Date: Thu, 16 Sep 1993 07:03:30 -1000 From: jeffy@syrinx.umd.edu (Jeffrey C. Burka) Message-Id: <27a692$gds@umd5.umd.edu> Organization: University of Maryland at College Park Subject: single/dual (was Re: Request: World Cup Results) In article <930916222841@dbell.dseg.ti.com> dbell@lobby.ti.com writes: >Sam, If I may.....for some reason there has allways been some kind of rift >between the single liners and the dual liners for as long as I've flown. >It's interesting. Some flyers don't (won't) join the AKA because so much >effort is put into the dual liners and not as much effort into the single >liners. I personally like both. I keep hearing about this rift (and I suppose I've written on a bit before too) but I'm not entirely just how "real" the rift is. There *are* some problems, but without trying to sound divisive, I'd tend to blame the single-liners for condescending toward the stunt kiters. At least, that's been my experience in the DC area. As I've made abudently clear in these pages before, I'm an avid kiteflyer. Not single line, not dual line (well, okay, maybe quadline. ;-) I like 'em all. I fly 'em all. And perhaps most important to my own form of obsession, I *build* 'em all. I'm an equal-opportunity kiter. Now here's where I'm heading with this: maybe it's just a DC-thang, because we've got such a variety of folks pushing such a variety of kites, but it seems like around here most of the serious kiters, while they might have a preference, do in fact fly (and build) both single and multiline kites. It's pretty rare to go to the Mall on a day when there's a reasonably steady wind and not see at least one big single line anchored somewhere on the field, with stunt kites zipping around beneath it. FlowForms and Roks are the most common, but certainly not the only single lines one might see. I personally feel that one of the reasons the KAK has done so well in the area, despite its close proximity to the Maryland Kite Society, is because we embrace all sorts of kites. While select members of the MKS (including president and one of my own heros Jon Burkhardt) fly a variety of kite styles, it seems like the focus of the club is single-line. And these days, that's not going to get them very far. So I guess what I'm saying is that in *my* experience, the rift is more on the part of the single liners. I'm quite sure, though, that in other areas it's probably just the opposite. It's too easy to look at your graphite-on-icarex high-tech beast and scoff at someone's little Ace (Nantucket Kiteman delta)--despite that the Al Hartig's deltas were among the best... I suppose there's an art to being able to appreciate a wide variety of kites and not get so focused in your own little niche. All this has made me even that much more anxious for next weekend--SunFest '93. There's nothing like standing on a beach with a huge sky full of kites as far as the eye can see. So, once again...Anybody out there going to make it to SunFest? I'll be there all day Friday through Sunday... Jeff (stepping off his soapbox) -- |Jeffrey C. Burka | "When I look in the mirror, I see a little clearer/ | |SAFH Lite [tm] | I am what I am and you are you too./ Do you like | |jeffy@syrinx.umd.edu | what you see? Do you like yourself?" --N. Cherry | = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =