May 2009 - The wind was back

May 31 was a bright sunny day. Unlike the April fly, there was wind, 25 kms per hour with gusts as high as 45! That didn't stop 20 members that came out to fly. We assembled the kites that we thought could withstand the wind. Bob got out his 30 ft long Wizard.

It looks great up in the sky.

Donna Taylor tried to scare the other kites out of the sky with a "Jaws" kite.

I got out a small parafoil. My attempt to fly a cody resulted in a broken spar.
Tyrone and Terry also had some "spar" mishaps.

Donna's colourful delta.

Peggy flying a parafoil. You can't break a spar if your kite doesn't have any!

Greg's Blimp kite flew well in this wind.

Paul assembling his Rokkaku. That was the only way to do it in the high winds.

Success!. A beautiful kite indeed.



Bob Luft flying a small homemade 2 liner.

The Rok again.

Greg's son flying an airplane kite.

As the day progressed, there were many people enjoying the kites. There were some non members flying their kites as well. There was also a festival in St. Thomas that was attended by some of the club members. They also had the strong winds. Thanks to everyone who came out to fly in Port Colbourne. The June fly will be on the 28th. Maybe the sun will shine and the winds won't be so strong. See everyone then.

April Fun Fly

I woke up to an overcast, foggy, drizzly sky in Stoney Creek. It was about 8 degrees (46 for you south of the border), not a promising day for the first fun fly of 2009. After lunch I set off to Port Colborne with all my kites in the trunk and my winter jacket and gloves in the back seat. I was prepared for the worst case weather. As I headed south from St Catherines, the outside temperature on the cars' dashboard started climbing. The clouds were breaking up and the sun was out. When I arrived at Lakeview Park it was very bright and 22 degrees. That was good enough for just the tshirt and no sweater. There were about 15 kiters already there and they were catching up and showing off their kites. The only problem was that someone forgot to order a nice windy day!

With a very light wind, the only thing to do was admire all the kites on the ground.

Here's Bob trying to save his roller as the wind died and it fell out of the sky.

The gound display was very colourful, with everyone hoping that the wind would pick up.


Bob and Greg admiring one of Bob's homemade 4 liners. Again, on the ground waiting for a gust.

I attempted to fly my Blast, which will fly with very little wind, but alas it was too much effort to keep it airborn.

I gave up at 3:30 and set off back to Stoney Creek. When I got home it was still overcast and 10 degrees (there was even a steady breeze). This just shows you how different the weather can be, and only 45 mins drive by car. Well, hopefully the wind and sun will cooperate on May 31st, our next scheduled Fun Fly for 2009. See you at the end of May!

2009 Kite Building Workshop

It started as a rainy cool Sunday, one of those days you really didn't feel like getting out of bed. Oh, but wait, there is a kite workshop and I need a new kite for the 2009 season. A Jimmy Pentagon Kite to be exact. That's what we set off to make in this year's start to the season. People arrived before the 10:00 starting time to set up their sewing machines, grab a coffee and a donut and to display the projects they worked on over the winter.

Bob White gave a brief history of the pentagon shaped kite and then the procedure for making the kite. He showed a few examples of what can be done to "animate" the unique shape.


Soon everyone picked a colour and started cutting and sewing. Here are some "birds eye" views



Doug carefully taping the edges of his yellow kite.

Carlos' butterfly kites.

At around noon, Doug Jermyn stopped in to show us some a picture of the SilverDart and a section of a tetrahedral that he received while in Baddeck. He gave a short update on the goings on with the SilverDart replica and then stayed for some lunch.


Here's Fred and Donna helping Andy with his kite.

At around 3:00 almost everyone had finished and helped to clean up for our group photo.

The sun had broken up the clouds and rain, so a few of us ventured out to the usual flying spot to try out our new kites along with some of the other kites that were displayed at the workshop.


At the end of it all, we had a great turnout. 6 clubs were represented, 33 attendees and 30ish new kites to fly. Thanks to Bob White to take time in his hectic schedule to organize a great workshop, Stephanie Bowes and Chris White for making sure we were fed (nobody likes a hungry kiter), Vaino Raun for the much needed coffee at the start of the workshop, and Mary Kort for taking all our money.

This workshop is a great way to start the season and I will be looking forward to April 26th for good weather and a steady breeze to see everybody again and to fly a few kites as well.

Replica Silver Dart

On November 22, Bob White arranged for a group limited to 20, to visit the hangar at the Russell Aviation Group Airfield. This hangar houses 4 vintage WWII airplanes as well as the replica of the famous "Silver Dart" originally built by the Aerial Experiment Association headed by Alexander Graham Bell 100 years ago. As most of you know, Dr Bell was also a kite enthusiast as well as the inventor of the telephone in 1876. The group that attended was made up of kitefliers who had expressed a long time interest in kite history and aviation.

Here is the current state of the replica. The main fuselage is almost complete and the motor is mounted. The 2 wing sections are 2/3s constructed and the ailerons are in place.

This is a non functioning replica of the original Curtis Engine that was in the original plane.

A closer look at the fuselage with the engine mounted and the replica engine beside it.

Here is the "modern" version of the "cockpit". It is modified for the historic reenactment of the original 1908 flight. The original controls were too crude to be used so some modifications were made to make them more like a modern airplane.

Here is the end section of the wing and the ailerons.

This is the rudder and a replica of the original seat. After the reenactment, the silver dart will be transformed into it's original designed state with the replica engine and seat replacing the "modern versions" for authenticity.

This is the right wing section, still being assembled.

Here is the stabilizer. On modern airplanes this is at the back of the plane. AEA's version mounted it on the front.

Here is the working engine, more powerful than the original, but in working condition.

Here are a few pictures of the details of the workmanship that are put into the replica.

Some drawings from the original blueprints.

Pieces of the yet to be assembled wing sections.

Bamboo rods waiting to be assembled for the rear end of the fuselage.

Wing skins ready for assembly.

Doug Jermyn, the president of the AEA 2005, gave a presentation of the history of the Silver Dart, as well as the history of the replica. All of the work is done voluntarily and is relying on donations by the public and private industry. The kiters that attended each donated $10 to the fund.

He explained that all of the work done was as close as possible to the original aircraft including the type of wood used in construction. The fabric, however, is different as silver balloon material was not available. Doug answered all questions from the group and was very knowledgeable on the history and facts of the the original Dart.

At the end of the presentation, Bob gave Doug and the AEA group one of the plaques he designed for the last Canal Days Festival. This plaque commemorated the Aerial Experiment Association's 100th anniversary. We also were treated to visit and photograph the 4 other vintage aircraft that are housed in this hangar.

After the tour, we all headed out to lunch at Betty's Restaurant in Chippewa, where we talked about the tour, kites and just enjoyed the food and company.

If you are interested in more information on the Silver Dart Replica, the website is http://www.silverdartreplica.com

The directors met in November and are planning the 2009 season. We are planning the spring kite making workshop for March and the first Fun Fly on April 26th. With winter slowing the flying season, I am keeping warm inside and planning my next winter kite project. I'll post pictures and comments in the new year.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from the Directors of the Niagara Windriders!

October Fly Cancelled :(

Well, the October "Halloween Fun Fly" was canceled due to the forecast of rain and high winds. The day was bright, but overcast with the threat of rain coming at any time. The winds were very high and gusty. I checked the Fort Erie weather and they were reporting gusts to 50 km/hr. We did get a rain storm in the afternoon in Stoney Creek, but we also had sunshine for part of it. Oh well, maybe next year.

Instead of the usual kite flying pictures of the kite fly (because there isn't any) I thought I would share pictures of the making of my Crossdeck that I built over the Christmas holiday last year.

I found the design in the summer/fall 1993 issue Kitelines. It is a kite originally designed by Carl Crowell. The article gave the dimensions and materials list, so I set out to acquire the necessary spars and materials to get going. I ordered the parts and material from Kitebuilder.com. They have a sample pack of ripstop for $50, their choice of colours, a real bargain for the price. After I got my materials, I decided to make the kite out of 9 different colours. If you ever want to make a project 9 times harder, this is the way to do it.

Being an engineer, I have access to AutoCad and I drew out the kite there to get the radius of the arcs and fabric dimensions needed in the design. I used a cardboard template to cut out the body of the kite.

Above is the fabric sewn together and laid out on the kitchen floor ready to be cut, and the result below. I had to cut out the other panel with the diagonals running the opposite way to get the pattern I wanted. I had to make sure all the colours would match up in the middle.

Below is the project and quality control manager...Tigger, keeping an eye on what I was doing.

I used 1/2" black edging folded in half for all the edges. I bought 1" material and slit it into 2 halves, folded it over and ironed it to keep it 1/4" strips.

Above the front, below the back.

Below is the back of the main sail sewn together with the spine pocket in the middle.

The back all finished.

The front all finished.

Using the same colours in the same order, I made a 50 ft tail.

Front and back with spars in the spare room.

With some of the cuttings I made a colourful bag.

Here it is flying high over Lake Erie.

Altogether it took about 40 hours to complete, but well worth it. Every time it flies, I always have someone tell me how beautiful it looks up in the sky.

Well, I know it's the end of the good flying weather, but we are planning for next years' activities. The directors are meeting in November to plan the year ahead. Hopefully we will get great weather and wind for the 2009 season. See you next season.

September - A Gray and Gloomy Day

September's monthly fly turned out to be a very cloudy, gray day. Despite that, there were about 25 brave kiters that came out to try to get kites in the air. The wind was from the north at 6 to 8 kph which meant the wind was off the trees at the north end of the field. much the same as the beginning of Canal Days. Unlike Canal Days, the wind didn't shift. There was even a time when I felt a slight rain, making me pack up the single line butterfly I had staked when I arrived.
Above is a sled delta with the comedy/tragidy faces made by Dennis Ische.
Terry and Tyrone with one of the new additions from a newly opened toy store in Port Colborne.

Russell and his grandson, enjoying the afternoon.

Rowan flying his Big Buka.

Fred and Donna getting ready to fly a patriotic Rev.

Here's Fred and Donna showing the newly renovated Niagara Windriders Rokkaku.

Bob and his monster kite from Costco.

Chatting and catching up on the month's goings on.

Bob Luft flying one of his many home made kites.

At 3:00 o'clock we had the prize draw and here are the results:
Rowan won a line winder. Andy and his wife won a kite bag and a sand anchor. Paul won a NWKA coffee mug, and Russell won a a spool of kite line. Congratulations.
Thanks to Doug Isherwood for sending me a few of the above pictures.
I don't know how many of you know that if you click on any picture, you will get a larger version displayed. (hit your "back" button to reurn to the post)

Well, next fly is on October 26th. This is the last fly of the year and is also the annual Halloween Fly. Come dressed up and fly your scariest kite! We'll also have hot cider and I'm told hot dogs, I think to help keep us warm. I hope to see everyone out in costume. See you then!

August Fun Fly

How do you follow the great success of Canal Days?...the August fun Fly with a great turnout, great weather and nice steady winds! August 31st turned out to be a perfect flying day. There were about 30 or so members that came out to fly in moderate steady winds. There were about 10 kites up when I arrived. Deltas, Roks and sleds were gracing the beautiful blue sky. The strings were hanging low which meant that the wind was just strong enough to keep up the kites, but not enough to pull the lines tight.

Banners were being set up, shelters for shade were also being erected. I took out my Revolution Blast that will fly in just about any wind condition. It's been a while since I flew a 4 line kite at a club fly, but just like riding a bike, you never forget how to fly it.

New member Andy DiTomaso sets up a colourful cellular pyramid kite.

Here's one of Ted Shaw's kites that was on Canal Days.

After walking up and down the field saying my "Hellos" I noticed that there were alot of "minivans" stuffed full of kites! Here's some examples:

What do you do when you need the minivan for the kids? Use a trailer, that's what!

Here's a picture of Greg's son flying a dual line and doing quite well! Some day he'll be good enough for a demo at Canal Days.


After a while, the winds picked up. I had to change out my 90lb lines for 120's. My Rev was pulling harder and I didn't want to break a line. I also decided to pack the Rev away and bring out the Skydancer. It's the rainbow style with 50' tails that always draws a crowd and comments. Around 3:00 there were almost as many kites in the air as there was at Canal days. It was a beautiful sky! You can't get through a day of flying without one good tangle! Terry fixed this one in about 5 minutes.

Andy had a sled anchored with 3 bird kites attached like line laundry. It looked so real I made a video.

Here's the results of our "door" prize drawing. And the winners are:
Terry Hobbs...Kite tail
Stephanie Bowes...Sand anchor
Bob O'Neil...Kite tail
Andy DiTomaso...Mouse kite
Bob White...Coffee Mug
Paul Kort...120lb spool of kite line
Ted Shaw...Coffee Mug
and Jessica Jonkman...Winnie the Pooh flying a kite school folder.
Congratulation to all.

During the afternoon there were lots of spectators coming by and watching us fly. It's always satisfying to know what you enjoy doing, others can also enjoy watching. Next club fly will be September 28th. Let's hope for the same conditions and a good turnout for that. See you all then!