Whether it’s guiding a multicolored kite, directing a radio-controlled model airplane through the air at 100 m.p.h., piloting a single-engine aircraft or lifting off into the sunset in a colorful hot-air balloon, northwest suburban residents have many options for taking to the skies this summer.
Go fly a kite: Kite flying has been around for nearly 3,000 years, and throughout history kites have been used to predict the weather, ward off demons, discover electricity and even send radio signals.
Modern-day kite flying is not only done for fun by young and old alike but is also a competitive sport. A couple of upcoming northwest suburban events will demonstrate both aspects.
“It’s a great way to relax,” said Al Sparling of Naperville, regional director of the American Kite Flyers Association. “It’s a great group of people, very friendly and open.”
Kites vary from the paper-and-stick variety to 8-foot Rokkaku sport kites. Prices range from a few dollars to several hundred dollars for sport kites, which are flown competitively.
Advances in technology have made kites lighter so they fly in very little wind. “It’s very easy to fly a kite now,” Sparling said. “You just stretch out the line, lift the kite into the wind and fly.”
Sky Circus, a flying event sponsored by the American Kite Flyers, will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. June 13 and 14 at Ned Brown Forest Preserve, Golf Road and Illinois Highway 53, near Schaumburg. The event will feature competitions in kite building and ballet and precision flying, as well as spectator fun flies, kids’ competitions and demonstrations.
The Kite Harbor Flying Team, based in Oak Park and Chicago, will hold a demonstration featuring two- and four-man teams, night flying, and 50-foot kites during Arlington’s Summer Kickoff June 11-14 on the infield at Arlington International, Euclid Avenue and Wilke Road in Arlington Heights.
For information on kites, contact a local hobby shop or the American Kite Flyers Association at 800-252-2550 (its Web site is www.kite.org).
Heavy air traffic: Air traffic is not limited to planes flying into or out of O’Hare International Airport. Model airplanes also fill the skies above local forest preserves.
Model airplanes can take many forms, including “u-control” or control line planes, which are controlled by two lines and a handle; free flight, where the engine is started and then the plane is tossed into the wind; and even helicopters and small-scale models of jet aircraft.
Model airplanes have become more sophisticated, and radio-controlled airplanes are by far the most popular. Beginner models can reach speeds of 55 m.p.h., and advanced planes more than 100 m.p.h.
Plane kits cost around $350. Competition pilots will spend $5,000 to $10,000 or more on a plane.
Ron Petterec of North Barrington is president of the Blue Max Flying Club, a 25-year-old organization based in Buffalo Grove that currently has more than 100 members.
“I did u-controls when I was small, and I always built model airplanes,” he said. “I started hanging around a flying field, and I got hooked. I built my own (model) plane and got an instructor to teach me, the only proper way to learn this sport.”
The Blue Max Flying Club, which flies at the Deer Grove East Forest Preserve in Palatine, is only one of more than a dozen clubs located in the northwest suburbs that are members of the Academy of Model Aeronautics.
The group will host several flying competitions in the northwest suburbs this summer. Events are scheduled June 14, Aug. 23 and Sept. 6 at the Ned Brown Forest Preserve, Golf Road and Illinois Highway 53, near Schaumburg; and July 4-5 and July 11 at Poplar Creek Forest Preserve on Shoe Factory Road, south of Illinois Highway 72, in Hoffman Estates.
For information on model airplane flying, contact a hobby shop or the Academy of Model Aeronautics at 765-287-1256 (its Web site is www.modelaircraft.org).
It’s not “Top Gun,” but it’s close: There’s nothing quite like piloting your own single-engine aircraft.
People fly “for the fun and challenge, the feeling of getting your hands on the controls and actually flying,” said Jim Kwasek, chief pilot and FAA certified flight instructor at Palwaukee Airport in Wheeling.
Palwaukee offers beginning fliers a Discovery Aviation Adventure, a 1 1/2-hour flight lesson for $99.95. The lesson includes 30 to 40 minutes of actual flying time with an FAA certified flight instructor.
“It’s a great opportunity, especially for a person who is interested in finding out what flying is like without entering a full course like at a community college,” Kwasek said.
Lake in the Hills Airport offers a 30-minute flight for $30, and Galt Airport in Wonder Lake offers a 20-minute flight for $20. Schaumburg Airport offers an introductory half-hour flight lesson for $40, and a one-hour lesson for $75.
Contact Palwaukee Airport, 1020 Plant Rd., Wheeling, at 847-537-2580; Lake in the Hills Airport, 8407 Pyott Rd., Lake in the Hills, at 815-455-7707; Galt Airport, 5112 Greenwood Rd., Wonder Lake, at 815-648-2433; or Schaumburg Airport, 903 W. Irving Park Rd., Schaumburg, at 847-895-0315.
Up, up and away: There is something magical about the sight of a brightly colored orb suspended over the horizon at daybreak or twilight.
A hot-air balloon ride will “take you wherever the wind blows,” said Ruthann Freeman, office manager at Windy City Balloon Port in Fox River Grove. Hot-air balloons rise and descend by heating and then releasing or cooling the air in the “envelope,” the colorful part of the balloon.
Windy City offers one-hour rides that cover between 8 and 16 miles; the balloon lands wherever the wind takes it. A “chase crew” follows the route, then packs the balloon and drives participants back to Windy City.
There are four-, six-, eight- and, new this season, 12-person baskets. The season runs May through October, but because so many flights are rescheduled because of poor weather conditions, Freeman suggests reservations be made well in advance.
The cost is $135-$175 per person, with a $50 deposit. Flights are held daily at sunrise and sunset.
Windy City Balloon Port is at 100 Ski Hill Rd. in Fox River Grove. For information, call 847-639-0550.
