Kite Buster

by Gary Crenshaw
(Hampton,Ga. USA)

Sometimes you just have to tell on yourself when its too funny not to share the story with others. I saw an opportunity to pull a good trick on someone so I went for it.

I had been flying a stunt kite at the city park and was all packed up heading home when a man and his son were attempting to fly a single line Delta kite. I stopped and watched a few minutes at their failed attempts and realized what the problem was. I just happened to have the exact kite and I knew that you have to slide the leading edge wing rods out to the tip of the wing before it will fly correctly. This is where the trick part came in.

I walked over to them and introduced myself and told the boy you just have to learn to talk to the kite and when it trusts you then it will fly. I picked the kite up and without being noticed I slowly slid the wing rods into the correct position at the wing tips. I told the boy that some people call me 'Kite Buster'.

This time the kite was launched and it took to the sky just like it was supposed to. I ask the kid to pull it back down for a minute and I would show him something else. I held the kite and without being seen I slid only one wing rod out of place and told him that I have told the kite I wanted it to just fly in circles. The boy said 'YEAH RIGHT'. He let the kite go again and it started into circles about ten feet off the ground. This time his eyes grew to the size of half dollars as the kite did just what I told it to.

We then pulled it back down and the secret was out. I sit down and explained what I was doing and how it affected the kite's performance. We all had a good laugh and the kite performed well the rest of the evening. I then spent a while showing them several things to change when a kite doesn't fly the way you expect it to. When I was leaving I told the boy he should always believe in kites but don't always believe everything a stranger tells you.

In conclusion, a new kite flyer is born.