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spenuki

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About spenuki

  • Birthday 10/23/1952

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  • Website URL
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Profile Information

  • Favorite Kite(s)
    My own handmade custom 20 stacks of Hypers. I used to have 4 sets. 8(
  • Flying Since
    1984
  • Location
    Wahiawa, Hawai'i
  • Country
    United States
  • Interests
    My wife and daughter.<br />Motorized bicycles, gas and electric. <br />Still waiting for that familiar itch to get back into kitemaking.

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  1. spenuki

    Kite Line

    It's been years, but we were contacted by a friend to do a kitemaking workshop at her church. Just the basic sled kite. I have the plastic bags, bamboo sticks and can get masking tape and hopefully can find surveyor's tape for tails. What I can't find is the light cotton kite string we used to use. Anyone know where we can order or who has the best deal on light weight polyester line? One place has prewound 18# x 100' for $.45 ea. We're going to need to have at least 60 sets on hand. Any help wil be much appreciated. 8)
  2. Mahalo. The "history" is only from my POV. I'm sure there were others, at the time or prior, who've experimented and used spray painting on kite sails. We just kinda helped move the method further along and people are using it with their own variations with spectacular results. Also, I just wanted to point out some history so others learn that spray painting, dying, even applique are not new. All the present "masters" learned from someone else who learned from someone else and so forth and each proceeding generation of kitemakers enhances and improves these methods in their own unique way. It has been a pleasure, having been a part of that process, and only wish I still had the energy,enthusiasm and drive to keep going. At this point, I only hope I can rekindle some of that spark so I can at least make some kites for my daughter to fly. These Wallyworld kites are really bad.
  3. For y'all overseas, Design Master is only one brand. These are silk flower paints. If you go to any floral supply or craft store you should be able to find one of the several brands on the market. The down side is DM has the widest selection of colors. The wife and I have been working with this stuff since the late 80's early 90's and have taught a class or 2 in it's use. I learned of this technique from a write up on a couple with the last name of Dunton or Dutton out of TX. Sorry can't remember their full names, but it's an article in the old Kitelines. I'm sure it's archived somewhere. They were using these paints to do wonderful whole paintings on large kites. Since I worked more with applique, the wife and I decided to try spray painting panels to be appliqued into a kite design on our fighters, dela portas and tets. I think Don Mock and Carl Crowell was also experimenting with the technique about the same time, unbeknownst to us. We met Scott Hampton about the same time as we were all up in Washington for a Fort Worden kite retreat. Scott was so impressed with the results, he jumped all over it and uses it very, very successfully. Sorry, just reminescing. It happens more often when you're almost a senior citizen. As for the indoor kite, use a dye or get some practice spray painting to get as little paint on the sail as possible. It can go on thick and heavy if you're not careful. For silkscreening, you can't use the usual plastisol as it needs too much heat to cure. Water base inks won't adhere well. There are "special" vinyl inks that can be used and can be air dried or cured at a much lower temperature. Oh, when appliqueing, consider using a piece of ripstop close to the color you want, then spray paint to enhance or add dimension. Btw, at one time, Randy Tom tried experimenting with airbrushing with DM paints. Only down side is they're not sold in cans or bottles, He had to spray a bunch in a jar, then load up the brush. He was doing this to achieve better control of the paint spray in doing fine details on some of his work. It turned out to be more work than he had time for, but it did do what he wanted. A caveat. I've been out of the loop for so long, I may be stuck in a time warp and things may have progressed beyond what I remember. Doesn't help senior moments come more frequently nowdays.
  4. Thanks for that, Mike. It has been awhile. I joined this forum in 05 and have only 12 posts? I guess it was a sign of how bad we lost our enthusiasm for the hobby. Not the people, though. Was wondering if you get up towards Golden Valley ways and if you know Kathy Plummer who used to coordinate the old Avi Kite Fests. She was instrumental in getting the wife and me up there numerous times. Our puter crashed a good while back and we lost all our contact info for everyone we met at the Avi. Most importantly, we lost all our contact info for Kathy. If you know, that'd be great. If not, don't go putting yourself out of your way. I think the more I get back into kiting, the closer I'll get to finding her again. Btw, your collection does bring back memories. Some of the first sportkite competitions were out here and we saw a bunch of these old school kites at their inception to the market. We met the likes of Don Tabor, the Hadziki brothers, ummm whatshisname from Action Kites, Randy Tom whom I'd become good friends with. I made my first custom 6 pack of Hypers and ended up trading it to the late, great Lee Toy who loved my sweet sour spare ribs with pineapple. Btw, it's the reason why I was introduced to Randy. He ended up liking my work and didn't mind my continueing so long as I didn't sell them.
  5. All gone. Top of the Line, Action Kites, Hyperkites, Rainbow Kites, Trlby, just to add some. I think Hypers can still be had, but only on a custom order basis from a kite shop in NC. They're no longer being "mass" produced. Rainbow production had been picked up by another company, but I don't think they're making them anymore, either. I still have 3 Hyper stacks, a 12 stack of Rainbows, a Hawaiian and one big'un from Action Kites as well as a few NoNames which I plan on stacking. I also have my first orange 4' Flexi and a 4' custom Flexi. Got that after I played tour guide to the owner's present wife. Oh, yeah, last time I talked to Randy Tom of Hyperkites, he says he still has my 20 stack in storage. I never did get into any of the "new" stuff, like Revolution Kites, even after meeting the brothers over here where they first introduced them. I thought they were neat, but never caught on to flying with 4 lines. Also never got into the newer generation of sportkites as I found them to be too "twitchy" to fly. I'm kinda like the old school surfers. I like to carve the sky, not shred it. I've been out of touch for so long, I may have some of my facts skewed. I hates senior moments.
  6. I haven't flown Trlbys in ages. Used to have a 6 "stack" , but can't for the life of me remember what I did with it. Anyways, ya'll started talking about flying stacks and making people cry or feeling good. I used to fly down at Kualoa Park on the Windward side of Oahu with 3 other fellows. We did some team flying with 12 stacks of Hyperkites with 45' tails on the ocean side of the park with Chinaman's Hat in the background. We attracted a lot of tourists doing the circle island thang back then. One fine morning, we were up with 4 12 stacks and getting into the "zone". You know, soul flying or...kite nirvana. That point where everything is just...you know you just can't do anything wrong. We had Suzanne Cianni's Velocity of Love on the Bose and this pair of tourists came up and stood behind us. Our sessions usually lasted a good 20 minutes and this was even longer and these 2 ladies just stood there the whole time. After we landed, they both came up to us to thank us for the show. Both were just sobbing. They said they'd not seen and heard anything so beautiful since arriving in the islands and we had just set that straight. Gosh I miss those days. Yeah, and I'm really starting to miss that stack of Trlbys too.
  7. So sad to hear. From what I recall, way back when I was still flying Hyperkites and Hawaiians, stunt kite competition, team flying and team ballet were still in their infancy. Lee and Sue were almost always mentioned in the same sentence with anything to do with team flying, along with a few other pioneers. I think there were only 2 kite publications at the time, Kiting and Kitelines. Same for any write up they contained about stunt kites and team competitions, which would be almost every issue.
  8. Mike!...you old seadog. Well, I knew someone had those kites. I still can't fly anything but Hyper stacks as well. Although, I did order a Hawaiian Team Kite from KOC for $100. Kind of brings back memories of the old team flying days at Sandy Beach. I would post pics, but we've been out of the loop for the past 10+years and we no longer have a lot of our kites. Most had been sold or given away just before our hiatus. Just no longer had any incentive for staying in kiting, at the time. Not enough funds for travelling and no longer any HKA and the reasons for it's demise just added to the feeling. We are getting back into kiting and have several projects on the drawing board. All new designs, maybe all new kites. For sure, I'll be building a new 20 stack. Also hoping in getting a new kite club going, but that's not first on the list at the moment. Gotta get to making and flying on a regular basis first. Maybe drum up some interest from new blood. Good to hear from you.
  9. Dude, you own an Elite Team Noname? There were only, what, 6 or 8 made? I believe Romeo or Donald has the others. I know one of them has the Elite Team Hyper stacks. Your other kites all look familiar as well. I know you. Email or PM me when you get the chance.
  10. You betcha, John. I created my own quagmire.
  11. You're now, Da Man. I'm now a grumpy old fart. Well....ummmm............<sigh>.............nah. There's a lot of ego in kitemaking and mine's took a smash the last time around. 10 years hiatus wasn't anywhere near long enough to forget all, but it has helped to ease most of the pain. My priorities are different this time. Just for me and the family. Maybe later, maybe. So long as I'm able to keep things in perspective.
  12. Whao....kites by the Collado brothers. Yeah, another "old" thread. But I'm new. The brothers are doing well. Both are married with children. I think Donald still futzes a little with kitemaking. Romeo isn't, but boyhowdy did he get into a lot of other stuff. RC cars, RC boats, RC planes and gliders, indoor gliders, whatever. Just not kites. Well, since I got that itch back, I'll probably be giving them a call.
  13. Hoi, John...you and Cody were at Jacksonville? That must have been an exciting time for me. Can't remember a thing about it except for a few uncomfortable memories (long story ). Heard tell, afterwards, that it wasn't the greatest convention. What did I know, it was my first off island kite happening. I did take third place in the cellular division, though. Yup, a memorable experience. Lightening storm was great. Yeh, it's been a year. You guys still check in on this thread?
  14. Hoi, John! Thanks. It's been awhile since those days on rec.kites, eh?
  15. Oh....okay. Thanks. Like I said, I got that itch and I want to keep it going this time.
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