Kite Lines - Vol.3 No. 1 - KiteLife

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At the Wright Kite Festival, Bill Tyrrell's Flow Form kite (Parafoilderivative) awes viewers . Above, Jesse Donaldson of Florida holds a fighterkite while Bill Wetzel of New York checks his Rogallo Corner Kites .Below, Wetzel talks to Rogallo himself, who holds an early original Flexikite .By Mary E . AmesKitefliers from as far away as Cocoa, FL,maneuvered their craft through ficklewinds and even through ocean waves incompetition for 22 ribbons and prizes atthe First Annual Wright Kite Festival inJuly, 1979 . The occasion at Kill Devil Hills,NC, continued the tradition of the NagsHead, NC, kite contests of summers past .The elements proved enough of a challengeat this site-exactly one mile fromthe spot where the Wright brothers flewtheir first glider as a kite in 1900-thatrival fliers fell to cheering one anotheralong and helping each other keep kitesaloft for the requisite five minutes .A modified box kite shaped andpainted like a crab was awarded "best inshow" and "most unusual aerodynamicdesign (novice class)," but not until itsdesigner, Charles Dunton of Richmond,VA, had fished it from the sea andreplaced two broken spreaders . Dunton'skite and A . Pete Ianuzzi's six-foot semicircularmulticolor kite, flying near eachother, were victims of a phantom downdraft which originated high over thebeach and selected only those two kitesto drive, temporarily, from the sky .The most exciting competition occurredamong a dozen novice fliers whotried to get their kites to haul out 500feet of line the fastest on the light morningwinds . Alec Dunton of Richmondwon this with a graceful delta wing birdmade of Tyvek . Eight-year-old MikeRingelspaugh of Rocky Mount, NC, camein second and Kate Thorns of Falls Church,VA, and Dan Ingle of Sylvania, OH, tiedfor third place .Though unable to attend the festival,Rick Kinnaird of the Maryland Kite Societytelephoned in a special cash award forthe kite which best depicted the spirit ofJohn Irving's zany novel The World Accordingto Garp . At that moment, G .William Tyrrell of Huntingdon Valley, PA,was performing barrel rolls with a 200-plus square-foot Sutton Flow Form Parafoil,which ended up draped over thepower lines and was awarded the specialprize on the spot .The winds blew stronger after a briefrain shower and break for lunch, and thecompetition continued for the largesthomemade kite . Bill Wetzel of CliftonPark, NY, captured first place in theexperienced class with a 64-square-footversion of Francis Rogallo's Corner Kite .Tom Lewis took home to Richmond afirst in the novice class for a 46-squarefootdelta made by a group of thirdgraders in summer camp .John Ringelspaugh, Sr ., of RockyMount, NC, placed first in the most unusualaerodynamic design category (experiencedclass) with a homemade Prof .Waldof's double hexagonal box kite . JesseDonaldson of Cocoa, FL, who has beenexperimenting with kite and autogyro designssince the 1940s, won second placein the design category with a split-leveldiamond . The 71-year-old Donaldson alsowon ribbons for "senior competitor" andfor traveling the greatest distance-901miles-to the festival . Pete lanuzzi ofCatonsville, MD, tied for third place with
Top left clockwise : Mel Govig's four-foot Niseikite; Valerie Govig and Guy Aydlett chatting ;Tyrrell's second mammoth kite, a Jalbert,undergoing adjustment by John Stubbings ofKite Kingdom ; Charles Dunton of Richmond,VA, with his "most unusual" crab kite ;Alec Dunton with Tom Lewis, both ofRichmond, admiring Alec's Tyvek® bird.Francis Rogallo of Kitty Hawk, NC, whoentered his 30-year-old Flexikite, theoriginal model which evolved into thehang gliding wing . In the novice class,Larry Carstensen of Johnstown, PA, andEllen Wood of Richmond placed secondand third behind Charlie Dunton's crab .Before and after the competition,about 60 different kites were flown, includingsome oriental beauties, MelGovig's train of miniature diamonds,Valerie Govig's attractive star kite, AyleneGoddard's dress-matched delta, GuyAydlett's handsome delta and a 400 squarefootJalbert Parafoil which Bill Tyrrellacquired two years ago from the NationalAeronautics and Space Administration .No one entered the category, newlyestablished this year, for the best kiterendition, built from scratch, of theWright brothers' 1900 glider . There is arumor, however, that at least one personhas plans to build a full-size replica ofthat glider and fly it next July, on thethird Saturday, at the Second AnnualWright Kite Festival . 0
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Kite Lines - Vol.3 No. 1 - KiteLife

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