Kitewing vs Kite Man; History of Men With Kites

Kitewing is a hand-held, lightweight wing that can provide propulsion to a man or woman harnessing the wind while wearing skates, or rollerblades or on a bicycle wheel cart called a dirtsurfer that is sometimes used to traverse sandy beaches and desert spaces.

Once known as the Skimbat, skiing or skating with a Kitewing is a popular method of harnessing wind for pure enjoyment

My friends just joined togther and bought a Kitewing from a dealer in Oshawa, and we're going to get another to race them. We're looking for a place to race my kitewing in the GTA and asking about for other local Kitewing owners on Toronto Forums. 

History of Kitewing

England 1893 ~ Captain B.F.S. Baden-Powell designed a stack of six large hexagonal kites for use in the Boer War in South Africa to lift soldiers into the air to observe the enemy. Captain Baden-Powell also did a series of tests using kites to carry messages from one ship to another.

United States 1915 ~ Samuel Perkins researched man-carrying kites for observational uses by the U.S. Army during World War I. He used kites that were nine to twelve feet high in trains of three to six. Perkins work never passed the trial stage.

But modern materials, and advanced aerodynamic engineering make this work today

Kitewing is safe and easy to use. It is simple in design and construction, yet it seems as though every detail has been carefully considered, tested,and refined. From set up to transport, to the way that the wind flows over the wing- all aspects have been carefully thought out. 

For example, the wing folds and travels easily in a lightweight ski bag. Owners can take it with them on ski trips to expand their downhill or frozen lake  options. Windy or icy conditions can wreck a mountain ski vacation, but with a kitewing, a wind blown lake or field becomes a playground. The best videos are of people using the toy at home, after work, or having races with buddies on a local field, cottage lake, or golf course.

Here is the Kitewing Instagram group which is a good place start to think about the history of this propulsion system / extreme sport.

Jean Paul Richter said “The test of an enjoyment is the remembrance which it leaves behind” .

Erik Hopman is one of the foremost Kitewing pioneres

Kite Man is a comic book character, a supervillain in publications from DC Comics.

Kite Man first appeared in Batman vol. 1 #133 (August 1960), and was created by Bill Finger and Dick Sprang.

Kite Man is featured in Batman: The Brave and the Bold voiced by Jeffrey Combs. As a boy, he was obsessed with Benjamin Franklin and attempted to recreate his famous kite-flying electrical experiment. However, he failed to take adequate safety precautions, wore metal braces, and stood in a bucket of water. The subsequent electrical shock psychologically traumatized him and forced him into a life of kite-centric crime. In "Terror on Dinosaur Island," a flashback depicts him as the leader of a group of thieves equipped with high-tech glider kites that allows them to commit crimes.

In "Long Arm of the Law," Kite Man steals a sample of Plastic Man in order to complete a theta beam gun that will enable anyone to copy Plastic Man's powers, or petrify someone with elastic powers. He also obtains a sidekick named Rubberneck and gains stretching powers from theta beam exposure, and fights Batman and Plastic Man. However, he and Rubberneck are defeated when they are entangled together and the theta beam gun turns them to stone.

Kitewing is my superhero character. DIY crime fighter who patrols the streets and punishes thugs  

I went on Red Flag Deals and asked for kite wing like gadgets and propulsions systems a man or woman could buy that would tranform them into crime fighting superheroes

To the left is a snapshot of an extreme sport called power paragliding which looks quite controllable - this may soon be safe and efficient way to travel across rough country where there are no roads.