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Windstar KitesofGreater Pittsburgh North |
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Windstar KitesofGreater Pittsburgh North |
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Events attended by Fly Pittsburgh Kite Club |
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As part of National Kite Month, Windstar Kites was proud to be a part of the following National Kite Month events in the Pittsburgh area. All of these events were registered with the KTAI and AKA National Kite Month: |
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I was unable to attend this event, but I understand that the club members (although small in |
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A well deserved thank you to Paul Shirey for another fine indoor event. We could not have this event without your dedication to the sport. As for Mike Moore...... I never was at any event in a gymnasium, where you could hear a pin drop, because of the spectators total silence. I'm quite sure you get 36 thumbs up, for your repeat performance of you 1998 National Championship indoor ballet routine. Mike, once again you left me speechless. Please look for a detailed account of this event, and all events mentioned here in the near Fly Pgh Wind Warrior, also available online at the Fly Pgh site. |
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April 23, 1999Wyland Elementary School, "Kite Making Class" & demonstration. Small turn out, but no group is too small to help in the education and fun of kiting! I had eight students and one parent, making my Tyvek sled kites. I also demonstrated indoor kite flying with my Mynergy and the Prism Triad. I think they had an enjoyable experience. I know I did. |
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This turned out to be a great event! Special thanks to Carl Hillard (current President of Fly Pgh Kite Club), for starting this event last year, which then was part of Grove City's Bi-Centennial celebration. Thanks to Jerry Taylor Ford for the use of their very nice field, and to the Grove City Area Jaycees who sponsored the Second Annual Fly. Along with Carl, his wife Marilyn, & daughter Alison, other club members Tom & Boop Baumgardner, Frank Olson, Dan McKnight, myself & brother Joe, and a few other members, we were able to assist over one hundred of the community's kids and adults in have a fantastic family day. Great day, great company, good wind, good field, even though it was very wet in places, from the rain earlier in the week. And.......Fun was had by all! Thanks to everyone who attended for helping Carl, and the Jaycee's in making this event a very positive fun activity. |
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A small group workshop, and fun field fly that all enjoyed. Tyvek sled kites made and |
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This event officially capped off Windstar Kites and Fly Pgh's participation and support of National Kite Month! It finally hit me on late Sunday eve......as to what a great event we really did have. I was so busy that I didn't have too much time to think about it, which is good. That's part of the reason why I now can fully appreciate what happened this weekend. On Saturday our resident national Precision Sport Kite champion, Mike Moore, and his wife Lisa Bookman organized a mock Precision competition, and we had eight fliers participate. Then when dusk came we held our first ever club Night Fly, which was spectacular, with wind picking up to 8 - 10 mph, and staying there 'til 11:00pm. Those of us that camped out enjoyed a late snack of grilled hot dogs and roasted marshmallows over the camp fire, with a relaxing beverage to wind down the evening. Sunday brought bright sun and more wind, and the Rev stacks invaded the sky along with the eight pack of Skydancers, and five Prism Prophecys. Boop's troop, otherwise known as Blind Man's Bluff, took to the sky with the four person Prophecy team (what a sight). Mike Moore deserves the credit, for his guidance in helping to keep the team in the sky and flying (verses the mid-air kite sculpture that I know can happen). I think that Mike, Tom, Ed & Boop did a great job flying their Prophecys. As for everyone else who attended, I'm quite sure that fun was had by all! My only hope is that next year's Spring Fly is as good (with great weather, wind & fun). I Hope to see all that attended this very special event, at many other events this season. Thanks to all the club members, for helping to support my efforts with my shop and with their help in the promotion of kite flying. |
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As I understand, this event was sprinkled on throughout the day a few times, this however did not deter Fly Pgh members from attending, as a dozen members showed up to put on a show. The fly had a low turnout of people from the community because of the rain, but rumor has it that officials from the college and the community were so impressed with what they saw, that Fly Pittsburgh will definitely be returning to this fantastic field in the future. Thank you, to the diehard members of Fly Pgh who attended this event. |
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Once again, this yearly event turned out to be nearly perfect. We had great weather although the winds were a little choppy at times. There were 28 members of Fly Pittsburg in attendance, which is the most ever for this event. I think that the Buffalo Twp residences really enjoyed having us there, as we had many spectators asking questions, and indeed joining in on the fun. Special thanks to Fly Pgh, and to the community for inviting us to fly. |
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The fly went well as far as Fly Pgh members in attendance. The community however was very lax, with only a few people showing to check out the kites, probably because of the dreary sky. It is however, a nice location for us to have flies, although nowhere near as large as Cooper's Lake Campground, Fly Pittsburgh's home field. I got there about 10:30, to be greeted by Dick Baker, who was the sole flier there at that time. Everyone else arrived within the next 2 hours. Dick & Judy Baker Music....no music. Setup.....no setup, just the van loaded for bear. I did not put up any banner poles, however Tom & Cheryl Kear put up their usual fantastic ground & sky display, and I had a 12' single line delta w/large hypnotwister, plus there was an average of six sport kites in the air at any given time. This was not too bad a sight to behold. Then there were the few parents from the community and kids with their deltas flying. When I got there in the morning, I was not up to par, and I had to leave the festivities by 2:00pm. It seems that I came down with that nasty stomach virus that's been going around and it had me laid up for two days. Oh well, so much for modern medicine! I can honestly say that, at this fly, it was the only time I did not have fun flying kites (because of feeling ill, of course). I think everyone else had a very enjoyable time though. |
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Approximately 41 Fly Pittsburgh members made the trek north to Erie. Saturday started out with variable South light winds (over the tree line, and the peninsula). Not exactly the best wind conditions to start, but by 11:00 am the wind changed to a more favorable East - North-East. With fairly steady winds for a few hours , there was quite the spectacle to be seen, as a Trilobite, a Giant Frog, with an occasional baby frog in tow, Eddy arches, spinners of all types, Prisms, Skydancers, Flexis, Aerostars, and of course Revs, all took to Let us not forget that we must also eat, and when 1:00pm came, a virtual feast was to be hand as all the Fly Pittsburghers set a spread that could not be beat! We should go into the catering business as a group, for the variety and amount of food we always have at our larger outings. As the day progressed, and our laundry and kites finally had to be brought down, many of us headed to Hills Campground. We proceeded to relax and enjoy the company of our fellow fliers around the campfire at Forrest & Patty Glaser's humble abode until 11:30pm. Sunday morning, my crew and I struck camp very early and headed back to the beach, only to be greeted by man eating mosquitoes. Half of Fly Pittsburgh had enough of the pesty insects, and after eating an early lunch, many headed for home. Fortunately, the wind changed around, and the blood suckers finally left. Around this time Lee Sedgewick had taken his new Q-board out for some action on the water, using a Quadrifoil C-3 as his engine. It was quite a site to see Lee buzzing back and forth, as he passed the sailboaters & sailboarders like they were standing still. He entertained many of us for almost two hours, as we watched him speeding along the water, until his foil finally luffed and fell to the water. Bravo Lee! You never cease to amaze me. All in all, even with our unwanted guests on Sunday, the group had a great weekend, and we look forward to coming back for DPI in July! |
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Our regular monthly fly this time was blessed with good wind, but it was pretty hot and humid. This I believe lead to a light turnout of fliers. We still had a great time flying and I happened to have a few Flexi Pro-Speeds out for training purposes, so was tempted into demonstrating some dual kite flying (one with each hand, using two 3' control bars). I forgot how much fun it was to do one man pairs flying. Then we had Jim Rowlands' new "Jet" flying right beside a Flexi, and it was very surprising to feel the greater pull of the Jet, over the Flexi. However the two had flight speed which were very closely matched. The "Jet" was loads of fun, and took slightly different handling, as it is a bridled soft foil. We were treated to viewing Tom Baumgardner, as he practiced his routine to music of the Moody Blues, for the Ohio Cup Competition. Just remember Tom, go out and have fun.............and win! Go get 'em! Just kidding. Of course, our resident Masters Champion, Mike Moore will be competing, and will also pair with Tom for a ballet competition. I'm quite sure that Tom will have great guidance under the Master. Good luck to Mike & Tom, and do not forget to have a fun. I'll see you on Sunday. |
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This event turned out to be a great event for two of our members. Mike Moore, and Tom Baumgardner made their premier debut in Intermediate Pairs as "Airflow". I am proud to say that their nearly flawless routine garnished them 1st place. The Ohio Cup was Tom's first event to compete in. He also did very well in the Indoor Open Class placing 3rd, Intermediate Ballet placing 3rd, and Intermediate Precision taking 4th. Tom said that he really had a great time and that he was especially proud of his flying with Mike, and his indoor performance, at the Bowling Green University sport complex. Master's Champion, Mike Moore also showed his talents, as he was awarded 1st in Master's Ballet and 2nd in Precision. He also competed in the Indoor Open Class, and took 4th (only because he misjudged the flying arena and spread his kites to far from one another). Mike's routine was done with three different kites, flown in sequence. I was told by Tom and others, that Mike's performance was excellent, with the exception of the time Other Fly Pittsburgh kiters to attend were, Lisa Bookman, Frank Hynds, Frank Olson, Tom & Cheryl Kear, and myself. We all had a very enjoyable time. |
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A valiant effort was made by members of Fly Pgh Kite Club, to get kites in the sky at this event. It simply was impossible to fly anything for more than a few minutes or even seconds at a time. The conditions were possibly the worst of the year at any event, with the gusty, swirling wind at Alameda. After the club's best effort, at 1:00pm it was decided to go to Cooper's Lake, where there was found to be cleaner wind and much better conditions. With a smaller turn out than usual, but the fun was not lacking at all, once the group arrived at our home field at Cooper's. Thanks gang for coming out! |
July 23, 24 & 25, 1999Discover Presque Isle weekend will be held Friday (night fly), Saturday and Sunday, at Presque Isle State Park, Sunset Point. This is Erie's premier event for the 1999 season, and is meant to raise awareness of the state park and all it has to offer. Kiting is a big part of DPI days, and the unofficial world record for the most Revolutions in the sky at one time was set two years ago at this event, with a mass ascension of 93 Revs. Another fine weekend at Presque Isle, but Saturday evening the fliers/campers were surprised with a quick storm, with gusts above 40 mph. As the beach dwellers scrambled to keep all thier tents from launching like the kites they flew earlier, the wind and rain came breifly to put a slight dampener on the event. The rev's were out in full force again, of course. But no records were broken this time at DPI. A lot of Fly Pgh members showed up for this event, but no one took the time to take a count, as we were to busy having fun. A special thanks go out to Lee & Sue Sedgwick and all the gang in Erie, for yet another great event! |
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August 7, 1999Harmar Day, A fun community event of which Windstar Kites, and members of Fly Pgh are invited out demonstrate various types of kite flying. Windstar Kites will also have a booth set up to spread some fun and joy of kiting. Special thanks goes out to Mike Moore, Frank Olson, Tom & Boop Baumgardner, Kay Engelsiepen, and the boys (Jason, Joe, Chris, Ralph & Tom), for all your help with my participation in this event. The Harmar Twp community once again embraced the oppurtunity to have kites decorate this festive day. Although the wind was very light, and changing direction constantly, the kites on the banner poles helped in cueing Tom & Mike on the conditions from moment to moment. Tom & Mike did a wonderful job in demonstrating the art of dual line sport kite flying, in spite of the very unfavorable conditions. Thanks again to the gang for everything, especially helping me set up and tear down my booth. |
August 14, 1999 Fly Pittsburgh normal monthly fly, location: Jerry Taylor Ford, Grove City This one started with a very light turnout of six members of Fly Pgh,for this our sixth regular monthly fly of 1999. Because of the threatening weather conditions, almost all of our members decided to pass on this one. The morning was very overcast, and the forecast was calling for thunderstorms, so Tom & Boop, Carl Hillard & Alison, Frank Olson, and myself were the only ones to brave the storm. Actually when we were there (from about 10:00am 'til 12:00 noon or so), the sky was mostly cloudly, with no rain, and mild wind. Mike Moore then arrived to bring the rain to follow, once noon time passed. With a terrential downpour at hand, the small group disbanded with Mike heading to Tom & Boop's place, and everyone else heading their separate ways. Mike & Tom ended up flying at Tom's home field, at "Slippery Rock U", and got in some pratice for their upcoming competition in Dayton OH. I'm quite sure they will do just fine. Good luck guys! The only other person to show (better late than never), was Frank Hynds, who arrived at the Ford dealer right after everyone left. Poor Frank missed out on some decent flying that afternoon, but he had no clue that anyone had gone to another field. Better luck next time Frank! |
September 11, 1999 Fly Pittsburgh normal monthly fly, location: Cooper's Lake Campground, Slippery Rock, PA Time 10:00am - ?? This event turned out to be the last musical event of the year, as music was supplied by Con Engels. We were once again treated with the site of Mike Moore & Tom Baumgardner practicing their (soon to be famous) "Air Flow" pairs routine. About 15 members show up at this event. The wind was fair, and the sky was sun filled and bright. We really could not ask for more. |
September 19, 1999 Fly Pittsburgh Impromptu fly, location: Cooper's Lake Campground?????. Time 10:00am - ?? Light turn out, light winds, partly cloudy. As usual, the die-hards were on hand. |
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October 4 - 9, 1999 American Kitefliers Association, National Convention A few of our diehard kite fanatics from the Fly Pgh Kite Club will be making the trek to this event (being the closest location as of yet, to the Pittsburgh area). So far, members that are planning to attend are Mike Moore, Lisa Bookman, Tom & Boop Baumgardner, Lee & Sue Sedgwick, Frank Olson, Frank Hynds, Tom & Cheryl Kear, and I. This will be my fourth Nationals and I'm looking forward to a wonderful event, with all my friends (from Fly Pittsburgh, and all my friends from all over the world). All from our kite club who were in attendence, seemed have a great time at convention.Monday, Frank Olson and I arrived in Muncie to be greeted by rain. This did not dampen our spirits though, beacuse we both knew that the week had many enjoyable moments in store for us. We found our way around town, locating our accomodations, the convention center, and then finally finding the flying field. And what a field it was, consisting of almost 2 square miles of open flat area, owned by the AMA (Academy of Model Aeronautics)........simply wonderful!!!!!! Tuesday and Wednesday brought sunshine and good winds, workshops started Wednesday, and I was busy demonstrating the Skydancers at the main field, and had the pleasure of flying along side such accomplished friends as Lee Sedgwick and Ray Bethel. Frank Hynds was like a kid in a candy store, and got a big kick out of all the sites that the convention had to offer. Frank Olson was back to his old self, flying Fu Man Chu, and his 200 diamond kite arch. Likewise, Tom & Boop were flying and participating in everything they could possibly do. In the mean time Cheryl Kear, with her husband Tom's help, was running around trying to keep up with all of the events. Especially the kite making events. I'm not quite sure how many kites Cheryl entered, but I know that it was more than a few. She ended up placing in the finals, with her fabulous Wizard Rok. Congratulations Cheryl!!!!!! Mike Moore with his wife Lisa Bookman, arrived late Wednesday and Mike's time to compete was at around noon on Thursday. This along with other factors made it a very busy day for me. In the morning on Thursday, Tom Baumgardner & I flew an improtu routine to music, with each of us flying a Skydancer with tails. I was told by several spectators that we did a fine job flying to the music in syncronized fashion. I think we both surprised ourselves. I only wish that someone would have caught it on video for us. By noon the sky was full of almost every type of kite imaginable, with the giant show kites dominating the sky. Tom and I helped Frank Olson to lauch his 48' diameter USA Boleno ring, and it graciously took it's place among the large kites. In the mean time at the far end of the flying fields Mike Moore was getting ready to compete. I gave my video camera to Tom, so he could tape Mike's competition, as I was busy packing up my ground display then headed over to the lunch pavilion to attempt to get lunches for Tom, Boop, Mike, Lisa and myself. This didn't work too well because they kept running out of lunches for the 500+ in attendance, so I missed Mike's performance, but fortunately I got to see it on video later. Good job Mike! After all the excitement on the flying field, it was time for me to set up my booth at the Fly Mart, and with my good friends Tom & Boop I was able to get set up in time for the grand opening later that evening. Then Tom & Boop went their separate ways, for Tom competed in the unofficial indoor fly. While Tom, Boop, Mike &Lisa were at the indoor competition, I was pleasantly surprised with a congregation of parading fellow Fly Pghers, lead by Cheryl Kear (holding a birthday cake for me). It seems that Boop had made it a point to tell everyone that Thursday October 7th was my birthday. I was greeted by my friends Cheryl & Tom Kear, Frank Hynds, Frank Olson, Lee & Sue Sedgwick, and everyone else in the Fly Mart joined in in singing happy birthday. Thanks to all for this wonderful gesture. Boop, watch out, I owe you one:-) Friday and Saturday came and so did the rain. All day, both days, competitors were confronted with "Fly or Die". They had to compete or be disqualified. Not the most ideal conditions, but for the most part there was enough wind for the competitors to fly. And fly they did. The last competition was actually an exhibition of the "Past Masters". Lee & Sue Sedgwick both blew me away with their routines. And of course my friend Ray Bethel did not leave I dry eye in the house (at the field), as he performed his classic, perfect, Wind Beneath My Wings routine. To all the past masters, all I can say is, absolutely stunning job!!!!!! When Saturday's awards banquet came, we all were informed of how well our local flyers performed: Tom Baumgardner....2nd place (Bragging rights) for the Unofficial Indoor Fly Tom Baumgardner....14th (out of 16) for Indoor Dual Line Sport Cheryl Kear.....2nd place in Kite Making (Rok category) for her Wizard Rok Mike Moore......8th (out of 16) in Master's Individual Precision Mike Moore......8th (out of 16) for Indoor Dual Line Sport Our friend Sam Ritter from Michigan took 1st Place in Kite Making (Rok category) Congratulations to all!!!!!!!!!!!!! Good luck next year. See you then! Very special tahnks to all my friends who supported my efforts at the AKA Natinals. It means a lot to me to have such friends (you know who you are). Thanks again! |
October 9, 1999 Fly Pittsburgh normal monthly fly, location: Cooper's Lake Campground Time 10:00am - ?? I and many of our members were away at AKA Nationals, but I understand that this fly was rained out!!!!!! Better luck next fly. |
October 19, 1999 Fly Pittsburgh Impromptu fly, location: Cooper's Lake Campground Time 10:00am - ?? As with most of our flies this year, we had wind. Although light at times, there was plenty of wind for most kites, and we had a fair turn out of fliers, and all had a great time! I had the Fijet on hand for testing of it's new light wind frame set. So far so good. The Fijet has much promise! |
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Look for an update on how this event turned out!
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| November 13, 1999 Fly Pittsburgh Delta Kite Workshop, location: Grace United Methodist Church, Grove City, PA Time 10:00am - ?? Contact Carl Hillard for details at his e-mail: gckiteguy@pathway.net Look for an update on how this event turned out! |
| Dec. 18, 1999 Fly Pittsburgh Christams Party, with indoor fly! |
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