New Tech Kites

Dodd · Joined: 13 May 2005 Posts: 152

My 3 favorite places to fly.

#1. Rex Roth Park located in south central Pennsyvania is one mile from my home.

If you have seen just about any of my training videos over the past 10 years, if there is farm land and rolling hills in the backgroud, possibly a ball diamond, thats Rex Roth Park.

Also a good RC Plane field too when the wind is finished.
I will soon get some nice pics up here from this beautiful place!
They just added paved walkways, benches, it is really turning into a nice park. It started with two ball diamonds, but now has 4 and a soccer field with plenty of room for future growth. I will have to host a kite festival there some day.
The view is farm land and rolling hills, and not much else except for a few homes and a few farms......
Winds are good at just about any direction except north west, where they happen to be good at place number #2

#.2 Sam Lewis State Park.
this is the original one, the main one in the beginning, Rex Roth became the local fliers "Secret Spot" when the "hill" (sam lewis SP)became to crowded which is still does on a nice windy day this time of year with many kite fliers from the local area.

Back in the day 10 years ago, we would have anywhere from 8 - 15 sport kite fliers there. Now, maybe 3 or 4. But thats good too!

A pamaramic view of the farm lands of south central Pa, and a wonderful view of the one mile wide Susquehana River.
I flew kites there as a child over 40 years ago. It is an open hill area for the kite flying area with a tree grove on the West side, the bad direction for winds. Ask any local flier up there when you go for advise on where to set up depending on the wind conditions.
Rick or "winged V" is often at the hill, he is there many nights per week.
The official "king of the Hill" title still belongs to Bill Lytle and his side kick and trusty hole digging companion Doggy kite flier, Trumpet.

Rick and Bill I am sure will be happy to help you , so look for them, they will call me, and we will all fly together!

#3. Kite Beach, South China Sea
near the factory where I work 5 months a year, its a nice size beach, realatively clean, plently of palm trees for shade, cool but not freezing in the winter, very very hot in the summer, waters good and its great after 4pm. Consistant Direction of either side or off shore breezes, high winds for kite surfing and High wind kite developement, medium winds, and we get 0 sometimes too, but its a beautiful place and has everything you could possibly want. Except for girls in bikinis, most do not dress for the beach. But no problem, its a great place to meet other foriegners like myself.

After 4pm, the beach comes alive with spectators, venders selling kites and food etc, but before then, its a wonderful place to work at my office with no interuptions. in seclusion.
Sometimes the grill guys are there during the day ,easy lunch, Grilled chicken and fish, what more could you want but mostly I am alone.

My friends refer to that paticular part of the beach as my office because I am there testing and flying often, but its real name now is KITE BEACH.
Known for kites and kite surfing.

The only problem is when we kite surf, the beach becomes over crowed with hundreds of spectators, many flying single line kites.

Kite Beach is the newest of my 3 favorite spots, Ive been flying sport kites at Sam Lewis for almost 20 years, at Rex Roth for 15, and at Kite Beach for almost 5 years.
Many pics of this beach can be found on our web site and catalog.

So those are my 3 farorite places to fly, but my list could be huge, I have flown in so many wonderful places. Funny, my favorite out of all of the exotic places I have flown, is one mile from my house.......
So where are yours?
Dodd

ken · Joined: 17 May 2005 Posts: 22

#1 Treasure Island Beach. The beach is 300 yards wide, lots of space. Lots of kite flyers. There seems to always be a good sea breeze.

#2 Ft Desota Park's "big beach" Once again a very wide beach, a lot is covered with grass and such but still a good place to go practice nose plants (of course I did that on purpose!) with out the fear of hitting someone.
_________________
ken
www.flkites.com

action jackson · Joined: 17 May 2005 Posts: 22 Location: houston/galveston

my favorite places are:

1.San Luis Pass, Galveston,Texas- Great wide beach, great for kitebugging and kite surfing. The winter months are the best because you have miles of beach to yourself, maybe a fisherman or 2.

2.galveston seawall- i like to fly sport kites and single lines on aside-shore wind days here. i like to do tip stands on the seawall and have a most clear beach to myself during the week.on the weekend you get quite a crowd for single-line and fighters here too.

3.ivanpah(drylake)-the best place to buggy around.i've spent over 50 days in the past 5 yrs on this dry lake bugging.it is like a dream.smooth surface and long fast runs.it is surrounded by mountains.

.............aj

action jackson · Joined: 17 May 2005 Posts: 22 Location: houston/galveston

...aj

bnu77y · Joined: 18 May 2005 Posts: 2 Location: nj

Bill · Joined: 19 May 2005 Posts: 3

!st. Rex Roth Park for dedicated flying and Sam Lewis State Park for the view and comrodity with the kite flying. Both locations are in south central Pennsylvania. Hey Dodd, thought I'd chime in the new forum because I'll be one of many NewTech French Connection flyers. That's a hot kite and I wish you success with it. Your freind,
Bill Lytle

Dodd · Joined: 13 May 2005 Posts: 152

Now this is amazing! Bill Posted!
Bill wont post much on the "other" forum because well, you guys know why.

This is why we moved everyone, so you would feel comfortable to post here without being attacked! Thanks Bill!

Wow, I dont know what to say, Bill, is a very old friend of mine, before kiting. I think Bill started maybe 4 years after me. he use to buy kites from me at my kite shop, or should i say, spines. Spines for the Stinger, and I use to kid him and call him the spine king! Then I got smart and loaded a carbon spar in the fiberglass spine and didnt tell him.
Eventually he broke it too, but that was about the end of the spine breaking.

Bill loved the maestrale and probably still does. That was not my design but I sold them of course and Bill probably still has 5 or 6 of them along with an impressive bag of collectors kites, probably mostly in mint condition although him and his dog still fly often.

Now bill is an accomplished flyer. But like Rick, he showed interest in my kites in the past, even liked a few of them, but this is the first time he has really been excited about one of my designs like this after flying Ricks French Connection.

Dont worry Bill, I hook up my close friends, I just dont have any FCs to spare right now.

Another French Connection lover, I love it!

Dodd

winged v · Posted: Fri May 20, 2005 9:21 am Post subject: How does it fly?

I went up on the hill last Sunday and Bill and Terry were up. Bill asked what was all the trouble I started on the "other" forum,locked thread and all.I told him it was all started with a post about Dodds latest proto kite the French Connection. He asked whats it like?I told him this was a awesome kite and does it all. Bill knows kites and asked "does it fly like a chinese kite" and I said absolutely not! Handed him the lines and there was a instant connection.....The French Connection!
_________________

Rick
Flying in the winds of change.

randyg · Joined: 17 May 2005 Posts: 8

1. Tybee Island, GA; south of the pier.

2. Anastasia State Park, St. Augustine Beach, FL

3. Intergraph Field, Huntsville, AL

4. Tennessee Riverpark, Chattanooga, TN (the closest of my favorite places to fly)

Most of my flying is at local schools where the wind is usually not so good.
_________________
Randy

My Sportkite Blog

Bill · Joined: 19 May 2005 Posts: 3

Hey guys,
This looks like pretty good company to share a love of kiteflying. When the FC hits the flying fields there will be something to chat about!!
Bill

Chris · Joined: 12 May 2005 Posts: 114 Location: Austin, TX

1. Jockey's Ridge State Park - Nags Head, NC
It's the East Coasts' largest natural sand dune. Views of the sound (bay) and the Atlantic ocean with incredible sunrises and sunsets. When you are on "the hill" you feel like you are on top of the world. ~ Chris

------------------------------------------------
2. Enchanted Rock - South Central Texas
It reminds me so much of Jockey's Ridge, as it resembles a sand dune from a distance. It is a large pink grante dome that has emerged from the surrounding limestone thanks to erosion. It is about 1.5 hours west of Austin. There are great camp sites at the base of the rocks. It is a bit of a climb to the top, but the winds are sweet and the views are nice. At night, you can't help but recite the "Deep in the heart of Texas" song because there are so many stars.

------------------------------------------------
3. Big Bend National Park - Big Bend, Texas
So remote, it is the least visited national park in the country. Sometimes you just want to get away. Watch out for the wild javelinas.

DuPont Spinner · Joined: 27 May 2005 Posts: 2 Location: Auburn, Wa

Being located in the pacific northwest, my favorite places to fly are Ocean Shores, Wa. and Long Beach, Wa. However, if I can't get to the ocean, I'll drive about 20 minutes to Enumclaw, Wa. where there is generally a wing coming from the foothills of the Cascades. If you are in the area, drop by Sunrise Elementary School. It's a huge field and w-i-d-e open.

DuPont
_________________
It may not be much, but that's all there is.
http://community.webshots.com/user/kevald

kitehead · Joined: 28 May 2005 Posts: 2

Baylands Park, Sunnyvale California.
My home field. Wonderful mown grass. Barefoot all year round. Decent, predctable wind off the Bay. Not a lot of room, but it's home. Very Happy

Long Beach, Washington
Great beach, great wind, memorable times.

Seaside Beach, California
Laboratory Grade wind coming in off the Monterey Bay. some nice folks there too.

Natural Bridges State Park, Santa Cruz, California.
Awsome scenery. Excellent wind if coming from the right direction, otherwise a swirly mess. I'm sentimental about the place. We had our wedding there. How many people in this world have a Peter Lynn Giant Octopus at their wedding?

TeamTKO · Posted: Thu Jun 02, 2005 1:16 am Post subject:

My Favorite Places to fly kites (USA):

1. Long Beach, Washington.
It's hard to beat the clean winds, mild tempuratures, and huge beach! No need to carry your kites far from ur car, because you can drive on the beach. And if you break your kite, there's 3 kite stores in town, where you can get parts!

2. Wichita Falls, Texas
Lake Wichita Park is my local flying field and is a short 3 blocks from my house. The park has several open fields and are free of soccer fields. The area is flat with very few wind obstructions. There is a an RC airplane field 50 yards from the field I use there when I'm by myself, and when the wind is too strong for the RC guys to fly their planes, their field is excellent for buggying! Sometimes when buggying there, you have to watch out for the Texas Speed Bumps (Armadillos). Another section of the same park is next to a lake and I've hosted many kite festivals there. Because of the lake, it has become very popular with Kite Surfers. Sheppard Airforce Base is located in our city and is the primary fighter jet training base for the NATO pilots. So, many airforce jockeys from the Netherlands, Germany, and UK come to the park to learn kite surfing while stationed at Sheppard AFB.

3. Lincoln City, Oregon
for the same reasons as why I like Long Beach.

4. South Padre Island, Texas
Where else in North America can you fly kites on the white sand beaches in January and enjoy temps in the 70's (not many places north of Florida and Texas).

My Favorite Places to fly kites (Internationally):

1. Sibu Island Resort, Malaysia
This is a small private Island just 20 miles off of the east coast of Malaysia. It features white sand beaches, warm blue waters, and smooth winds! There are no motorized vehicals of any kind on the island, so there is no noise from normal cities. It's very relaxing! Nohting like standing knee deep in warm blue water playing with the coconut trees and doing power dive stops with your NTK Spirit Quad line kite!

2. Guadeloupe Island in the French West Indies.
Same reasons as Sibu Island! Plus it's one of the top 10 diving spots in the world and is great for underwater kiting, cliff flying, and nude beaches!

3. Wan-Li, Taiwan
This is a small tourist town with good beaches, spectacular scenery, and friendly people. Our Team TKO, Dodd Gross, and the rest of the participants for the 2004 Taipei International Kite Festival were there last October. And we will be there again this year.

4. Tienaman Square, Beijing China:
It's wide open and you draw a lot of interested onlookers when flying there. And it's kind of cool knowing, that it's the same place that many Chinese political demonstrations have taken place.

5. Ghandi's Ashram/Home - Ahmedabad, India:
John Barresi and I flew fighter kites there last year (2004). Because this place was once India's famous 'Ghandi' Ashram/home, it felt very special that we were allowed to fly kites there, and tour his Ashram. The location is very scenic and overlooks a large river. The landscaping around the complex is very well landscaped. It's very serene there!

I have many more places that I love to fly kites, but I won't list them all. It's not always about how good the wind or weather is where you choose to fly kites that makes a location one of your favorites. Sometimes the history and significance of a location, makes flying kites there that much more memorable and special.
_________________
Troy Gunn - TKO Sport Kite Team - USA

kchunks · Joined: 18 May 2005 Posts: 5 Location: Salt Lake City, UT

I am yet to make it to the shoreline of the Great Salt Lake or cruise on the Salt Flats, but I'm sure they're nice as it seems that there is almost always wind (and it's the closest thing to a beach I have). However, the shores of Bear Lake along the Utah/Idaho border are very nice.
_________________
Kevin