Kite Lines - Vol.1 No. 2 - KiteLife

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Kites Past :Historic NotesPerson-Lifting KitesBy Valerie Govigand Robert M . IngrahamPhotographs by Arthur Johnsoncourtesy of Domina C . JalbertThe privilege of being the daughterof Domina Jalbert might not be desiredby everyone, even by ardent feminists .For Jalbert's daughter Dorothy itmeant taking not one but two sky rideslifted by her father's kites, and in sodoing joining a select circle of womenin air history .The group of females who havebeen lifted by tethered kites appearsto be small, but of surprising importance. According to Clive Hart, ¹ thefirst account of a genuine, humanascension accomplished by kite toldof a "lady" in the seat of honor . Thisachievement was performed and documentedby George Pocock, the Englishschoolteacher whose famous char-volantDorothy Jalbert and her father Dominapreparing for her kite ride in 1942 .makes such an interesting chapter inkite history .At some time about 1825, Pocockraised "a lady, whose courage wouldnot be denied," using the power ofhis "buoyant sails ." Hart determinedthat the lady was Pocock's daughter,Martha, who was at least 13 .(There is a story by J . Lecornu, whowas once President of the FrenchLeague of the Kite, telling of an earlierflight in the late 18th century, but thereference is apparently insubstantial ;it is doubted by Hart . If it were true,however, it would not deprive femalesof the honor of the first kite lift, forLecornu's legend was of a flight byan English woman .(Even further back in time and mythis Ishikawa Goyamen of Nagoya,Japan, who attempted to steal thegolden dolphins from a castle rooftop,reached by kite . Still further removedis the Greek legend of Icarus, whichhardly deserves mention here .)Pocock tells of his daughter's historicfirst ascent in this manner :"An arm chair was brought on theground ; then, lowering the cordage ofthe Kite, by slackening the lower brace,the chair was firmly lashed to the mainline, and the lady took her seat . Themain-brace being hauled taut, thehuge Buoyant Sail rose aloft with itsfair burden, continuing to ascend tothe height of one hundred yards . Ondescending, she expressed herselfmuch pleased at the easy motion ofthe Kite, and the delightful prospectshe had enjoyed ."In the intervening years, there havebeen several males lifted by kite . Firstin line was Jean-Marie LeBris, in 1857,whose famous attempt was not quitesuccessful . LeBris rode on his birdshapedglider behind a carriage,planning to be released, but the cordcaught in the carriage and broke, entanglingthe coachman and carryingboth men aloft for a time . Both Hart ²and Pelham ³ describe this as a kitelift, but from the descriptions it seemsclear that the glider was a kite onlyThe girl on the flying trapeze .
5while it was towed, and the time forthat was accidentally the full durationof the flight .In 1860, an Irish priest, Father E . J .Cordner, patented, built and tested amultiple hexagon kite system for shipto-shorerescue . It apparently wasnever put to real practical use .Then, in 1894, Capt . B .F .S . Baden-Powell devised his Levitor kite systemfor lifting soldiers into observationpositions . This system was later utilizedduring the Boer War .In the same year, Lawrence Hargraveraised himself by a train of four of hisbox kites.In 1896, Lt . H . D . Wise of the U . S .Army used four Hargrave kites for hisyouthful experiments, includinglifting himself .Soon after, designs and tests of manlifterswere conducted by S .F . Cody,Alexander Graham Bell and, of course,the Wright Brothers .It was to be some 75 years afterMartha Pocock's flight that anotherwoman would rise skyward by kite .The performer was Almenia Rice, whowas indeed already a high trapezeartist at the circus, and had alreadylearned to suppress acrophobia . InHarry Edward Neal's charming bookThe Story of the Kite, 4 we read ofAlmenia's rising from the rooftops ofBoston in 1901 . She stood inside theframe at the bottom of a large wingedbox kite and flew over the streets for"several minutes ."At about that time designers wereworking with kites in the hope of applyingtheir learnings to poweredflight . One of these men was Dr .Charles Zimmerman of Frederick, MD .He made a huge kite of bamboo polesand canvas cover, "perhaps as big astwo bed sheets fastened together ."One windy day he was trying to tie itdown to stakes in the ground, and hiswife, Ida, was helping . She was holdinga horizontal pole with both hands whena gust picked up the kite and her withit and flew her about 10 feet high . Theflight was by chance, of course, andnot really in the same league as thoseby others, taken deliberately .The deeds of Martha Pocock, AlmeniaRice and Ida Zimmerman hadnot been matched for some 40 yearswhen Domina Jalbert involved hisdaughter with his kites .The place was Woonsocket, RI,which was the Jalbert home in 1942 .Jalbert's entire life has been preoccupiedwith low-speed aeronautics .He has designed kites, balloons, parachutesand sails of brilliant originality,as all kite enthusiasts know well . TheJalbert Parafoil is still the sticklesswonder of our age .At the time of Dorothy's adventures,her father had been perfecting designsfor large, elegant, multicell triangularwinged box kites . As had othersbefore him, Jalbert used more thanone of these kites for lifting his precioushuman cargo . Any one of thekites could carry Dorothy alone or lether down safely if the others brokefree . These winged boxes were 15-foot and up wingspan, representingenormous pull . One 17-footer hadpulled a car by its bumper until thebrakes were applied .The kites were not made of the slick,tough, lightweight, rip-stop nylon thatwe kitemakers today have become sodependent upon . This was World WarII : nylon was reserved for parachutesand other war gear. So Dom Jalbert'skite covers were Egyptian linen lenthim by a rubber company .Dorothy Jalbert was only 12 yearsold and weighed 90 pounds at thetime, but she appeared to be completelyfearless . Dom Jalbert's thoroughknowledge of physics in its everyapplication to kites justified Dorothy'sconfidence . In any case, she cheerfullyassisted her father in setting up thekites, lines, knots, winch -and trapeze .She climbed aboard and was soon upabout 100 feet . One time she took alonga Speed Graphic camera to photographthose on the ground, who were in turntaking pictures of her for a doublepagespread in the rotogravure sectionAerial photography with a human assist .of the local newspaper .The ventures were successful interms of Jalbert's purposes . He hadwanted to show that aerial photographycould be accomplished by kite and totest the capabilities of various wingedbox designs . Such experiments becamepart of Jalbert's long experience thatculminated in his design of the Parafoilin 1965 .The liftings included banner-raising,too. A large sign reading "BUY WARBONDS" was flown for patriotic promotion. Fun and enthusiasm were asmuch a part of these activities as scientificstudy, and Dorothy reallyseemed to enjoy her rides .Dorothy today is the wife of MauriceOldre and the mother of two children .She probably doesn't weigh 90 poundsanymore and perhaps it's an advantagein case she's asked to go for a kite rideagain -unless she has a feminist itchto make another mark in kite history . 0
Page 5: The American Kitefliers Association
Page 8: LettersUPS AND DOWNSFascinating fac
Page 11: Conyne kite . So far we have had a
Page 17 and 18: the end is notin sightMillions of p
Page 19 and 20: Countdown of the Bigge trainof sled
Page 21 and 22: How to Conduct ThemTHE FLYING DUTCH
Page 23 and 24: aided or monofilament nylon .Here i
Page 25 and 26: unlike any other style or variant I
Page 28 and 29: What's New :Kites, books, SundriesK
Page 30 and 31: What's New(Continued)as the kite ap
Page 32: What's New(Continued)zines . These
Page 36 and 37: News From Here & There(Continued)ab
Page 39: ½-fo coolNews From Here &There(Con
Page 43: News From Here & There(Continued)ha
Page 47: News From Here & There(Continued)Ki
Page 51: News From Here & Therel Washington
Page 54: Flying withThe Old ProBy Bob Ingrah
Page 58 and 59: THE DUTCH KITE2. Open paper flat .
Page 60 and 61: June6Thomas Ansboro files first rot

Kite Lines - Vol.1 No. 2 - KiteLife

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