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Good news from Prism! It’s rare that good things happen more quickly than planned. But Prism has announced that they are thrilled to release a new, unique product ahead of schedule.

The 2007 EO (Expandable Object) series is the original brainchild of Phil McConnachie, internationally renowned kite designer from Australia. His EO6 and EO10 are dynamic box kites with intersecting elliptical planes that fly stable or as marvelous tumblers. They’re completely unique and eye-catching in the sky, and best of all there’s literally no assembly required. The expandable structure erects itself with a built-in elastic as you remove it from its unique travel clasp. Just find some wind, pop it open, and watch it soar and tumble as it climbs into the sky. Three contrasting color combinations can be flown in multiples on a single line for a spectacular show. Convenient, unique travel clasp holds 200 feet of line with winder handle (included). (more…)

I always thought that kites were just for kids. I couldn’t have been more wrong! I got linked up with this group of people that fly kites, and they all are around my age (middle aged but not gray!). Truth be known, I have rarely encountered any young kids flying stunk kites, seems like most of the enthusiasts are my age, give or take ten years either way. They invited me to come out give it a try. So I said, “What the heck, one afternoon kite flying couldn’t hurt, and would be a fun diversion from the usual activities like cycling that I’m active in during the fair weather months. I started out flying the Prism line of kites. The very first kite I ever flew was a Mirage kite, and we flew that one on a drizzly day, so it wasn’t much fun just because of the weather, but nonetheless, it was a chance to fly for the first time. A few months went by and I was invited again to give flying a chance on a nice sunny day. I tried several kites, from Prism’s Quantum and Mirage, to the E2 and Nexus. The one that I gravitated to was the Nexus kite. I think that it’s just built in me that I like fast moving things (sports, auto racing, cycling). So it just seemed natural that I enjoyed the Nexus kite. The Nexus is a real fun kite to fly! It is very fast, and has a good strong pull in strong winds. In fact, the pull almost parallels that of the Quantum in a good stiff wind. Now small kites usually are not known for strong pull, but the Nexus definitely is a strong puller. The Nexus is a very quick kite to boot. (more…)

The general rule of thumb is the smaller the kite, the faster it flies, while the larger the kite the more pull it gives. We could illustrate it like this:

So a middle sized kite might be expected to be the best kite, combining just enough speed and pull to give the best flight. But modern kite makers can design almost any features they want into kites. Choose based on your needs, and present ability. Consider where you want to be in few weeks of practice. (more…)

The Granddaddy of all kite festivals in North America, the Long Beach kite festival is a whole week of kites, kites, kites. Officially known as the 2006 Washington State International Kite Festival, it is seven full days of kite flying starting Monday Aug. 21 and terminating around 4 PM the following Sunday. For example:

Monday was Kite Trains, arches and multiline stacks, and fighter kites.

Tuesday team day, tubes, rokkaku battles, and Ben Franklin events.

Wednesday Paint Me Patriotic along with Senior fly, fighters, rokkakus and indoor kites at night,

Thursday Handcrafted Competition, quilted kites, more fighters, and more indoor,

Friday included mass ascensions, sport kites, more fighter kites, Ft. Worden made kite fly, and the highlight of the day. The I-quad Revolution team wowed the crowd with synchronized flight of 6 Quads. It was amazing. John Baressi and crew barely had time to work out the moves together the night before. It was so incredible to watch. And they flew at days end in high wind. All this followed by the cocktail party at the World Kite Museum, and the unveiling of the Hall of Fame. (more…)

Tom from Highline Kites does a great job of putting on a very nice festival in Bereley. Normally working out of his mobile kite shop, maybe the smallest kite shop in America, he draws some incredible combinations of kite flyers and enthusiasts to the festival. Tom is the kite ambassador of Cesar Chavez Park, next to the Berkeley Marina. The park was a garbage dump, rescued and made into a wonderful walking, kite flying, dog walking, and bird watching park. The wind off of the San Francisco Bay creates sufficient and continuous wind. This year it was favorable weather and wind, even if a little overcast Sat. morning, warming throughout the day. The views from the park of the Bay and the bridges was post card perfect.

For me the drawing card was the Hamamatsu, Japan delegation who assembled and flew the huge Machijirushi traditional paper and bamboo kites. Their thirty two line bridle, one half inch main rope, and twenty foot bamboo spars give new meaning to make your own kite out of paper and sticks! Each kite was paraded around, while horns blew, drums thumped, and the delegation acted out a mini version of their annual kite festival, which back in Japan would be complete with 170 teams, and full scale kite battles for the last 448 years! Here we caught a taste of that traditional celebration without having to travel to Japan and without the crowd of 1.5 million people. (more…)