Freedom In The Sky – A Kiter's Blog
It's all about kites. Where we fly, when we fly, what we fly. Come share with us.
I haven’t been able to fly a kite for the past couple of weeks. And it looks like it will be a few more weeks until I fly again. The weather is only partly responsible. The real reason is this little girl in the photo.
This is our new granddaughter, Emily. I get to spend some time with her in the coming weeks. Actually, I’ll be taking care of her big brother. But there will be baby snuggles, too.
Thank you all for your patience. I’ll be kiting again before you know it.
Fair Winds All.
It was pretty frustrating having no wind at the festival and then finding out that there was wind for the kite club fly at home. So to make up for it, we went to the kite field more than usual this past week and a half. The fact that the temperature moderated at a very comfortable level was a bonus. It was so relaxing.
The winds were actually a little strong the first evening we went to fly. I had just gotten the Brasington Central Station train and had yet to fly it. So I put it and my Waif train up, You will notice that the Waif train has five kites and the Central Station train has six. Well, the Waif train I made at a Brasington kite building workshop and I have yet to finish it. The sixth Waif is on the table waiting to be sewn. Guess I had better get to it now. John put up his Vertical Visions Malay kite. I’m thinking of getting this same kite in the opposite color scheme. It is so easy to fly and looks great.
The weekend arrived and it was time for the Carolina Kite Club fly. Several of the Critter Kites by Skydog; the Wolf, the Tiger and the Bumblebee, flew as well as the Central Station train and the Vertical Visions Malay kite. We also put up the Triton Kite. This is a modified genki design which pulls like a tank. It is a steady flying kite, even in the gusty winds we had that day. This will be a good kite for lots of line laundry. Especially I’m thinking our red wiggly worm and yellow little man. Haven’t had them up in a long time. There were a couple of new people who joined us to fly a stunt kite, a delta kite and the EO Atom by Prism Kites.
Today was a day we just couldn’t pass up. It was at least ten degrees cooler than the past few days and the winds were steady at a moderate 11-12 mph. So when our errand were done, off we went to the beach. We put up two of our own Critter kites and I practiced with one of my Revs.
It had been a while since I had flown the Custom B-Pros and this was the perfect day for a mid-vent. I spent the time working on hovering and reverse diagonals. Still haven’t figured out the inverse hover but I think it will come eventually. There was practically no one on the beach which made for a very quiet, pleasant stay. Then the sun began to go down and the park rangers wanted to close the gate.
So now we’re home getting ready to go on the road and no telling when we’ll get to fly again. Hopefully it won’t be too long. It all depends on our new granddaughter. She is due next week and we are pretty excited. So until then…
Fair Winds All.
We spent the Labor Day weekend at the Mile High Kite and Craft Festival in Beech Mountain, NC. This tiny town of about 350 people has hosted this festival for the past twelve years. We’ve attended the last six. It is a gathering of kite people from several neighboring states and kite clubs. The weather hasn’t always cooperated but the fellowship has been good regardless.
This year it didn’t rain. Yeah!!!!! But the wind didn’t attend either. Saturday was an open fly and a kite builders competition. The chamber of commerce was giving away small sled kites to the children attending the festival. After decorating the kites, there were a lot of kids and adults running up and down the side of the mountain getting their kites to fly. There were a wide range of kites brought from home or purchased at the vendors’ booths. Whether the kites would fly or not, there were still a lot of smiles all day.
There was just enough wind for the entries in the competition to fly for the judges. Five kites were entered in three categories. The most competition was in the Flat-and-Bowed category with three entries. The other categories, Soft Kite and Stunt Kite, had one entry each. All kites were judged for the benefit of the builders. After flying, the judges went over each kite with a fine-toothed comb, asking questions and giving advice on what was good and what needed improvement. For me, that was the best part. I learned a lot. The winning kite of the day was my Fled entitled “Smile”
Sunday was the official festival day. The sound system was set up, banners and ground displays lined the demo field, and the flyers were ready to put on a show. But, again, the wind decided not to show up. All the kite fliers pulled out their light wind kites and tried to get things up in the air. And, again, kids and families were running up and down the mountainside with all manner of kites. Some flew for a bit and some were just dragged along the ground. Yet, there were still smiles on faces all day. During the dead calm times, there were boll races for young and old and giant soap bubbles floating across the field. There were three remarkable demos performed on Sunday. One was a ballet using a white indoor Rev, another was a pairs stunt kite ballet and the third was a ballet using a standard Rev (the flier spent a lot of time walking backwards). Amazing feats in little to no wind. One enterprising young man ran up and down the mountain pulling his giant octopus behind him. It should be noted he only did it once.
I did fly my Dunton-Taylor box and my sport kite, Wisp II, a few times. The Skate wouldn’t go up and we didn’t think to pull out the Laima. In between flying attempts, we visited with old friends and met new ones. From our point of view, it was a great weekend. We’re looking forward to next year on Beech Mountain.
Fair Winds All.
Much to my surprise, the Wisp II arrived early. I was hoping it would come before we left for the Mile High Kite Fly at Beech Mountain, NC. In fact, it arrived a week early. Kudos to Into The Wind for the extremely fast delivery. So my red Wisp II, my husband and I went to the beach today to try it out. The winds were really low to nonexistent so it was a great trial for this kite.
The Wisp II is a dual-line, low wind stunt kite. It is rated for two to five mph winds. I tried it out on fifty foot lines to get a feel for it before leaving for the festival. It was so much fun. Even when the wind stopped and the flag at Fort Macon was wrapped around the pole, this kite kept on flying. It felt like there was nothing on the other end of the lines.
Beech Mountain, here we come.
Fair Winds All.
Freedom In The Sky - A Kiter's Blog 