New Tech Kites

Schook · Posted: Tue May 15, 2007 4:54 pm Post subject: Kite flying Demo

Hi all,
This past weekend I was "volunteered" by my daughter to demonstrate some kite flying for her 4-H club. When she asked me to do it I was very excited and enthusiastic to do this, but as the date drew closer, I became more and more afraid that the whole point of kite flying would be wasted on today's kids. The meeting was almost "postponed" do to lack of interest at first.

Well I am happy to say that the demo went well and was received well by the kids, and even their parents who had to see what kind of kites a grown man would fly.

I had most of my kites (yes, even some non New Tech) set up for them to look at. I explained some of what got me into flying and why I enjoy it so much. I showed them some of the differences between the various kite models and features such as standard, vented, ultralight etc. After the question and answer session I gave a brief flying demo. Nothing fancy, just some zooming around the sky to show some figures with some axels, fades, side slides, and how to launch and land thrown in. (I didn't want to bore them to death) I didn't nail every trick I tried and even did a couple walk of shames, but like I said most of these kids have never seen a dual line kite.

Now this for me is where the "magic and the reward' part of the day happened. I fully expected the group to say, "That was nice can we go now?" but was pleasantly surprised to hear several "WOW I didn't know a kite could do that." comments. I then offered to let anyone that wanted a chance to fly a kite. So I unrolled some lines and attached my Cherry Bomb, Techno, and French Connection.

Dodd, give yourself a pat on the back for designing some great kites to learn on. The Techno and Cherry Bomb took many a lawn dart landing but still wanted to keep flying. Several of the kids, and even some parents took a turn on the lines seeing who could keep it in the air longest. When the event wound down I was told by many people that they had a great time and thought it might be fun to get a small kite to fly on occasion. I don't know how many will purchase a kite and take up the sport/hobby, but they all know that there is more to kiting than the $1.00 department store kites.

I am writing this not to brag, but in the hope that maybe a few more people may take some time to show a small group some kite flying and inspire some of the younger generation to get outdoors more and maybe even to grow the sport of kite flying.

Thanks for reading
Jim
_________________
NT Kites In the Bag:
Cherry Bomb, Techno, Big Bang Pro, Desire UL, French Connection

Chris · Posted: Wed May 16, 2007 9:11 am Post subject:

Jim,

Thanks for the post and for sharing the joy of kiting. Your story reminded me of phenomena that you may have experienced. It is sometimes referenced by other worldly kite flyers.

AoxomoxoA
If you fly stunt kites to win competitions, you won't understand, but if you fly to give pleasure and entertain the audience, you might find AoxomoxoA

If tangled lines are an irritating frustration, you won't understand, but if you find untangling relaxing and therapeutic, you might find AoxomoxoA

If you buy rare and expensive kites and hang them on the wall, you won't understand, but if risk hand-painted washi-paper kites in the elements, you might find AoxomoxoA

If you're struggling to be the fastest buggier in the country, you won't understand, but if you dream of buggying across dry lakes in the gentle zephyrs at 2am, you might find AoxomoxoA

If you build your own kites to save money, you won't understand, but if you sew to try new ideas, you might find AoxomoxoA

If you wouldn't lend your kite to a stranger, you wouldn't understand, but if you're ready to loose or destroy anything you fly, you might find AoxomoxoA

If you enjoy buzzing noisy stunters on the beach, you wouldn't understand, but if you've found the pleasure of a simple, reliable single-line delta, you might find AoxomoxoA
_________________
"Fly a kite for a child and you entertain them for the day. Teach a child to fly a kite and you entertain them for life."