Authors: Ben Ruhe
Date Submitted: August 31, 2004
Article Type: Journal

Thijo van Beek, of Mijdrecht, Holland, is one of the success stories of international kiting. A truckdriver by profession, as he frequently points out in his booming voice, before making some exquisitely sensitive comment, or bestowing a well crafted compliment, or cracking a refreshing joke in his fluent, charmingly accented English, Van Beek has made a name for himself with just one kite.

It’s one among many he has built but it’s a lulu, a colorful, half-scale Red Baron triwing which flies beautifully in a stiff wind and takes a crew of four to launch and control. The Red Baron refers of course to young, handsome, deadly Baron Manfred von Richthofen, who shot down 80 Allied planes until finally being killed himself during World War 1. His scarlet tri-plane, a Fokker DR1, was only the third kite Van Beek made, after two rather basic ones enabled him to get his hand in.

“People ask me for plans of the Red Baron so they can make one of their own,” says Van Beek. “I tell them there are no plans. I just thought and thought about the kite while cruising the autobahns in Germany. I made a few notes, but that’s all. The kite came to life in my head.” Van Beek did do his homework of course, visiting an aviation museum with a Fokker DR1 in its collection. “The curators couldn’t have been more helpful,” says the Dutchman.

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