Kites

If the wind is blowing and you can't sail, go fly a kite!

Up With Kites! Down With Bears!

Kites and ParaFauna

"Rainbear Sky Dive Corps Training Manual - Mark I"

Another of my favorite activities is designing, making and flying power lifting kites as launching platforms for The Rainbear Skydive Corps, a disorganized and not always cooperative group of parachuting teddy bears, who along with related soft animal friends of theirs, are known as "parafauna". As the nominal "Commanding Officer" of the group (I say nominal because the bears really aren't much for taking orders), I spend a great deal of time in this activity. I'm fortunate enough to be asked to travel about in the summer, performing with the Corps at kite festivals. In the winter, I travel to kite clubs and conferences to teach classes on some of the kites I have been most successful with, such as fluted sleds (a design on which I have done quite a bit of developmental work and which I believe is probably the best power-lifting kite yet), as well as classes on the design of parachutes and rigging.

I wrote "The Rainbear Skydive Corps Training Manual", a 90 page compilation of information on parabear skydiving and the fluted sled kite. It has been out of print for awhile, but I recently had a number of photocopies made up. They came out with a couple of minor problems, a page out of order and a missing photo of a bear, but are otherwise fine in terms of content. Photocopying is an expensive way to reproduce a book, but I do have them. They are $15 plus $3 postage and handling (US - allow a bit more for foreign). The Manual includes chute and pack patterns, fluted sled patterns and instructions, and much more. I am also available to teach classes on parachute design and rigging (for bears not people) and on the fluted sled.

Fluted Sled Kite With two ladies, one from Washington and one from Australia, I worked on the design of this kite, which is one of the most powerful and stable kites available for use with scientific instruments and aerial cameras.   Testing the set-up on a 120 sq. ft. Fluted Sled kite, the largest of this design so far successfully built and flown. It once took three large guys 30 minutes to bring down a 30 sq. footer when we left if up a bit too long in a freshening wind. If you aren't careful, this one can lift you off the ground!

The Rainbear Skydive Corps   Amelia Bearheart, about to make a perfect landing on a camper!

Another nice bear jump

Mockery A friend, and internationally known kite maker, named Don Mock gave me a sack of nylon scraps "too small to be used". I built "Mockery" from them. It is 12 1/2' high x 7 1/2' wide.  The three tails are from the same scrap bags and are 135' long. People seeing this kite suggested I try doing a patchwork quilt, and thus opened up a whole new activity for me.

Pentecost This kite was made for a Methodist church, and was featured world-wide in the kite and church press. It was also both the cover and June picture for that year's Methodist calendar. It is 8 1/2' high by 6' wide.

Amelia, the Baron and the Captain, ready to fly   I plead innocent Ann insisted I post this just to show you how crazy I really am. This is the well dressed bear dropper ready to hit the beach. The back pack holds various reels of kite line and additional bears. Careful study will reveal the big iron stake tied to the sideof the pack frame. There is another stake on the other side, and a short handled sledge hammer in the pack. The two largest bears, Amelia Bearheart and Baron von Oops, hang outsidethe pack, one on either side. The long black case holds about six kites, ranging from a 30 sq. ft. to smaller stuff. Note the crash helmets on the bears for safety and on bear dropper in case the bears have bad aim This set up is called for because the parking is often pretty far from the actual flying area. The pack weighs about 40 pounds.

If you are interested in the fluted sled kite or in parabear activities, you can email me for a copy of "The Rainbear Skydive Corp Training - Manual, Mark I". My email contact information is on the main index page of this site.

Doc Wightman

2-22-03

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