Kite Lines - Vol.3 No. 1 - KiteLife

Profiles . . .ParafoilsGeorge Ham'sStory and Photographsby Martin Payne DowlingAlcatraz is vanishing in the fog as thewind on San Francisco Bay makes thekite lines whistle ."I've never seen a kite like that!""It's a patented Jalbert Parafoil . Itdoesn't have sticks ."term "Big" was originally applied toGeorge's jewelry or his ample physique!Within a week of George's introductionto the Parafoil, he reappeared at theMarina Green with his own version . He isone of those rare males who has trainingin sewing machines, so it was a simplematter to use one of his three sewingmachines, pick the proper material andproper needle and sew away! While thesewing machine was simple, designing aParafoil that flew was another matterentirely! "I think I'm having a littletrouble with this Parafoil ."Round and round went the collectionAs George does not own a televisionset, he devoted much time to design experimentsand his productivity increased .In only a few short years, George has designedand created a collection of 15Parafoils . George's designs are varied andat times sensational . His collection includesa "skull and crossbones" blackParafoil, a multicolored "Grandma Quilt,"the "Slim Jim" (2 x 7 feet) and thematching "Twice as Wide" (4 x 7 feet) .At the extremes in size are George's constructionsof a colossal 50 square foot allblueParafoil with 50 large red stars andthe "Baby," a 1'h-square-foot Parafoil .The "superstar" of the collection andthe one which draws the most attention isthe "American Flag" Parafoil (6 x 10 feet)which is proudly flown each weekend atthe Marina Green ."What is it made of?""Rip-stop nylon . I'll pull it down andshow it to you ." The collapse of inflatedcloth is followed by close inspection ."I can make a kite like that!"Three years ago at the Marina Greenon the San Francisco waterfront, George"Big Jade" Ham returned to his car andbegan his new hobby-kiting .George, a native of Nebraska and aCalifornia resident since 1940, acquiredthe name "Big Jade" from his long associationwith rock and gem collectionsspecializing in large pieces of Wyomingjade . It remains unclear whether theof cloth cells,looking more likevery large sausage thana Parafoil . There wasobviously room for improvement-andimprovement didfollow . With an appreciation forthe close tolerances in preparingthe cloth and the ability to preciselysew the cells and rig the kite, George'skites showed marked improvement inflight and stability after a few months oftesting and study . The skill that he developedon his jade jewelry showed itself inthe care with which he produced his"gems" of the air .