Ted Shaw

Like most people, I flew kites as a child. The idea then was to get the kite as high as possible. SomeƟmes sending a  friend to the store down the street to buy more string. Eventually the coƩon lines would break leƫng the paper  and wood kite fly off to land in a tree somewhere too far away to retrieve.  

A friend introduced me to flying two-line stunt kites. Eventually I moved on to four-line kites. I found the local kite  club, Great Lakes Kitefliers Society, which I joined in 1999. I soon learned that it is hard to fly stunt kites and talk to  people at the same Ɵme. Gradually I shiŌed to flying single line kites anchored to the ground so that I could move  around to socialize.  

I fly kites with the club at Gratwick Waterfront Park on the Niagara River in North Tonawanda twice a month. I fly  in Canada quite oŌen. Although I have many smaller kites with sƟck frames, I really like large soŌ inflatable kites.  My largest being 252 sf with a hundred-foot flat tail. While at events, I someƟmes launch a small kite that I take  around the field to let children and adults fly for a few minutes. This gives me a chance to explain what types of  kites are in the air. These days we fly on lines no longer than 300 feet so that the show is down low to the ground  and more personal.  

I learned to sew to make kites out of rip stop nylon and carbon fiber spars. The Ontario kite clubs put on many kite  making workshops where I honed my skills. Nothing like 25 guys and a couple women sewing in one room.  

Ontario is also much closer than flying at events on the beaches along the East Coast. Those events can be quite  large with kite flyers from across the US and occasionally from countries far away.  

With social media, I now have friends across the globe. It is quite a group that I very much enjoy being a part of.