Bristol International Kite Festival
Saturday 4th & Sunday 5th September 2004
Location: Ashton
Court, Bristol
Organised by: Avril
Baker
This was the 18th Bristol International
Kite Festival, and again very well organised by Avril Baker.
The weather was warm and sunny, especially on Sunday when
it got up to 28 degrees. We heard later that Bristol had been the sunniest
place in the UK that day, with 12.4 hours of sunshine!
The wind was light all weekend, but this didn't deter the
public from coming to see the fantastic kites and air creations. There
was plenty for families to see and do, such as making a kite in the workshop
ran by Avon Kite Flyers, face-painting, a cricket roadshow, and of course
all the kite stalls, food traders, and (for the parents) an inflatable
pub!
Paul Reynolds worked hard all weekend and has to be commended
on his superb commentary skills, both in the kite field and also in the
auction, which was held on Saturday night.
Click on the photographs for larger images.
Worlds Largest Kite
Following its first public appearance at the Portsmouth
International Kite Festival, the Worlds
Largest Kite (the flag of Kuwait) by Peter Lynn, was on display again
on both Saturday and Sunday. An attempt was made to fly the kite into
the Guinness Book of Records by flying it continuously for 20 minutes
without touching the ground. Unfortunately, due to the light winds it
didn't manage to stay in the air for the full amount of time. On Sunday,
members of the public were invited to walk around inside this gigantic
kite.
http://www.alfarsikites.com/
Facts about this kite:
- The dimensions are 42m x 25 m.
- The actual kite flying is 900 sq m but in all it is 1050 sq meters
and 4000 cubic metres.
- The kite took 750 hours to make and weights 200 kilos.
- There are 360 internal cords using over 2.5 km of cord.
- The fabric is strengthened, making it what Peter Lynn calls superripstop
with a further 2.5 km of cord.
- 2500 sq metres of fabric is used.
- The air inside the fabric has a mass of 5 tonnes.
- The height inside is a maximum of 7 metres.
|
Inside the Worlds Largest Kite: Running
time: 9 seconds.
Save to your computer and view anytime (right click - 'Save
Link Target As...'' )
|
| Quicktime
(2.7 MB) |
worlds-largest-kite.mov |
Sport Kiting
STACK
UK ran the finals of the trick out competition whilst the Decorators,
Team
Flame,
The
Flying Squad, Carl
Robertshaw and Mobius provided arena demonstrations.
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| New Benson
/ Wardley prototype |
Robin Smith |
Gemini |
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| Axel Ferraro |
Nirvana |
Pilots meeting |
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| Andy Phelps |
Gemini |
Judges |
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| Nirvana |
Tim Benson |
Atelier Transfer |
Team Flying / Routines
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| Mobius - Dave Morley & Richard Pellew |
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| The Flying Squad |
Carl Robertshaw (and Team Flame) |
Many more photos on Page 2
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