Let's go fly a kite

Text by Jo Clark

“…With your feet on the ground, You’re a bird in a flight With your fist holding tight, To the string of your kite… Up through the atmosphere, Up where the air is clear Oh, let’s go—fly a kite!”

David Tomlinson (song performed in Mary Poppins by Dick Van Dyke)

Serena Jacobs gets the credit for her husband Donald’s addiction. Ten years ago, while vacationing at Myrtle Beach, he found a broken kite and tried his hand at repairs. That big smile on his face told his wife: “I want my own kite!” When she spotted a kite shop, Serena encouraged him to purchase his first kite. Little did she know they would be in search of wind from that day forward. Serena serves as pit crew for Donald, storing kites in duffle bags and preparing them for lift-off. There will be more than 100 stowed in the vehicle when they attend a kite festival, giving Donald a wide selection. After all, you wouldn’t want to fly the same kite as someone else. Kites are colorful, easy to fly, and just plain fun to watch. Flying kites is entertaining for children of all ages; Donald confesses most fliers are kids who never grew up. He says: “When somebody tells me, ‘Oh, go fly a kite’ – I happily say, ‘OK.’ It’s the pure joy of flying a kite—it doesn’t matter which kite is on the end of that string.” Flying kites provides a sense of freedom. It is an activity that crosses cultural, generational, societal and national divisions. Every corner of the world has a kite club. Try an Internet search to find one, no matter where you are. And your kite habit doesn’t have to break the bank. “We see people buy a $500 kite, and it flies just like the $5.99 special,” Donald confides. You can even build your own at a festival.

Kite “clubs” don’t have regular meetings, but they do provide a network of kite addicts who contact each other en masse—made easy in today’s climate of social media. When word goes out, “The wind is nice, let’s go fly at the park,” everyone shows up. Find a local club or festival on www.kite. org, contact the group to learn where they go, and they will help you get in the air!

Kite Competition

At festivals, there are competitions of every description. Fliers are judged in type-based divisions, like two-string, four-string, inflatable or glider. Part fashion show, part beauty pageant, kites are judged on stitching, design, material layout and colors. Then they are rated on flight— how easy the kite is to get into the sky, how well it flies, how stable it is, and how the kite looks in the air. Enthusiasts also compete by testing their flying skills. They use delicate “steering” to maneuver their kites. Think figure skating --- there are compulsory figures, like squares, circles, even stairsteps. Competitors must perform all the required elements. They are judged on how straight and sharp the figures appear and how prominently the figure is “drawn.”

Then there is the freestyle event, consisting of 3.5 to 5 minutes of flying to music. Remember? Like figure skating — only warmer!

Donald Jacobs modestly admits that he took first place in Delta kite-making at a national convention in Ocean City, Md. The Delta is a triangular-shaped kite. “I do festivals for the camaraderie, not the trophies; I’m there to have fun. Trophies are something else to dust.”

Wind Toys

Once hooked on flying, many people decide to make their own kites. Patterns and directions are available at www.kitebuilder.com. Material such as ripstop, a nylon/ polyester blend, or banner material is available at most fabric stores.

The most popular kite is the “traditional” diamond shape. Called the “Eddy Kite,” it is the easiest to fly. And one can be made with sticks and newspaper, without sewing, and at no cost. If the letters DIY don’t happen to be your initials, kites are available in stores and specialty shops. They can also be found from kite-makers such as Ken McNeill of Lenoir, N.C., who has spent 25 years designing and crafting highperformance kites. [www.bluemoonkites.net]. Teachers or homeschoolers can download an online course, Kites in Classrooms, from www.kite.org. The curriculum covers weather, wind, humidity and weight — all based on grade level. Now that your kite is headed for the wild blue yonder, you might wonder how high it can go. According to Jacobs, the answer is: “How much string ya got?” You have to remember that it takes a long time to rewind it. Plus, if your line breaks and it is up as much as 100 feet, the kite could travel a half-mile before crashing, perhaps becoming tangled in a tree or power line or smashing on a rooftop or in the middle of a road. Such a landing can wipe out a kite, so if you love your kite, you might consider the best string length for a great flying experience as well as a sensible recovery technique to bring it down and fly again and again.

Jo Clark is a happily-retired teacher, travel writer, photographer, food and wine lover. www.HaveGlassWillTravel.com.

Kite Flying Tips

• Find a local club or kite shop • Learn about how the wind blows where you will fly • Children around 5 years old can enjoy this, knowing to hold tightly onto the string and not just let it go when they are finished flying • Find an open field; secure landowner permission if appropriate • Have a helper • Don’t fly near power lines • Learn from Charlie Brown and stay away from kite eating trees • Let out enough line to get the kite up • Have the wind hit the back of your head • Practice • And LET GO – but not of the string!!