The Big Kite

This is the only picture I have of the Big Kite. 

I sewed it on a borrowed sewing machine from rip-stop nylon bought at a five and dime store. The poles were fiberglass rods. It was a double Coyne kite, six feet two inches tall, as I recall, and with a 12 foot span. I flew it on shark line, with a large wooden ring spool and two heavy ground stakes to maintain control. 

I flew Barney, my terrier at the time, on a double harness to a height of about 35 feet. He was not thrilled by the experience. 

On the day of the last flight of the Big Kite, it was flying at at about 1,200 feet in steady wind, staked to a deep iron post not far from where this picture was taken (that’s me, bent over, with a bandana on my head tying the rigging). At dusk, the wind dropped a bit, and the line changed angle and got caught on the college radio tower, and would not dislodge as much as I tried. I didn’t know what to do. The kite could pull 150-250 pounds. In the glommen, I cut the line as high as I could and hoped no one would look up, and that the kite would come down overnight without the poles spearing anyone, wrecking a car, or causing a wreck.

The next morning, at 5 am, I followed the kite line across the road and through a dozen back yards, and found the kite resting in a bush. It was fine, but I realized I had just avoided a serious potential wreck, and hung up my spurs as a mad flyer.