The World on a String

From giant bugs to kite-powered buggies, the hobby of kite-flying is soaring to new heights.

Surveying a beachfront kite festival for the first time is like watching a scene out of Fantasia come to life. A 100-foot pink octopus floats overhead with its long tentacles fluttering in the wind. Olive-green snakes suspended in mid-air spin faster than roulette wheels. Two small purple triangles dance like animated birds, drifting and wiggling in time with Jimmy Buffett's "When the Stars Fell on Alabama Last Night." Okay, Walt Disney might have chosen different music for a soundtrack, but dancing brooms have nothing on a sky filled with giant flying ladybugs and 65-foot human legs.

The Wildwood, NJ, Kite Festival is much more than standing around, oohing and ahhing at a surrealistic skyline. There are heated competitions between teams and individuals for precision flying and choreographed "ballet" routines. Enthusiasts dogfight with Japanese Rokkaku battle kites, struggling to down the opponents' crafts. Stunt flyers create scenes that would make the Blue Angels shudder, and kite-propelled buggies cruise over the beach at speeds up to 40 mph.

When the Wildwood festival began 11 years ago, the number of competitors was so small that half the participants also served as judges, recalls Roxborough-based enthusiast Bill Beneker. Originally it was just 20 or so people getting together for the weekend. Now, there are 300 registered participants and hundreds more who just come out to watch, including people from as far away as Germany, Colombia and England. Every year between April to October, 200 to 300 kite festivals take place across the country. Wildwood's began on Wed. May 22 and wrapped up on Mon. May 27. There's another one coming up June 8-9 at Congress Beach in Cape May, NJ.

Peter Dolphin, president of the American Kite Flyers Association (AKA), says nationwide membership is 5,000 and estimates that there are about 1,000 people who regularly take part in competition.

Kite flyers are generally an easy-going lot, figures Beneker. They can't be frustrated by the fickle shifting of the breeze. The best wind can usually be found at the beach, but Beneker's team — the Valley Boys — practices at Valley Forge Park. To rehearse, the team usually climbs to the highest patch of land in the park with cut grass.

"It has less obstructions," explains Beneker. "If a wind comes over trees it usually has turbulence." He adds that it's important for a team to practice somewhere with a moderate amount of wind so they can be prepared for a competition with bad breezes.

Dorothy and Gene Lewandoski, of Cleveland, OH, flew two of the largest kites at the festival.

"My husband doesn't drink and he doesn't smoke," she says. "This is how he relaxes." The pair paid $4,000 for a 65-foot-long soft kite sewn into the shape of a soccer player's legs. (A humongous soccer ball kite was included.) The aircraft, built in England by the world-renowned designer Martin Lester, would have cost $16,000 new.

A kite-flying thrill that's relatively new on the horizon is the Buggy, a three-wheeled go-cart pulled by the power of a large kite. It's kind of a Big Wheel for adults. Certainly the price — between $1,000 and $2,000 — takes it out of allowance-money range. But if you know how to keep a sail full of air, you can keep going for 20 minutes or more in one shot. Some enthusiasts replace the wheels with pontoons and use them on water or snow.

"I like the feeling of all the power that's traveling through the kite to my arms," explains Fritz Gramkowski, a recent Penn graduate. He sells the contraption by mail order through his father's Haddonfield, NJ, company, High Fly Kites.

Seaside is the best place for buggying, but if you're thinking of getting one for the kid in your life, bear in mind that the wind has a lot of pulling power, so make sure he or she can hold on.

Jason Robbins, CIO for Robbins 8th & Walnut jewelers, took up kite-flying several years ago while hanging out at his family's shore house. Now he flies every week in FDR park and even has a kite emblazoned with the Citizen Watch logo.

"It's co-op advertising," he explains while keeping the watchmaker's name aloft over Wildwood Beach. Robbins receives free timepieces in return for the floating black and grey billboard.

Beneker's kite team is sponsored by High Fly Kites. The master enthusiast promotes, test-flies and suggests new product designs in return for free equipment. Other perks include free trips paid for by kite festival organizers in return for demonstrations. In the coming months his team is going on an all-expenses-paid trip to a wingding in Colombia.

The variety of kites available run a wide gamut of shapes and sizes and are plenty more complex than the diamond shaped, one-line kite that Charlie Brown and Ben Franklin made famous. Support rods, which used to be made out of fiberglass or wood, are often constructed out of light and durable wrapped graphite. For the skin, or sail, manufacturers may use Ripstop, a thin polyester fabric that resists tearing; Carrington, a nylon which is used in racing-yacht spinnakers; or a new film laminate called Icarex.

Dual-line delta kites are triangle-shaped with two lines, making them easy to maneuver and good for stunts. Prices may range anywhere from $50 to $300. These are very commonly used in competition. Tricks include snap stalling, spinning and axle (stalling and spinning). Many maneuvers take time to learn. You have to pay close attention to the nose of the kite and pull accordingly.

Stacked deltas are a connected row of delta kites. They typically come in rows of six and nine with the price averaging about $30 a kite. Ultralites can fly in very low wind and even indoors (you have to move to keep them going). Dual-line foils ($100-$1,700) are slightly curved rectangles that let you feel the power of the wind. Quads ($100-$400) have four lines that enable better control and higher speeds. Some take the form of a stretched-out butterfly. Quad foils can cost as much as $1,000. Fighters ($5-$50) are small one-line, diamond-shaped kites with a lot of agility. There are also parafoils, spin socks, birds, dragon kites, cellular, dragons, single-line deltas, sleds and soft kites. Soft kites have no support rods whatsoever, but they fill up with air and float easily.

Do the prices seem a tad higher than you were expecting? Beneker builds his own kites with a sewing machine for a fraction of retail cost. Materials can usually be purchased through mail order. A dual-line delta that might cost $300 to $400 from a retailer, he can make for $50. Unfortunately, he doesn't sell his kites, but assures that it's pretty easy to make your own if you borrow design tips from the better manufacturers. Beneker won't make a kite if he thinks it will take more than eight hours of labor. One of his more distinctive pieces is a Texas license plate with the names of his daughters inscribed on it.

If you're looking for more guidance in the world of kiting, pick up the magazine Sport Kiting. It's published by the organizer of the Wildwood Kite Festival, Robert Chewning, and the new issue includes tips on starting your own kite team, a buyer's guide and product reviews. Contact Chewning/Sport Kiting at 232 West Trenton Ave., Morrisville PA 19067, 736-3715.

The address of The American Kite Flyers Association is 352 Hungerford Dr., Rockville MD 20850.

And for info the Cape May kite fest June 8 and 9, call (609) 884-5508.