Ventura County Kite Flyers

Welcome to the VCKF Home Page. We're GLAD you dropped in. Within this site, you will come to understand why we do what we do. LAST UPDATE - 4/30/2012 DISCLAIMERS: 1) These pages are factual, not fancy. 2) No animals were run over by a kite buggy during the making of this webpage:

SEE...NO HURT ANIMALS!

We are a group of kite flyers with many different backgrounds, interests, & flying styles. Kites have evolved from single line, to 2,3 & 4 line versions. The way Indy cars get lighter, faster, & safer each year is a good analogy of what today's technology has brought to the kiting world. Whether you enjoy strolling down the beach with a Diamond on a string, being a light wind guru, or a POWER HUNGRY buggier or surfer, kites conjure up good things in all of us.. We fly Recreationally, Support Regional Festivals (including our own), & for Competitive Practice. COMPETITIVE KITE FLYING? YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING! NO, WE'RE NOT KIDDING! There are now 6 main types of competition (All with uniform international guidelines): 1) Precision...Preset compulsory manuevers - (figure 8's, tulips, starbursts, etc). You can see ALL of the figures we fly in a link below. 2) Ballet...Flying to music. The competitor is judged similar to figure skating where music, choreography, & continuity are the main focus. 3) Fighter...Single lined kites that dart around & bump or cut each other out of the sky. 4) Free Style...ANYTHING goes including Costumes, Props, Multiple Kites, etc. 5) Traction: a) Buggy...Pursuit races on closed courses using LARGER traction kites to pull you around in a 3-wheel contraption. www.buggythang.org b) Surf...Slide on the glass-like water or Catch Air! c) Snow/Ice...Skis, Snowboards, etc. you name it, just wear your gloves. 6) Indoor...YES, you can now fly a kite indoors with NO WIND, no fans, no nuttin :) Proof is in the pudding...You see the picture below. Below that is a link to our Pictures and Video archive. Check out the "Quicktime" movie files. There you will see videos depicting Indoor Flight from the Catalina Island Terminal in Los Angeles Harbor to the Main Gallery @ Cal Arts in Valencia. Yet another aspect of Kiting is what we call "KAP" - Kite Aerial Photography. This is where Kite Flyer meets Shutter Bug and the results are STUNNING photographs from the air of places you go everyday. The views are spectacular and it allows you to see life from "A Bird's Eye View". A special section on KAP is forthcoming on our site.

An Example of Indoor Flight:

Home Base - Oxnard State Beach

Fill in your starting address here and this Google Gadget will give you driving directions!

latitude & longitude: N 34 DEG. 10 MIN. 52.8 SEC. W 119 DEG. 14 MIN. 15.1 SEC GPS: 11 S 0293790 UTM 3784525 On a map, the address is 1601 W. Harbor Blvd, south of Wooley and north of Channel Islands Blvd. You'll find anyone of us up in the sky on any given day of the week. Saturday is when the field really starts rockin! Just after dawn, the first flyers drop kite bags, coolers, & travelling chairs (very important) on the grass. The following is a textbook example of how it goes: Light winds usually prevail in the morning. By noon, it's 6-12 from the west & there can be up to 7 of us flying at once. Thanks to Hector and the Pizza Slingers @ American Pizza in Oxnard - the ONLY pizza place that takes us seriously (cash helps too!) - we're munchin on DELIVERED PIZZA through the afternoon. High winds start to kick up around 2, and go til 4-4:30. As the sun starts a droppin, Mother Nature kicks it down to ultralight time again. Just after the sun sets, you'll find people dragging this webmaster (who's crying & wants to stay) over to Victoria Pub for Cider & good, live, no-cover music. If your lucky, MARTINI NATION is rockin the house that night. Of course, when they arrive, we switch to ABSOLUT Martinis!!! Stop by and Fly, Don't be Shy. We invite all Comers, Flying or Not. ***Post Fly Update*** The Pub has recently remodeled and continues to be one of our "Safe Havens". Sadly, Martini Nation is currently not touring. We support many other eateries in the Oxnard/Ventura area as well. Some Favorites are: Latte 101 - Telephone & Victoria Pepe's - South End of Victoria/Island View & Rossmore The Great Central Steak & Hoagie Company - Ventura Road & Pleasant Valley Oriental Buffet & Teppan Grill - Hill Road Off Telephone Pirate's - 5th & Victoria CJ's BBQ - 5th & Victoria More to Come, We're Full & Quenched Right Now.

***Public Service Section***

We're available for Parties !!! Well, Sort Of. We enjoy all aspects of Kite Flying and especially love to share. If you have a group (young or old) that would be interested in enjoying a "Day of Flying" or having us perform Indoor as "Halftime Entertainment", We'd love to hear from You! We are a Non-Commercial Entity, so odds are you can get us to show up for a Bottle of Water & Half a Sandwich. While we always enjoy lending a hand, there certain events that require more planning, scheduling, materials and possibly Permits. If your event flies into any of these categories, we may need an entire sandwich and more water. Short story long, not all of our participation can be provided without certain support from the inquiring organizer. Please contact us via the below email address for further info. To find out where or when We'll be flying next, please zap an email to this humble webmaster via: Flyers@VCKF.ORG

Electrifying Schedule of Upcoming Events:

We travel near and far to fly our kites, or, to just "savor a moment" with other flyers. Besides our relaxing days & nights of "casual" flying @ Home Base, we are invited to participate in other events - Join Us If You Can:

Kiting !!! - Let's Delve into 2012 REGULARLY SCHEDULED CLUB EVENTS: San Diego Kite Club - 2nd Saturday of Every Month - Tecolote Shores - www.sandiegokiteclub.com Seal Beach Kite Club - 2nd Sunday of Every Month - North of Seal Beach Pier - www.kiteclub.org And Now, The Rest of the Story............ 12/31 Annual New Year's Eve Fighter Kite Challenge - Tecolote Shores, San Diego - www.sandiegokiteclub.com 1/1 Annual San Diego Kite Club New Year's Day Fly - Don't miss the BIG One! Mariner's Point, San Diego - www.sandiegokiteclub.com Map HERE 3/10 & 11 Kite Party 10 North and south side of the Huntington Beach Pier, 200 Pacific Coast Highway, Huntington Beach, CA 92648 More info at the Kite Party website - www.kiteparty.com Hosted by The Kite Connection   3/11 Noon - 5pm 38th Festival of the Kite Hosted by Sunshine Kite Company - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - NATIONAL KITE MONTH -- APRIL 2012 Greetings all you Kite Lovers out there. Glen here, just giving you a head's up on what's up in the sky around here. NABX is going on at Ivanpah right now so if you're inclined, head on over there and have a blast. www.nabx.net The two other "major" events (besides your own fun) are Santa Barbara and Santa Maria. 4/15 marks the 27th Annual Santa Barbara Kite Festival. Every year, Dave Hefferman (& Family) along with Rakesh Bahadur (& Family) bust their butts to bring smiles to the faces of kids and adults alike. Their back again at SB City College to do it all over again. Please go out and support this event. www.sbkitefest.com Sunday, April 22nd brings us to Santa Maria for their 3rd Annual Discovery Museum Family Kite Festival at Rotary Centenial Park. Every year, this event grows. Along with the great food, added this year are 3 Demo Quad Teams along with some Dual Line Demos as well. The Candy Drop has a new twist (or Flap, if you will) and we're expanding the Bol Runs which got out of control last year. www.smvdiscoverymuseum.org/kite.htm There's even a Lodging Special with additional goodies above and beyond the discounted room rates. Details on the lodging special HERE Just up the road on the 28th and 29th, the Morro Bay Kite Festival continues to pick up steam. Bottom line is Kiting is happening and all you need to do is get there. Grab your friends and family and make a go of if. If you can't make it, grab a kite, hit your local flying spot and share, share, share. For further info, please contact your local kite shops, clubs or the AKA. Best Wishes and Winds, ger Glen E. Rothstein Dawn to Dusk Flyer - Ventura County Kite Flyers www.VCKF.org - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 4/3 to 4/8 North American Buggy eXpo Ivanpah Dry Lake, CA www.NABX.net   4/15 27th Annual Santa Barbara Kite Festival, Santa Barbara City College West Campus - www.sbkitefest.com Map HERE We have pictures from the Santa Barbara Kite Festival HERE 4/22 3rd Annual Family Kite Festival - Santa Maria - 11am to 4pm This event keeps getting better every year! 3 Sport Kite Demo Teams, Tail Chases, Candy Drop, Bol Races, GREAT FOOD and another cool Lodging Special !!! Details on the lodging special HERE Check it all out on the Discovery Museum's Website - www.smvdiscoverymuseum.org/kite.htm 5/6 Kite event at UCLA Kids in the Courtyard: Dancing with Kites Sunday, May 6, 2012 1-4 pm Internationally renowned Basir Beria, the 'Kite Master' who worked on location training children in kite flying for the film "The Kite Runner", will be leading activities that include kite-making and flying. The program is free, and is family/kid-oriented, so please bring your little ones. Get the details HERE 6/2 - 6/3 Buggy Boogie Sprang Thang El Mirage Dry Lake El Mirage, CA www.buggythang.org   More 2012 events as we get them!!

Better Times...

We would like to thank Monica & the "Liberty High Spirits of 14B" for sharing the above photo.

In Memorium...

On February 5th, 2003, a cherished member of our group passed away. Chuck Taylor was the kind of person you were glad to have as a friend. A man with a smile on his face and gold in his heart. He was also a core member of the Santa Monica "4th Saturday" Flyers. A memorial fly will be held at "Home Base" on Saturday, February 15th, 2003. At this time, a tribute page is in the works. Smooth Winds to you, Chuck...We are mournful of your passing and lucky to have known you.

Quotable Quotes: "In Gust We Trust" Rachel Hughes - Rehoboth Toy & Kite Company, Rehoboth Beach, Delaware "Remember, If the wind sucks, You're flying backwards" Lynn - Route 66 Kite Club "Takeoffs are Optional...Landings are Mandatory" Author Unknown "The Probability of Survival is Equal to the Angle of Arrival" - Great Aviation Quotes

This from a San Francisco newspaper - circa 3/2000:

Thanks to "Eagle Eye Scotty" for that one.

Past Year's Event Schedules & Recaps:

Last updated April 30th, 2012

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