Untitled - KiteLife

Although the wind and the kiteare, in the end, the best teachers,here are the basic principles . Thefighter (at least, the Indian fighter)is normally flat, but due to aflexible, sometimes tapered,bowstick, the kite will bow andform a dihedral with sufficientwind pressure . When flying, thekite will be unstable when the kiteline is slack . It will rock sideways orspin . then, if tension is put on theline, the dihedral will form, stabilizingthe kite and causing it tomove in the direction its nose ispointed . Alternately pulling line inand letting it out is how the kite ismaneuvered . Timing, touch, andconcentration are the keys togood flying .Robert Loera, winner of thesingle line maneuverable kitecompetition at this year's AKAconvention in Chicago, says thatthis type of kiteflying is a dying artform that is apparently making acomeback . I hope he is correct inhis prediction, and there arereasons to think he is . The fighterkite competition at AKA 1988 inChicago was still somewhatrelegated to the fringes, and theannouncement of the winners atthe awards banquet were suspiciouslyplaced at the end, almostas an afterthought . However,there was much interest and participationin the event, trophieseven, which was coordinated byBruce Jarvie, of 5/20 Kite Group ofDetroit .Joe Vaughn, world renownedpromoter and expert flyer offighter kites, and owner (he wouldsay "carrier of the torch") of theGrandmaster Kite Company ofMifflinville, Pennsylvania, wasthere, tirelessly educating us in theart of fighter kiting, always withstyle and gentlemanship. TheGrandmaster is a hybrid fighter,mylar, fiberglass, and bamboo, abeautiful kite both in appearanceand in its smooth flight, the"Porsche of kites ."Also at the convention was KarlSzilagi, fighter kite maker and flyer,an artisan who can turn scraps oftissue paper, bits of string, slivers ofbamboo fishing poles, and piecesof fiberglass into a precision flyingmachine, the "Szilagi Fighter ." Karllearned and honed his craft inCentral Park, New York .Joel Scholz delighted everyonewith his new "Butterfighter," an