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MIKE was a good bit of fun, and Complex won the individual Rok battle! Saw a lot of fantastic kites and learned some kite-making (and dyeing) tips.
Also, will start tracking kite combat scores from battles everywhere, so fighters can keep track of what's going on in the comunity and their relative standings. I'm plannng out the online systems now. In the meanwhile, you can view the scores from the 2008 MIKE individual rok battle, kindly provided by Mike van Meers.
Complex's MIKE notes from the field:
Newly scheduled: An April Fullish-Moon Fly and a May Second-Saturday Kite Fly!
Also, let's go to two more kite festivals: the Maryland International Kite Expo (MIKE) at the end of April and The Wildwoods International Kite Festival at the end of May.
The 2008 Smithsonian Kite Festival saw Complex and Kalika Chris flying and Bruce and Cheryl cheering, along with a host of Washingtonian co-workers. Thanks for coming out, guys!
The rokkaku battle was a beautiful melee of around 14 teams! That many teams left less than six feet between kites when we were setting up, and made it near impossible to avoid tangles in the air. It was a beautiful bar-fight of a battle. Sadly, it's not a battle we won or placed in; the Midnight Squadron team couldn't move beyond Thunderdome. We did earn two kills, however, and we were last up in the third heat.
A sudden-death heat had to decide the battle. The Smithsonian Associates lost to The Bike Shop, which was flying the "Fixed Gears" kite, one of the three black-and-white kites made by the same guy.
If you saw us in today's Washington Post, welcome to the world of kites!
We hope you'll join is on the field come Spring. Kids, feel free to bring your parents -- kids of all ages can fly. We generally have spare kites you can borrow if you don't have your own.
If you find it hard to catch up with us, or if you are too far away, check our links page for other area clubs. The American Kitefliers Association can help you find a club in your area if you are not in DC.
The Midnight Squadron Rokkaku team, Complex & Chris (Kalika), won this year's Smithsonian Rokkaku Challenge!
Like last year, we faced a tough crowd: Harold Ames and his Eagle Eyes team, Charlie Don't Run, the Rainbow Warriors, and others. We used the lessons they've taught us in the past and started cutting people down. We won with 23 points, followed by Charlie Don't Run (20 points) and Eagle Eyes.
Read on for more details!
Our Rokkaku fighting team, piloted by the club Commandant, Chrooke, tied for third place in a tough field!
We won the first heat, taking nine points for kills and being the last kite flying. We followed that up by going toe-to-toe with last year's champion and master fighter, Harold Ames, in crowd-thrilling low-down dirty fighting. The wind picked up in the third heat, and the already-dangerous Rainbow Warrior became a deadly juggernaut with their eight-foot Shannon rokkaku. They cut us down and proceeded to tie for first and then quickly win the sudden-death contest! Charlie Don't Run took second, and we tied for third with Team MIKE.
Your lowly scribe, Complex, was the spoolman for this year's team, and so didn't see enough of the battle — only the deft fighting technique of Commandant Cooke. We'll be adding additional details and photos shortly. In the meanwhile, we'd like to thank the crowd for cheering us on!
The next full moon is April 13th, so join us for Fullish Moon Kite Flying on that Saturday! Check it out on our events page.
We had great turnout and lots of fun at the Kite Flight by Mars Light. For more details see Kite Tales and the raw video footage.
The kite tips portion of the site can now be updated by anybody. That's right -- anyone with kiting tips to share can edit that portion of the web site. No logins, no waiting for the admins to get around to fixing things. Hop on and add/edit yourself!
For more details on how to contribute, follow the "PostingInstructions" link near the top of the page.
What's that!? Fighting, did you say? Absolutely. Don't worry, it's all good clean fun. Teams of kite flyers take to the field in a sort of aerial demolition derby, trying to be the last kite still aloft. See our photo gallery for some pictures of previous events. Midnight Squadron is looking for people of all ages and abilities to join us in training and competition. For more details, e-mail info@midnightsquadron.org. You'll have to be in the Washington,DC area to fly with us in person, but we can also steer you toward a local club if you are not near us.