Kites!
There is something about the graceful dancing a kite does on the wind that can capture the imagination and spirit. I began my interest in kites when as a boy, my grandpa homebuilt a big octagon kite out of wood and paper grocery bag material. This kite replaced a cheap one from the 88 cent store that blew away when the wind snapped the line and got crushed in the parking lot of Safeway. My grandparents lived in Tillamook Oregon, a place where the wind blew quite often. I would fly in the school field on weekend visits there whenever possible. Later in life I bought a three piece trilby stunt kite set. 18 years later I became interested again when I bought a Beetle stunt kite. Then in 2013 I bought a dual line Prism sport kite When I bought this kite it came with a DVD and my eyes were opened up to the possibilities of all the slack line tricks that could be done with these kites. My next encounter with kiting pretty much pushed me over the edge. My wife and I spend quite a few weekends at Cape Disappointment state park in Washington, where I fly quite often. That park is only about 4 miles from Long Beach, WA where the international kite fest is held in August. I was bicycling the bike path this August on Kite fest week from Beards Hollow to Long beach and saw all the kites from a distance as I approached town. I was quite impressed with everything but the BIG Para foils flying line Laundry really sparked my interest. By September I had bought a 60 sq ft Gomberg parafoil for a lifting kite and bought a number of pieces of line art to add to the line. That was in 2014. Today my wife and I fly both Quad line kites and Dual lines as well as our collection of single line kites. We fly whenever we get the chance and like kite flying at the beach as well as the Columbia river gorge, where winds are usually consistent. Our closest Beaches are Long Beach Washington and Sunset Beach to Gearheart in Oregon. We try to attend most of the kite festivals on the Oregon and Washington coast and can be found most of the time at Long Beach washington.
This site is for Kite Photo's and commentary about all things having to do with the hobby and sport of kite flying. I will add content from time to time. Until then,
Fair wind and sunny days!
Alan Johnson
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Gomberg Sky form 60 with line art at Sunset Beach, Oregon. My first big kite
In December of 2014 I got a bigger lifting
kite, a 215 Sutton flow form design and also received my 30 ft spin sock by Gomberg
Kites.
Here we are again at Sunset Beach Oregon for another awesome winter fly
day!
Sunset Beach July 2015.
John Barresi and I at Longview
Washington. He snuck up on me and gave me a few tips on flying my Rev
kite. Our big kites show in the background,
plus you can see Rae Bohn's crown kites down the beach.
John Barresi working his magic with my Widow
NG kite, May 2015 at Long Beach. John and TK were at the Beach working up
a routine
for an up coming show in Canada. He gave me some tips on dual line tricks
and I learned how to axle my kite that day!
Rae's frog on his 250 flowform.
John and TK working on a fly routine.
Dick Marsland, Rae Bohn and Alan Johnson flying Rev kites, May 2015 Long Beach.
Lean into it! Pull up, Pull up!
Paula and I flying at the waterfront park in Rainier Oregon.
March 2015. My first day flying a Revolution kite.
Steve Kline and Alan Johnson flying Rev's at Sunset Beach July 2015.
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Five stack in Raineer.
Stonehenge WA.
Columbia River Gorge fly
Our favorite place to fly if not on the beach is the Columbia River Gorge.
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The
American Kitefliers Association
Join the AKA!
http://kitelife.com/ A great resource and one of the most popular kite forums on the web.
http://www.gwtwforum.com/ Another popular web forum
Some favorite kite shops:
The Kite Connection. A great place to buy your next Revolution kite, great prices and colors!
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Contact info: Alan Johnson - AKA member
windchaser - at - deerislandbrewery.com
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