For the safety of all Black Rock Citizens, DOTA asks you to carefully watch your kite line. Watch out for bicyclists or other vehicles carrying humans who could be injured by entangling kite lines. People tend to look up when they see a kite and they won't see your line.

What kind of kite do you need?

Deltas, diamonds, and dragon kites fly well in light to medium winds (6-15 mph) while box kites and stickless parafoil kites fly better when the winds get a little stronger (8-25 mph).

Be sure your kite is put together correctly to fly well.

How to fly your kite:

Stand with your back to the wind. Hold your kite up by the bridle point and let the line out. If there is sufficient wind, your kite will go right up. Let the kite fly away from you a little, then pull in on the line as the kite points up so it will climb. Repeat this until your kite gains the altitude necessary to find a good steady wind.

Light Wind? Have a helper take the kite downwind and hold it up. On command, the helper releases the kite and the flier pulls the line hand-over-hand while the kite gains altitude. Practice this high-launch technique.

If the kite sinks tail first, there might not be enough wind. If it comes down head first or spins, there might be too much wind. Different kites fly in different winds.

Bridles: If your kite has an adjustable bridle, move it higher (nearer the top) in higher winds, and lower (towards the tail) in lower winds. (Adjust no more than 1/2" at a time.)

Tails: Adding tails to your kite helps it remain stable in stronger winds. Use light-weight materials so you can use lots! Looks great!

Tangles: If you tangle lines with another kite, don't yank the line or it could break. Fliers should walk together and the tangle will slide right down the line to where you can unwrap the lines.

For night flying, buy those little flashing round body lights and attach to your kite. Some have magnets, some have clips. It is best to anchor each light to your kite with thread or string, because a crashing kite will knock off the strongest magnets. You can buy them at most costume or novelty shops. These blinky lights can be found easily on the internet.

You MUST take special care to guard your lines, because people have been severely injured by running into kite lines which tangle on bike wheels or other light vehicles.

**Many warm thanks to Corey Jensen for this valuable information!