Apr02

2017 Cherry Blossom Rokkaku Challenge!

on April 2, 2017 at 12:50 pm

We tied for second place this year — tied with Running with Scissors. Charlie Don’t Run won first place. They really didn’t run, but still won pretty solidly, which tells you they got skills. It was a tough field — five teams, no newbies, and I think all were past winners.

I don’t have any photos of this year’s battle, yet, so here’s an old Washington Post photo of Charlie (left) and Running (right).

Fighting rokkaku kites held by their pilots, including the teams "Charlie Don't Run" and "Running With Scissors."

(That photo comes from a good 2014 Washington Post article that preceded the 2014 festival that I believe got completely snowed out.)

 Comment 
Mar31
Featured Post

2013 Cherry Blossom Rokkaku Challenge

on March 31, 2013 at 11:56 am

3rd place!

Midnight Squadron Logo RokkakuWe held first place through the first two heats! This was an impressive showing after a year without any practice at all. The field presented 9 teams, including Jim Cosca, Harold Ames and Charlie Don’t Run; we’ll add more detail later.

Kalika and Complex flew the kite on the field, while Chrooke kept the score and Safeties Ironkite and Lady Vader chased fallen kites. We took an early lead by cutting one down and lasting to the end of the first heat; other teams closed the already narrow gap by cutting down more and, in the second heat, lasting longer. We flew Chrooke’s Midnight Squadron logo rok, an incredibly responsive and flat-sheeted kite. ↓ Read the rest of this entry…

 Comment 
May08

New Video – Hanging From a Kite

on May 8, 2011 at 11:35 pm

Have you ever wondered what it would look like if you could hang from the bottom of a kite in flight? Chrooke suspended his Flip MinoHD video recorder from the bottom of the Midnight Squadron Logo rokkaku to find out. Here’s the video:

Hanging From A Kite (50MB MP4)

 Comment