Kite Duration Records - From Stunt Kites to Giant Japanese Kites
Posted: Thursday, September 06, 2007
by Tim Parish
http://www.paragliding-tales-and-reviews.com
Two of the oldest records kept for kite flying are kite duration records and altitude records. In the 21st Century, the use of kites has exploded into all kinds of activities and sports.
There's no real central spot for checking the full range of kiting records these days. Over the years, The Guinness Book of Records and Kite Lines magazine have played a part. Kite Lines is no longer published. However, searching the Web can be relied upon to fill in some details!
The Challenges
The whole point about records is that obstacles must be overcome. Kite duration records are no exception. In the case of single-line kites, the obstacles are usually weather-related. For example, periods of rain can make the flyer seek shelter or lose sight of the kite. Periods of very light wind can force the flyer to reel line in just to keep the kite in the air.
Sport kites, or stunt kites as they are more commonly known, require even more attention since they must be flown continuously. So what do you do when nature calls? What about hunger? Some organization is necessary! Hence it makes sense to involve more than 1 flyer, and fly the kite in shifts.
Flying multiple kites adds it's own special challenge. It's more of a mental drain to keep 2 or more kites out of each other's way for hours on end!
Finally, the giant kites of Japan also set records from time to time. Just getting one of these into the air at all is a challenge, requiring the co-ordination of dozens of crew members. Plus they require strong winds to fly, so duration records are very much at the mercy of the weather.
Actual Kite Duration Records
Kite type: single-line kites
Duration: 180 hours and 17 minutes
Who flew: Edmonds Community College kite team, Harry Osborne directed
The date: 29th. August, 1982
Location: Long Beach, Washington, U.S.A.
Comments: Set at the Washington State International Kite Festival, using a parafoil kite.
Kite type: dual-line sport kite
Duration: 4 hours, 44 minutes and 44 seconds
Who flew: James Robertshaw, Jonathan Harris & Simon Dann, each with one kite
The date: 8th. October, 1995
Location: London Docklands Arena, London, England
Comments: This was a Guinness World Record. They flew Revolution SUL kites.
Kite type: 2 dual-line sport kites at once
Duration: 5 hours, 1 minute and 7 seconds
Who flew: Troy Gunn
The date: 17th. September, 1993
Location: Clinton, Oklahoma, U.S.A.
Comments: Troy flew one kite from his waist and the other with his hands, as a kick-off to the 1st Clinton Kite Festival.
Kite type: 3 dual-line sport kites at once
Duration: 12 hours and 12 minutes
Who flew: Ray Bethell
The date: sometime in 1994
Location: Long Beach, Washington, U.S.A.
Comments: Ray flew one kite from each hand plus the other one from his waist. Since this record, Ray Bethell has set numerous other records, some of them duration records, with various configurations of stacked sport kites.
Kite type: indoor kites
Duration: 39 hours and 53 minutes
Who flew: Carl Brewer, Tom Sisson and Bob McCort
The date: 8th. February, 1980
Location: The Kingdome, Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.
Comments: Tom Sisson is one of the founders of the Washington Kitefliers Association.
Kite type: giant Japanese kites
Duration: 6 hours, 7 minutes and 55 seconds
Who flew: a crew of between 80 and 100 people, all at once!
The date: sometime in 2001
Location: Sagamihara City, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan
Comments: The Giant Kite Festival of Sagami is a traditional event that has been held since the Tenpou period (around 1830) in the Edo era. The kite itself is 14.5 by 14.5 meters (48 x 48 feet) in size and it weighs 950 kilograms (2100 pounds)! A very stiff breeze is required for it to fly.
Finally...
Hope you enjoyed reading that info. Of course, it was just an attempt to pull together all current kite duration records! The details will eventually go out of date as new records are set. However, it gives you some idea of the answer to that question - just how long can a kite be kept in the air?
Tim Parish and his family are rediscovering the joys of kite flying. They log their kiting fun on their My-Best-Kite.com website, and also research the kiting world. This site will introduce you to many kinds of kites and kite flying activities, including stunt kites which feature in many kiting records.
This Article has been viewed 213 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
Top-level comments on this article: (3 total)Here is come info about someone and kite records and acheivements you did not know about;Records set by Mix Mcgraw2nd Guinness Book of World Records Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, OH 2003 230 Stunt Kites1st Guinness Book of World Records Caesar Park, Berkeley, CA 2002 219 Stunt Kites (at sea level)5th World Record Buckley Air Force Base Aurora, CO 2004 150 Stunt Kites (at 5280ft above sea level)4th World Record Ocean City, MD 1988 253 Stunt Kites (at sea level)3rd World Record San Francisco CA, 1988 224 Stunt Kites (at sea level)2nd World Record San Francisco CA, 1988 200 Stunt Kites (at sea level)1st World Record San Francisco CA 1982 52 Stunt Kites (at sea level)Form more Info do search on; 2MTeamskymasters or Mix Mcgraw stuntkite records-
Just a note to say thank you for including the update to your stunt kite record.Sincere Appreciation,Mix Mcgraw
To: Tim ParishFrom: Mix McgrawJust a note to say thank you for including the updates to your stunt kite record.I may go for 260 if I get back to California sometime in 2009 or 10. Will keep you posted and send you dvd and potos.Sincere Appreciation,2MTeamskymasters
We want your comments! If you can read this, you don't have javascript enabled, so you can't use this comment system. Please enable javascript.