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AUGUST 2008

VOLUME 1, NUMBER 2

EDITORS

Scott Skinner
Ali Fujino
Katie Davis

BOARD  OF DIRECTORS

Scott Skinner
Martin Lester
Joe Hadzicki
Stuart Allen
Dave Lang
Jose Sainz
Ali Fujino

BOARD OF DIRECTORS EMERITUS

Bonnie Wright
Wayne Wilson
Keith Yoshida

Drachen Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation devoted to the increase and diffusion of knowledge about kites worldwide.

WWW.DRACHEN.ORG

FROM THE EDITOR

I think that readers of this, the second installment of the Drachen Foundation’s Discourse: from the end of the line, will find an exciting variety of kite-driven articles. You’ll be reminded of the great years of Drachen’s Kite Journal with the latest entries from Ben Ruhe, who will introduce you to kite historians Jan Westerink, Douwe Jan Joustra, and Ulli Draheim. The vitality of the historical kite movement in Europe is on display with these three, and also with the contribution of Dorte and Frank Schulz, who take us back to turn-of- the-century (20th, that is) Scandinavian weather researchers.

Drachen Foundation board member Dave Lang continues to monitor the worldwide kite-energy movement and introduces Michael Brooks, who gives us an idea of the state-of-the-art of kite energy ideas. Scott Skinner and Susan Robb share their artist in residence experiences from Hawaii’s Hui No’eau Visual Arts Center in Maui, with images captured by Discourse editor Katie Davis.

Finally, let me issue this challenge to Discourse readers: find and report additional information pertaining to a Discourse article and we will reward you with our exclusive Sherpa Gear. We want this to be an interactive publication, with contributions from our readers. Serious research or happenstance discovery are of equal importance if they lead us to new kite material, and we know that ours are not the only eyes looking for new material. I hope you enjoy this installment and that it leads you to new experiences in kiting.

Scott Skinner
Board President
Drachen Foundation

CONTRIBUTORS

DOUWE JAN JOUSTRA

The Netherlands

Kite-maker and -fanatic Joustra has been instrumental in several Drachen Foundation kite symposiums. With a fair and open approach, he shares his knowledge and resources with anyone who asks.

DAVE LANG

Vashon Island, Washington

A veteran aeronautics and space dynamics engineer, Lang designed the flight simulators on which all NASA astronauts trained for the Gemini, Rendezvous and Apollo lunar missions.

SUSAN ROBB

Seattle, Washington

Robb is not an artist chained to her drawing board. Trained in photography, she translates her environment and energy into pieces that are many things at once: sculpture, video, playground and conversation.

BEN RUHE

Gloucester, Massachusetts

A powerhouse professional journalist and editor of Drachen’s beloved Kite Journal, Ruhe has reported on the best and brightest of his time. His travels teach us the important lesson: “If you don’t go, you might miss it!”

SCOTT SKINNER

Monument, Colorado

A former Air Force instructor pilot, Drachen’s board president has flown and designed kites for three decades. Skinner’s military training created the structure for him to express himself as a visionary kite artist.

Articles

Be a researcher and share your information on
any of our articles! Finding additional
information on kiting subjects is how we learn
more. If the information is worthy of print, we
will send you an official Drachen Sherpa
Adventure Gear light weight jacket. These
exclusive outdoor clothing items are
not available for purchase and are reserved for
authors and special friends of Discourse.
Send your research and comments to:
discourse@drachen.org