Windstar Kites
of
Greater Pittsburgh North

One Giant Leap...
By Boop Baumgardner

Tom and I were invited by Con to help test fly Frank Seidita's newest "toy" before its official debut in Florida. We had no idea what we were going to see, but when we got to Cooper's Lake, we saw a big bag of green nylon. As it is unrolled, and unrolled, and unrolled...we wondered, what could it be? With lines ready and the wind beginning to blow, we watched from the ground as it started to fill with air and to take shape. It kept growing, and growing and GROWING!! What did we see?? It's a bird...it's a plane...NO, it's a SuperFrog. Make that a MegaFrog. Make that 45 feet of MegaFrog!!

People on I-79 start beeping their horns as they saw this MegaFrog flying. I wonder if they thought it was the Attack of the Killer Frog or something. Some people from the campground came over to see this giant. One young kid asked if it was Frogzilla!! That sounded like a good name for it, (at least it was better than the name I came up with...trust me, don't ask). This one-of-a-kind MegaFrog flew for quite awhile.

After a lot of pictures, and some ooohhhing and aaahhhing, it was time to pack it up. This Frog is a great addition to Franks' bag of tricks, and we thank him, and Con, for letting us join in the second maiden voyage.

Notes about the MegaFrog from Con: I had said something to Tom & Boop about a secret, but no matter how many times Boop had asked for clues as to what the secret was, I would not let the cat out of the bag (or Frog as a case may be). All I would say was that it was a BIG secret!

Earlier in the week I had met with Frank to deliver the kite to him, and they test flew it for a brief time. But, because of the unstable wind conditions and the threat of a thunderstorm looming, the MegaFrog was packed up quickly.

Later in the week it was planned for Frank and I to meet once again to do a more thorough test fly and to link tag lines (two extra stabilizing lines) to the kite. That's where Tom and Boop came into the picture. They were asked if they would like to be a part of the BIG secret.

I figured it would be better to have a couple of extra fliers to help with the MegaFrog, and help indeed they did. Tom helped Frank tie the tag lines while Boop and I attended to the Frog. We also rotated positions as human ground anchors, photographers and spotters.

The MegaFrog had been on the drawing table and in the works since last September, and because it would be the very first of it's kind, Frank had asked me to keep it hush hush, which I agreed to do. Frank is now the proud owner of the very first Jim Rowlands 45' MegaFrog in the world! Congratulations, Frank & Barb!

(click images to enlarge) Look for more photos coming soon.

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