Date: Thu, 20 Oct 1994 06:30:26 -1000 From: mgraves@leadingedg.win.net (Michael Graves) Message-Id: <1220@leadingedg.win.net> Subject: Picking favorites Getting back from Wildwood meant putting all the kites back into our now bloated kite closet. In sorting out the mess I am struck by the diverse nature of our collection. It leads me to wonder about the nature of other peoples kite collections. So, just to satisfy my idle curiousity, I would like to ask everyone to list the top 10 kites from their collection. These are my top 10 (in no specific order, I love them all equally) 1. Marconi Rigged Box circa 1947, linen on spruce, from Popular Mechanics magazine beleived to be built by Gary Woodcock 2. X-1 Microlight 3. Jabberwocky 4. 4" Box kite by Tom McAllister 5. Giant Bluebird (12" span) by Charlie Sotich 6. 10' "Celtic Variations" delta by Boreal Kites 7. Cicada Fighter by Randy Shannon 8. Buzz Bee by George Peters 9. Pro Cheetah by Rare Air (before it was renamed to Pro Spectrum) 10. Bee and Queen Bee by Frank Schweimann (sp?) As you can see, I did not list any kites that Ilene and I have made. They fall into some other category, not the "collection" per se. Michael Graves = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Date: Thu, 20 Oct 1994 02:35:39 -1000 From: crowell@teleport.com (Carl Crowell) Message-Id: Organization: Kites By Carl Crowell Subject: Re: Picking favorites >10. Bee and Queen Bee by Frank Schweimann (sp?) The name is: Frank Schwiemann Effertzfeld 15 41564 KAARST Germany Some of the best new kites arround are comming from this guy... write to him and you will not be disapointed. = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Date: Thu, 20 Oct 1994 21:41:01 -1000 From: silntobsvr@aol.com (SilntObsvr) Message-Id: <387rad$buo@newsbf01.news.aol.com> Organization: America Online, Inc. (1-800-827-6364) Subject: Re: Picking favorites In article <1220@leadingedg.win.net>, mgraves@leadingedg.win.net (Michael Graves) writes: >So, just to satisfy my idle curiousity, I would like to ask >everyone to list the top 10 kites from their collection. Well, I'm kinda new to kiting (having been out of it for many years, after some great fun as a kid -- ever flown a simple diamond with 2000 feet of string out? How about a French War Kite on 2000-lb nylon rope, tied to a car bumper?), and I only have two kits. 1) Unknown manufacture, like a Trilby with wood sticks (diamond, strongly bent cross-stick), bought at a yard sale. 2) Parafoil 5, 4-cell foil kite, bought during a recent trip to the Oregon Coast and only flown twice. I'm thinking about another French War kite...but I'll make it smaller than the 6-foot span my dad helped me build when I was 6... B) = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Date: Sat, 22 Oct 1994 03:16:40 -1000 From: jburka@Glue.umd.edu (Jeffrey C. Burka) Message-Id: <38b3bo$46d@geog20.umd.edu> Organization: Project Glue, University of Maryland, College Park Subject: Re: Picking favorites In article <1220@leadingedg.win.net>, Michael Graves wrote: >So, just to satisfy my idle curiousity, I would like to ask >everyone to list the top 10 kites from their collection. Okay, I'll play. And I, too, will leave out kites I've made (though that makes things a bit more difficult...) 1) Red Braswell's Tumbling Star (from when KiteCraft took over the manufacture; mine has serial number 00013, which somehow always seemed fitting... ;-) 2) Peter Powell "Sky Stunter" on aluminum frame, bought back in the mid/late 70s. 3) Another mid-70's kite, one of the old Vic's fighters with aluminum spreaders. A *very* cool kite, and man, does it still fly beautifully! 4) Kites of the Four Winds Feather 3 (13' delta) (one of my major regrets is that I didn't buy one of Kot4W's "Altair" kites before they went out of business...this regret was renewed at Wildwood when I saw an Altair flying during the facet/box mass ascension...) 5) my new tie-dye Minergy...the prettiest non-pieced sail I own 6) Jordan Air Pro 7) custom Ultra 8) 2 or 3 winged mylar boxes (these kites, each a single type of mylar, are red transparent and silverized) dating back to the early 70's. I don't remember how many are still tucked away in the closet, but I'm pretty sure I have at least two. I'd guess that I had my first one by age 5 at the latest, and they were among my favorite kites at the time. 9/10) These kites are ones that are no longer in my collection, but which had a tremendous impact on me, I'd guess somewhere between the ages of 6 and 9. The first was a *gorgeous* 100' mylar dragon that my grandfather picked up for me at Go Fly a Kite in California. It was a very thin, crinkly mylar unlike the mylar dragons I see today. It was yellow/orange/ red/purple, with big long strips taped together to form the tail. The head had a dragon's face printed on it, and it came in a huge cardboard carrying case. I can't begin to guess how many times I flew it, but little kids can be very hard on kites. ;-) The other was a generic tetra kite that some company used to make. They sold 'em in sets of 4 cells, and I think they also sold a 10 cell package. The kite was made of orange plastic sails on these weird plastic sticks (which split very easily), held together with molded plastic fittings. I think I went through several of the kits, but never had enough of 'em at one time to build a kite with more than 4 cells. I can remember vacations to the beach when I was quite little. My brother and I would wake up well before my parents, and we'd leave our apartment and go out on the beach. I would fly a kite and my brother would fish from a jetty. I can't say I'd want to fly such a kite today -- I'd much rather build a tetra, but I wish I still had one of the old sets around for sentimentality's sake. Jeff (dreaming of easier times: gunther keeled kites and kite ferry, puffer kites (who here remembers *those*!), skylinks (another one Jeff doubts many would remember), and so on...) -- |Jeffrey C. Burka | Pithy, insightful quote to be inserted | | | when one occurs to me. *If* one occurs | |jeffy@glue.umd.edu | to me. | = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Date: Sat, 22 Oct 1994 00:03:20 -1000 From: crowell@teleport.com (Carl Crowell) Message-Id: Organization: Kites By Carl Crowell Subject: Re: Picking favorites In article <1220@leadingedg.win.net>, mgraves@leadingedg.win.net (Michael Graves) writes: >So, just to satisfy my idle curiousity, I would like to ask >everyone to list the top 10 kites from their collection. My Top Ten Kites 10: The Nacierier. 80 cu. m. Cellular Kite. Graphite, Nylon, Kevlar and Aluminum. Built by Phillipe Mutrenot, 1988. 9: Ion. 30 mu. x 70 mu. Eddy Kite. Monomer Gold Foil. Built by Nelson Pribnow at U.C.S.U. Labs for flights in the magnetic wave field accelerator, 1974. 8: Hargrave Tri Box. 4m. x 6m. Original Unique Hargrave. An full scale experimental model built by L. Hargrave, c.1912 7: Nanjing Fighter. 40cm x 35cm. Chinese Fighter Kite. Silk and Bamboo. Gift to Richard Nixon from the estate of Mao Zedong in 1972. 6: Solar Wing Mk IV. 400m. x 1200m. Solar Sail. Mylar Film and Glass. Experimental design, was to be used on canceled shuttle mission to study solar wind, 1989. (Bought surplus at $12.00/ #) 5: Japanese Edo. 2m x 1.2m. Edo. Washi, Bamboo and Jute. Painted Edo by Mutushrata Tanakia c.1640. 4: Small Eddy. .8mx.6m. Canvas and Spruce with 10m tail. Unknown fabrication c. 1789. Flown by Jousall Dupped over the Bastille July 14, 1789. 3: Sun Man. 4sq. m. Parafoil. Nylon and Dacron. By Katharine Crowell, 1992. 2: Tibetan Yamamma Kite. 1.2m x 5m. Paper, Bamboo, Jute. Painted kite with gold leaf. c.1920 1: Stalins Kite. 1m.x.7m. Eddy Kite. Canvas and Bamboo. Flown by Joseph Stalin and his son in the 1920s at Stalins summer dacha. By Yuri Fichedin, 1919. oh well.... carl = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Date: Sun, 23 Oct 1994 04:11:07 -1000 From: dickbell@netcom.com (Dick Bell) Message-Id: Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 261-4700 guest) Subject: Re: Picking favorites Michael Graves (mgraves@leadingedg.win.net) wrote: : So, just to satisfy my idle curiousity, I would like to ask : everyone to list the top 10 kites from their collection. These are my top 10 (in no specific order, I love them all equally) 1. Martian Hiway, 50' Parafoil by Ed and Bonney Wright. 2. Wings, by Jose Sainz 3. Ghost in a House, by Steve Brockett 4. Catman, by George Peters 5. Dragon Centipede, by Han Fuling 6. Pterosaur, by George Peters 7. Tetrahedral, by Spencer Chun 8. Horny Toad, by Gail Bell 9. Bee, by Frank Schweimann (# 7) 10. Collection of Fighters, by Randy Shannon Plus lots of great line laundry ;-) : 10. Bee and Queen Bee by Frank Schweimann (sp?) : As you can see, I did not list any kites that Ilene and I have : made. They fall into some other category, not the "collection" per : se. : Michael Graves -- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dick Bell dickbell@netcom.com Dallas, Texas = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Date: Sun, 23 Oct 1994 04:20:15 -1000 From: dickbell@netcom.com (Dick Bell) Message-Id: Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 261-4700 guest) Subject: Re: Picking favorites Dick Bell (dickbell@netcom.com) wrote: : Michael Graves (mgraves@leadingedg.win.net) wrote: : : So, just to satisfy my idle curiousity, I would like to ask : : everyone to list the top 10 kites from their collection. : These are my top 10 (in no specific order, I love them all equally) : 1. Martian Hiway, 50' Parafoil by Ed and Bonney Wright. : 2. Wings, by Jose Sainz : 3. Ghost in a House, by Steve Brockett : 4. Catman, by George Peters : 5. Dragon Centipede, by Han Fuling : 6. Pterosaur, by George Peters : 7. Tetrahedral, by Spencer Chun : 8. Horny Toad, by Gail Bell : 9. Bee, by Frank Schweimann (# 7) : 10. Collection of Fighters, by Randy Shannon : Plus lots of great line laundry ;-) Sorry about the double post. -- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dick Bell dickbell@netcom.com Dallas, Texas = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Date: Sun, 23 Oct 1994 08:10:24 -1000 From: mgraves@leadingedg.win.net (Michael Graves) Message-Id: <1232@leadingedg.win.net> Subject: Re: Picking favorites In article , Dick Bell (dickbell@netcom.com) writes: > >: 10. Collection of Fighters, by Randy Shannon > Randy's stuff is great! I met him at the Buggy Boogie in January. Do you know if he has anything new to offer since then? I'm such an adict. Michael Graves = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Date: Mon, 24 Oct 1994 15:21:58 -1000 From: dickbell@netcom.com (Dick Bell) Message-Id: Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 261-4700 guest) Subject: Re: Picking favorites Michael Graves (mgraves@leadingedg.win.net) wrote: : : > : >: 10. Collection of Fighters, by Randy Shannon : > : Randy's stuff is great! I met him at the Buggy Boogie in January. : Do you know if he has anything new to offer since then? I'm such an : adict. Michael, I'm sure that he has lots of new kites. He allways does when I see him. In fact I'm not sure that he builds too many of the same design. I know that the fighters fly very good and it doesn't hurt that he puts some of the finest graphics I'v seen on them at the same time. We have several followers of Randy's kites in Dallas. :-) -- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dick Bell dickbell@netcom.com Dallas, Texas = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Date: Wed, 26 Oct 1994 16:45:06 -1000 From: rock@netcom.com (Anne Rock) Message-Id: Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services Subject: Re: Picking favorites Carl Crowell (crowell@teleport.com) wrote: : >10. Bee and Queen Bee by Frank Schweimann (sp?) : The name is: : Frank Schwiemann : Effertzfeld 15 : 41564 KAARST : Germany : Some of the best new kites arround are comming from this guy... write to him : and you will not be disapointed. Frank was at the AKA convention, with his field of tiny spinners, bee swarms, colorful banners and bols, and fighters.. His kites are beautifully made, simple yet elegant. Kevin Shannon of Carlisle Kiteworks imports some of Frank's kites and bols. Kevin's phone # is 717-243-7913. Anne -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - * Anne Rock | * * rock@netcom.com | * * Berkeley, CA | * - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Date: Wed, 9 Nov 1994 21:15:16 -1000 From: lwien@aol.com (LWien) Message-Id: <39sha4$a57@newsbf01.news.aol.com> Organization: America Online, Inc. (1-800-827-6364) Subject: Re: Picking favorites In article <1220@leadingedg.win.net>, mgraves@leadingedg.win.net (Michael Graves) writes: How do you like the Jabberwocky???? Larry = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =