I thought I could fly kites ......

[calypso]

I'm a bit of a kite fanatic and thought I was a pretty reasonable flier...

Until I watched this video.

Remember, this is one guy doing all the flying!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJV0tyE1sOc

[petermcleland]

John,

That was absolutely wonderful...What a Master!

[jonesey2k]

Heh, I bet that took a bit of practise.

I must get mine out of the loft, if you are not careful with that thing, it will have you sliding along the grass on your front!

[Tako_Kichi]

I have had the pleasure of meeting Ray Bethal and have flown 'team' with him. He was a guest of a fellow kite club member for a week between two kite festivals in this area. He is a fascinating guy, really down to earth and with a very wicked sense of humour (but ONLY if there are no ladies present!..one of life's true 'gentlemen'). The truly amazing thing about his kite flying is not the fact that he controls three kites at the same time (one in each hand and one from his hips) but that he flies his displays to music despite being profoundly deaf! He can hear a little with the help of hearing aids but not enough to be able to hear the music over the PA while out in the middle of the field. He learns his routines by listening to a piece of music over headphones (with the volume really cranked up) and then memorizes all the moves. When he gets to the display field he will have an assistant stand at the edge of the field with his arm raised and when the music starts the assistant drops his arm and Ray knows it's time to start the display. From that point on the timing is all down to his internal 'clock' and how well he can remember that particular piece of music and very rarely is he out by even one beat at the end of his performance!

Ray has his own website with lots of interesting stuff on there including all the world records he has achieved. A truly remarkable guy.

http://www.raybethell.com/

[Vulcan_to_the_Sky!]

Thats very impressive, I couldn't even fly ONE kite that well, never mind three.

Nice video, thanks for sharing.