded tomy article on kite fighting in the FirstQuarter 1982 Kite Lines . Here are someof the points raised .First, my Easy Learner Fighter calledfor '/,6 n-dia. fiberglass rod, but I had eyeballedit-and miscalled it . The rod ismore nearly 2mm or 3 /32- 11 • And for arip-stop nylon version of the kite, cut a171 1 square (the 241 1 is the diagonal) .Second, some disagreement has beenvoiced with my ratings table, to which Ican only say, "I calls 'em as I sees 'em ."In fact, I have never met a fighter kite Ididn't like . One aspect that I regret Ididn't rate is predictability (kite-to-kitesimilarity) . On this I would give top ratingsto the Vic's Fighter Kite .The biggest area of discussion concernedadjustments . Use of weights wasmentioned by Louis Denov, Vic Heredia,Wayne Hosking and others. I have tried asmall (1/a""-dia.) ball of modeling clay onfighter kites . Placed at the head, it extendsthe kite's turns into long, graceful arcs .Placed at the tail, it produces tight, fastspins, losing but a few feet of altitude . Itmakes the kites neither unmanageable norunmaneuverable, but it changes the diameterand therefore the speed of turns . Inview of this, I believe the effect of reversingthe longeron in the Aussie Fighterkite is due more to weight than to flex .Some additional adjustments havebeen suggested for fighters that fly to oneside only . Jack Van Gilder notes that theimbalance may be from a warped spar, inwhich case the problem can be correctedby twisting the spar against the warp untilit lies flat in the plane of the kite . AlsoJack suggests that if you put plastic tapeat the shoulder on the side toward whichthe kite turns, you will both tighten thecover and stiffen the spar on that side .Because it is a compound correction, itshould be done in small steps . Vic Herediasays that burning a hole (with the cigaretteof an unreformed friend) on the sidetoward which the kite won't turn correctspaper fighters . Lastly, Van Gilder, creditingTakeshi Nishibayashi, suggests that ashort (two- or three-inch) two-leg bridleat the cross spar will let you make lateralcorrections .It's great to see there are so manyinformed fighter fliers out there and apleasure to share their expertise . May thegood word on fighters keep spreading . 0

Empty Spaces in the Sky . . .Frank Watlington, "Bermuda Kites"Frank Watlington, known to the kite communityas the author of "Bermuda Kites,"died in November, 1982 at the age of 66 .He was best known as an innovativeoceanographic engineer who made theequipment to record the first songs of thewhales . Frank had been a longtime friendof Kite Lines. His thorough appreciationand knowledge of Bermuda's traditionalkites were transmitted by his attractivelittle book on the subject, which he printedand sold at low cost in order to makeit available to many people, includingchildren . He is survived by his wife, twochildren and two grandchildren, all ofwhom grew up flying Bermuda kites .Harry F. Booker, Sterling Heights, M IActive member of the 5/20 Kite GroupHarry Booker died at age 71 on December 6,1982 . He and his wife Georgia had becomekite enthusiasts about seven years earlier .Since then he had become an integral partof the local recreation department'sannual kite clinic . Harry made most of hisown kites and he shared his experience,knowledge, patience and enthusiasm inteaching hundreds of children to makekites . He brought adults into kiting aswell and attended the AKA conventionin Detroit in October 1982 .Harry Booker once said of kites, "Youare only limited by your imagination," aphilosophy that he not only lived butpassed on to others .

STATESIDE & INTERNATIONALCOLORADOFrances A . Weaver writes to usfrom Pueblo :A municipal kitefly . That's whatwe had here in Pueblo duringPueblo Days in mid-May 1982 .Since our steel mill has sufferedfrom foreign competition and thelocal economy had the blues, wewelcome new business with openarms-and the Hi-Flier kite companyhad just moved to town .In celebration of the new kinshipof Hi-Flier and Pueblo, a kitefestival was sponsored by thePueblo Exchange Club and kiteswere provided free by merchants .Everyone in town was urged tojoin the fun . The object was tofly as many "Pueblo Kites" at onetime as was possible .It was an amazing project : Hi-Flier produced more than 16,000kites bearing a Pueblo logo ; theExchange Club members sold thekites to merchants ; the kites weregiven to customers by businessesall over town ; and on May 15 amass kite-in was held on thecampus of our university .According to most estimates,2500 or more people arrivedcarrying their Pueblo kites . Therewas registration for drawings butno kiteflying contests . Shiftingmidday winds (a frequent occurrenceclose to the mountains)delayed launchings slightly, thenthe sky filled with hundreds ofidentical kites . Each carried themessage of the day : "Pueblo-On the Way Up!"The only kite club in the area,the Beulah Valley Association forTethered Flight, flew demonstrationkites, but the event was essentiallyfor novices . The kitefliersranged in age from toddlers tograndparents, all out to enjoy theday and each other . There was aHi-Fliers brighten the skies inPueblo, CO . The fly is unusualbecause all the kites are alike .great feeling of mutual concernalmostaffection!It was a memorable day, onethat bears repeating. The ExchangeClub promoters and Hi-Flier representativescounted 600 of theidentical kites in the air at onetime . Nobody tried to count thetangles of lines . That was a part ofthe fun, tolerated with goodhumor . There are still thousandsof the Pueblo kites around town,waiting for the next good breeze .We all feel better now, thank you .MARYLANDSeptember 25, 1982 saw a new andexciting beginning for the OceanCity, MD Kite and Seafood Festival(called the Grand National whenit was held in 1978) . This timethere was no competition, butprizes were offered to kiters whoset world records. Also participantswho registered in advancewere given a seafood dinner afterthe fly . That, and the beautifulsunny weather, was enough toattract hundreds of enthusiastsand kites from up and down theeastern seaboard .A crew from New Jersey hadbrought some Summer Snowflakekites to fly in triples, for an effectthat startled the manufacturers,Nick and Sallie Van Sant, whowere visiting the festival fromMassachusetts . Other beautifulkites seen were Jon Burkhardt'slong-tailed craft, Rainbow stuntersas flown by the skilled GeorgeFohs and the Sunfest cobra kiteflown by the Kite Loft . Bill Tyrrelland Bob Sessions, with help froma volunteer crew, succeeded in flyingtheir spectacular 40-foot PeterLynn box kite for about a halfhour . Its pull was not the expectedrecord breaker, but the sight of ithovering like a cloud and castingits giant shadow on the sandbrought thousands of oglers tothe boardwalk and beach . Thecrowd attending the Sunfest, aChamber of Commerce promotion,were treated to outstandingkites aloft all day in brisk winds .The festival is expected to continueas an annual Ocean Ciy event .At the end of the day, the kitersenjoyed kite conversation alongwith delicious seafood in a courtyardrestaurant . Arne Brentenaverred that the event surpassedany he had seen before for quantity,quality and spectacle in kites .Some of them were still flying ashe spoke-a big Bermuda by MelGovig, a handsome Cloud Pleasersdelta, a "Go Kart" advertising kitewith kids holding it for a try(which failed) at the durationrecord . Kiters would occasionallyleave their tables and run out tothe beach to see if the kites werestill flying. They were and wewere for a long time after . V .G .MICHIGANLaurie Akerros Katkowsky writesof unusual kites and kiting:We had been invited to help openthe annual Detroit/Montreux JazzFestival by flying kites atopDetroit's Bob-Lo River Boat, helpingto create a "spectacle" whileseveral jazz bands entertained athousand Detroiters on the threedecks below .What to do to create a spectacleat a time when Detroiters' spiritswere at an all-time low after arecession-ravaged summer? Wehad our work cut out for us!In our second floor loft inGreektown, we of the Sky LineKite Shop staff went down on ourhands and knees to do hours ofcutting, piecing and assembling of40 yards of black and white ripstopnylon to make jazz kites .Ticketholders for the jazz cruiseboarded the boat to find eightpeople on the top deck proudlyflying two 50-foot piano-keyboardsnake kites, an 11-foot-wingspandelta, a large diamond and a twocellfour-wing box, all in pianokeyboard design . Flashcubes werepopping, fingers were pointing,faces were smiling, and by thelook of the crowd's reaction wehad done our job well .Heading along the Detroit River,we must have been a sight to behold. On our right, the city ofWindsor, Ontario, Canada had amarvelous view of the kites andthe boat, and the sounds of thejazz were surely reaching the shore .On our left, Detroiters shared thesame delightful experience .When the boat reached themouth of Lake St . Clair, we turnedback up river, now heading directlyinto the wind . Being avid stuntkitefliers, we had to give ourdancing kites a try! Despite all therigging lines on the top deck ofthe boat, we managed a launchand put on a show that somefolks are still talking about . In themoonlight, on a clear, early fallnight, three stunters danced uparound the stars, dipping downand skimming across the river,then swooping back up beyondthe first and second decks . As Iflew, I could hear the oohs andaahs of the crowd lining the sidesof the boat . It was magic! I don'tever remember a more thrillingkiting experience!We saw more open mouths andsmiling faces the other three daysof the festival . We flew on HartPlaza while some of the "greats"of jazz performed in several amphitheatersaround us . Hundredsof people stopped by to thank usfor helping provide, for a brieftime anyway, a respite fromDetroit's troubled times . We'd behappy to see the idea repeated bykiters in other cities .Witty airs : piano keyboard kitesfly at Detroit/Montreux jazz fast .NEW YORKLetter 1 from Rick Kinnaird datedAugust 20, 1982 : "Yes, sir, boysand girls. Rick Kinnaird's gottenhimself involved in another giantwham-bam project-making a large(60-foot-diameter) aerial sculptureto look like a flying saucer whichwill be flying October 3 at PotomacPark, Washington, DC andOctober 16 in New York City . Weare going to need a team of about30 people to help inflate, holddown, etc :, this piece . Qualificationsare rigid and very demanding .You must be able to consume unknownquantities of alcoholicbeverages and be able to deal withconstant change and chaos . . itwill be one helluva party ."Letter 2 from Rick, dated September17, 1982, announcingchanges : "The Washington date iscancelled . The SSAS (Space ShipAerial Sculpture) will be 40 feetin diameter, not 60 feet ."Letter 3 from Rick and EileenKinnaird, dated October 8, 1982gives a work calendar, deploymentschedule and equipment list . Gaslift is to be replaced by aerodynamiclift in certain wind speeds,it says here .Verbal reports following the liftconfirmed a fairly successfulFlying in Central Park : Left, thede Kooning kite ; right, the SSAS .

launch of the SSAS . Meanwhile,Marty Lowell was flying a Willemde Kooning painting (facsimile)with no difficulty in another partof Sheep Meadow, Central Park .It was all part of an arty promotionthat seemed to show thatyou can find grantors to supportsome very strange activities .For those who missed it, theconsolation was that getting Rick'szany mail was probably the bestpart of the whole caper .CANADALetters from Denis Trudel tell ofthe formation on August 5, 1982of the "Federation Quebecoise ofKite . "He says :Our organization is nonprofitand has for its principal missionto create a first international kitefestival in Quebec .This event, provided for 1985,will join together on Quebec territorythe most beautiful kites ofthe five continents. Quebec, as atransition land between the Oldand the New World, lends itselfadmirably to this great event .We know there exists a kite traditionin almost all countries ofthe world . We hope for yourcollaboration in finding organizationsor persons who could takepart in this event .Address of the new Federationis Casier Postal 555, Limoilou,Quebec, Canada GIL 4W4 .IRELANDDavid and Erika Maher write :We enclose a photograph of ourson Erik being presented with thehighest trophy at the Irish KiteflyingChampionships held in Dublinon August 29, 1982 . It was thefirst time that the title has beenwon by a child . Erik has been flyingkites for about four years, wasErik Maher at age 10, NationalKiteflying Champion of Ireland .10 years old at the time and is anavid reader of Kite Lines .The National Championship hasbeen held for at least six years .Points are awarded in categoriesfor largest, smallest, most beautiful,most original, fastest ascentand most maneuverable, and anoverall winner is declared . Mostyears there has also been a juniorChampionship for contestantsunder 12 years of age . This yearour son Erik had more points thanany other competitor so the committeeawarded him the overallchampionship . It was a very blusteryday and the older competitorshad great difficulty, particularlywith their larger kites, whichaided Erik's achievement, as hisFlowform won the largest kitecategory. He also flew a FlexifoilSkysail and two home-made deltas .The championships are sponsoredby Aer Lingus (nationalairline), the Jury's Hotel groupand Valley Ice Cream . Erik wasawarded the Joe Bergin MemorialTrophy, named in memory of JoeBergin, a dedicated kiteflier whoworked for Aer Lingus .Erik's prize was a weekend forthe family at the popular jury'sHotel in Cork, with flights to andfrom Cork via Aer Lingus . Erik'sfather won a similar holiday atJury's Hotel in Limerick .Attendance at the competitionwas around 1500 to 2000 . Erik'spresentation was shown on thenational television news the nightof the championship .TAIWAN, R .O .C .Kin Kan Hsieh, President of theTaipei Kitefliers Association, sendsthe following n ews :The biggest of the Taipei CityKite Competitions was held onNovember 7, 1982 . The emphasiswas on the kite's Chinese character,innovative design, craftsmanshipand performance . Winners werealso judged on the appearance ofthe kite, the way it takes to theair, its style and the way it flies .The entry form stated that all kitesmust be made by the participantsthemselves .An estimated 30,000 peopleattended the event and over 1000kites were entered in the contest .Ten judges winnowed the entriesfrom 1008 to 660, then to 330and finally to 164 kites beforenaming the champions . Therewere 132 prizes awarded to studentsand 32 prizes to nonstudentkite enthusiasts . Demonstrationsby over 12 kite experts were alsopart of the Taiwan event . 0Scenes of kites both massiveand creative in Taiwan, R .O .C .

Traction and Duration RecordsBoth Broken on August 28, 1982By coincidence, two world kite recordstoppled on the same day, August 28, 1982 .The first, for kite traction, distance bywater, was achieved by Greg Locke andSimon Carter of the Brighton Kite Fliersof England, copiloting an 18-foot Dartcatamaran as it was towed by kite fromSelsey Bill to Port Slade near Sea . The distanceof 25 .56 miles surpassed by 9% theprevious record set by Samuel FranklinCody, who crossed the English Channelunder kite tow on November 5, 1903 .A Stratoscoop kite (Parafoil derivativeby Greens of Burnley) with closed leadingedge and measuring 2 .7 x 2 .3 meters towedthe voyagers for 5 hours 13 minutes .Winds of 16 knots were prevalent but felloff at trip's end . The boaters tacked upwindat 15 degrees during the excursion .The second world record, for duration ofkite flight, was broken by the EdmondsCommunity College Kite Team flying aParafoil in Long Beach, WA for 180 hours17 minutes . The mark broke the previousrecord of 169 hours set on May 7, 1977 inFort Lauderdale, FL by a Will Yolen-ledteam . ECC power Harry Osborne reportedthe story exclusively to Kite Lines :The effort was planned to coincidewith the first annual Washington StateInternational Kite Festival, promoted bythe Long Beach Merchants Associationand marked by good attendance and kitesof every description, including-particularly-Parafoils. Doug Hagaman flew 8 to10 of his beautiful softies . High above thefestivities flew the 25-square-foot blueand yellow Parafoil, the enduring one ofthe three Jalbert-designed kites Osbornehad selected for the duration attempt . Itwas now just hours away from tying theworld record. At 9 :50 p .m . (P .D .T .) onthe 28th : .f August, when the 169th hourwas reached, several dozen people gathered,the last seconds were counted offand the champagne bottles were opened .The mayor made a toast to the crew whileflashbulbs went off and TV lights piercedFor theRecordLeft, Harry Osborne of theEdmonds Community CollegeKite Team, flies the custombuiltduration Parafoil-theDomina One, at Long Beach,WA . He artfully positions aflag attached to the kite lineto fly under the city arch .the darkness . It was a joyous momentLong Beach was chosen for the effortbecause of its winds, space and city support . Visitors day and night lent words ofencouragement. But there were skepticsOsborne recalls three people who kepishowing up at all hours in a pickup truckalways drinking beer. At 2 :30 a.m . on thesixth day, they arrived and said, "Alright, where are those kites?" The tearymember on duty led the skeptics to thekite lines and invited them to tug on thecords that disappeared into the morningdarkness at a 60- to 70-degree angle . "Howdo you know there is a kite at the end ofthe line?" they asked . On the final morning, two of the three were back again . ",guess you guys are for real," mumblesone . "Good luck ."It was necessary to walk rapidly to keelthe kites in the air when the wind ceasedKite Lines confirmed, however, that during this period the larger Parafoil wasusually 200 to 300 feet up and nevercame closer to the ground than 35 feet .During midweek, there were four daysof constant 15 to 25 m .p .h . winds out ofthe north . There was no rain (only fog) inthe nine days . The kite team worked inshifts at night with two people awake atall times, and a log was kept .The last morning, the wind stoppedagain and a heavy fog rolled in . Osbornemade the decision : "Let her come down,she's done her job ." At 9:07 a.m ., August 29,1982 Paul Doherty drew the kite into hishands . It was soaked from the fog . Quietly,Harry Osborne, Paul Doherty, CharlieMiller, John McLaughlin, Doug Hagamanand the others gathered . It was over .The Edmonds Community College KiteTeam has boldly announced that it intendsto build a new Largest Kite for the worldrecord . It is planned to exceed the Dutchteam's CS 550m2 kite of 5,952 square feet,flown August 8, 1981 at Scheveningen, TheNetherlands . This kite will also better theECC's own previous record, a 3,500-squarefooterflown in Seattle, WA on October 3,1980 . Budweiser beer is paying half thecost and the team, driven to recapture therecord for the U .S., is fundraising by sellingadvertising on the new Parafoil's keels .

Pursuing Longest Kite and TailA kite with a mile-long tail was reportedin several news sources to have flown onthe beach at Florence, OR in September,1982 . A Sutton Flow Form kite was usedby Joseph Valenti to tow a two-foot-wideribbon of assorted colors of nylon . Thecategory Longest Kite and Tail is nowrumored to be under pursuit by at leasttwo other kitemakers . Stay tuned .Largest Delta Kite ClaimedA 75-foot-wide delta kite was flown for25 minutes on September 4, 1982 in SanDiego, CA . Tony Cyphert made the sailand Gene Carey built the frame . Careybeefed it up for its second flight, whichwas in front of video cameras . "A bigmistake," said Tony . The kite cracked upin flight . "The debacle was shown allover," he admitted ruefully .A 75-foot-wide delta kite is launched inSan Diego, CA . Construction was the jointproject of Tony Cyphert and Gene Carey .An Interesting FailureGerald C . Franz, a 47-year-old securityguard, quit his job and set out on July 31,1982 to cross the Atlantic in a kayakpulled by kites. He took along five J-7 .5Parafoils and one J-15, 1000 feet ofbraided nylon line, a stock of Granolabars and Dinty Moore beef stew and anervous assistant-who turned him in tothe Coast Guard . A rescue cutter and helicopterbrought Franz back in a heavy fogfrom less than a mile off Cape Cod, MA .Franz lives in Glendale, OH and plansto do experiments on Lake Erie beforetrying again in a year. The next time heplans to modify a 12-foot boat for thetrip . He weighs 200 pounds . He still believesin the future of kite traction . Healso still thinks he can prove that a personwith no boating experience can achievesuch a voyage from book-learning alone .Talking to Kite Lines, he said, "It was allpositive . It was fun, doggone it ." 0

American-born Dan Leigh of Wales buildsseveral types of classic kites but is mostknown for his deltas. You will not findthem in every kite store because Dan'sDeltas are anything but mass produced .Dan writes :Our devotion to kites is total . My wifeBev and I were making kites in the prerip-stopdays, and 8,000 or so kites laterwe're still learning, still experimenting .I design for all the qualities I personallyvalue in kitemaking, namely, pure simplicity,utmost precision, elegance of form,maximum efficiency and impeccablehandling . My deltas react positively togusts, thermals and crosswinds ; they turnaround nicely to take line out downwind ;they neither flap nor wobble ; they fly toa high angle . They are dynamically as wellas statically stable, even in turbulence .They are not too large to fly on a handheld"deep sky" reel, nor are they too smalland quick . Towing points are mathematicallydetermined . In fact, the whole deltais a mathematical entity, but designed tobe pleasing, if not sexy, to the eye .Unseen complications in the sail havecalled for as many as 75 different partson one delta . I carefully choose and matchmy spars and design my kites around thespars, rather than fit the spars to the kite .Sail symmetry is within .01-inch . Theproblem of harmonic wobbling of sparswas solved years ago, and exactly theright stall is built in to the designs . Eachsize of kite, from 33-inch span to over15-foot span, is engineered specificallyfor the loads involved, and the trailingedges vary from fringed to scalloped,depending on the needs . I strive forwrinkle-free sails in the larger sizes, a taskoften frustrated by my choice of colors .The kite in this photograph is a14-foot-4-inch delta incorporating a singlebatten per wing. The nose angle is onewhich I've come to use quite often, 106 .70 .This kite in particular was scaled to fly inmedium winds (5 or 6 m .p .h . to around16 m .p .h .) .Bev does the bulk of the sewing on ourspecial order kites and none of this wouldbe possible without her . She also designsher own kites and has developed ingeniousbuilding techniques . Although I've refinedmy ideas over a period of years, I owe specialthanks to Harold Alexander, who withJohn Loy gave me the key mathematicalprinciple which is the essence of all mydelta kites . I thank also Bob Ingraham forprinting the original fabric delta instructionsin Kite Tales (predecessor to KiteLines) which set the pattern for my owntechnique which I use to this day . Thanksalso go to the kitefliers of the Round Pond,where I learned the standards of excellencewith which all kites should be compared .This Kite Lines series features a reader'skite picture on a whole page in full colorin each issue . Yours could be the nextone! What kind of kite photographqualifies for this honor?• First, the kite must fly well . Supportinginformation must be included describingyour kite's typical flight and giving itsdimensions, materials and history (in brief) .*Second, the kite must be beautiful .Agreed, beauty is in the sky of the beholder.This is an openly subjective criterion .• Third, the kite must show some qualityof originality in either form, craftsmanship,color, decoration or use of attached elements(not including reels) .*Fourth, the photograph (as a separateconsideration from the kite in it) must beof high artistic and technical qualitysharp,well-framed, rich in color . For printing,we prefer 35mm or larger transparencies. We can also use color prints if theyare 8x10" or larger. Tip : we favor verticalformat over horizontal .The photograph should be taken inone of two modes : as a close-up of yourkite in the sky, the kite filling at leastone-third of the film area ; or as a background-inclusiveshot, showing people,scenery, etc ., around the kite. In any case,the kite should be shown well, and notnecessarily flying, as long as your supportinginformation establishes the kite's flyability. In fact, background features givea reference point and sometimes addgreater interest to a picture .We suggest you take many pictures ofyour favorite kite and send us no morethan five photographs of any one kite at atime . Please enclose a self-addressed envelopewith stamps or international replycoupon for return of your photos-otherwisewe cannot guarantee their return .Pictures used must be not previouslypublished . After publication in Kite Lines,all further rights revert to the photographerand kitemaker . Kite Lines creditsboth kitemakers and photographers . Aphotographer may take pictures of a kitenot his or her own, but in such caseshould ask the kitemaker's cooperation insupplying information for the submission .To avoid risk of sending an original transparency,send a duplicate slide for review .You are invited to enter! You havenothing to lose but your obscurity .