Articles

  • Nicolas Chorier
    A full time KAP professional, adventuresome “Nico” Chorier uses Montepellier, France, as home base but wanders the world plying his trade. He has been a particular success with his strangely wonderful closeup views of the landmark Taj Mahal, in Agra, India. They brought him a measure of fame and even some fortune. (His first attempt on the Taj got him arrested, on his second go round he was backed by the local government tourist agency.) Chorier has photographed whales in Baja, Mexico, festivals in Bali, an agricultural project in Brazil, archeological sites in France.
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  • Dramatic Kite Accident: ‘Bear Makes for the Woods’
    It might be better for me if I didn’t talk about this. It was a bad mistake, but on the other hand, maybe I can slip a bit of positive spin with this version.
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  • News in Brief
    Want to find out where the nearest kite shop in the U.S. is located? A great place to fly? A nearby kite club? WWW. Mapmuse.com is interactively mapping all three categories. They are works in progress and editorial contributions to them are invited…….Because certain types of kites, often Asian, are by tradition made with paper sails, interest in handmade paper has spread around the contemporary kite world. Anyone concerned to further his knowledge of this ancient craft is well advised to visit the Research Institute of Paper History and Technology, in Boston.
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  • Innovative Kitemaking in Budapest, Istvan Bodoczky: Master of Asymmetry
    Istvan Bodoczky chose one of the worst years in the 20th century to be born--- -1943. Budapest was occupied by the Nazis and his family had lost home and fortune. Two years later things took a turn for the worse: the Russians arrived. His father, a judge, was forced to become a Communist to keep his job, and Istvan at one point was quizzed by police as to his father’s loyalty. Already carefully briefed by family, the boy said nothing.
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  • ‘Won a Long Odds Survival Lottery’: World’s Oldest Kite Comes to U. S. For Conservation and Research
    The oldest known kite in the world has been added to the Peter Lynn collection. Lynn is the noted kite inventor and aerodynamical theorist living in Ashburton, New Zealand.
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  • The Vienna School of Art Kites
    An arts academy with two teachers passionate about kites. A kite store staff diligently spreading the word about the sport. Put them together. And what might loosely be called the Vienna School of Art Kites results----a number of enthusiasts creating and flying kites that are as much esthetic objects as machines for flight. Teacher Anna Rubin (see Page 23) and businessmen-hobbyists Helmut Georgi and Jan Houtermans were unquestionably the catalysts.
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  • ‘The Lipstick Is the Kiss’: Anna Rubin’s Original, Emotional Kites
    “The idea of flying has interested me since I was small,” says Anna Rubin. “I remember dreaming it. I made myself a set of wings. Remembering this when I started teaching many years later, I wondered how I could explain the fascination of flying to kids. Kites, I decided.”
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  • Kites Save Fuel, Curb Emissions: Freighters Try Out Wind Propulsion
    Sky Sails, a German firm based in Hamburg, has begun oufitting cargo ships with massive kites designed to tug vessels and reduce their fuel consumption. The firm estimates these kites will reduce consumption by about a third. This is a huge saving, given that fuel accounts for about 60 percent of shipping costs.
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  • Challenges Gladly Accepted: A Well Tuned Creative Partnership
    An art school graduate, Frank Schwiemann, of Kaarst, Germany, from the beginning made innovative kites. They were nice follow-ons to what other people had done. With his particular talent and eye, they were one step better than what had gone on before.
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  • The Fischers: Kites as a Family Affair
    Their sailboat burned, they took up kiteflying as a replacement aerodynamical sport, then they became interested in collecting kites and kite ephemera. Now, 20 years later, the Fischer family, of Vogelenzang, Holland----Jan, Wilma and sons Martijn and Erwin----preside over a huge trove of collectibles. Although difficult to count, the number of significant items is clearly in the many thousands.
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