The Modern Kiteflier

Over the past generation, kiteflying has evolved beyond a childhood rite of passage into a mainstream adult activity. The kite’s popularity skyrocketed at a time when kite makers adopted modern synthetic materials developed for other industries. A new breed of sport kites appeared and kite artists emerged, dazzling onlookers with three-dimensional aerial sculptures. Inventors perfected new designs and accessories while entrepreneurs created a multimillion-dollar kiting industry. Yet, the kitefliers themselves have remained largely anonymous. Drawing on the World Kite Museum’s audio archives, this book brings together firsthand stories from the community of devoted enthusiasts who pull the strings.

Patti Gibbons manages rare book and archive collections at the University of Chicago Library and has been interviewing kitefliers and writing about kiting since the mid-90s.

Patti Gibbons

Foreword by Bob Ingraham

Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 223
Bibliographic Info: 109 photos (22 in color), bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2019
pISBN: 978-1-4766-7049-2
eISBN: 978-1-4766-3367-1
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments  ix
Foreword by Bob Ingraham  1
Preface  7

1: Friendly Fliers  9
Charlie Henderson 9
Bill, Marylu and Bob Sonntag 13
George Ham 15
Richard and Marti Dermer 17
Paul Fieber 19
Charlie Sotich 21
Marla Miller 23
Ed Grys 26
Pat Daly 28
Mike Carroll 30
Pete Dolphin 33
John Barresi 35
Corey Jensen 38

Between pages 42 and 43 are 8 color plates containing 22 photographs

2: Tailors at the Beach  43
Cliff Quinn 43
Bobby Stanfield 46
Charm and Ron Lindner 48
John and Marzlie Freeman 51
Nancy Lockwood 54
Margaret Greger 57
Gary Engvall 60
Stormy Weathers 62
Bill Bigge 65
Walter Mitchell 66
Scott Spencer 68
Debra Tumminia 71

3: Canvas in the Sky: Artists and Innovators  74
bill lockhart 74
Tal Streeter 76
John Pollock 78
Steve Brockett 82
Jose Sainz 85
Robert Trépanier 90
Sandra and Ron Gibian 92
Mikio Toki 97
Anne Harris 99
Wolfgang Bieck 101
Craig Wilson 107
Francis Rogallo 110
Peter Lynn 113

4: Club Business: The Business of Doing Business  119
Bob Ingraham 119
Bob Price 122
Tom Sisson 125
David and Dorothea Checkley 127
Masaaki Modegi 131
Jim Miller 133
Jon Burkhardt 137
Lois and Dave DeBolt 139
Mel Hickman 142
Don Jaspers 144
Barbara Meyer 147
Ralf and Eva Dietrich 149
Scott Skinner 153
David Gomberg 155

5: The Kite Trade  160
Dinesh Bahadur 160
Heloise and Chris
Lochman 162
Steve Lamb 165
Maggie Vohs 168
Billy Jones 170
Ken Conrad and Suzanne Sadow 173
Kathy Goodwind 178
Brooks Leffler 180
Tom McAlister 183
Don Tabor 185
Catherine “Cat” Gabrel 187
Karl and Sara Longbottom 189
Jan and Wayne Hosking 193
Daniel Prentice 195

Sources  199
Index  203