THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, March 29, 1995 TAG: 9503280124
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY PAM STARR, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 118 lines
IT WAS SO WINDY AT MOUNT TRASHMORE on Saturday that Flight Fair '95 should have been called the Stationary Fair.
With winds gusting up to a dangerous 50 mph, everything but a few hardy kites remained safely attached to the ground. That meant no hang gliding demonstrations nor hot air balloon rides.
Kites struggled to stay afloat, but the blustery air proved to be too much of a good thing for most of them.
Even Superman would have been grounded.
Tracey Friedsam, recreation specialist for the city's parks and recreation department and planner of the fair, surveyed the windswept scene at 1 p.m. with a touch of dismay in her blue eyes. She had been at the park since 7:30 a.m., helping set up booths and displays and organizing the event.
``Everything keeps getting blown over, that's the problem,'' she said, shielding her eyes from the bright sun and turning her back to the swirling dust. ``I wish the wind would have cooperated a little more. It's eating the kites.
``But I'm pretty pleased with the turnout for a first-year event,'' she added. ``We've had a constant stream of people.''
Despite the weather, hundreds of outdoors-lovers came to the park to see the different things that can fly.
One man demonstrated how to throw a boomerang. The Virginia Air and Space Museum displayed space suits direct from NASA, and Tidewater Radio Control showed off some nifty model aircrafts. On the stage, the Wappadoodle Puppets performed. Later, the band Stingrays played oldies.
But the steel monsters at the top of the hill drew the biggest crowds.
Parents and their children inspected a police helicopter and the ominous-looking Navy Search and Rescue helicopter. Lt. Dan Honken, one of the pilots, stood inside the 67-foot-long helicopter to explain various items to the children. The Navy copter was so popular that people lined up and waited up to 15 minutes to get inside.
``Oh, I know what these are!'' one boy exclaimed as he looked at the dozens of switches on the control board in the cockpit.
Honken grinned.
``You tell me what all the switches are and I'll let you fly this,'' he said with a laugh.
A few hundred feet away, the colorful Re/Max hot air balloon, fastened securely to the ground, swayed pendulously in the wind. Re/Max balloon pilot Phil Fravel, looking like a typical pilot in a brown leather bomber jacket and aviator sunglasses, stood in the nearby basket and talked to the crowd of youngsters gathered around. Three boys got into the basket with him and asked how the balloon flew.
Fravel smiled deviously and pulled the lever to the propane burner directly above him. The boys grabbed at their heads when fire shot out like the deafening roar of a lion. The sound was so loud, in fact, that several toddlers watching with their parents immediately started bawling.
``That's 22 million BTU's an hour,'' Fravel said. ``That's a lot of heat. The fuel goes up through those coils, where it's lit and then preheats everything else.
``You want to see it again?''
The boys nodded with excitement. Fravel pulled the lever and WHOOSH!
``OK, you boys don't have any hairspray on, do you?'' he asked as they giggled. ``This would cook a hot dog in a minute.''
Down by the lake, dozens of children sat at picnic tables under the shelter and started creating kites with the help of people from Kitty Hawk Kites and the recreation department. Each person received a piece of heavy white paper with two attached sticks and were told to draw whatever they wanted.
Taylor Baskey, 3, drew a pink lamb while mom Stacy looked on appreciatively. At the next table, Emily Schneider, 3, sketched a rainbow while big sister Elizabeth Schneider, 5, drew a red heart with her name printed in yellow crayon above it.
Children from the Therapeutic Recreation group sat at another table, all eagerly grabbing crayons for their kites. Lauren Murphy drew a bunch of hearts in different colors. Amanda Thompson, 11, showed off her Jackson Pollock-like kite. Other children drew stars, the sun, cars, cartoon characters, Mount Trashmore and nature scenes. Some simply wrote their name, like ``Eric's Kite'' or ``Kevin's Kite.''
Within a half-hour, all the kites were finished and tried out. Surprisingly, most of them flew, if only for a few precious seconds.
In the end, Friedsam judged the first Flight Fair a success.
``It's going to be bigger and better next year,'' she predicted. ``We'd like to get a blimp to fly over and have more radio-controlled helicopters. And a couple of hot air balloons. We're hoping to get more sponsorship, too.'' ILLUSTRATION: CONTEST WINNERS
Winners of the kite flying contest at Flight Fair '95:
Best stunt kite - Bryan Pitchford
Most colorful kite - Jimmie Dunn
Most unusual tail - Lee Pitchford
Most unusual kite - Howard Bungardner
Highest flying - Emily Sach
[Color Photo]
ON THE COVER
Isaac Leamer, 13, releases a kite at Mount Trashmore on Saturday.
Staff photo by D. KEVIN ELLIOTT
Staff photos by D. KEVIN ELLIOTT
Petty Officer 2nd Class Kirk Sowers, an avionics technician, gives
Zach Anton, 4, a demonstration of how the Navy picks up victims and
rescuers in the water with the help of a UH-3H Search and Rescue
helicopter.
Atop Mount Trashmore, the Navy copter was so popular that people
lined up and waited up to 15 minutes to get inside.
Staff photos by D. KEVIN ELLIOTT
Stephen Botello, 6, son of Ester and Ruben Botello, tries to get his
kite airborne. Most kites flew, if only for a few precious seconds.
John Koehler, 1991 Boomerang World Champion, gives a lesson to
Robert Pittmon, 6, son of Pamela Pittmon of Virginia Beach.
by CNB