People often ask, “How did you get in to kiting?” My glib answer is that I never got out. I did the right of passage kite flying as a kid and loved it.  Back in the day of paper or plastic kites, I always had a kite around to fly to de-stress. Then, I lost a kite. It was a gusty day and I lost the battle to get it back safely. I was devastated, because I thought you could only buy kites in March and April.  Some people are thrifty, but I am cheap. I found a book to buy. Having never seen a stunt kite fly, I built my first stunt kite from David Pelham’s Penguin Book of KITES. It was made from Tyvek and wooden dowels. I was also able to learn a few things from Indiana's Ansel Toney. 

Fast forward to organized kiting..... I have been a Comprehensives judge for the Kite Making competition at 3 AKA Conventions, but I learned the most about design and construction when I was a Flight Judge for the Smithsonian Institution Kite Festival on the Mall in Washington, D.C. Olan Turner knew me from the Sport Kite Competition circuit. He invited me to be a Flight Judge. I gratefully accepted and that became my job for 15 years.