The Kite Gets Drafted.

If you ever wondered what would happen to a kite if the military got a hold of it, wonder no more.
The US Navy actually used kites as aerial gunnery targets during World War 2.
They were designed to be flown off the sides and stern of warships to give gunners training in how to lead and track a moving aerial target.
The kites themselves were actually mass produced and came in a "easy to assemble form"...
here is a link to a great site covering the history and use of these rare kites.
As a veteran, I can appreciate the "technical manual" that goes with it...it actually has some great points we can still use...well, maybe not the part about where to fly the kite from a battleship.
here is that link...
http://robroy.dyndns.info/targetkites/Edition-1/five-foot-kite.html

Announcing!

The Airsport Shop accessories store is open for business over at Cafepress...
Hats, mugs, shirts, and even a dog shirt is available...
how great is that?

Stop over and see...

http://www.cafepress.com/digitalair/6531350

The Larks Head Knot

If you have to learn one thing about kites, it is this...
The Lark's Head or Kiter's Knot.
It is used to connect the control line to the kite bridle in a easy and secure fashion.
There are a lot of ways to tell you how to do it, but this neat graphic is by far the easiest and best one I have ever seen.
Check it out..
http://www.marinews.com/Larks-Head-510.php

Gone Fishin'

Procedure:
1.
Make up components as individual units, dropline, bottle, bait and trace etc. Use snap swivels for easy attachment.
2.
Set up kite and adjust bridle ring until desired angle of attack is achieved. You do this by loosening the larks head knot and sliding the line through the ring and then tightening the knot again. Shortening the left-hand bridle line will make the kite tack to the right and vice-versa. Make small adjustments and fly the kite and keep adjusting until you are satisfied. Let out all the kite line and remove the line from the reel and attach a snap swivel on the end.
3.
Now clip the kite line onto the 3-way swivel, which in turn is attached to the fishing reel, drop line, bottle and bait. You will now be controlling everything from the reel.
4.
Begin to let out line from the fishing reel taking up the slack from the drop line until you can release the bottle. This is a good time to check that the kite is behaving properly.
5.
Keep letting out line from the reel until the bottle, and bait, is the desired distance from shore, this is usually 200m - 500m (650ft - 1,650ft).NOTE: Don't make the drop-line and trace longer than you can back up on land, otherwise you may not be able to get the fish close enough to gaff. Kite fishing alone is not easy so have a helper at hand.


Have not tried this, but I will be giving it a go this summer.
The kite would have to be a fairly big lifter, not a stunt or diamond. I would use either a parakite or a war kite (box kite). The other problem is that most large bodies of water have the breeze coming on shore rather than blowing off shore. Maybe a small lake or pond...I would want to practice holding a steady altitude first above dry land, as contact with the water would be less than pleasant...
I would also of course check with a local fish and wildlife office to see if this kind of fishing were legal, as I know there are rules against gaffing fish...and as always, be safe if trying someting new like this.

Something To Hold You Over.

To get you started, here is a link to a great site that will offers free, (yes, I said free) downloads of some time honored and proven paper airplane designs.
Just print out and fold and fly!
(For those of us here in the States, there is a page available to fit our smaller paper format, so just click on that option when you see it.)

http://www.funpaperairplanes.com/index.html

Spring is just around the bend and like me, I am sure you can't wait to get outside after a long winter spell. While I can't speed that up, These simple to make and fly designs will help pass the time until we can all get out in the wind and sun again.
Enjoy.

Welcome.

Welcome to the official blog site for AIRSPORTSHOP.COM., the latest and hope to be greatest source for all your "wind powered fun".
Here you will find the latest in news, ideas, hints and funstuff in the areas of summer time outdoors flying fun.
From kites to frisbees to gliders to paper airplanes to windsocks and decorations, if it uses the wind, it will be here.
Some will be serious, some will be light hearted, but all will inform and entertain.
So stop back and see what we have to offer.
It will be a hoot.