Bob Ray likes to say, “Go fly a kite.”
He’s not being insulting — quite the contrary. He encourages it because, for him, flying a kite is a great thing to do.
“It’s flying art and I’ve always been fascinated with flying,” he said.
Ray is the owner and operator of Why Things Fly, an outfit that visits schools, festivals, meetings or parties. No matter how sophisticated or simple the apparatus, it’s all about the fun of flight.
Ray began his kite-flying journey when he was young and could buy a paper kite for 29 cents at the corner store. That day is long over, but the love of kites never faded. As an adult, Ray opened a kite and toy store in Maine, which he ran for 17 years. Eventually, he moved to Tucson, where he launched Why Things Fly.
Ray checks the wind velocity daily to determine how many and what kinds of kites he will use that day.
“I always want to put up my biggest kite,” he said.
If the wind is strong enough and the sun is out, Ray may hit Himmel Park, where he will have at least one kite tethered by string to a stake in the ground. Almost without fail, children — as well as grown-up “kids” — will hang around and ask questions.
Wind is all-important to a kite flier, but it can also get in the way. Ray wrestled with his delta kite to get the cross bars into place. Next, he attached the 8-foot spin sock with a fishing swivel, which usually stabilizes the kite. Sometimes, he puts the tail on just for looks, he said.
“The best day is when everything is what we say, ‘Flying like a rock,’” Ray said. “It’s staying in one spot. It’s not turbulent. My kites aren’t going into dives and they’re just staying where they’re supposed to be.”
On this particular late afternoon, Ray needed help with his big kite, so he called a few nearby kids over to help tote and carry. Claire Youderian, 11, and her brother, Theo Youderian, 6, and their friend, Robyn Waldum, 9, were happy to assist.
Before Ray launched his bigger kite, he looked at the trees and noted that the wind up there was steady or “clean.” On the ground, it was “dirty” or turbulent. With the help of Claire, Theo and Robyn, Ray attached several decorative spinners to the kite line. They’re called “line laundry.”
Getting a big kite into the air is more of a production, but the process is the same: attach spinners, stake it, walk it out, then let go and, if he’s lucky, the kite flies. On this day, despite all his help and good intentions, the kite had trouble staying aloft.
When Ray is engaged to give a presentation, he gears it toward the ages of his audience. For children in the third grade and older, he talks about the history of kites and the science and physics of flight. He shows off exotic kites and other flying objects and afterward, the kids make their own kites. The program can even be adjusted for adults or kindergarteners. Those programs last about two or so hours and are self-contained.
“I sell an experience,” Ray said. “I go into schools and schools have a special kite day.”
He hosts after-school programs called “Fun with Flights,” where kids do a flight-related activity weekly relating to, say, kite making, hand propellers or air rockets. Ray’s favorite section is when he focuses on “aero copters,” which are slingshot helicopters.
No matter where he’s giving a presentation, the objective is the same: to show how things fly and in the process have fun.
“Kites bring joy,” Ray said. “Whether people engage in kiting or not, I feel when I put a kite up you’ll see heads turn and they’re going to watch the kites… It’s where I dazzle the eye by decorating the sky with kites that fly high.”
Why Things Fly
Bob Ray
207-898-5449
bob@whythingsfly.com
www.whythingsfly.com
