“There is a world of possibilities with kites. It all depends on what your interests are, and what you want to do,” says kite enthusiast Sam Ritter
Perhaps flying a kite is one of your favorite childhood memories. But there’s so much more to flying kites than finding an open field on a breezy day. There’s kite trains, kite ballet, kite skating, kite surfing, and kite buggying. And indoor kite flying competition is a thing.
Sam Ritter of Saline has enjoyed flying kites as long as he can remember. His smallest kites are about the size of a postage stamp and his largest are 12 to 15 meters long and 6 meters wide. And he’s pretty much done it all.
“I Always Had an Interest in Kites“
Ritter has always enjoyed kites but recalls it wasn’t until the late 1980s when his interest soared. H explains, “I had an old college friend that gave my wife and I a kite as an anniversary gift as something we could do together.”
Around 1990, Ritter discovered the Kites and Things Store in Plymouth and was all in with sport kite competition. Ritter remembers that “The owners told me about a sport kite competition in Grand Haven,” and was encouraged to enter as an intermediate flyer, where he won both ballet and precision events in his class.
And if the term “kite ballet” sounds intriguing, Ritter gladly explains the skills involved: “Ballet is the choreography, and precision is how precise your flying is with figures like a square or steps.”
The Junkie Factor
But there’s much more to kite flying competition than that. Ritter calls it the “junkie factor,” like flying stacks and trains (multiple) kites. After all, adding a kite or two only doubles the fun, right?
Or how about traction kiting like kite buggying, surfing or skating? That’s when aerodynamically designed kites take you gliding across land, water, or ice, reaching speeds up to 80 mph. Ritter has reached speeds over 50 mph on dry lake beds and ocean surf. “There’s nothing like being on a two-mile beach with an onshore breeze, going in and out of the surf,” he says. But Ritter’s preference is a frozen lake, when “All you have is clear ice and SPEED!!!!!”
Flying in Front of 250,000
And kiting competition has taken Ritter many places, like Berck-sur-Mer, France, where he says, “This is a 10-day gathering of flyers from around the world (mostly Europe). The year we were invited, we made lots of friends from places like France, England, Germany, and Italy. And flying in front of 250,000 people is quite the experience.”
Turning to Kite Making
Due to an unrelated injury – making it unsafe to fly some kites he used to handle that had 1800-pound test line limits – Ritter has returned to kite-making competition, his first in about 20 years. But don’t think he’s slowed down one bit.
For kite making, Ritter uses special consumer-grade sewing machines with walking feet. “My competition-winning kites to date were built using the Pfaff machine, which can handle building 200 sq ft. parafoils and many of my other kites,” Ritter explains.
Last fall, Ritter even purchased a consumer-grade sewing machine, which borders on industrial, at a sewing expo in Novi. Ritter notes these machines are designed to make “1300 stitches a minute and through four layers of the dacron I use in some of my kites.”
Kites Can Help Remove the World’s Troubles
Ritter sums up the appeal of kite flying for him: “Kiting offers both creative expression and a sense of freedom. The process of designing and building kites lets me channel my artistic energy, while flying them brings peace and enjoyment and allows me to connect with fellow enthusiasts.” Ritter adds that it also helps him with meditation, saying, “I’ll go fly and put on some music to escape and play with the wind. Kites can help remove many of the world’s trouble.”
So, the choice is yours – go fly across the ice at breakneck speed – or just tune out and let the wind take you where it may. Now go fly a kite!
American Kite Flyers Association www.kite.org/about-kites/history-of-kites/
April is National Kite Flying Month www.nationalkitemonth.org
Featured photo: Sam and Annie Ritter with Baby Bear Rokaku Kite. Photo by Sue Kelch.
114 North Main St Suite 10 Chelsea, MI 48118
