Yes, I will come to your kite event:


Either by myself or with a team.
I ask from you; air fares and accommodation please.
There are some events that I go to every time- like Berck sur Mer, Dieppe, Pasir Gudang, Bintulu, Cervia and so on. If your event clashes with one of these then I won't be able to attend- but on the other hand, if you're just before or after, then airfare costs can be shared. If I can't attend, it's likely that Craig Hansen or Simon Chisnal or someone else from Peter Lynn Kites Ltd will be able to.

For flights, it's almost always best for these to be organised from our end and reimbursed later. By travelling so frequently, I get extra baggage allowance and priority booking from the airlines I use. When flying Star Alliance, I'm allowed two checked bags of 20kgms each (which in practise gets pushed to 23kgm each) and two carry-ons of 7kgm each. This allows me to bring three maxi kites and support equipment. If I'm travelling to or via the US, this increases to three bags- five maxis.
For travel cost reimbursements, bank transfer is best because it attracts the lowest charges, and the attending documentation keeps our (and your) records straight. Cash, (receipted), is also acceptable, and can be useful if I need to use some of it while travelling as this saves the costs of double conversion.

For contacts prior to your event, it's best to have a reliable email connection. Our home telephone number is +64 3 308 0030, but with NZ being in a very different time zone to most other countries and because I'm away at least 6 months of each year, phone contact can't be depended on.


Webadmin comment:: You can also use the online form to get hold of Peter Lynn.
Just proceed to the contact page.[Click here]

I use my gmail address while travelling, but don't always have internet access- and won't until Wifi becomes more universal. Elwyn checks her inbox every day while I'm away but doesn't necessarily check mine.

For airport pick-up and set-down, we advise flight numbers and dates as soon as we have them. Optimal flights often don't clear until a few days before departure, but we'll have back up flights (that may be at less convenient times or more expensive) organised in case the first choices aren't available. Don't panic!- you will get the arrival details in plenty of time.

The bags I arrive with will be, compressed, about 0.5m diameter and 0.75m long, so can generally fit in the luggage space of any small car. Packing these bags to minimise weight and size takes some hours though, so once at an event it costs a lot of flying time if they have to be re-packed every night. Overnight storage for loose kites beside the flying field is a great help in keeping more kites in the air for longer.
It will take extra time to pack on the last day of the event, so it's helpful not to have to leave for a closing ceremony as soon as flying stops. In case of rain during the last afternoon- which pushes weights over the baggage limit- I generally arrange to leave the afternoon of the day after the event finishes, so as to have time for drying when necessary.

For accommodation and meals; nothing fancy please!- I'd rather you spend any extra on inviting more fliers. Accommodation that's close to the flying field is useful though, or more than one commuting option if it's not- I don't like holding up other kite fliers in the evenings when taking longer to pull down and pack- and they don't appreciate this either.

Flying: I fly large single line theme kites- Octopus's, Ray's, Bear's and the like.

New Ray, Octopus, and Bear flying

These take hard work and sometimes an hour or more to get up and to take down, so it's rarely practical to fly according to a pre-determined program. I can usually manage completely by myself, but in stronger winds may occasionally need some help. Fliers of large kites are universally supportive of each other though, so provided I'm not the only flier there, this is not something you have to organise. Generally the kites I have with me, all of them, will go up in the morning and come down in the evening (provided there's some wind). To minimise space requirements I customarily fly them as one or more trains- which makes room in the sky for more kites and minimises the number of anchoring points needed (for anchor requirements please see "Finding things to tie kites to at kite festivals" also at www.peterlynnhimself).
Can I bring something for you? This is difficult for me because I pack so carefully that even 100gms extra can trigger a charge for 6kgms- which will be some hundreds of dollars. (Airlines generally allow bags up to just under 3kgms over, but charge for all the overweight once the magic 23kgms per bag is breached.) An exception is anything that I will be using during the event anyway- like Pilot lines for example-that don't then need to go home with me.
Sight seeing. For many kite events, a prime purpose is to introduce the area's attractions to visitors so that they will return to their home countries and spread the word. I do this of course, but after 33 years and more than 300 Int. kite festivals, I've been just about everywhere, (multiple times), and seen just about everything. I haven't done enough kite flying yet though! The dates for your event that I need to know as early as possible are for the actual days when there will be kite flying. If there are organised sight seeing trips before or after, unless it's very important that I stay for these, I prefer to use this time to make more kites or get on to the next event.

Peter Lynn, July '09

With (but please contact them directly for their terms and conditions):
Peter Lynn kites Ltd (Jenny Cook, Craig Hanson et al) at kitefactory@peterlynnkites.com
Ultimate Kite Show (UKS), Operations manager; Stefan Cook at http://www.ultimatekiteshow.com