First Dual Line Kites

by Kevin Braswell
(Ocean City, MD, USA)

My name is Kevin Braswell. I grew up with my father Red Braswell tinkering with dual line kites. I remember in say 1976 0r 1977. A production-made dual line my Dad played with a lot. It was a dual line that fed to a single reel that had two arms about 30" apart... looked like a handle bars... with a flat reel in the center.

My Dad was friends with Peter Powell and he visited our home in Manassas VA several times. He and my father would fly together and draw design ideas on dinner napkins for hours...

Peter gave me some kites at one point in time that my father still had when he passed away.

I stood in a local park last night and watched a father and son team fly Flexfoils together, which reminded me of my Dad. One of my fondest memories as a kid was going to the Smithsonian Kite Festival every year and listening to Paul Garber tell war stories. Just thought I would say hello.