It’s been over two weeks since I’ve flown a kite. I am feeling some withdrawal symptoms. That may sound strange to some people. But flying kites brings relaxation and a sense of accomplishment. Relaxation from watching the single line kites floating in the sky and accomplishment from improving on my control of a stunt kite. And when the weather is good, the wind is right and you don’t get out to the kite field, the days seem wasted.
After not flying for a while, it is dangerous to walk into a kite shop. There is inevitably a kite that is new and begging to be flown. And it is sure to be a kite you’ve been debating about buying for a few weeks. The end result is an addition to the kite bag, a show kite for special occasions and festivals.
Tropical Storm Bonnie played havoc with any kiting plans this weekend. Not because of high winds nor lots of rain but because the rain came in irregular squalls That made us very reluctant to take our kites out to the beach. The weather predictions said rain all day, all weekend. The actual weather was warm and sunny with unexpected showers that would drench anyone and anything and then blow through, leaving more sunshine in its wake. It was aggravating to see all that sunshine and know that as soon as you walked from the car to the beach, it would start to rain again. So there was no kite flying on the holiday.
What was scheduled was a talk for an OLLI group (Osher Lifelong Learning Institute) from Duke University at the Trinity Center in Pine Knoll Shores, NC. This is a group of retired individuals living around Durham, NC who do not believe that retirement means you sit at home watching television for the rest of your days. The institute coordinates continuing education classes at the university and group trips to visit new places and gain new experiences. As part of this trip, the group was learning about kites and kite flying. Don Dixon of Kites Unlimited gave the presentation and my husband helped by bringing kites to show and talk about what we like to fly. My part of the program was to show the kites I had made. As there were quilt makers in the group, this brought up discussions about the techniques used to make the kites. The group was small but they all were interested and a few came to the kite shop the next day and bought kites to take home.
The weather cleared up the day after Memorial Day. Most of the weekend visitors had left the beach so we went out for a short afternoon fly. I really needed some practice with a quad line kite so the only one I carried was the Shook Mesh Revolution. The Shook Mesh is only made by Elliot Shook of Flying Smiles Kite Shop in Corolla, NC. However, they are available from our local kite shop, Kites Unlimited in Atlantic Beach, NC. It was the perfect kite for the winds that day and we had a wonderful couple of hours on a relatively empty beach.
The weather wasn’t the kindest to us. It was actually threatening. Dark skies and low winds. Only a couple of the regulars showed up and then we stood in the parking lot for a while debating whether it was worth the hike to the beach. In the end, it was worth it. Three of us made the trek and one went home.
There were two motivating factors for those of us who stayed to fly. One factor was the possession of a new kite and wanting to see it in the air. Our friend just got an Astro Star. It’s an interesting cellular kite with lots of color within its black borders.
Astro Star by Premier Kites
Unless you have a tie to the military, you probably didn’t realize that the day before the kite fly was Armed Forces Day. It was created by Congress to conciliate all the individual days for each branch of the military into one day recognition. It often slides by unannounced and unremembered. So to honor this day, a red-white-blue stars and stripes sled was flown.
Premier Power Sled 36
Keeping in mind that the weather could change at any minute and we would have to run for shelter, every kite was hand-held. I flew the Wisp II for a bit but the wind was a little strong for its light build. I also put up the Skate, which handled the wind quite nicely for a light wind kite.
The only other kite flying lately was during a vacation trip to Corolla, NC the week before. And it was done by our grandchildren, not us. They came to visit for a day and spend some time on the beach. It was a little chilly and the beach stay was short. But kites were in the air and we had a good time together.
I’m sitting on the balcony of my hotel room on the Outer Banks of North Carolina watching it rain. My plans for kite flying on the beach are foiled. So I am reflecting on the last two weekend kite club flys and what marvelous weather we had.
Two weeks ago we pulled some oldies from our bags and gave them some air time. One was a Mesh Delta and the other was the Gecko Totem both by Premier Kites. The mesh delta flew like a champ, with transition tails and a hypo twister attached. One of our regulate flyers put up his Brasington Waif train and a hexagon fish kite he made in a workshop.
Mesh Delta by Premier Kites and Brasington Waif TrainGecko Totem by Premier Kites
It seems to be the day for creatures as the Owl and the Butterfly also flew. Then they were joined by a new offering from Premier Kites, the Skeleton.
Owl Critter Kite by Skydog KitesSkeleton by Premier KitesButterfly by Skydog Kites
The line up for the day was completed by the Martin Lester Legs kite and the Firefly made by Jeri Dixon at the Kites Unlimited shop.
Martin Lester Legs by New Tech KitesFirefly by Kites Unlimited
The following week proved to be just as good a day weather-wise but not quite as good wind wise. Things started out great with a friend from out-of-town putting up a couple of gorgeous kites, one of which he made himself. The first was Jon Burkhardt’s South China Sea and the second was the Lighthouse. The background for the Lighthouse kite was hand-dyed to appear as the layered oranges of a sunset (unfortunately the photo makes it look yellow). Joining them was a cute Elephant and a newcomer, the Fox.
The LighthouseJon Burkhardt’s South China Sea by Premier Kites
The Fox by Premier KitesElephant Critter Kite by Skydog Kites
A couple of us were out flying some dual line kites and one flyer attempted to put up an old large Stratoscope. At the time it even seemed like a good idea to get out the Tri-Tail Delta. But before I could get the camera out, the wind completely died away. Everything fell to the ground. Not just once but repeatedly as we kept trying to get them back in the air.
Before giving up for the day, I did get out the Revolution Reflex. It does fly in light winds and in this case almost no wind. The hardest part about this was I am not a “no wind” flyer and I have to learn to adjust to a slower and softer type of flying. It may take some practice but I will get there. Hopefully when this rain stops and I can get back on the beach. Until next time…
Freedom In The Sky - A Kiter's Blog 