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Kite Personalities - Martin Lester |
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Martin Lester, widely acknowledged as one of the world's premier professional kite makers, is famous for his large ram-air-inflated soft kites, most notably the billowing, charming legs—a pair of woman's legs complete with stockings. Dozens of variants on the soft kite theme in animal and human versions have since been flown around the world by Lester, to the immense pleasure of viewers, surprised and pleased by the flying visual puns. Attracted by the Cody kite, Lester, of Bristol, England, came to Samuel Franklin Cody early in his kite flying career. "The kite looked so interesting. It was a very elegant shape. It had the stability of a box kite with the added lift created by the wings. It really worked well. Then I read about Cody himself and found him a fascinating guy." With Nick Morse and other similarly intrigued British enthusiasts, Lester in the late 1970s collaborated in building a replica of Cody's turn-of-the-century man-lifting system, but using modern materials. The team found that after initial birthing pains the system worked for them as it had for Cody. Team members gave several dramatic public demonstrations to prove the point. Like others in the team, Lester took his turn in flying. What was it like? "Scary, yes!" he says. "We got up to three hundred feet, high enough to die. Actually, the first fifty feet are the worst, because if you fall you might still live." Living within the convenient range of Farnborough, home of British aviation and the place where Cody designed and flew the first powered airplane in England, Lester has studied the wide-ranging aspects of the Cody career and remains surprised at the inspiration and insights Cody's work still provides for him. In the years since 1995, Martin has continued work on large-scale inflatable kites. His most recent are male and female scuba-divers—complete with wet-suit and tanks—who can realistically swim in the ocean of air alongside mega-dolphins, fish, starfish, and octopi. Additionally, he has designed elegant flying men and women, this time with sticks, for the beginning kite enthusiast. Inexpensive, easy to assemble, and perfect for light wind days at the beach, these kites are geared to a much wider audience and let them experience Martin's brilliance, first-hand. Martin has been an active member of the Drachen Foundation's Board of Directors since its inception and has helped to observe the European kite scene as well as the kite trade.
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