Sweden Kites

Sweden is a country with no kite tradition whatsoever, but sometimes I like to make kites with a connection to Sweden. Here is the subset of kites I have made that have this connection to Sweden.

On smartphone: use finger for scrolling sideways to be able to see all pictures.

When I made the Inflation I found that this design, Poster, was perfect for displaying simple images. Furthermore a Poster kite is a wonderful light wind kite. I am very thankful to Claude & Francis Paragon who have made the design (based on an Ohashi kite they told me) available.

Here is a challenge: in a brand name, replace one letter and then reshuffle the letters!

IKEA (/aɪˈkiːə/ eye-KEE-ə, Swedish: [ɪˇkeːa]) is a European multinational group that designs and sells ready-to-assemble furniture, kitchen appliances and home accessories, among other useful goods and occasionally home services. Founded in Sweden in 1943 by 17-year-old Ingvar Kamprad, IKEA has been the world’s largest furniture retailer since 2008.  The company’s name is an acronym that consists of the founder’s initials (Ingvar Kamprad) plus those of Elmtaryd, the family farm where he was born, and the nearby village Agunnaryd (his hometown in Småland, southern Sweden).

Rather than being sold pre-assembled, much of IKEA’s furniture is designed to be assembled by the customer. The company claims that this helps reduce costs and use of packaging by not shipping air; the volume of a bookcase, for example, is considerably less if it is shipped unassembled rather than assembled. This is also more practical for customers using public transport, because flat packs can be more easily carried.

Notable items of IKEA furniture include the Poäng armchair, the Billy bookcase and the Klippan sofa, all of which have sold by the tens of millions since the late 1970s.

IKEA products are identified by one-word (rarely two-word) names. Most of the names are Scandinavian in origin. Although there are some exceptions, most product names are based on a special naming system developed by IKEA. Company founder Kamprad was dyslexic and found that naming the furniture with proper names and words, rather than a product code, made the names easier to remember.

Some of IKEA’s Swedish product names have amusing or unfortunate connotations in other languages, sometimes resulting in the names being withdrawn in certain countries. Notable examples for English include the “Jerker” computer desk (discontinued several years ago as of 2013), “Fukta” plant spray, “Fartfull” workbench, and “Lyckhem” (meaning bliss).

Sweden is a country with no kite tradition whatsoever, but sometimes I like to make kites with a connection to Sweden.

In 1891 Swedish inventor Johan Petter Johansson received a patent for an improved design of the adjustable spanner that is still used today. He had his own business, Enköpings Mekaniska Verkstad (the Mechanical Workshop of Enköping), but made an agreement with the company B.A. Hjorth & Company [BAHCO], also located in Enköping, to distribute his tools worldwide under the “Bahco” trademark. The Bahco tools became greatly successful, and the company is still in operation and has manufactured over 100 million wrenches to date.

I asked my brother Ragnar to send a picture of one of his many Bahco spanners, and he kindly obliged.

I made the kite of bamboo and Nylon Paper, and the length of the kite is 200 cm. It is dismountable to fit in a 40 x 60 cm envelope.

 

The Swedish inventor Johan Petter Johansson received in 1891 a patent for an improved design of the adjustable spanner that is still used today. He had his own business, Enköpings Mekaniska Verkstad (the Mechanical Workshop of Enköping), but made an agreement with the company B.A. Hjorth & Company [BAHCO], also located in Enköping, to distribute his tools worldwide under the “Bahco” trademark. The Bahco tools became greatly successful, and the company is still in operation and has manufactured over 100 million wrenches to date.

This is the invitation that sparked it all:

 “…innovative use of materials used in the making of the kite“. As I had used bamboo and Nylon Paper, had glued instead of sewn and painted instead of appliqué I felt I at least had made something different.

I had not had the chance to test the arch at all at home, but the day before the competition in Dieppe there was wind enough to do that, and I made some small but very important addition to the frames.

At the competition day there was very little wind and the arch lay flat on ground. Just as I was explaining to the jury about the background and introducing my documentation of the Tug-of-War competition in Stockholm 2012 the wind picked up and the arch miraculously  self launched!

But alas! I had been interpreting the invitation wrong. It was a kite making competition, not a kite creation competition. The arch did not win any prize at all. Using bamboo and Nylon Paper instead of ripstop and carbon was obviously disqualifing, and with gluing the judges could not count stitches.  Instead a well made Dopero with appliqué got the first prize.

                                              Introducing the binder with the documentation of the Tug-of-War competition 100 years ago.

 

                                           Arch self launched in exactly the right moment

                                           British team pulling hard

                                           Ground display

Nearly the full both teams. The two red pentagon and single blue pentagon kites in the middle are the tapes required by the rules: “A coloured tape shall be affixed to the middle of the rope, with two other tapes of another colour fastened, one on each side, at a distance of 1.75 metres from each side of the central tape.“

Unfortunately the arch was ruined when it rained at the kite festival in Bintulu, just one month after the premier flight in Canada: the glue gave in to the rain and all parts drifted apart and the paint was scrubbed off in many places. I brought home the pieces to repair, but I could not bring myself to go through all that trouble again to repair the arch.

Then, as I had moved to Bali, I had found that printing on Nylon Paper worked fine and was fairly cheap. So instead of painting I Photoshopped all the figures, downsized them a bit and got them printed. But frame still in bamboo (with some fiber glass).

Video of new edition flying at the kite festival in Hsinchu, Taiwan,  September 2018 in pretty strong wind.

Having come this far in my research I felt I needed to verify that the idea of an arch of Tug-of-War really would work, so I had my son lying down on the floor on a piece of Nylon paper and draw the contour of him as he lay in two of the positions of the Swedish team below, cut out the profiles and attached frames.

In March that year, before I attended the kite festival in Cha Am, I spent a few days in Bali and made a successful test flight on Merta Sari Beach in Sanur: The arch would work!

Though I had collected pictures of Tug-of-War from Internet over the years they wouldn’t suit as models for the kites in an arch: I needed straight side views of the pullers.

Neither the pictures of the Swedish team nor the British team would do either because the were from half front.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Swedish team                                                         British team (during warming up)

What I learned from the above pictures was that both teams had black trousers and white long sleeved shirts with the country flag on the chest. In both teams some members were right handed and others were left handed.

I gathered I had to create my own models and summoned my friends in Sala Kite & Tango Party for a spring lunch and photo session. We had a great afternoon, but when I looked at the resulting pictures I realized I had not been well prepared and had made the shooting in an unorganized way.

                                            Picture courtesy Per Byström

Next photo session would be with my two brothers, Ragnar and Ingvar, both of them quite heavily built. I told them to wear black trousers and a white long sleeved T-shirt and I supplied small flags to attach on the chest. With the camera on a tripod and a suitable background I shot some hundred photos and selected a few that showed action and energy.

The 8 pictures plus one spare with action and energy of the Swedish team:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With the selected pictures of my brothers as both Swedish and British teams I brought my laptop and projector down to the basement of my house and projected the images on the wall where I had hang Nylon Paper and drew the outlines and some important details.

Some of the figures were so big so they didn’t fit in the width of the material but had to be split up in two parts; usually the split coming in the waist.

I was certain I had enough material, but with five figures left I ran out of Nylon Paper: I had completely forgotten that I had given away some 15 meters to kite friends for testing.

This material, Nylon Paper, or in Chinese Si Bu Lan (撕 不 烂), is an artificial, very strong paper that I had only been able yo find in a certain shop in Beijing. I sent an urgent email to old friend Li Ruoxin, he immediately bought what I needed and sent it by courir so within a week I could continue that work.

While I was waiting for the missing material I cut out what I already had drawn and glued together the figures that had been split.

To make the shirts more white (the material is quite translucent) I glued an extra layer one each shirt.

 

My apartment was full of Tug-of-Warers-to-be hanging and drying everywhere

                                           In the bathroom

                                            In the kitchen

                                            In the living room

Painting the trousers was easy: all black, but painting the faces more difficult: I had to make all faces individually different from my brothers! Adding a mustache to 90 % was important.

Again my apartment was full of Tug-of-Warers-to-be hanging and drying everywhere.

                                           In the hallway

                                           In the bedroom

The Swedish team painted and resting in the sofa, awaiting to be framed

For spines I glued bamboo sticks together with skin side out, and to give even more strength I glue-wrapped strips of Nylon Paper around them like some Japanese do.

The British team framed.

The complete official report, 1117 pages, of The Olympic Games of Stockholm 1912 was available on Internet. In this was included a whole chapter on the Tug of War competition as well as a chapter on the rules for the ToW competition.

Noteable was the name of the President for the Tug of War Committee: Captain Gösta Drake – The word ‘drake’ in Swedish has both the meaning ‘dragon’ as well as ‘kite’!

 

Here is an excerpt PDF with the Tug-of-War chapter, giving an account on the preparations, pictures of the teams and an exposition for the competition itself. The PDF will open in the same frame, so click the BACK button to come back. 21. Tug-of-war 1912

Here is an excerpt PDF on the new rules for Tug-of-War in Stockholm 1912 where the footwear was particularly addressed due to a controversy (see below) in the 1908 Olympic games: 21. ToW rules 1912

In the 1908 Olympic games in London three club teams from different police forces in Great Britain took all the three medals. The team represented by the Liverpool Police won the bronze medal against Sweden, with the City of London Police team getting gold and the Metropolitan Police winning the silver medal.

However there were complaints over the controversial heavy footwear worn by the Liverpool Police team.

Alan Knott, of the Tug of War Association, said: “It is reported that the Liverpool Police ‘were wearing enormous shoes, so heavy in fact that it was only with great effort that they could lift their feet from the ground’!

But the team from Liverpool insisted this was their regulation police footwear which presumably they would wear on the beat.

Despite of the rules banning “prepared boots or shoes with any protruding nails”, an American protest in the first round was overruled and the Liverpool Police team won the pull easily.

The US claimed using footwear which rendered them practically immobile could clearly be a help to the Liverpool squad.

Mr Knott said: “At the close of the competition, the Liverpool Police team offered to pull their American opponents in bare feet, but that offer was declined.”

 

In the early research I found a treasure: the complete report of the Olympic Games in Stockholm 1912. This report established that Sweden met Great Britain in the Tug-of-War final and Sweden defeated Great Britain 2 – 0.

Further research on Internet gave remarkably enough also a short  movie sequence of the the actual match between Sweden and Great Britain: Great Britain vs Sweden.

Since all the athletes in the British team were policemen from City of London Police and Metropolitan Police I sent emails to these and asked if they had any documentation or photographies. City of London Police sent a nice reply with photo of the team and old letter that gave an account for the adventures of the British Tug-of-War team, see below.

I also sent similar emails to some Swedish associations, like Sweden’s Central Association for the Promotion of Sport and Swedish Tug of War Federation, but they had no documentation (although SCAPS since than has published their archives). The project Arena Stockholm 1912-2012, who had put up a video on the upcoming centennial, were reluctant to give any help.

The British team. Letter and picture courtesy of City of London Police

The Swedish team.

 

Poster for the Tug-of-War competition Monday July 8: Dragkamp Sverige-Storbritannien

Stockholm 1912 at Dieppe 2012

Stockholm 1912 is by far my most well researched kite ever.

When I got the invitation to the 2012 kite festival in Dieppe, Brunswick, Canada, in November 2011 and I learned that the theme for the competition was simply “The Olympics” two thoughts flashed in parallel through my brain:

  • A) Wasn’t Tug-of-War an Olympic game in the early Olympics?
  • B) Hadn’t I already made a rough sketch of a Tug-of-War arch?

A: Sure enough: Tug-of-War was an olympic game from the games in Paris 1900 until the games in Antwerp 1920.

B: The Swedish word for Tug-of-War is Dragkamp, which sounds very similar to the word Drak-kamp (meaning ‘kite combat’), and with this play with words in mind I indeed had drawn a rough sketch on a glass door to a cabinet above my kite work bench.

Exactly 100 years earlier, 1912, the Olympic games were played in Stockholm. Already in 2012 there was a lot of information about the Stockholm Olympic games on Internet, and lo and behold: Sweden took part in the Tug-of-War game.

Sweden meeting Great Britain in the Olympic Games 1912

There even is a short video from that Tug-of-War game: Tug-of-War Stockholm 1912. The video will open in a new tab. Turn down the sound!

As for B): a rough sketch of a Tug-of-War arch:

#2 on the list of kite ideas drawn on the glass door of a cabinet over my work bench: Arch: dragkamp

(The rest of the list is still not done)

In 1912 the Olympic Games were held in Stockholm, and Tug-of-War was still one of the Games. Only two of five registered teams showed up for the competition: Great Britain and Sweden. Sweden won the gold medal by winning 2 – 0 in the only match that was.

My original intention was to dispense Absolut Vodka from the kite and I have the gear ready, but it seems the kite doesn’t have much lifting power: with 1/2 liter of liquid in a ‘camel back’ on the backside it’s difficult to keep the kite in the air and have the hands free for dispensing.

So I have resorted to dispense Absolut on the kite festivals’ farewell dinners.

 

Pic. by Brigitte Brussieres           Pic. by Sumiko Yamashita      Pic. by Liu Zhiping

 

   

Pic. by Ashley Ware Lane               Pic. by Sumiko Yamashita           Pic. by Long Kwong

Picture courtesy of Riga

Absolut was established in 1879 by Lars Olsson Smith, known as The King of Spirits. His portrait is on the medallion on the bottle and slightly modified on the kites.

 

   

For a kite to deserve the name Absolut the kite needs to have a complex bridle system, like Japanese kites.

The first installment of 25 bridle lines, each 34 m long was done in an empty corridor in the office during a weekend.  Unfortunately I had made a bad choice of bridle line: the line was a bit stiff, which I thought was good, but it turned out to be sticky so when the bridles had been daisy chained out for flying, the lines stuck together everywhere! Could not be sorted out!

I later changed line type and also made a black Absolut Kite with only a seven point bridle along the spine.

   

Sticker: Kite bridling in progress    34 m  long corridor                      25 lines

Absolut Kite is inspired by the many brilliant ads that started with Andy Warhol’s painting in 1985 and was followed up by other artists recommended by Warhol. The ads are full of wit, artistry and imagination as they deftly communicate the brand’s values.

I asked the Absolut company for permission to make the kite already in 2002, got a reply that the request had been handed to the proper instance and then nothing happened. As there was no firm NO I decided to go on, but it still took a few years before I got around making it.

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

Absolut Vodka is a brand of vodka, produced near Åhus, in southern Sweden. Absolut is one of the largest brands of spirits in the world (after Officer’s Choice, Smirnoff, Bacardi) and is sold in 126 countries.

Absolut practices a One Source production philosophy, meaning that every aspect of their production journey takes place in and around the small village of Åhus, Sweden. Every drop of water and every seed of wheat comes from one water source and one community.

Absolut was established in 1879 by Lars Olsson Smith and is produced in Åhus, Sweden. Smith challenged the city of Stockholm’s liquor marketing monopoly with his vodka. It was sold just outside the city border at a lower price than the monopoly’s product. Smith even offered free boat rides to the distillery and “Rent Brännvin” made Smith a fortune.

In 1917, the Swedish government monopolized the country’s alcohol industry. Vodka was then sold nationwide under the name “Absolut Rent Brännvin“. In 1979, the old name Absolut was picked up when the upper-price range ABSOLUT VODKA was introduced. ‘Renat’ is still a euphemism for spirits in Sweden, and the name of another vodka product sold by Pernod Ricard Sweden AB.

Absolut Vodka was introduced to the global market in 1979. Today Absolut sells over 100 million litres of vodka annually (2018). The vodka is made from winter wheat.

Before going to watch the first game Sweden played at Euro Cup in soccer 2000 I made a kite with a Swedish flag to fly on the beach during the intermission: my colleagues and me were to watch the game at Sheraton garden in Abu Dhabi.

There was no wind and Sweden lost the game, but I have been flying the flag now and then elsewhere.

This kite is also courtesy IKEA, and the model is simply a fighter kite with balancing tail on the opposite side where the free part of  the flag is.

The flag of Sweden, simply.

Sverker above viking grave mounds, Sävja kullar, outside Uppsala

The Sverker can easily be stacked, and when stacking a smaller one behind a larger one you don’t see the difference in size in the sky.

I have made the Sverker in two sizes and also in versions for light wind. This is a large Sverker in Icarex and with SkyShark tubes, and it flew in practically zero wind. Unfortunately I lost it in Wuhan, China, 2016, after whole day’s flying.

 As Sala Drak & Tangosällskap (famous group from central Sweden) was going westwards (Washington – Monmouth – Dieppe) in 1996 they decided to make a new Viking invasion, this time from the sky. I had the idea of the ‘Bowtie’ sail and someone else in the group had the idea of the semi-3D bow. Karin and Per Byström made the first three ships from flower support bamboo sticks and table cloth from some of the group’s many parties, and called them Svea, Göta and Vendel. I built my kite a little bit different and called it Sverker and has since then updated it in years 2001, 2005 & 2016. It is the Byström version that is included in Ron Moulton’s book Kites (1997, pp 220-221). 

Sverker in an old Viking name, and also the name of my father and my own middle name.

The plan for Sverker can be found here: http://windman.se/kite-plans/

Swedish pre-history ends around 800 AD, when the Viking Age begins and written sources are available. The Viking Age lasted until the mid-11th century, when the Christianization of Scandinavia was largely completed when Sweden became the last Norse country to adopt Christianity.

The Swedes took part in many Western raids against England alongside the Danes and Norwegians of which many successfully acquired Danegeld as seen on the England runestones. The Swedes were also very active traders and raiders in the eastern and southeastern parts of Europe. The large Russian mainland and its many navigable rivers offered good prospects for trading and plundering. These routes brought them into contact with the Byzantine and Muslim empires which later led to the formation of the Varangian Guard, an elite fighting force made up by Norsemen.

Viking ships were marine vessels of unique structure, built by the Vikings during the Viking Age.

The boat-types were quite varied, depending on what the ship was intended for, but they were generally characterized as being slender and flexible boats, with symmetrical ends with true keel. They were clinker built, which is the overlapping of planks riveted together. Some might have had a dragon’s head or other circular object protruding from the bow and stern for design, although this is only inferred from historical sources. Viking ships were not just used for their military prowess but for long-distance trade, exploration and colonization.

After being heavily taken down by Peter Lynn on Cervia beach in 1995 I added one cell.

It was promptly approved by Peter.

Volvolare

A Chinese Dragon type kite, but with alternating round and triangular cells, with a Volvo 850 as ‘dragonhead’.

    VOLVO (latin) - I roll

    Volare (italian) - I fly

Made in 1995

Volvo Cars (Swedish: Volvo personvagnar), stylized as VOLVO, is a Swedish luxury vehicles brand. Its cars are marketed as being safe, solidly built, and reliable.  It is headquartered in Torslanda in Gothenburg, Sweden.

The company Volvo Cars was founded in 1927 as a subsidiary of the ball bearing manufacturer SKF.  Volvo Cars is now a subsidiary of the Chinese automotive company Geely.

Volvo Cars (Swedish: Volvo personvagnar), stylized as VOLVO, is a Swedish luxury vehicles brand. Its cars are marketed as being safe, solidly built, and reliable.  It is headquartered in Torslanda in Gothenburg, Sweden.

The company Volvo Cars was founded in 1927 as a subsidiary of the ball bearing manufacturer SKF.  Volvo Cars is now a subsidiary of the Chinese automotive company Geely.

Volvolare

A Chinese Dragon type kite, but with alternating round and triangular cells, with a Volvo 850 as ‘dragonhead’.

    VOLVO (latin) - I roll

    Volare (italian) - I fly

Made in 1995

Volvo Cars (Swedish: Volvo personvagnar), stylized as VOLVO, is a Swedish luxury vehicles brand. Its cars are marketed as being safe, solidly built, and reliable.  It is headquartered in Torslanda in Gothenburg, Sweden.

The company Volvo Cars was founded in 1927 as a subsidiary of the ball bearing manufacturer SKF.  Volvo Cars is now a subsidiary of the Chinese automotive company Geely.

Volvolare

A Chinese Dragon type kite, but with alternating round and triangular cells, with a Volvo 850 as ‘dragonhead’.

    VOLVO (latin) - I roll

    Volare (italian) - I fly

Made in 1995

Volvo Cars (Swedish: Volvo personvagnar), stylized as VOLVO, is a Swedish luxury vehicles brand. Its cars are marketed as being safe, solidly built, and reliable.  It is headquartered in Torslanda in Gothenburg, Sweden.

The company Volvo Cars was founded in 1927 as a subsidiary of the ball bearing manufacturer SKF.  Volvo Cars is now a subsidiary of the Chinese automotive company Geely.

After being heavily taken down by Peter Lynn on Cervia beach in 1995 I added one cell.

It was promptly approved by Peter.

Volvolare

A Chinese Dragon type kite, but with alternating round and triangular cells, with a Volvo 850 as ‘dragonhead’.

    VOLVO (latin) - I roll

    Volare (italian) - I fly

Made in 1995

Volvo Cars (Swedish: Volvo personvagnar), stylized as VOLVO, is a Swedish luxury vehicles brand. Its cars are marketed as being safe, solidly built, and reliable.  It is headquartered in Torslanda in Gothenburg, Sweden.

The company Volvo Cars was founded in 1927 as a subsidiary of the ball bearing manufacturer SKF.  Volvo Cars is now a subsidiary of the Chinese automotive company Geely.

After being heavily taken down by Peter Lynn on Cervia beach in 1995 I added one cell.

It was promptly approved by Peter.

Volvolare

A Chinese Dragon type kite, but with alternating round and triangular cells, with a Volvo 850 as ‘dragonhead’.

    VOLVO (latin) - I roll

    Volare (italian) - I fly

Made in 1995

Volvo Cars (Swedish: Volvo personvagnar), stylized as VOLVO, is a Swedish luxury vehicles brand. Its cars are marketed as being safe, solidly built, and reliable.  It is headquartered in Torslanda in Gothenburg, Sweden.

The company Volvo Cars was founded in 1927 as a subsidiary of the ball bearing manufacturer SKF.  Volvo Cars is now a subsidiary of the Chinese automotive company Geely.

Swedish pre-history ends around 800 AD, when the Viking Age begins and written sources are available. The Viking Age lasted until the mid-11th century, when the Christianization of Scandinavia was largely completed when Sweden became the last Norse country to adopt Christianity.

The Swedes took part in many Western raids against England alongside the Danes and Norwegians of which many successfully acquired Danegeld as seen on the England runestones. The Swedes were also very active traders and raiders in the eastern and southeastern parts of Europe. The large Russian mainland and its many navigable rivers offered good prospects for trading and plundering. These routes brought them into contact with the Byzantine and Muslim empires which later led to the formation of the Varangian Guard, an elite fighting force made up by Norsemen.

Viking ships were marine vessels of unique structure, built by the Vikings during the Viking Age.

The boat-types were quite varied, depending on what the ship was intended for, but they were generally characterized as being slender and flexible boats, with symmetrical ends with true keel. They were clinker built, which is the overlapping of planks riveted together. Some might have had a dragon’s head or other circular object protruding from the bow and stern for design, although this is only inferred from historical sources. Viking ships were not just used for their military prowess but for long-distance trade, exploration and colonization.

After being heavily taken down by Peter Lynn on Cervia beach in 1995 I added one cell.

It was promptly approved by Peter.

Volvolare

A Chinese Dragon type kite, but with alternating round and triangular cells, with a Volvo 850 as ‘dragonhead’.

    VOLVO (latin) - I roll

    Volare (italian) - I fly

Made in 1995

Volvo Cars (Swedish: Volvo personvagnar), stylized as VOLVO, is a Swedish luxury vehicles brand. Its cars are marketed as being safe, solidly built, and reliable.  It is headquartered in Torslanda in Gothenburg, Sweden.

The company Volvo Cars was founded in 1927 as a subsidiary of the ball bearing manufacturer SKF.  Volvo Cars is now a subsidiary of the Chinese automotive company Geely.

 As Sala Drak & Tangosällskap (famous group from central Sweden) was going westwards (Washington – Monmouth – Dieppe) in 1996 they decided to make a new Viking invasion, this time from the sky. I had the idea of the ‘Bowtie’ sail and someone else in the group had the idea of the semi-3D bow. Karin and Per Byström made the first three ships from flower support bamboo sticks and table cloth from some of the group’s many parties, and called them Svea, Göta and Vendel. I built my kite a little bit different and called it Sverker and has since then updated it in years 2001, 2005 & 2016. It is the Byström version that is included in Ron Moulton’s book Kites (1997, pp 220-221). 

Sverker in an old Viking name, and also the name of my father and my own middle name.

The plan for Sverker can be found here: http://windman.se/kite-plans/

Swedish pre-history ends around 800 AD, when the Viking Age begins and written sources are available. The Viking Age lasted until the mid-11th century, when the Christianization of Scandinavia was largely completed when Sweden became the last Norse country to adopt Christianity.

The Swedes took part in many Western raids against England alongside the Danes and Norwegians of which many successfully acquired Danegeld as seen on the England runestones. The Swedes were also very active traders and raiders in the eastern and southeastern parts of Europe. The large Russian mainland and its many navigable rivers offered good prospects for trading and plundering. These routes brought them into contact with the Byzantine and Muslim empires which later led to the formation of the Varangian Guard, an elite fighting force made up by Norsemen.

Viking ships were marine vessels of unique structure, built by the Vikings during the Viking Age.

The boat-types were quite varied, depending on what the ship was intended for, but they were generally characterized as being slender and flexible boats, with symmetrical ends with true keel. They were clinker built, which is the overlapping of planks riveted together. Some might have had a dragon’s head or other circular object protruding from the bow and stern for design, although this is only inferred from historical sources. Viking ships were not just used for their military prowess but for long-distance trade, exploration and colonization.

After being heavily taken down by Peter Lynn on Cervia beach in 1995 I added one cell.

It was promptly approved by Peter.

Volvolare

A Chinese Dragon type kite, but with alternating round and triangular cells, with a Volvo 850 as ‘dragonhead’.

    VOLVO (latin) - I roll

    Volare (italian) - I fly

Made in 1995

Volvo Cars (Swedish: Volvo personvagnar), stylized as VOLVO, is a Swedish luxury vehicles brand. Its cars are marketed as being safe, solidly built, and reliable.  It is headquartered in Torslanda in Gothenburg, Sweden.

The company Volvo Cars was founded in 1927 as a subsidiary of the ball bearing manufacturer SKF.  Volvo Cars is now a subsidiary of the Chinese automotive company Geely.

 As Sala Drak & Tangosällskap (famous group from central Sweden) was going westwards (Washington – Monmouth – Dieppe) in 1996 they decided to make a new Viking invasion, this time from the sky. I had the idea of the ‘Bowtie’ sail and someone else in the group had the idea of the semi-3D bow. Karin and Per Byström made the first three ships from flower support bamboo sticks and table cloth from some of the group’s many parties, and called them Svea, Göta and Vendel. I built my kite a little bit different and called it Sverker and has since then updated it in years 2001, 2005 & 2016. It is the Byström version that is included in Ron Moulton’s book Kites (1997, pp 220-221). 

Sverker in an old Viking name, and also the name of my father and my own middle name.

The plan for Sverker can be found here: http://windman.se/kite-plans/

Swedish pre-history ends around 800 AD, when the Viking Age begins and written sources are available. The Viking Age lasted until the mid-11th century, when the Christianization of Scandinavia was largely completed when Sweden became the last Norse country to adopt Christianity.

The Swedes took part in many Western raids against England alongside the Danes and Norwegians of which many successfully acquired Danegeld as seen on the England runestones. The Swedes were also very active traders and raiders in the eastern and southeastern parts of Europe. The large Russian mainland and its many navigable rivers offered good prospects for trading and plundering. These routes brought them into contact with the Byzantine and Muslim empires which later led to the formation of the Varangian Guard, an elite fighting force made up by Norsemen.

Viking ships were marine vessels of unique structure, built by the Vikings during the Viking Age.

The boat-types were quite varied, depending on what the ship was intended for, but they were generally characterized as being slender and flexible boats, with symmetrical ends with true keel. They were clinker built, which is the overlapping of planks riveted together. Some might have had a dragon’s head or other circular object protruding from the bow and stern for design, although this is only inferred from historical sources. Viking ships were not just used for their military prowess but for long-distance trade, exploration and colonization.

After being heavily taken down by Peter Lynn on Cervia beach in 1995 I added one cell.

It was promptly approved by Peter.

Volvolare

A Chinese Dragon type kite, but with alternating round and triangular cells, with a Volvo 850 as ‘dragonhead’.

    VOLVO (latin) - I roll

    Volare (italian) - I fly

Made in 1995

Volvo Cars (Swedish: Volvo personvagnar), stylized as VOLVO, is a Swedish luxury vehicles brand. Its cars are marketed as being safe, solidly built, and reliable.  It is headquartered in Torslanda in Gothenburg, Sweden.

The company Volvo Cars was founded in 1927 as a subsidiary of the ball bearing manufacturer SKF.  Volvo Cars is now a subsidiary of the Chinese automotive company Geely.

I have made the Sverker in two sizes and also in versions for light wind. This is a large Sverker in Icarex and with SkyShark tubes, and it flew in practically zero wind. Unfortunately I lost it in Wuhan, China, 2016, after whole day’s flying.

 As Sala Drak & Tangosällskap (famous group from central Sweden) was going westwards (Washington – Monmouth – Dieppe) in 1996 they decided to make a new Viking invasion, this time from the sky. I had the idea of the ‘Bowtie’ sail and someone else in the group had the idea of the semi-3D bow. Karin and Per Byström made the first three ships from flower support bamboo sticks and table cloth from some of the group’s many parties, and called them Svea, Göta and Vendel. I built my kite a little bit different and called it Sverker and has since then updated it in years 2001, 2005 & 2016. It is the Byström version that is included in Ron Moulton’s book Kites (1997, pp 220-221). 

Sverker in an old Viking name, and also the name of my father and my own middle name.

The plan for Sverker can be found here: http://windman.se/kite-plans/

Swedish pre-history ends around 800 AD, when the Viking Age begins and written sources are available. The Viking Age lasted until the mid-11th century, when the Christianization of Scandinavia was largely completed when Sweden became the last Norse country to adopt Christianity.

The Swedes took part in many Western raids against England alongside the Danes and Norwegians of which many successfully acquired Danegeld as seen on the England runestones. The Swedes were also very active traders and raiders in the eastern and southeastern parts of Europe. The large Russian mainland and its many navigable rivers offered good prospects for trading and plundering. These routes brought them into contact with the Byzantine and Muslim empires which later led to the formation of the Varangian Guard, an elite fighting force made up by Norsemen.

Viking ships were marine vessels of unique structure, built by the Vikings during the Viking Age.

The boat-types were quite varied, depending on what the ship was intended for, but they were generally characterized as being slender and flexible boats, with symmetrical ends with true keel. They were clinker built, which is the overlapping of planks riveted together. Some might have had a dragon’s head or other circular object protruding from the bow and stern for design, although this is only inferred from historical sources. Viking ships were not just used for their military prowess but for long-distance trade, exploration and colonization.

After being heavily taken down by Peter Lynn on Cervia beach in 1995 I added one cell.

It was promptly approved by Peter.

Volvolare

A Chinese Dragon type kite, but with alternating round and triangular cells, with a Volvo 850 as ‘dragonhead’.

    VOLVO (latin) - I roll

    Volare (italian) - I fly

Made in 1995

Volvo Cars (Swedish: Volvo personvagnar), stylized as VOLVO, is a Swedish luxury vehicles brand. Its cars are marketed as being safe, solidly built, and reliable.  It is headquartered in Torslanda in Gothenburg, Sweden.

The company Volvo Cars was founded in 1927 as a subsidiary of the ball bearing manufacturer SKF.  Volvo Cars is now a subsidiary of the Chinese automotive company Geely.

I have made the Sverker in two sizes and also in versions for light wind. This is a large Sverker in Icarex and with SkyShark tubes, and it flew in practically zero wind. Unfortunately I lost it in Wuhan, China, 2016, after whole day’s flying.

 As Sala Drak & Tangosällskap (famous group from central Sweden) was going westwards (Washington – Monmouth – Dieppe) in 1996 they decided to make a new Viking invasion, this time from the sky. I had the idea of the ‘Bowtie’ sail and someone else in the group had the idea of the semi-3D bow. Karin and Per Byström made the first three ships from flower support bamboo sticks and table cloth from some of the group’s many parties, and called them Svea, Göta and Vendel. I built my kite a little bit different and called it Sverker and has since then updated it in years 2001, 2005 & 2016. It is the Byström version that is included in Ron Moulton’s book Kites (1997, pp 220-221). 

Sverker in an old Viking name, and also the name of my father and my own middle name.

The plan for Sverker can be found here: http://windman.se/kite-plans/

Swedish pre-history ends around 800 AD, when the Viking Age begins and written sources are available. The Viking Age lasted until the mid-11th century, when the Christianization of Scandinavia was largely completed when Sweden became the last Norse country to adopt Christianity.

The Swedes took part in many Western raids against England alongside the Danes and Norwegians of which many successfully acquired Danegeld as seen on the England runestones. The Swedes were also very active traders and raiders in the eastern and southeastern parts of Europe. The large Russian mainland and its many navigable rivers offered good prospects for trading and plundering. These routes brought them into contact with the Byzantine and Muslim empires which later led to the formation of the Varangian Guard, an elite fighting force made up by Norsemen.

Viking ships were marine vessels of unique structure, built by the Vikings during the Viking Age.

The boat-types were quite varied, depending on what the ship was intended for, but they were generally characterized as being slender and flexible boats, with symmetrical ends with true keel. They were clinker built, which is the overlapping of planks riveted together. Some might have had a dragon’s head or other circular object protruding from the bow and stern for design, although this is only inferred from historical sources. Viking ships were not just used for their military prowess but for long-distance trade, exploration and colonization.

After being heavily taken down by Peter Lynn on Cervia beach in 1995 I added one cell.

It was promptly approved by Peter.

Volvolare

A Chinese Dragon type kite, but with alternating round and triangular cells, with a Volvo 850 as ‘dragonhead’.

    VOLVO (latin) - I roll

    Volare (italian) - I fly

Made in 1995

Volvo Cars (Swedish: Volvo personvagnar), stylized as VOLVO, is a Swedish luxury vehicles brand. Its cars are marketed as being safe, solidly built, and reliable.  It is headquartered in Torslanda in Gothenburg, Sweden.

The company Volvo Cars was founded in 1927 as a subsidiary of the ball bearing manufacturer SKF.  Volvo Cars is now a subsidiary of the Chinese automotive company Geely.

The Sverker can easily be stacked, and when stacking a smaller one behind a larger one you don’t see the difference in size in the sky.

I have made the Sverker in two sizes and also in versions for light wind. This is a large Sverker in Icarex and with SkyShark tubes, and it flew in practically zero wind. Unfortunately I lost it in Wuhan, China, 2016, after whole day’s flying.

 As Sala Drak & Tangosällskap (famous group from central Sweden) was going westwards (Washington – Monmouth – Dieppe) in 1996 they decided to make a new Viking invasion, this time from the sky. I had the idea of the ‘Bowtie’ sail and someone else in the group had the idea of the semi-3D bow. Karin and Per Byström made the first three ships from flower support bamboo sticks and table cloth from some of the group’s many parties, and called them Svea, Göta and Vendel. I built my kite a little bit different and called it Sverker and has since then updated it in years 2001, 2005 & 2016. It is the Byström version that is included in Ron Moulton’s book Kites (1997, pp 220-221). 

Sverker in an old Viking name, and also the name of my father and my own middle name.

The plan for Sverker can be found here: http://windman.se/kite-plans/

Swedish pre-history ends around 800 AD, when the Viking Age begins and written sources are available. The Viking Age lasted until the mid-11th century, when the Christianization of Scandinavia was largely completed when Sweden became the last Norse country to adopt Christianity.

The Swedes took part in many Western raids against England alongside the Danes and Norwegians of which many successfully acquired Danegeld as seen on the England runestones. The Swedes were also very active traders and raiders in the eastern and southeastern parts of Europe. The large Russian mainland and its many navigable rivers offered good prospects for trading and plundering. These routes brought them into contact with the Byzantine and Muslim empires which later led to the formation of the Varangian Guard, an elite fighting force made up by Norsemen.

Viking ships were marine vessels of unique structure, built by the Vikings during the Viking Age.

The boat-types were quite varied, depending on what the ship was intended for, but they were generally characterized as being slender and flexible boats, with symmetrical ends with true keel. They were clinker built, which is the overlapping of planks riveted together. Some might have had a dragon’s head or other circular object protruding from the bow and stern for design, although this is only inferred from historical sources. Viking ships were not just used for their military prowess but for long-distance trade, exploration and colonization.

After being heavily taken down by Peter Lynn on Cervia beach in 1995 I added one cell.

It was promptly approved by Peter.

Volvolare

A Chinese Dragon type kite, but with alternating round and triangular cells, with a Volvo 850 as ‘dragonhead’.

    VOLVO (latin) - I roll

    Volare (italian) - I fly

Made in 1995

Volvo Cars (Swedish: Volvo personvagnar), stylized as VOLVO, is a Swedish luxury vehicles brand. Its cars are marketed as being safe, solidly built, and reliable.  It is headquartered in Torslanda in Gothenburg, Sweden.

The company Volvo Cars was founded in 1927 as a subsidiary of the ball bearing manufacturer SKF.  Volvo Cars is now a subsidiary of the Chinese automotive company Geely.

The Sverker can easily be stacked, and when stacking a smaller one behind a larger one you don’t see the difference in size in the sky.

I have made the Sverker in two sizes and also in versions for light wind. This is a large Sverker in Icarex and with SkyShark tubes, and it flew in practically zero wind. Unfortunately I lost it in Wuhan, China, 2016, after whole day’s flying.

 As Sala Drak & Tangosällskap (famous group from central Sweden) was going westwards (Washington – Monmouth – Dieppe) in 1996 they decided to make a new Viking invasion, this time from the sky. I had the idea of the ‘Bowtie’ sail and someone else in the group had the idea of the semi-3D bow. Karin and Per Byström made the first three ships from flower support bamboo sticks and table cloth from some of the group’s many parties, and called them Svea, Göta and Vendel. I built my kite a little bit different and called it Sverker and has since then updated it in years 2001, 2005 & 2016. It is the Byström version that is included in Ron Moulton’s book Kites (1997, pp 220-221). 

Sverker in an old Viking name, and also the name of my father and my own middle name.

The plan for Sverker can be found here: http://windman.se/kite-plans/

Swedish pre-history ends around 800 AD, when the Viking Age begins and written sources are available. The Viking Age lasted until the mid-11th century, when the Christianization of Scandinavia was largely completed when Sweden became the last Norse country to adopt Christianity.

The Swedes took part in many Western raids against England alongside the Danes and Norwegians of which many successfully acquired Danegeld as seen on the England runestones. The Swedes were also very active traders and raiders in the eastern and southeastern parts of Europe. The large Russian mainland and its many navigable rivers offered good prospects for trading and plundering. These routes brought them into contact with the Byzantine and Muslim empires which later led to the formation of the Varangian Guard, an elite fighting force made up by Norsemen.

Viking ships were marine vessels of unique structure, built by the Vikings during the Viking Age.

The boat-types were quite varied, depending on what the ship was intended for, but they were generally characterized as being slender and flexible boats, with symmetrical ends with true keel. They were clinker built, which is the overlapping of planks riveted together. Some might have had a dragon’s head or other circular object protruding from the bow and stern for design, although this is only inferred from historical sources. Viking ships were not just used for their military prowess but for long-distance trade, exploration and colonization.

After being heavily taken down by Peter Lynn on Cervia beach in 1995 I added one cell.

It was promptly approved by Peter.

Volvolare

A Chinese Dragon type kite, but with alternating round and triangular cells, with a Volvo 850 as ‘dragonhead’.

    VOLVO (latin) - I roll

    Volare (italian) - I fly

Made in 1995

Volvo Cars (Swedish: Volvo personvagnar), stylized as VOLVO, is a Swedish luxury vehicles brand. Its cars are marketed as being safe, solidly built, and reliable.  It is headquartered in Torslanda in Gothenburg, Sweden.

The company Volvo Cars was founded in 1927 as a subsidiary of the ball bearing manufacturer SKF.  Volvo Cars is now a subsidiary of the Chinese automotive company Geely.

Sverker above viking grave mounds, Sävja kullar, outside Uppsala

The Sverker can easily be stacked, and when stacking a smaller one behind a larger one you don’t see the difference in size in the sky.

I have made the Sverker in two sizes and also in versions for light wind. This is a large Sverker in Icarex and with SkyShark tubes, and it flew in practically zero wind. Unfortunately I lost it in Wuhan, China, 2016, after whole day’s flying.

 As Sala Drak & Tangosällskap (famous group from central Sweden) was going westwards (Washington – Monmouth – Dieppe) in 1996 they decided to make a new Viking invasion, this time from the sky. I had the idea of the ‘Bowtie’ sail and someone else in the group had the idea of the semi-3D bow. Karin and Per Byström made the first three ships from flower support bamboo sticks and table cloth from some of the group’s many parties, and called them Svea, Göta and Vendel. I built my kite a little bit different and called it Sverker and has since then updated it in years 2001, 2005 & 2016. It is the Byström version that is included in Ron Moulton’s book Kites (1997, pp 220-221). 

Sverker in an old Viking name, and also the name of my father and my own middle name.

The plan for Sverker can be found here: http://windman.se/kite-plans/

Swedish pre-history ends around 800 AD, when the Viking Age begins and written sources are available. The Viking Age lasted until the mid-11th century, when the Christianization of Scandinavia was largely completed when Sweden became the last Norse country to adopt Christianity.

The Swedes took part in many Western raids against England alongside the Danes and Norwegians of which many successfully acquired Danegeld as seen on the England runestones. The Swedes were also very active traders and raiders in the eastern and southeastern parts of Europe. The large Russian mainland and its many navigable rivers offered good prospects for trading and plundering. These routes brought them into contact with the Byzantine and Muslim empires which later led to the formation of the Varangian Guard, an elite fighting force made up by Norsemen.

Viking ships were marine vessels of unique structure, built by the Vikings during the Viking Age.

The boat-types were quite varied, depending on what the ship was intended for, but they were generally characterized as being slender and flexible boats, with symmetrical ends with true keel. They were clinker built, which is the overlapping of planks riveted together. Some might have had a dragon’s head or other circular object protruding from the bow and stern for design, although this is only inferred from historical sources. Viking ships were not just used for their military prowess but for long-distance trade, exploration and colonization.

After being heavily taken down by Peter Lynn on Cervia beach in 1995 I added one cell.

It was promptly approved by Peter.

Volvolare

A Chinese Dragon type kite, but with alternating round and triangular cells, with a Volvo 850 as ‘dragonhead’.

    VOLVO (latin) - I roll

    Volare (italian) - I fly

Made in 1995

Volvo Cars (Swedish: Volvo personvagnar), stylized as VOLVO, is a Swedish luxury vehicles brand. Its cars are marketed as being safe, solidly built, and reliable.  It is headquartered in Torslanda in Gothenburg, Sweden.

The company Volvo Cars was founded in 1927 as a subsidiary of the ball bearing manufacturer SKF.  Volvo Cars is now a subsidiary of the Chinese automotive company Geely.

Sverker above viking grave mounds, Sävja kullar, outside Uppsala

The Sverker can easily be stacked, and when stacking a smaller one behind a larger one you don’t see the difference in size in the sky.

I have made the Sverker in two sizes and also in versions for light wind. This is a large Sverker in Icarex and with SkyShark tubes, and it flew in practically zero wind. Unfortunately I lost it in Wuhan, China, 2016, after whole day’s flying.

 As Sala Drak & Tangosällskap (famous group from central Sweden) was going westwards (Washington – Monmouth – Dieppe) in 1996 they decided to make a new Viking invasion, this time from the sky. I had the idea of the ‘Bowtie’ sail and someone else in the group had the idea of the semi-3D bow. Karin and Per Byström made the first three ships from flower support bamboo sticks and table cloth from some of the group’s many parties, and called them Svea, Göta and Vendel. I built my kite a little bit different and called it Sverker and has since then updated it in years 2001, 2005 & 2016. It is the Byström version that is included in Ron Moulton’s book Kites (1997, pp 220-221). 

Sverker in an old Viking name, and also the name of my father and my own middle name.

The plan for Sverker can be found here: http://windman.se/kite-plans/

Swedish pre-history ends around 800 AD, when the Viking Age begins and written sources are available. The Viking Age lasted until the mid-11th century, when the Christianization of Scandinavia was largely completed when Sweden became the last Norse country to adopt Christianity.

The Swedes took part in many Western raids against England alongside the Danes and Norwegians of which many successfully acquired Danegeld as seen on the England runestones. The Swedes were also very active traders and raiders in the eastern and southeastern parts of Europe. The large Russian mainland and its many navigable rivers offered good prospects for trading and plundering. These routes brought them into contact with the Byzantine and Muslim empires which later led to the formation of the Varangian Guard, an elite fighting force made up by Norsemen.

Viking ships were marine vessels of unique structure, built by the Vikings during the Viking Age.

The boat-types were quite varied, depending on what the ship was intended for, but they were generally characterized as being slender and flexible boats, with symmetrical ends with true keel. They were clinker built, which is the overlapping of planks riveted together. Some might have had a dragon’s head or other circular object protruding from the bow and stern for design, although this is only inferred from historical sources. Viking ships were not just used for their military prowess but for long-distance trade, exploration and colonization.

After being heavily taken down by Peter Lynn on Cervia beach in 1995 I added one cell.

It was promptly approved by Peter.

Volvolare

A Chinese Dragon type kite, but with alternating round and triangular cells, with a Volvo 850 as ‘dragonhead’.

    VOLVO (latin) - I roll

    Volare (italian) - I fly

Made in 1995

Volvo Cars (Swedish: Volvo personvagnar), stylized as VOLVO, is a Swedish luxury vehicles brand. Its cars are marketed as being safe, solidly built, and reliable.  It is headquartered in Torslanda in Gothenburg, Sweden.

The company Volvo Cars was founded in 1927 as a subsidiary of the ball bearing manufacturer SKF.  Volvo Cars is now a subsidiary of the Chinese automotive company Geely.

The flag of Sweden, simply.

Sverker above viking grave mounds, Sävja kullar, outside Uppsala

The Sverker can easily be stacked, and when stacking a smaller one behind a larger one you don’t see the difference in size in the sky.

I have made the Sverker in two sizes and also in versions for light wind. This is a large Sverker in Icarex and with SkyShark tubes, and it flew in practically zero wind. Unfortunately I lost it in Wuhan, China, 2016, after whole day’s flying.

 As Sala Drak & Tangosällskap (famous group from central Sweden) was going westwards (Washington – Monmouth – Dieppe) in 1996 they decided to make a new Viking invasion, this time from the sky. I had the idea of the ‘Bowtie’ sail and someone else in the group had the idea of the semi-3D bow. Karin and Per Byström made the first three ships from flower support bamboo sticks and table cloth from some of the group’s many parties, and called them Svea, Göta and Vendel. I built my kite a little bit different and called it Sverker and has since then updated it in years 2001, 2005 & 2016. It is the Byström version that is included in Ron Moulton’s book Kites (1997, pp 220-221). 

Sverker in an old Viking name, and also the name of my father and my own middle name.

The plan for Sverker can be found here: http://windman.se/kite-plans/

Swedish pre-history ends around 800 AD, when the Viking Age begins and written sources are available. The Viking Age lasted until the mid-11th century, when the Christianization of Scandinavia was largely completed when Sweden became the last Norse country to adopt Christianity.

The Swedes took part in many Western raids against England alongside the Danes and Norwegians of which many successfully acquired Danegeld as seen on the England runestones. The Swedes were also very active traders and raiders in the eastern and southeastern parts of Europe. The large Russian mainland and its many navigable rivers offered good prospects for trading and plundering. These routes brought them into contact with the Byzantine and Muslim empires which later led to the formation of the Varangian Guard, an elite fighting force made up by Norsemen.

Viking ships were marine vessels of unique structure, built by the Vikings during the Viking Age.

The boat-types were quite varied, depending on what the ship was intended for, but they were generally characterized as being slender and flexible boats, with symmetrical ends with true keel. They were clinker built, which is the overlapping of planks riveted together. Some might have had a dragon’s head or other circular object protruding from the bow and stern for design, although this is only inferred from historical sources. Viking ships were not just used for their military prowess but for long-distance trade, exploration and colonization.

After being heavily taken down by Peter Lynn on Cervia beach in 1995 I added one cell.

It was promptly approved by Peter.

Volvolare

A Chinese Dragon type kite, but with alternating round and triangular cells, with a Volvo 850 as ‘dragonhead’.

    VOLVO (latin) - I roll

    Volare (italian) - I fly

Made in 1995

Volvo Cars (Swedish: Volvo personvagnar), stylized as VOLVO, is a Swedish luxury vehicles brand. Its cars are marketed as being safe, solidly built, and reliable.  It is headquartered in Torslanda in Gothenburg, Sweden.

The company Volvo Cars was founded in 1927 as a subsidiary of the ball bearing manufacturer SKF.  Volvo Cars is now a subsidiary of the Chinese automotive company Geely.

Before going to watch the first game Sweden played at Euro Cup in soccer 2000 I made a kite with a Swedish flag to fly on the beach during the intermission: my colleagues and me were to watch the game at Sheraton garden in Abu Dhabi.

There was no wind and Sweden lost the game, but I have been flying the flag now and then elsewhere.

This kite is also courtesy IKEA, and the model is simply a fighter kite with balancing tail on the opposite side where the free part of  the flag is.

The flag of Sweden, simply.

Sverker above viking grave mounds, Sävja kullar, outside Uppsala

The Sverker can easily be stacked, and when stacking a smaller one behind a larger one you don’t see the difference in size in the sky.

I have made the Sverker in two sizes and also in versions for light wind. This is a large Sverker in Icarex and with SkyShark tubes, and it flew in practically zero wind. Unfortunately I lost it in Wuhan, China, 2016, after whole day’s flying.

 As Sala Drak & Tangosällskap (famous group from central Sweden) was going westwards (Washington – Monmouth – Dieppe) in 1996 they decided to make a new Viking invasion, this time from the sky. I had the idea of the ‘Bowtie’ sail and someone else in the group had the idea of the semi-3D bow. Karin and Per Byström made the first three ships from flower support bamboo sticks and table cloth from some of the group’s many parties, and called them Svea, Göta and Vendel. I built my kite a little bit different and called it Sverker and has since then updated it in years 2001, 2005 & 2016. It is the Byström version that is included in Ron Moulton’s book Kites (1997, pp 220-221). 

Sverker in an old Viking name, and also the name of my father and my own middle name.

The plan for Sverker can be found here: http://windman.se/kite-plans/

Swedish pre-history ends around 800 AD, when the Viking Age begins and written sources are available. The Viking Age lasted until the mid-11th century, when the Christianization of Scandinavia was largely completed when Sweden became the last Norse country to adopt Christianity.

The Swedes took part in many Western raids against England alongside the Danes and Norwegians of which many successfully acquired Danegeld as seen on the England runestones. The Swedes were also very active traders and raiders in the eastern and southeastern parts of Europe. The large Russian mainland and its many navigable rivers offered good prospects for trading and plundering. These routes brought them into contact with the Byzantine and Muslim empires which later led to the formation of the Varangian Guard, an elite fighting force made up by Norsemen.

Viking ships were marine vessels of unique structure, built by the Vikings during the Viking Age.

The boat-types were quite varied, depending on what the ship was intended for, but they were generally characterized as being slender and flexible boats, with symmetrical ends with true keel. They were clinker built, which is the overlapping of planks riveted together. Some might have had a dragon’s head or other circular object protruding from the bow and stern for design, although this is only inferred from historical sources. Viking ships were not just used for their military prowess but for long-distance trade, exploration and colonization.

After being heavily taken down by Peter Lynn on Cervia beach in 1995 I added one cell.

It was promptly approved by Peter.

Volvolare

A Chinese Dragon type kite, but with alternating round and triangular cells, with a Volvo 850 as ‘dragonhead’.

    VOLVO (latin) - I roll

    Volare (italian) - I fly

Made in 1995

Volvo Cars (Swedish: Volvo personvagnar), stylized as VOLVO, is a Swedish luxury vehicles brand. Its cars are marketed as being safe, solidly built, and reliable.  It is headquartered in Torslanda in Gothenburg, Sweden.

The company Volvo Cars was founded in 1927 as a subsidiary of the ball bearing manufacturer SKF.  Volvo Cars is now a subsidiary of the Chinese automotive company Geely.

Before going to watch the first game Sweden played at Euro Cup in soccer 2000 I made a kite with a Swedish flag to fly on the beach during the intermission: my colleagues and me were to watch the game at Sheraton garden in Abu Dhabi.

There was no wind and Sweden lost the game, but I have been flying the flag now and then elsewhere.

This kite is also courtesy IKEA, and the model is simply a fighter kite with balancing tail on the opposite side where the free part of  the flag is.

The flag of Sweden, simply.

Sverker above viking grave mounds, Sävja kullar, outside Uppsala

The Sverker can easily be stacked, and when stacking a smaller one behind a larger one you don’t see the difference in size in the sky.

I have made the Sverker in two sizes and also in versions for light wind. This is a large Sverker in Icarex and with SkyShark tubes, and it flew in practically zero wind. Unfortunately I lost it in Wuhan, China, 2016, after whole day’s flying.

 As Sala Drak & Tangosällskap (famous group from central Sweden) was going westwards (Washington – Monmouth – Dieppe) in 1996 they decided to make a new Viking invasion, this time from the sky. I had the idea of the ‘Bowtie’ sail and someone else in the group had the idea of the semi-3D bow. Karin and Per Byström made the first three ships from flower support bamboo sticks and table cloth from some of the group’s many parties, and called them Svea, Göta and Vendel. I built my kite a little bit different and called it Sverker and has since then updated it in years 2001, 2005 & 2016. It is the Byström version that is included in Ron Moulton’s book Kites (1997, pp 220-221). 

Sverker in an old Viking name, and also the name of my father and my own middle name.

The plan for Sverker can be found here: http://windman.se/kite-plans/

Swedish pre-history ends around 800 AD, when the Viking Age begins and written sources are available. The Viking Age lasted until the mid-11th century, when the Christianization of Scandinavia was largely completed when Sweden became the last Norse country to adopt Christianity.

The Swedes took part in many Western raids against England alongside the Danes and Norwegians of which many successfully acquired Danegeld as seen on the England runestones. The Swedes were also very active traders and raiders in the eastern and southeastern parts of Europe. The large Russian mainland and its many navigable rivers offered good prospects for trading and plundering. These routes brought them into contact with the Byzantine and Muslim empires which later led to the formation of the Varangian Guard, an elite fighting force made up by Norsemen.

Viking ships were marine vessels of unique structure, built by the Vikings during the Viking Age.

The boat-types were quite varied, depending on what the ship was intended for, but they were generally characterized as being slender and flexible boats, with symmetrical ends with true keel. They were clinker built, which is the overlapping of planks riveted together. Some might have had a dragon’s head or other circular object protruding from the bow and stern for design, although this is only inferred from historical sources. Viking ships were not just used for their military prowess but for long-distance trade, exploration and colonization.

After being heavily taken down by Peter Lynn on Cervia beach in 1995 I added one cell.

It was promptly approved by Peter.

Volvolare

A Chinese Dragon type kite, but with alternating round and triangular cells, with a Volvo 850 as ‘dragonhead’.

    VOLVO (latin) - I roll

    Volare (italian) - I fly

Made in 1995

Volvo Cars (Swedish: Volvo personvagnar), stylized as VOLVO, is a Swedish luxury vehicles brand. Its cars are marketed as being safe, solidly built, and reliable.  It is headquartered in Torslanda in Gothenburg, Sweden.

The company Volvo Cars was founded in 1927 as a subsidiary of the ball bearing manufacturer SKF.  Volvo Cars is now a subsidiary of the Chinese automotive company Geely.

Absolut Vodka is a brand of vodka, produced near Åhus, in southern Sweden. Absolut is one of the largest brands of spirits in the world (after Officer’s Choice, Smirnoff, Bacardi) and is sold in 126 countries.

Absolut practices a One Source production philosophy, meaning that every aspect of their production journey takes place in and around the small village of Åhus, Sweden. Every drop of water and every seed of wheat comes from one water source and one community.

Absolut was established in 1879 by Lars Olsson Smith and is produced in Åhus, Sweden. Smith challenged the city of Stockholm’s liquor marketing monopoly with his vodka. It was sold just outside the city border at a lower price than the monopoly’s product. Smith even offered free boat rides to the distillery and “Rent Brännvin” made Smith a fortune.

In 1917, the Swedish government monopolized the country’s alcohol industry. Vodka was then sold nationwide under the name “Absolut Rent Brännvin“. In 1979, the old name Absolut was picked up when the upper-price range ABSOLUT VODKA was introduced. ‘Renat’ is still a euphemism for spirits in Sweden, and the name of another vodka product sold by Pernod Ricard Sweden AB.

Absolut Vodka was introduced to the global market in 1979. Today Absolut sells over 100 million litres of vodka annually (2018). The vodka is made from winter wheat.

Before going to watch the first game Sweden played at Euro Cup in soccer 2000 I made a kite with a Swedish flag to fly on the beach during the intermission: my colleagues and me were to watch the game at Sheraton garden in Abu Dhabi.

There was no wind and Sweden lost the game, but I have been flying the flag now and then elsewhere.

This kite is also courtesy IKEA, and the model is simply a fighter kite with balancing tail on the opposite side where the free part of  the flag is.

The flag of Sweden, simply.

Sverker above viking grave mounds, Sävja kullar, outside Uppsala

The Sverker can easily be stacked, and when stacking a smaller one behind a larger one you don’t see the difference in size in the sky.

I have made the Sverker in two sizes and also in versions for light wind. This is a large Sverker in Icarex and with SkyShark tubes, and it flew in practically zero wind. Unfortunately I lost it in Wuhan, China, 2016, after whole day’s flying.

 As Sala Drak & Tangosällskap (famous group from central Sweden) was going westwards (Washington – Monmouth – Dieppe) in 1996 they decided to make a new Viking invasion, this time from the sky. I had the idea of the ‘Bowtie’ sail and someone else in the group had the idea of the semi-3D bow. Karin and Per Byström made the first three ships from flower support bamboo sticks and table cloth from some of the group’s many parties, and called them Svea, Göta and Vendel. I built my kite a little bit different and called it Sverker and has since then updated it in years 2001, 2005 & 2016. It is the Byström version that is included in Ron Moulton’s book Kites (1997, pp 220-221). 

Sverker in an old Viking name, and also the name of my father and my own middle name.

The plan for Sverker can be found here: http://windman.se/kite-plans/

Swedish pre-history ends around 800 AD, when the Viking Age begins and written sources are available. The Viking Age lasted until the mid-11th century, when the Christianization of Scandinavia was largely completed when Sweden became the last Norse country to adopt Christianity.

The Swedes took part in many Western raids against England alongside the Danes and Norwegians of which many successfully acquired Danegeld as seen on the England runestones. The Swedes were also very active traders and raiders in the eastern and southeastern parts of Europe. The large Russian mainland and its many navigable rivers offered good prospects for trading and plundering. These routes brought them into contact with the Byzantine and Muslim empires which later led to the formation of the Varangian Guard, an elite fighting force made up by Norsemen.

Viking ships were marine vessels of unique structure, built by the Vikings during the Viking Age.

The boat-types were quite varied, depending on what the ship was intended for, but they were generally characterized as being slender and flexible boats, with symmetrical ends with true keel. They were clinker built, which is the overlapping of planks riveted together. Some might have had a dragon’s head or other circular object protruding from the bow and stern for design, although this is only inferred from historical sources. Viking ships were not just used for their military prowess but for long-distance trade, exploration and colonization.

After being heavily taken down by Peter Lynn on Cervia beach in 1995 I added one cell.

It was promptly approved by Peter.

Volvolare

A Chinese Dragon type kite, but with alternating round and triangular cells, with a Volvo 850 as ‘dragonhead’.

    VOLVO (latin) - I roll

    Volare (italian) - I fly

Made in 1995

Volvo Cars (Swedish: Volvo personvagnar), stylized as VOLVO, is a Swedish luxury vehicles brand. Its cars are marketed as being safe, solidly built, and reliable.  It is headquartered in Torslanda in Gothenburg, Sweden.

The company Volvo Cars was founded in 1927 as a subsidiary of the ball bearing manufacturer SKF.  Volvo Cars is now a subsidiary of the Chinese automotive company Geely.

Absolut Kite is inspired by the many brilliant ads that started with Andy Warhol’s painting in 1985 and was followed up by other artists recommended by Warhol. The ads are full of wit, artistry and imagination as they deftly communicate the brand’s values.

I asked the Absolut company for permission to make the kite already in 2002, got a reply that the request had been handed to the proper instance and then nothing happened. As there was no firm NO I decided to go on, but it still took a few years before I got around making it.

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

Absolut Vodka is a brand of vodka, produced near Åhus, in southern Sweden. Absolut is one of the largest brands of spirits in the world (after Officer’s Choice, Smirnoff, Bacardi) and is sold in 126 countries.

Absolut practices a One Source production philosophy, meaning that every aspect of their production journey takes place in and around the small village of Åhus, Sweden. Every drop of water and every seed of wheat comes from one water source and one community.

Absolut was established in 1879 by Lars Olsson Smith and is produced in Åhus, Sweden. Smith challenged the city of Stockholm’s liquor marketing monopoly with his vodka. It was sold just outside the city border at a lower price than the monopoly’s product. Smith even offered free boat rides to the distillery and “Rent Brännvin” made Smith a fortune.

In 1917, the Swedish government monopolized the country’s alcohol industry. Vodka was then sold nationwide under the name “Absolut Rent Brännvin“. In 1979, the old name Absolut was picked up when the upper-price range ABSOLUT VODKA was introduced. ‘Renat’ is still a euphemism for spirits in Sweden, and the name of another vodka product sold by Pernod Ricard Sweden AB.

Absolut Vodka was introduced to the global market in 1979. Today Absolut sells over 100 million litres of vodka annually (2018). The vodka is made from winter wheat.

Before going to watch the first game Sweden played at Euro Cup in soccer 2000 I made a kite with a Swedish flag to fly on the beach during the intermission: my colleagues and me were to watch the game at Sheraton garden in Abu Dhabi.

There was no wind and Sweden lost the game, but I have been flying the flag now and then elsewhere.

This kite is also courtesy IKEA, and the model is simply a fighter kite with balancing tail on the opposite side where the free part of  the flag is.

The flag of Sweden, simply.

Sverker above viking grave mounds, Sävja kullar, outside Uppsala

The Sverker can easily be stacked, and when stacking a smaller one behind a larger one you don’t see the difference in size in the sky.

I have made the Sverker in two sizes and also in versions for light wind. This is a large Sverker in Icarex and with SkyShark tubes, and it flew in practically zero wind. Unfortunately I lost it in Wuhan, China, 2016, after whole day’s flying.

 As Sala Drak & Tangosällskap (famous group from central Sweden) was going westwards (Washington – Monmouth – Dieppe) in 1996 they decided to make a new Viking invasion, this time from the sky. I had the idea of the ‘Bowtie’ sail and someone else in the group had the idea of the semi-3D bow. Karin and Per Byström made the first three ships from flower support bamboo sticks and table cloth from some of the group’s many parties, and called them Svea, Göta and Vendel. I built my kite a little bit different and called it Sverker and has since then updated it in years 2001, 2005 & 2016. It is the Byström version that is included in Ron Moulton’s book Kites (1997, pp 220-221). 

Sverker in an old Viking name, and also the name of my father and my own middle name.

The plan for Sverker can be found here: http://windman.se/kite-plans/

Swedish pre-history ends around 800 AD, when the Viking Age begins and written sources are available. The Viking Age lasted until the mid-11th century, when the Christianization of Scandinavia was largely completed when Sweden became the last Norse country to adopt Christianity.

The Swedes took part in many Western raids against England alongside the Danes and Norwegians of which many successfully acquired Danegeld as seen on the England runestones. The Swedes were also very active traders and raiders in the eastern and southeastern parts of Europe. The large Russian mainland and its many navigable rivers offered good prospects for trading and plundering. These routes brought them into contact with the Byzantine and Muslim empires which later led to the formation of the Varangian Guard, an elite fighting force made up by Norsemen.

Viking ships were marine vessels of unique structure, built by the Vikings during the Viking Age.

The boat-types were quite varied, depending on what the ship was intended for, but they were generally characterized as being slender and flexible boats, with symmetrical ends with true keel. They were clinker built, which is the overlapping of planks riveted together. Some might have had a dragon’s head or other circular object protruding from the bow and stern for design, although this is only inferred from historical sources. Viking ships were not just used for their military prowess but for long-distance trade, exploration and colonization.

After being heavily taken down by Peter Lynn on Cervia beach in 1995 I added one cell.

It was promptly approved by Peter.

Volvolare

A Chinese Dragon type kite, but with alternating round and triangular cells, with a Volvo 850 as ‘dragonhead’.

    VOLVO (latin) - I roll

    Volare (italian) - I fly

Made in 1995

Volvo Cars (Swedish: Volvo personvagnar), stylized as VOLVO, is a Swedish luxury vehicles brand. Its cars are marketed as being safe, solidly built, and reliable.  It is headquartered in Torslanda in Gothenburg, Sweden.

The company Volvo Cars was founded in 1927 as a subsidiary of the ball bearing manufacturer SKF.  Volvo Cars is now a subsidiary of the Chinese automotive company Geely.

Absolut Kite is inspired by the many brilliant ads that started with Andy Warhol’s painting in 1985 and was followed up by other artists recommended by Warhol. The ads are full of wit, artistry and imagination as they deftly communicate the brand’s values.

I asked the Absolut company for permission to make the kite already in 2002, got a reply that the request had been handed to the proper instance and then nothing happened. As there was no firm NO I decided to go on, but it still took a few years before I got around making it.

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

Absolut Vodka is a brand of vodka, produced near Åhus, in southern Sweden. Absolut is one of the largest brands of spirits in the world (after Officer’s Choice, Smirnoff, Bacardi) and is sold in 126 countries.

Absolut practices a One Source production philosophy, meaning that every aspect of their production journey takes place in and around the small village of Åhus, Sweden. Every drop of water and every seed of wheat comes from one water source and one community.

Absolut was established in 1879 by Lars Olsson Smith and is produced in Åhus, Sweden. Smith challenged the city of Stockholm’s liquor marketing monopoly with his vodka. It was sold just outside the city border at a lower price than the monopoly’s product. Smith even offered free boat rides to the distillery and “Rent Brännvin” made Smith a fortune.

In 1917, the Swedish government monopolized the country’s alcohol industry. Vodka was then sold nationwide under the name “Absolut Rent Brännvin“. In 1979, the old name Absolut was picked up when the upper-price range ABSOLUT VODKA was introduced. ‘Renat’ is still a euphemism for spirits in Sweden, and the name of another vodka product sold by Pernod Ricard Sweden AB.

Absolut Vodka was introduced to the global market in 1979. Today Absolut sells over 100 million litres of vodka annually (2018). The vodka is made from winter wheat.

Before going to watch the first game Sweden played at Euro Cup in soccer 2000 I made a kite with a Swedish flag to fly on the beach during the intermission: my colleagues and me were to watch the game at Sheraton garden in Abu Dhabi.

There was no wind and Sweden lost the game, but I have been flying the flag now and then elsewhere.

This kite is also courtesy IKEA, and the model is simply a fighter kite with balancing tail on the opposite side where the free part of  the flag is.

The flag of Sweden, simply.

Sverker above viking grave mounds, Sävja kullar, outside Uppsala

The Sverker can easily be stacked, and when stacking a smaller one behind a larger one you don’t see the difference in size in the sky.

I have made the Sverker in two sizes and also in versions for light wind. This is a large Sverker in Icarex and with SkyShark tubes, and it flew in practically zero wind. Unfortunately I lost it in Wuhan, China, 2016, after whole day’s flying.

 As Sala Drak & Tangosällskap (famous group from central Sweden) was going westwards (Washington – Monmouth – Dieppe) in 1996 they decided to make a new Viking invasion, this time from the sky. I had the idea of the ‘Bowtie’ sail and someone else in the group had the idea of the semi-3D bow. Karin and Per Byström made the first three ships from flower support bamboo sticks and table cloth from some of the group’s many parties, and called them Svea, Göta and Vendel. I built my kite a little bit different and called it Sverker and has since then updated it in years 2001, 2005 & 2016. It is the Byström version that is included in Ron Moulton’s book Kites (1997, pp 220-221). 

Sverker in an old Viking name, and also the name of my father and my own middle name.

The plan for Sverker can be found here: http://windman.se/kite-plans/

Swedish pre-history ends around 800 AD, when the Viking Age begins and written sources are available. The Viking Age lasted until the mid-11th century, when the Christianization of Scandinavia was largely completed when Sweden became the last Norse country to adopt Christianity.

The Swedes took part in many Western raids against England alongside the Danes and Norwegians of which many successfully acquired Danegeld as seen on the England runestones. The Swedes were also very active traders and raiders in the eastern and southeastern parts of Europe. The large Russian mainland and its many navigable rivers offered good prospects for trading and plundering. These routes brought them into contact with the Byzantine and Muslim empires which later led to the formation of the Varangian Guard, an elite fighting force made up by Norsemen.

Viking ships were marine vessels of unique structure, built by the Vikings during the Viking Age.

The boat-types were quite varied, depending on what the ship was intended for, but they were generally characterized as being slender and flexible boats, with symmetrical ends with true keel. They were clinker built, which is the overlapping of planks riveted together. Some might have had a dragon’s head or other circular object protruding from the bow and stern for design, although this is only inferred from historical sources. Viking ships were not just used for their military prowess but for long-distance trade, exploration and colonization.

After being heavily taken down by Peter Lynn on Cervia beach in 1995 I added one cell.

It was promptly approved by Peter.

Volvolare

A Chinese Dragon type kite, but with alternating round and triangular cells, with a Volvo 850 as ‘dragonhead’.

    VOLVO (latin) - I roll

    Volare (italian) - I fly

Made in 1995

Volvo Cars (Swedish: Volvo personvagnar), stylized as VOLVO, is a Swedish luxury vehicles brand. Its cars are marketed as being safe, solidly built, and reliable.  It is headquartered in Torslanda in Gothenburg, Sweden.

The company Volvo Cars was founded in 1927 as a subsidiary of the ball bearing manufacturer SKF.  Volvo Cars is now a subsidiary of the Chinese automotive company Geely.

For a kite to deserve the name Absolut the kite needs to have a complex bridle system, like Japanese kites.

The first installment of 25 bridle lines, each 34 m long was done in an empty corridor in the office during a weekend.  Unfortunately I had made a bad choice of bridle line: the line was a bit stiff, which I thought was good, but it turned out to be sticky so when the bridles had been daisy chained out for flying, the lines stuck together everywhere! Could not be sorted out!

I later changed line type and also made a black Absolut Kite with only a seven point bridle along the spine.

   

Sticker: Kite bridling in progress    34 m  long corridor                      25 lines

Absolut Kite is inspired by the many brilliant ads that started with Andy Warhol’s painting in 1985 and was followed up by other artists recommended by Warhol. The ads are full of wit, artistry and imagination as they deftly communicate the brand’s values.

I asked the Absolut company for permission to make the kite already in 2002, got a reply that the request had been handed to the proper instance and then nothing happened. As there was no firm NO I decided to go on, but it still took a few years before I got around making it.

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

Absolut Vodka is a brand of vodka, produced near Åhus, in southern Sweden. Absolut is one of the largest brands of spirits in the world (after Officer’s Choice, Smirnoff, Bacardi) and is sold in 126 countries.

Absolut practices a One Source production philosophy, meaning that every aspect of their production journey takes place in and around the small village of Åhus, Sweden. Every drop of water and every seed of wheat comes from one water source and one community.

Absolut was established in 1879 by Lars Olsson Smith and is produced in Åhus, Sweden. Smith challenged the city of Stockholm’s liquor marketing monopoly with his vodka. It was sold just outside the city border at a lower price than the monopoly’s product. Smith even offered free boat rides to the distillery and “Rent Brännvin” made Smith a fortune.

In 1917, the Swedish government monopolized the country’s alcohol industry. Vodka was then sold nationwide under the name “Absolut Rent Brännvin“. In 1979, the old name Absolut was picked up when the upper-price range ABSOLUT VODKA was introduced. ‘Renat’ is still a euphemism for spirits in Sweden, and the name of another vodka product sold by Pernod Ricard Sweden AB.

Absolut Vodka was introduced to the global market in 1979. Today Absolut sells over 100 million litres of vodka annually (2018). The vodka is made from winter wheat.

Before going to watch the first game Sweden played at Euro Cup in soccer 2000 I made a kite with a Swedish flag to fly on the beach during the intermission: my colleagues and me were to watch the game at Sheraton garden in Abu Dhabi.

There was no wind and Sweden lost the game, but I have been flying the flag now and then elsewhere.

This kite is also courtesy IKEA, and the model is simply a fighter kite with balancing tail on the opposite side where the free part of  the flag is.

The flag of Sweden, simply.

Sverker above viking grave mounds, Sävja kullar, outside Uppsala

The Sverker can easily be stacked, and when stacking a smaller one behind a larger one you don’t see the difference in size in the sky.

I have made the Sverker in two sizes and also in versions for light wind. This is a large Sverker in Icarex and with SkyShark tubes, and it flew in practically zero wind. Unfortunately I lost it in Wuhan, China, 2016, after whole day’s flying.

 As Sala Drak & Tangosällskap (famous group from central Sweden) was going westwards (Washington – Monmouth – Dieppe) in 1996 they decided to make a new Viking invasion, this time from the sky. I had the idea of the ‘Bowtie’ sail and someone else in the group had the idea of the semi-3D bow. Karin and Per Byström made the first three ships from flower support bamboo sticks and table cloth from some of the group’s many parties, and called them Svea, Göta and Vendel. I built my kite a little bit different and called it Sverker and has since then updated it in years 2001, 2005 & 2016. It is the Byström version that is included in Ron Moulton’s book Kites (1997, pp 220-221). 

Sverker in an old Viking name, and also the name of my father and my own middle name.

The plan for Sverker can be found here: http://windman.se/kite-plans/

Swedish pre-history ends around 800 AD, when the Viking Age begins and written sources are available. The Viking Age lasted until the mid-11th century, when the Christianization of Scandinavia was largely completed when Sweden became the last Norse country to adopt Christianity.

The Swedes took part in many Western raids against England alongside the Danes and Norwegians of which many successfully acquired Danegeld as seen on the England runestones. The Swedes were also very active traders and raiders in the eastern and southeastern parts of Europe. The large Russian mainland and its many navigable rivers offered good prospects for trading and plundering. These routes brought them into contact with the Byzantine and Muslim empires which later led to the formation of the Varangian Guard, an elite fighting force made up by Norsemen.

Viking ships were marine vessels of unique structure, built by the Vikings during the Viking Age.

The boat-types were quite varied, depending on what the ship was intended for, but they were generally characterized as being slender and flexible boats, with symmetrical ends with true keel. They were clinker built, which is the overlapping of planks riveted together. Some might have had a dragon’s head or other circular object protruding from the bow and stern for design, although this is only inferred from historical sources. Viking ships were not just used for their military prowess but for long-distance trade, exploration and colonization.

After being heavily taken down by Peter Lynn on Cervia beach in 1995 I added one cell.

It was promptly approved by Peter.

Volvolare

A Chinese Dragon type kite, but with alternating round and triangular cells, with a Volvo 850 as ‘dragonhead’.

    VOLVO (latin) - I roll

    Volare (italian) - I fly

Made in 1995

Volvo Cars (Swedish: Volvo personvagnar), stylized as VOLVO, is a Swedish luxury vehicles brand. Its cars are marketed as being safe, solidly built, and reliable.  It is headquartered in Torslanda in Gothenburg, Sweden.

The company Volvo Cars was founded in 1927 as a subsidiary of the ball bearing manufacturer SKF.  Volvo Cars is now a subsidiary of the Chinese automotive company Geely.

For a kite to deserve the name Absolut the kite needs to have a complex bridle system, like Japanese kites.

The first installment of 25 bridle lines, each 34 m long was done in an empty corridor in the office during a weekend.  Unfortunately I had made a bad choice of bridle line: the line was a bit stiff, which I thought was good, but it turned out to be sticky so when the bridles had been daisy chained out for flying, the lines stuck together everywhere! Could not be sorted out!

I later changed line type and also made a black Absolut Kite with only a seven point bridle along the spine.

   

Sticker: Kite bridling in progress    34 m  long corridor                      25 lines

Absolut Kite is inspired by the many brilliant ads that started with Andy Warhol’s painting in 1985 and was followed up by other artists recommended by Warhol. The ads are full of wit, artistry and imagination as they deftly communicate the brand’s values.

I asked the Absolut company for permission to make the kite already in 2002, got a reply that the request had been handed to the proper instance and then nothing happened. As there was no firm NO I decided to go on, but it still took a few years before I got around making it.

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

Absolut Vodka is a brand of vodka, produced near Åhus, in southern Sweden. Absolut is one of the largest brands of spirits in the world (after Officer’s Choice, Smirnoff, Bacardi) and is sold in 126 countries.

Absolut practices a One Source production philosophy, meaning that every aspect of their production journey takes place in and around the small village of Åhus, Sweden. Every drop of water and every seed of wheat comes from one water source and one community.

Absolut was established in 1879 by Lars Olsson Smith and is produced in Åhus, Sweden. Smith challenged the city of Stockholm’s liquor marketing monopoly with his vodka. It was sold just outside the city border at a lower price than the monopoly’s product. Smith even offered free boat rides to the distillery and “Rent Brännvin” made Smith a fortune.

In 1917, the Swedish government monopolized the country’s alcohol industry. Vodka was then sold nationwide under the name “Absolut Rent Brännvin“. In 1979, the old name Absolut was picked up when the upper-price range ABSOLUT VODKA was introduced. ‘Renat’ is still a euphemism for spirits in Sweden, and the name of another vodka product sold by Pernod Ricard Sweden AB.

Absolut Vodka was introduced to the global market in 1979. Today Absolut sells over 100 million litres of vodka annually (2018). The vodka is made from winter wheat.

Before going to watch the first game Sweden played at Euro Cup in soccer 2000 I made a kite with a Swedish flag to fly on the beach during the intermission: my colleagues and me were to watch the game at Sheraton garden in Abu Dhabi.

There was no wind and Sweden lost the game, but I have been flying the flag now and then elsewhere.

This kite is also courtesy IKEA, and the model is simply a fighter kite with balancing tail on the opposite side where the free part of  the flag is.

The flag of Sweden, simply.

Sverker above viking grave mounds, Sävja kullar, outside Uppsala

The Sverker can easily be stacked, and when stacking a smaller one behind a larger one you don’t see the difference in size in the sky.

I have made the Sverker in two sizes and also in versions for light wind. This is a large Sverker in Icarex and with SkyShark tubes, and it flew in practically zero wind. Unfortunately I lost it in Wuhan, China, 2016, after whole day’s flying.

 As Sala Drak & Tangosällskap (famous group from central Sweden) was going westwards (Washington – Monmouth – Dieppe) in 1996 they decided to make a new Viking invasion, this time from the sky. I had the idea of the ‘Bowtie’ sail and someone else in the group had the idea of the semi-3D bow. Karin and Per Byström made the first three ships from flower support bamboo sticks and table cloth from some of the group’s many parties, and called them Svea, Göta and Vendel. I built my kite a little bit different and called it Sverker and has since then updated it in years 2001, 2005 & 2016. It is the Byström version that is included in Ron Moulton’s book Kites (1997, pp 220-221). 

Sverker in an old Viking name, and also the name of my father and my own middle name.

The plan for Sverker can be found here: http://windman.se/kite-plans/

Swedish pre-history ends around 800 AD, when the Viking Age begins and written sources are available. The Viking Age lasted until the mid-11th century, when the Christianization of Scandinavia was largely completed when Sweden became the last Norse country to adopt Christianity.

The Swedes took part in many Western raids against England alongside the Danes and Norwegians of which many successfully acquired Danegeld as seen on the England runestones. The Swedes were also very active traders and raiders in the eastern and southeastern parts of Europe. The large Russian mainland and its many navigable rivers offered good prospects for trading and plundering. These routes brought them into contact with the Byzantine and Muslim empires which later led to the formation of the Varangian Guard, an elite fighting force made up by Norsemen.

Viking ships were marine vessels of unique structure, built by the Vikings during the Viking Age.

The boat-types were quite varied, depending on what the ship was intended for, but they were generally characterized as being slender and flexible boats, with symmetrical ends with true keel. They were clinker built, which is the overlapping of planks riveted together. Some might have had a dragon’s head or other circular object protruding from the bow and stern for design, although this is only inferred from historical sources. Viking ships were not just used for their military prowess but for long-distance trade, exploration and colonization.

After being heavily taken down by Peter Lynn on Cervia beach in 1995 I added one cell.

It was promptly approved by Peter.

Volvolare

A Chinese Dragon type kite, but with alternating round and triangular cells, with a Volvo 850 as ‘dragonhead’.

    VOLVO (latin) - I roll

    Volare (italian) - I fly

Made in 1995

Volvo Cars (Swedish: Volvo personvagnar), stylized as VOLVO, is a Swedish luxury vehicles brand. Its cars are marketed as being safe, solidly built, and reliable.  It is headquartered in Torslanda in Gothenburg, Sweden.

The company Volvo Cars was founded in 1927 as a subsidiary of the ball bearing manufacturer SKF.  Volvo Cars is now a subsidiary of the Chinese automotive company Geely.

Absolut was established in 1879 by Lars Olsson Smith, known as The King of Spirits. His portrait is on the medallion on the bottle and slightly modified on the kites.

 

   

For a kite to deserve the name Absolut the kite needs to have a complex bridle system, like Japanese kites.

The first installment of 25 bridle lines, each 34 m long was done in an empty corridor in the office during a weekend.  Unfortunately I had made a bad choice of bridle line: the line was a bit stiff, which I thought was good, but it turned out to be sticky so when the bridles had been daisy chained out for flying, the lines stuck together everywhere! Could not be sorted out!

I later changed line type and also made a black Absolut Kite with only a seven point bridle along the spine.

   

Sticker: Kite bridling in progress    34 m  long corridor                      25 lines

Absolut Kite is inspired by the many brilliant ads that started with Andy Warhol’s painting in 1985 and was followed up by other artists recommended by Warhol. The ads are full of wit, artistry and imagination as they deftly communicate the brand’s values.

I asked the Absolut company for permission to make the kite already in 2002, got a reply that the request had been handed to the proper instance and then nothing happened. As there was no firm NO I decided to go on, but it still took a few years before I got around making it.

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

Absolut Vodka is a brand of vodka, produced near Åhus, in southern Sweden. Absolut is one of the largest brands of spirits in the world (after Officer’s Choice, Smirnoff, Bacardi) and is sold in 126 countries.

Absolut practices a One Source production philosophy, meaning that every aspect of their production journey takes place in and around the small village of Åhus, Sweden. Every drop of water and every seed of wheat comes from one water source and one community.

Absolut was established in 1879 by Lars Olsson Smith and is produced in Åhus, Sweden. Smith challenged the city of Stockholm’s liquor marketing monopoly with his vodka. It was sold just outside the city border at a lower price than the monopoly’s product. Smith even offered free boat rides to the distillery and “Rent Brännvin” made Smith a fortune.

In 1917, the Swedish government monopolized the country’s alcohol industry. Vodka was then sold nationwide under the name “Absolut Rent Brännvin“. In 1979, the old name Absolut was picked up when the upper-price range ABSOLUT VODKA was introduced. ‘Renat’ is still a euphemism for spirits in Sweden, and the name of another vodka product sold by Pernod Ricard Sweden AB.

Absolut Vodka was introduced to the global market in 1979. Today Absolut sells over 100 million litres of vodka annually (2018). The vodka is made from winter wheat.

Before going to watch the first game Sweden played at Euro Cup in soccer 2000 I made a kite with a Swedish flag to fly on the beach during the intermission: my colleagues and me were to watch the game at Sheraton garden in Abu Dhabi.

There was no wind and Sweden lost the game, but I have been flying the flag now and then elsewhere.

This kite is also courtesy IKEA, and the model is simply a fighter kite with balancing tail on the opposite side where the free part of  the flag is.

The flag of Sweden, simply.

Sverker above viking grave mounds, Sävja kullar, outside Uppsala

The Sverker can easily be stacked, and when stacking a smaller one behind a larger one you don’t see the difference in size in the sky.

I have made the Sverker in two sizes and also in versions for light wind. This is a large Sverker in Icarex and with SkyShark tubes, and it flew in practically zero wind. Unfortunately I lost it in Wuhan, China, 2016, after whole day’s flying.

 As Sala Drak & Tangosällskap (famous group from central Sweden) was going westwards (Washington – Monmouth – Dieppe) in 1996 they decided to make a new Viking invasion, this time from the sky. I had the idea of the ‘Bowtie’ sail and someone else in the group had the idea of the semi-3D bow. Karin and Per Byström made the first three ships from flower support bamboo sticks and table cloth from some of the group’s many parties, and called them Svea, Göta and Vendel. I built my kite a little bit different and called it Sverker and has since then updated it in years 2001, 2005 & 2016. It is the Byström version that is included in Ron Moulton’s book Kites (1997, pp 220-221). 

Sverker in an old Viking name, and also the name of my father and my own middle name.

The plan for Sverker can be found here: http://windman.se/kite-plans/

Swedish pre-history ends around 800 AD, when the Viking Age begins and written sources are available. The Viking Age lasted until the mid-11th century, when the Christianization of Scandinavia was largely completed when Sweden became the last Norse country to adopt Christianity.

The Swedes took part in many Western raids against England alongside the Danes and Norwegians of which many successfully acquired Danegeld as seen on the England runestones. The Swedes were also very active traders and raiders in the eastern and southeastern parts of Europe. The large Russian mainland and its many navigable rivers offered good prospects for trading and plundering. These routes brought them into contact with the Byzantine and Muslim empires which later led to the formation of the Varangian Guard, an elite fighting force made up by Norsemen.

Viking ships were marine vessels of unique structure, built by the Vikings during the Viking Age.

The boat-types were quite varied, depending on what the ship was intended for, but they were generally characterized as being slender and flexible boats, with symmetrical ends with true keel. They were clinker built, which is the overlapping of planks riveted together. Some might have had a dragon’s head or other circular object protruding from the bow and stern for design, although this is only inferred from historical sources. Viking ships were not just used for their military prowess but for long-distance trade, exploration and colonization.

After being heavily taken down by Peter Lynn on Cervia beach in 1995 I added one cell.

It was promptly approved by Peter.

Volvolare

A Chinese Dragon type kite, but with alternating round and triangular cells, with a Volvo 850 as ‘dragonhead’.

    VOLVO (latin) - I roll

    Volare (italian) - I fly

Made in 1995

Volvo Cars (Swedish: Volvo personvagnar), stylized as VOLVO, is a Swedish luxury vehicles brand. Its cars are marketed as being safe, solidly built, and reliable.  It is headquartered in Torslanda in Gothenburg, Sweden.

The company Volvo Cars was founded in 1927 as a subsidiary of the ball bearing manufacturer SKF.  Volvo Cars is now a subsidiary of the Chinese automotive company Geely.

Picture courtesy of Riga

Absolut was established in 1879 by Lars Olsson Smith, known as The King of Spirits. His portrait is on the medallion on the bottle and slightly modified on the kites.

 

   

For a kite to deserve the name Absolut the kite needs to have a complex bridle system, like Japanese kites.

The first installment of 25 bridle lines, each 34 m long was done in an empty corridor in the office during a weekend.  Unfortunately I had made a bad choice of bridle line: the line was a bit stiff, which I thought was good, but it turned out to be sticky so when the bridles had been daisy chained out for flying, the lines stuck together everywhere! Could not be sorted out!

I later changed line type and also made a black Absolut Kite with only a seven point bridle along the spine.

   

Sticker: Kite bridling in progress    34 m  long corridor                      25 lines

Absolut Kite is inspired by the many brilliant ads that started with Andy Warhol’s painting in 1985 and was followed up by other artists recommended by Warhol. The ads are full of wit, artistry and imagination as they deftly communicate the brand’s values.

I asked the Absolut company for permission to make the kite already in 2002, got a reply that the request had been handed to the proper instance and then nothing happened. As there was no firm NO I decided to go on, but it still took a few years before I got around making it.

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

Absolut Vodka is a brand of vodka, produced near Åhus, in southern Sweden. Absolut is one of the largest brands of spirits in the world (after Officer’s Choice, Smirnoff, Bacardi) and is sold in 126 countries.

Absolut practices a One Source production philosophy, meaning that every aspect of their production journey takes place in and around the small village of Åhus, Sweden. Every drop of water and every seed of wheat comes from one water source and one community.

Absolut was established in 1879 by Lars Olsson Smith and is produced in Åhus, Sweden. Smith challenged the city of Stockholm’s liquor marketing monopoly with his vodka. It was sold just outside the city border at a lower price than the monopoly’s product. Smith even offered free boat rides to the distillery and “Rent Brännvin” made Smith a fortune.

In 1917, the Swedish government monopolized the country’s alcohol industry. Vodka was then sold nationwide under the name “Absolut Rent Brännvin“. In 1979, the old name Absolut was picked up when the upper-price range ABSOLUT VODKA was introduced. ‘Renat’ is still a euphemism for spirits in Sweden, and the name of another vodka product sold by Pernod Ricard Sweden AB.

Absolut Vodka was introduced to the global market in 1979. Today Absolut sells over 100 million litres of vodka annually (2018). The vodka is made from winter wheat.

Before going to watch the first game Sweden played at Euro Cup in soccer 2000 I made a kite with a Swedish flag to fly on the beach during the intermission: my colleagues and me were to watch the game at Sheraton garden in Abu Dhabi.

There was no wind and Sweden lost the game, but I have been flying the flag now and then elsewhere.

This kite is also courtesy IKEA, and the model is simply a fighter kite with balancing tail on the opposite side where the free part of  the flag is.

The flag of Sweden, simply.

Sverker above viking grave mounds, Sävja kullar, outside Uppsala

The Sverker can easily be stacked, and when stacking a smaller one behind a larger one you don’t see the difference in size in the sky.

I have made the Sverker in two sizes and also in versions for light wind. This is a large Sverker in Icarex and with SkyShark tubes, and it flew in practically zero wind. Unfortunately I lost it in Wuhan, China, 2016, after whole day’s flying.

 As Sala Drak & Tangosällskap (famous group from central Sweden) was going westwards (Washington – Monmouth – Dieppe) in 1996 they decided to make a new Viking invasion, this time from the sky. I had the idea of the ‘Bowtie’ sail and someone else in the group had the idea of the semi-3D bow. Karin and Per Byström made the first three ships from flower support bamboo sticks and table cloth from some of the group’s many parties, and called them Svea, Göta and Vendel. I built my kite a little bit different and called it Sverker and has since then updated it in years 2001, 2005 & 2016. It is the Byström version that is included in Ron Moulton’s book Kites (1997, pp 220-221). 

Sverker in an old Viking name, and also the name of my father and my own middle name.

The plan for Sverker can be found here: http://windman.se/kite-plans/

Swedish pre-history ends around 800 AD, when the Viking Age begins and written sources are available. The Viking Age lasted until the mid-11th century, when the Christianization of Scandinavia was largely completed when Sweden became the last Norse country to adopt Christianity.

The Swedes took part in many Western raids against England alongside the Danes and Norwegians of which many successfully acquired Danegeld as seen on the England runestones. The Swedes were also very active traders and raiders in the eastern and southeastern parts of Europe. The large Russian mainland and its many navigable rivers offered good prospects for trading and plundering. These routes brought them into contact with the Byzantine and Muslim empires which later led to the formation of the Varangian Guard, an elite fighting force made up by Norsemen.

Viking ships were marine vessels of unique structure, built by the Vikings during the Viking Age.

The boat-types were quite varied, depending on what the ship was intended for, but they were generally characterized as being slender and flexible boats, with symmetrical ends with true keel. They were clinker built, which is the overlapping of planks riveted together. Some might have had a dragon’s head or other circular object protruding from the bow and stern for design, although this is only inferred from historical sources. Viking ships were not just used for their military prowess but for long-distance trade, exploration and colonization.

After being heavily taken down by Peter Lynn on Cervia beach in 1995 I added one cell.

It was promptly approved by Peter.

Volvolare

A Chinese Dragon type kite, but with alternating round and triangular cells, with a Volvo 850 as ‘dragonhead’.

    VOLVO (latin) - I roll

    Volare (italian) - I fly

Made in 1995

Volvo Cars (Swedish: Volvo personvagnar), stylized as VOLVO, is a Swedish luxury vehicles brand. Its cars are marketed as being safe, solidly built, and reliable.  It is headquartered in Torslanda in Gothenburg, Sweden.

The company Volvo Cars was founded in 1927 as a subsidiary of the ball bearing manufacturer SKF.  Volvo Cars is now a subsidiary of the Chinese automotive company Geely.

My original intention was to dispense Absolut Vodka from the kite and I have the gear ready, but it seems the kite doesn’t have much lifting power: with 1/2 liter of liquid in a ‘camel back’ on the backside it’s difficult to keep the kite in the air and have the hands free for dispensing.

So I have resorted to dispense Absolut on the kite festivals’ farewell dinners.

 

Pic. by Brigitte Brussieres           Pic. by Sumiko Yamashita      Pic. by Liu Zhiping

 

   

Pic. by Ashley Ware Lane               Pic. by Sumiko Yamashita           Pic. by Long Kwong

Picture courtesy of Riga

Absolut was established in 1879 by Lars Olsson Smith, known as The King of Spirits. His portrait is on the medallion on the bottle and slightly modified on the kites.

 

   

For a kite to deserve the name Absolut the kite needs to have a complex bridle system, like Japanese kites.

The first installment of 25 bridle lines, each 34 m long was done in an empty corridor in the office during a weekend.  Unfortunately I had made a bad choice of bridle line: the line was a bit stiff, which I thought was good, but it turned out to be sticky so when the bridles had been daisy chained out for flying, the lines stuck together everywhere! Could not be sorted out!

I later changed line type and also made a black Absolut Kite with only a seven point bridle along the spine.

   

Sticker: Kite bridling in progress    34 m  long corridor                      25 lines

Absolut Kite is inspired by the many brilliant ads that started with Andy Warhol’s painting in 1985 and was followed up by other artists recommended by Warhol. The ads are full of wit, artistry and imagination as they deftly communicate the brand’s values.

I asked the Absolut company for permission to make the kite already in 2002, got a reply that the request had been handed to the proper instance and then nothing happened. As there was no firm NO I decided to go on, but it still took a few years before I got around making it.

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

Absolut Vodka is a brand of vodka, produced near Åhus, in southern Sweden. Absolut is one of the largest brands of spirits in the world (after Officer’s Choice, Smirnoff, Bacardi) and is sold in 126 countries.

Absolut practices a One Source production philosophy, meaning that every aspect of their production journey takes place in and around the small village of Åhus, Sweden. Every drop of water and every seed of wheat comes from one water source and one community.

Absolut was established in 1879 by Lars Olsson Smith and is produced in Åhus, Sweden. Smith challenged the city of Stockholm’s liquor marketing monopoly with his vodka. It was sold just outside the city border at a lower price than the monopoly’s product. Smith even offered free boat rides to the distillery and “Rent Brännvin” made Smith a fortune.

In 1917, the Swedish government monopolized the country’s alcohol industry. Vodka was then sold nationwide under the name “Absolut Rent Brännvin“. In 1979, the old name Absolut was picked up when the upper-price range ABSOLUT VODKA was introduced. ‘Renat’ is still a euphemism for spirits in Sweden, and the name of another vodka product sold by Pernod Ricard Sweden AB.

Absolut Vodka was introduced to the global market in 1979. Today Absolut sells over 100 million litres of vodka annually (2018). The vodka is made from winter wheat.

Before going to watch the first game Sweden played at Euro Cup in soccer 2000 I made a kite with a Swedish flag to fly on the beach during the intermission: my colleagues and me were to watch the game at Sheraton garden in Abu Dhabi.

There was no wind and Sweden lost the game, but I have been flying the flag now and then elsewhere.

This kite is also courtesy IKEA, and the model is simply a fighter kite with balancing tail on the opposite side where the free part of  the flag is.

The flag of Sweden, simply.

Sverker above viking grave mounds, Sävja kullar, outside Uppsala

The Sverker can easily be stacked, and when stacking a smaller one behind a larger one you don’t see the difference in size in the sky.

I have made the Sverker in two sizes and also in versions for light wind. This is a large Sverker in Icarex and with SkyShark tubes, and it flew in practically zero wind. Unfortunately I lost it in Wuhan, China, 2016, after whole day’s flying.

 As Sala Drak & Tangosällskap (famous group from central Sweden) was going westwards (Washington – Monmouth – Dieppe) in 1996 they decided to make a new Viking invasion, this time from the sky. I had the idea of the ‘Bowtie’ sail and someone else in the group had the idea of the semi-3D bow. Karin and Per Byström made the first three ships from flower support bamboo sticks and table cloth from some of the group’s many parties, and called them Svea, Göta and Vendel. I built my kite a little bit different and called it Sverker and has since then updated it in years 2001, 2005 & 2016. It is the Byström version that is included in Ron Moulton’s book Kites (1997, pp 220-221). 

Sverker in an old Viking name, and also the name of my father and my own middle name.

The plan for Sverker can be found here: http://windman.se/kite-plans/

Swedish pre-history ends around 800 AD, when the Viking Age begins and written sources are available. The Viking Age lasted until the mid-11th century, when the Christianization of Scandinavia was largely completed when Sweden became the last Norse country to adopt Christianity.

The Swedes took part in many Western raids against England alongside the Danes and Norwegians of which many successfully acquired Danegeld as seen on the England runestones. The Swedes were also very active traders and raiders in the eastern and southeastern parts of Europe. The large Russian mainland and its many navigable rivers offered good prospects for trading and plundering. These routes brought them into contact with the Byzantine and Muslim empires which later led to the formation of the Varangian Guard, an elite fighting force made up by Norsemen.

Viking ships were marine vessels of unique structure, built by the Vikings during the Viking Age.

The boat-types were quite varied, depending on what the ship was intended for, but they were generally characterized as being slender and flexible boats, with symmetrical ends with true keel. They were clinker built, which is the overlapping of planks riveted together. Some might have had a dragon’s head or other circular object protruding from the bow and stern for design, although this is only inferred from historical sources. Viking ships were not just used for their military prowess but for long-distance trade, exploration and colonization.

After being heavily taken down by Peter Lynn on Cervia beach in 1995 I added one cell.

It was promptly approved by Peter.

Volvolare

A Chinese Dragon type kite, but with alternating round and triangular cells, with a Volvo 850 as ‘dragonhead’.

    VOLVO (latin) - I roll

    Volare (italian) - I fly

Made in 1995

Volvo Cars (Swedish: Volvo personvagnar), stylized as VOLVO, is a Swedish luxury vehicles brand. Its cars are marketed as being safe, solidly built, and reliable.  It is headquartered in Torslanda in Gothenburg, Sweden.

The company Volvo Cars was founded in 1927 as a subsidiary of the ball bearing manufacturer SKF.  Volvo Cars is now a subsidiary of the Chinese automotive company Geely.

My original intention was to dispense Absolut Vodka from the kite and I have the gear ready, but it seems the kite doesn’t have much lifting power: with 1/2 liter of liquid in a ‘camel back’ on the backside it’s difficult to keep the kite in the air and have the hands free for dispensing.

So I have resorted to dispense Absolut on the kite festivals’ farewell dinners.

 

Pic. by Brigitte Brussieres           Pic. by Sumiko Yamashita      Pic. by Liu Zhiping

 

   

Pic. by Ashley Ware Lane               Pic. by Sumiko Yamashita           Pic. by Long Kwong

Picture courtesy of Riga

Absolut was established in 1879 by Lars Olsson Smith, known as The King of Spirits. His portrait is on the medallion on the bottle and slightly modified on the kites.

 

   

For a kite to deserve the name Absolut the kite needs to have a complex bridle system, like Japanese kites.

The first installment of 25 bridle lines, each 34 m long was done in an empty corridor in the office during a weekend.  Unfortunately I had made a bad choice of bridle line: the line was a bit stiff, which I thought was good, but it turned out to be sticky so when the bridles had been daisy chained out for flying, the lines stuck together everywhere! Could not be sorted out!

I later changed line type and also made a black Absolut Kite with only a seven point bridle along the spine.

   

Sticker: Kite bridling in progress    34 m  long corridor                      25 lines

Absolut Kite is inspired by the many brilliant ads that started with Andy Warhol’s painting in 1985 and was followed up by other artists recommended by Warhol. The ads are full of wit, artistry and imagination as they deftly communicate the brand’s values.

I asked the Absolut company for permission to make the kite already in 2002, got a reply that the request had been handed to the proper instance and then nothing happened. As there was no firm NO I decided to go on, but it still took a few years before I got around making it.

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

Absolut Vodka is a brand of vodka, produced near Åhus, in southern Sweden. Absolut is one of the largest brands of spirits in the world (after Officer’s Choice, Smirnoff, Bacardi) and is sold in 126 countries.

Absolut practices a One Source production philosophy, meaning that every aspect of their production journey takes place in and around the small village of Åhus, Sweden. Every drop of water and every seed of wheat comes from one water source and one community.

Absolut was established in 1879 by Lars Olsson Smith and is produced in Åhus, Sweden. Smith challenged the city of Stockholm’s liquor marketing monopoly with his vodka. It was sold just outside the city border at a lower price than the monopoly’s product. Smith even offered free boat rides to the distillery and “Rent Brännvin” made Smith a fortune.

In 1917, the Swedish government monopolized the country’s alcohol industry. Vodka was then sold nationwide under the name “Absolut Rent Brännvin“. In 1979, the old name Absolut was picked up when the upper-price range ABSOLUT VODKA was introduced. ‘Renat’ is still a euphemism for spirits in Sweden, and the name of another vodka product sold by Pernod Ricard Sweden AB.

Absolut Vodka was introduced to the global market in 1979. Today Absolut sells over 100 million litres of vodka annually (2018). The vodka is made from winter wheat.

Before going to watch the first game Sweden played at Euro Cup in soccer 2000 I made a kite with a Swedish flag to fly on the beach during the intermission: my colleagues and me were to watch the game at Sheraton garden in Abu Dhabi.

There was no wind and Sweden lost the game, but I have been flying the flag now and then elsewhere.

This kite is also courtesy IKEA, and the model is simply a fighter kite with balancing tail on the opposite side where the free part of  the flag is.

The flag of Sweden, simply.

Sverker above viking grave mounds, Sävja kullar, outside Uppsala

The Sverker can easily be stacked, and when stacking a smaller one behind a larger one you don’t see the difference in size in the sky.

I have made the Sverker in two sizes and also in versions for light wind. This is a large Sverker in Icarex and with SkyShark tubes, and it flew in practically zero wind. Unfortunately I lost it in Wuhan, China, 2016, after whole day’s flying.

 As Sala Drak & Tangosällskap (famous group from central Sweden) was going westwards (Washington – Monmouth – Dieppe) in 1996 they decided to make a new Viking invasion, this time from the sky. I had the idea of the ‘Bowtie’ sail and someone else in the group had the idea of the semi-3D bow. Karin and Per Byström made the first three ships from flower support bamboo sticks and table cloth from some of the group’s many parties, and called them Svea, Göta and Vendel. I built my kite a little bit different and called it Sverker and has since then updated it in years 2001, 2005 & 2016. It is the Byström version that is included in Ron Moulton’s book Kites (1997, pp 220-221). 

Sverker in an old Viking name, and also the name of my father and my own middle name.

The plan for Sverker can be found here: http://windman.se/kite-plans/

Swedish pre-history ends around 800 AD, when the Viking Age begins and written sources are available. The Viking Age lasted until the mid-11th century, when the Christianization of Scandinavia was largely completed when Sweden became the last Norse country to adopt Christianity.

The Swedes took part in many Western raids against England alongside the Danes and Norwegians of which many successfully acquired Danegeld as seen on the England runestones. The Swedes were also very active traders and raiders in the eastern and southeastern parts of Europe. The large Russian mainland and its many navigable rivers offered good prospects for trading and plundering. These routes brought them into contact with the Byzantine and Muslim empires which later led to the formation of the Varangian Guard, an elite fighting force made up by Norsemen.

Viking ships were marine vessels of unique structure, built by the Vikings during the Viking Age.

The boat-types were quite varied, depending on what the ship was intended for, but they were generally characterized as being slender and flexible boats, with symmetrical ends with true keel. They were clinker built, which is the overlapping of planks riveted together. Some might have had a dragon’s head or other circular object protruding from the bow and stern for design, although this is only inferred from historical sources. Viking ships were not just used for their military prowess but for long-distance trade, exploration and colonization.

After being heavily taken down by Peter Lynn on Cervia beach in 1995 I added one cell.

It was promptly approved by Peter.

Volvolare

A Chinese Dragon type kite, but with alternating round and triangular cells, with a Volvo 850 as ‘dragonhead’.

    VOLVO (latin) - I roll

    Volare (italian) - I fly

Made in 1995

Volvo Cars (Swedish: Volvo personvagnar), stylized as VOLVO, is a Swedish luxury vehicles brand. Its cars are marketed as being safe, solidly built, and reliable.  It is headquartered in Torslanda in Gothenburg, Sweden.

The company Volvo Cars was founded in 1927 as a subsidiary of the ball bearing manufacturer SKF.  Volvo Cars is now a subsidiary of the Chinese automotive company Geely.

In 1912 the Olympic Games were held in Stockholm, and Tug-of-War was still one of the Games. Only two of five registered teams showed up for the competition: Great Britain and Sweden. Sweden won the gold medal by winning 2 – 0 in the only match that was.

My original intention was to dispense Absolut Vodka from the kite and I have the gear ready, but it seems the kite doesn’t have much lifting power: with 1/2 liter of liquid in a ‘camel back’ on the backside it’s difficult to keep the kite in the air and have the hands free for dispensing.

So I have resorted to dispense Absolut on the kite festivals’ farewell dinners.

 

Pic. by Brigitte Brussieres           Pic. by Sumiko Yamashita      Pic. by Liu Zhiping

 

   

Pic. by Ashley Ware Lane               Pic. by Sumiko Yamashita           Pic. by Long Kwong

Picture courtesy of Riga

Absolut was established in 1879 by Lars Olsson Smith, known as The King of Spirits. His portrait is on the medallion on the bottle and slightly modified on the kites.

 

   

For a kite to deserve the name Absolut the kite needs to have a complex bridle system, like Japanese kites.

The first installment of 25 bridle lines, each 34 m long was done in an empty corridor in the office during a weekend.  Unfortunately I had made a bad choice of bridle line: the line was a bit stiff, which I thought was good, but it turned out to be sticky so when the bridles had been daisy chained out for flying, the lines stuck together everywhere! Could not be sorted out!

I later changed line type and also made a black Absolut Kite with only a seven point bridle along the spine.

   

Sticker: Kite bridling in progress    34 m  long corridor                      25 lines

Absolut Kite is inspired by the many brilliant ads that started with Andy Warhol’s painting in 1985 and was followed up by other artists recommended by Warhol. The ads are full of wit, artistry and imagination as they deftly communicate the brand’s values.

I asked the Absolut company for permission to make the kite already in 2002, got a reply that the request had been handed to the proper instance and then nothing happened. As there was no firm NO I decided to go on, but it still took a few years before I got around making it.

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

Absolut Vodka is a brand of vodka, produced near Åhus, in southern Sweden. Absolut is one of the largest brands of spirits in the world (after Officer’s Choice, Smirnoff, Bacardi) and is sold in 126 countries.

Absolut practices a One Source production philosophy, meaning that every aspect of their production journey takes place in and around the small village of Åhus, Sweden. Every drop of water and every seed of wheat comes from one water source and one community.

Absolut was established in 1879 by Lars Olsson Smith and is produced in Åhus, Sweden. Smith challenged the city of Stockholm’s liquor marketing monopoly with his vodka. It was sold just outside the city border at a lower price than the monopoly’s product. Smith even offered free boat rides to the distillery and “Rent Brännvin” made Smith a fortune.

In 1917, the Swedish government monopolized the country’s alcohol industry. Vodka was then sold nationwide under the name “Absolut Rent Brännvin“. In 1979, the old name Absolut was picked up when the upper-price range ABSOLUT VODKA was introduced. ‘Renat’ is still a euphemism for spirits in Sweden, and the name of another vodka product sold by Pernod Ricard Sweden AB.

Absolut Vodka was introduced to the global market in 1979. Today Absolut sells over 100 million litres of vodka annually (2018). The vodka is made from winter wheat.

Before going to watch the first game Sweden played at Euro Cup in soccer 2000 I made a kite with a Swedish flag to fly on the beach during the intermission: my colleagues and me were to watch the game at Sheraton garden in Abu Dhabi.

There was no wind and Sweden lost the game, but I have been flying the flag now and then elsewhere.

This kite is also courtesy IKEA, and the model is simply a fighter kite with balancing tail on the opposite side where the free part of  the flag is.

The flag of Sweden, simply.

Sverker above viking grave mounds, Sävja kullar, outside Uppsala

The Sverker can easily be stacked, and when stacking a smaller one behind a larger one you don’t see the difference in size in the sky.

I have made the Sverker in two sizes and also in versions for light wind. This is a large Sverker in Icarex and with SkyShark tubes, and it flew in practically zero wind. Unfortunately I lost it in Wuhan, China, 2016, after whole day’s flying.

 As Sala Drak & Tangosällskap (famous group from central Sweden) was going westwards (Washington – Monmouth – Dieppe) in 1996 they decided to make a new Viking invasion, this time from the sky. I had the idea of the ‘Bowtie’ sail and someone else in the group had the idea of the semi-3D bow. Karin and Per Byström made the first three ships from flower support bamboo sticks and table cloth from some of the group’s many parties, and called them Svea, Göta and Vendel. I built my kite a little bit different and called it Sverker and has since then updated it in years 2001, 2005 & 2016. It is the Byström version that is included in Ron Moulton’s book Kites (1997, pp 220-221). 

Sverker in an old Viking name, and also the name of my father and my own middle name.

The plan for Sverker can be found here: http://windman.se/kite-plans/

Swedish pre-history ends around 800 AD, when the Viking Age begins and written sources are available. The Viking Age lasted until the mid-11th century, when the Christianization of Scandinavia was largely completed when Sweden became the last Norse country to adopt Christianity.

The Swedes took part in many Western raids against England alongside the Danes and Norwegians of which many successfully acquired Danegeld as seen on the England runestones. The Swedes were also very active traders and raiders in the eastern and southeastern parts of Europe. The large Russian mainland and its many navigable rivers offered good prospects for trading and plundering. These routes brought them into contact with the Byzantine and Muslim empires which later led to the formation of the Varangian Guard, an elite fighting force made up by Norsemen.

Viking ships were marine vessels of unique structure, built by the Vikings during the Viking Age.

The boat-types were quite varied, depending on what the ship was intended for, but they were generally characterized as being slender and flexible boats, with symmetrical ends with true keel. They were clinker built, which is the overlapping of planks riveted together. Some might have had a dragon’s head or other circular object protruding from the bow and stern for design, although this is only inferred from historical sources. Viking ships were not just used for their military prowess but for long-distance trade, exploration and colonization.

After being heavily taken down by Peter Lynn on Cervia beach in 1995 I added one cell.

It was promptly approved by Peter.

Volvolare

A Chinese Dragon type kite, but with alternating round and triangular cells, with a Volvo 850 as ‘dragonhead’.

    VOLVO (latin) - I roll

    Volare (italian) - I fly

Made in 1995

Volvo Cars (Swedish: Volvo personvagnar), stylized as VOLVO, is a Swedish luxury vehicles brand. Its cars are marketed as being safe, solidly built, and reliable.  It is headquartered in Torslanda in Gothenburg, Sweden.

The company Volvo Cars was founded in 1927 as a subsidiary of the ball bearing manufacturer SKF.  Volvo Cars is now a subsidiary of the Chinese automotive company Geely.

Stockholm 1912 is by far my most well researched kite ever.

When I got the invitation to the 2012 kite festival in Dieppe, Brunswick, Canada, in November 2011 and I learned that the theme for the competition was simply “The Olympics” two thoughts flashed in parallel through my brain:

  • A) Wasn’t Tug-of-War an Olympic game in the early Olympics?
  • B) Hadn’t I already made a rough sketch of a Tug-of-War arch?

A: Sure enough: Tug-of-War was an olympic game from the games in Paris 1900 until the games in Antwerp 1920.

B: The Swedish word for Tug-of-War is Dragkamp, which sounds very similar to the word Drak-kamp (meaning ‘kite combat’), and with this play with words in mind I indeed had drawn a rough sketch on a glass door to a cabinet above my kite work bench.

Exactly 100 years earlier, 1912, the Olympic games were played in Stockholm. Already in 2012 there was a lot of information about the Stockholm Olympic games on Internet, and lo and behold: Sweden took part in the Tug-of-War game.

Sweden meeting Great Britain in the Olympic Games 1912

There even is a short video from that Tug-of-War game: Tug-of-War Stockholm 1912. The video will open in a new tab. Turn down the sound!

As for B): a rough sketch of a Tug-of-War arch:

#2 on the list of kite ideas drawn on the glass door of a cabinet over my work bench: Arch: dragkamp

(The rest of the list is still not done)

In 1912 the Olympic Games were held in Stockholm, and Tug-of-War was still one of the Games. Only two of five registered teams showed up for the competition: Great Britain and Sweden. Sweden won the gold medal by winning 2 – 0 in the only match that was.

My original intention was to dispense Absolut Vodka from the kite and I have the gear ready, but it seems the kite doesn’t have much lifting power: with 1/2 liter of liquid in a ‘camel back’ on the backside it’s difficult to keep the kite in the air and have the hands free for dispensing.

So I have resorted to dispense Absolut on the kite festivals’ farewell dinners.

 

Pic. by Brigitte Brussieres           Pic. by Sumiko Yamashita      Pic. by Liu Zhiping

 

   

Pic. by Ashley Ware Lane               Pic. by Sumiko Yamashita           Pic. by Long Kwong

Picture courtesy of Riga

Absolut was established in 1879 by Lars Olsson Smith, known as The King of Spirits. His portrait is on the medallion on the bottle and slightly modified on the kites.

 

   

For a kite to deserve the name Absolut the kite needs to have a complex bridle system, like Japanese kites.

The first installment of 25 bridle lines, each 34 m long was done in an empty corridor in the office during a weekend.  Unfortunately I had made a bad choice of bridle line: the line was a bit stiff, which I thought was good, but it turned out to be sticky so when the bridles had been daisy chained out for flying, the lines stuck together everywhere! Could not be sorted out!

I later changed line type and also made a black Absolut Kite with only a seven point bridle along the spine.

   

Sticker: Kite bridling in progress    34 m  long corridor                      25 lines

Absolut Kite is inspired by the many brilliant ads that started with Andy Warhol’s painting in 1985 and was followed up by other artists recommended by Warhol. The ads are full of wit, artistry and imagination as they deftly communicate the brand’s values.

I asked the Absolut company for permission to make the kite already in 2002, got a reply that the request had been handed to the proper instance and then nothing happened. As there was no firm NO I decided to go on, but it still took a few years before I got around making it.

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

Absolut Vodka is a brand of vodka, produced near Åhus, in southern Sweden. Absolut is one of the largest brands of spirits in the world (after Officer’s Choice, Smirnoff, Bacardi) and is sold in 126 countries.

Absolut practices a One Source production philosophy, meaning that every aspect of their production journey takes place in and around the small village of Åhus, Sweden. Every drop of water and every seed of wheat comes from one water source and one community.

Absolut was established in 1879 by Lars Olsson Smith and is produced in Åhus, Sweden. Smith challenged the city of Stockholm’s liquor marketing monopoly with his vodka. It was sold just outside the city border at a lower price than the monopoly’s product. Smith even offered free boat rides to the distillery and “Rent Brännvin” made Smith a fortune.

In 1917, the Swedish government monopolized the country’s alcohol industry. Vodka was then sold nationwide under the name “Absolut Rent Brännvin“. In 1979, the old name Absolut was picked up when the upper-price range ABSOLUT VODKA was introduced. ‘Renat’ is still a euphemism for spirits in Sweden, and the name of another vodka product sold by Pernod Ricard Sweden AB.

Absolut Vodka was introduced to the global market in 1979. Today Absolut sells over 100 million litres of vodka annually (2018). The vodka is made from winter wheat.

Before going to watch the first game Sweden played at Euro Cup in soccer 2000 I made a kite with a Swedish flag to fly on the beach during the intermission: my colleagues and me were to watch the game at Sheraton garden in Abu Dhabi.

There was no wind and Sweden lost the game, but I have been flying the flag now and then elsewhere.

This kite is also courtesy IKEA, and the model is simply a fighter kite with balancing tail on the opposite side where the free part of  the flag is.

The flag of Sweden, simply.

Sverker above viking grave mounds, Sävja kullar, outside Uppsala

The Sverker can easily be stacked, and when stacking a smaller one behind a larger one you don’t see the difference in size in the sky.

I have made the Sverker in two sizes and also in versions for light wind. This is a large Sverker in Icarex and with SkyShark tubes, and it flew in practically zero wind. Unfortunately I lost it in Wuhan, China, 2016, after whole day’s flying.

 As Sala Drak & Tangosällskap (famous group from central Sweden) was going westwards (Washington – Monmouth – Dieppe) in 1996 they decided to make a new Viking invasion, this time from the sky. I had the idea of the ‘Bowtie’ sail and someone else in the group had the idea of the semi-3D bow. Karin and Per Byström made the first three ships from flower support bamboo sticks and table cloth from some of the group’s many parties, and called them Svea, Göta and Vendel. I built my kite a little bit different and called it Sverker and has since then updated it in years 2001, 2005 & 2016. It is the Byström version that is included in Ron Moulton’s book Kites (1997, pp 220-221). 

Sverker in an old Viking name, and also the name of my father and my own middle name.

The plan for Sverker can be found here: http://windman.se/kite-plans/

Swedish pre-history ends around 800 AD, when the Viking Age begins and written sources are available. The Viking Age lasted until the mid-11th century, when the Christianization of Scandinavia was largely completed when Sweden became the last Norse country to adopt Christianity.

The Swedes took part in many Western raids against England alongside the Danes and Norwegians of which many successfully acquired Danegeld as seen on the England runestones. The Swedes were also very active traders and raiders in the eastern and southeastern parts of Europe. The large Russian mainland and its many navigable rivers offered good prospects for trading and plundering. These routes brought them into contact with the Byzantine and Muslim empires which later led to the formation of the Varangian Guard, an elite fighting force made up by Norsemen.

Viking ships were marine vessels of unique structure, built by the Vikings during the Viking Age.

The boat-types were quite varied, depending on what the ship was intended for, but they were generally characterized as being slender and flexible boats, with symmetrical ends with true keel. They were clinker built, which is the overlapping of planks riveted together. Some might have had a dragon’s head or other circular object protruding from the bow and stern for design, although this is only inferred from historical sources. Viking ships were not just used for their military prowess but for long-distance trade, exploration and colonization.

After being heavily taken down by Peter Lynn on Cervia beach in 1995 I added one cell.

It was promptly approved by Peter.

Volvolare

A Chinese Dragon type kite, but with alternating round and triangular cells, with a Volvo 850 as ‘dragonhead’.

    VOLVO (latin) - I roll

    Volare (italian) - I fly

Made in 1995

Volvo Cars (Swedish: Volvo personvagnar), stylized as VOLVO, is a Swedish luxury vehicles brand. Its cars are marketed as being safe, solidly built, and reliable.  It is headquartered in Torslanda in Gothenburg, Sweden.

The company Volvo Cars was founded in 1927 as a subsidiary of the ball bearing manufacturer SKF.  Volvo Cars is now a subsidiary of the Chinese automotive company Geely.

Stockholm 1912 at Dieppe 2012

Stockholm 1912 is by far my most well researched kite ever.

When I got the invitation to the 2012 kite festival in Dieppe, Brunswick, Canada, in November 2011 and I learned that the theme for the competition was simply “The Olympics” two thoughts flashed in parallel through my brain:

  • A) Wasn’t Tug-of-War an Olympic game in the early Olympics?
  • B) Hadn’t I already made a rough sketch of a Tug-of-War arch?

A: Sure enough: Tug-of-War was an olympic game from the games in Paris 1900 until the games in Antwerp 1920.

B: The Swedish word for Tug-of-War is Dragkamp, which sounds very similar to the word Drak-kamp (meaning ‘kite combat’), and with this play with words in mind I indeed had drawn a rough sketch on a glass door to a cabinet above my kite work bench.

Exactly 100 years earlier, 1912, the Olympic games were played in Stockholm. Already in 2012 there was a lot of information about the Stockholm Olympic games on Internet, and lo and behold: Sweden took part in the Tug-of-War game.

Sweden meeting Great Britain in the Olympic Games 1912

There even is a short video from that Tug-of-War game: Tug-of-War Stockholm 1912. The video will open in a new tab. Turn down the sound!

As for B): a rough sketch of a Tug-of-War arch:

#2 on the list of kite ideas drawn on the glass door of a cabinet over my work bench: Arch: dragkamp

(The rest of the list is still not done)

In 1912 the Olympic Games were held in Stockholm, and Tug-of-War was still one of the Games. Only two of five registered teams showed up for the competition: Great Britain and Sweden. Sweden won the gold medal by winning 2 – 0 in the only match that was.

My original intention was to dispense Absolut Vodka from the kite and I have the gear ready, but it seems the kite doesn’t have much lifting power: with 1/2 liter of liquid in a ‘camel back’ on the backside it’s difficult to keep the kite in the air and have the hands free for dispensing.

So I have resorted to dispense Absolut on the kite festivals’ farewell dinners.

 

Pic. by Brigitte Brussieres           Pic. by Sumiko Yamashita      Pic. by Liu Zhiping

 

   

Pic. by Ashley Ware Lane               Pic. by Sumiko Yamashita           Pic. by Long Kwong

Picture courtesy of Riga

Absolut was established in 1879 by Lars Olsson Smith, known as The King of Spirits. His portrait is on the medallion on the bottle and slightly modified on the kites.

 

   

For a kite to deserve the name Absolut the kite needs to have a complex bridle system, like Japanese kites.

The first installment of 25 bridle lines, each 34 m long was done in an empty corridor in the office during a weekend.  Unfortunately I had made a bad choice of bridle line: the line was a bit stiff, which I thought was good, but it turned out to be sticky so when the bridles had been daisy chained out for flying, the lines stuck together everywhere! Could not be sorted out!

I later changed line type and also made a black Absolut Kite with only a seven point bridle along the spine.

   

Sticker: Kite bridling in progress    34 m  long corridor                      25 lines

Absolut Kite is inspired by the many brilliant ads that started with Andy Warhol’s painting in 1985 and was followed up by other artists recommended by Warhol. The ads are full of wit, artistry and imagination as they deftly communicate the brand’s values.

I asked the Absolut company for permission to make the kite already in 2002, got a reply that the request had been handed to the proper instance and then nothing happened. As there was no firm NO I decided to go on, but it still took a few years before I got around making it.

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

Absolut Vodka is a brand of vodka, produced near Åhus, in southern Sweden. Absolut is one of the largest brands of spirits in the world (after Officer’s Choice, Smirnoff, Bacardi) and is sold in 126 countries.

Absolut practices a One Source production philosophy, meaning that every aspect of their production journey takes place in and around the small village of Åhus, Sweden. Every drop of water and every seed of wheat comes from one water source and one community.

Absolut was established in 1879 by Lars Olsson Smith and is produced in Åhus, Sweden. Smith challenged the city of Stockholm’s liquor marketing monopoly with his vodka. It was sold just outside the city border at a lower price than the monopoly’s product. Smith even offered free boat rides to the distillery and “Rent Brännvin” made Smith a fortune.

In 1917, the Swedish government monopolized the country’s alcohol industry. Vodka was then sold nationwide under the name “Absolut Rent Brännvin“. In 1979, the old name Absolut was picked up when the upper-price range ABSOLUT VODKA was introduced. ‘Renat’ is still a euphemism for spirits in Sweden, and the name of another vodka product sold by Pernod Ricard Sweden AB.

Absolut Vodka was introduced to the global market in 1979. Today Absolut sells over 100 million litres of vodka annually (2018). The vodka is made from winter wheat.

Before going to watch the first game Sweden played at Euro Cup in soccer 2000 I made a kite with a Swedish flag to fly on the beach during the intermission: my colleagues and me were to watch the game at Sheraton garden in Abu Dhabi.

There was no wind and Sweden lost the game, but I have been flying the flag now and then elsewhere.

This kite is also courtesy IKEA, and the model is simply a fighter kite with balancing tail on the opposite side where the free part of  the flag is.

The flag of Sweden, simply.

Sverker above viking grave mounds, Sävja kullar, outside Uppsala

The Sverker can easily be stacked, and when stacking a smaller one behind a larger one you don’t see the difference in size in the sky.

I have made the Sverker in two sizes and also in versions for light wind. This is a large Sverker in Icarex and with SkyShark tubes, and it flew in practically zero wind. Unfortunately I lost it in Wuhan, China, 2016, after whole day’s flying.

 As Sala Drak & Tangosällskap (famous group from central Sweden) was going westwards (Washington – Monmouth – Dieppe) in 1996 they decided to make a new Viking invasion, this time from the sky. I had the idea of the ‘Bowtie’ sail and someone else in the group had the idea of the semi-3D bow. Karin and Per Byström made the first three ships from flower support bamboo sticks and table cloth from some of the group’s many parties, and called them Svea, Göta and Vendel. I built my kite a little bit different and called it Sverker and has since then updated it in years 2001, 2005 & 2016. It is the Byström version that is included in Ron Moulton’s book Kites (1997, pp 220-221). 

Sverker in an old Viking name, and also the name of my father and my own middle name.

The plan for Sverker can be found here: http://windman.se/kite-plans/

Swedish pre-history ends around 800 AD, when the Viking Age begins and written sources are available. The Viking Age lasted until the mid-11th century, when the Christianization of Scandinavia was largely completed when Sweden became the last Norse country to adopt Christianity.

The Swedes took part in many Western raids against England alongside the Danes and Norwegians of which many successfully acquired Danegeld as seen on the England runestones. The Swedes were also very active traders and raiders in the eastern and southeastern parts of Europe. The large Russian mainland and its many navigable rivers offered good prospects for trading and plundering. These routes brought them into contact with the Byzantine and Muslim empires which later led to the formation of the Varangian Guard, an elite fighting force made up by Norsemen.

Viking ships were marine vessels of unique structure, built by the Vikings during the Viking Age.

The boat-types were quite varied, depending on what the ship was intended for, but they were generally characterized as being slender and flexible boats, with symmetrical ends with true keel. They were clinker built, which is the overlapping of planks riveted together. Some might have had a dragon’s head or other circular object protruding from the bow and stern for design, although this is only inferred from historical sources. Viking ships were not just used for their military prowess but for long-distance trade, exploration and colonization.

After being heavily taken down by Peter Lynn on Cervia beach in 1995 I added one cell.

It was promptly approved by Peter.

Volvolare

A Chinese Dragon type kite, but with alternating round and triangular cells, with a Volvo 850 as ‘dragonhead’.

    VOLVO (latin) - I roll

    Volare (italian) - I fly

Made in 1995

Volvo Cars (Swedish: Volvo personvagnar), stylized as VOLVO, is a Swedish luxury vehicles brand. Its cars are marketed as being safe, solidly built, and reliable.  It is headquartered in Torslanda in Gothenburg, Sweden.

The company Volvo Cars was founded in 1927 as a subsidiary of the ball bearing manufacturer SKF.  Volvo Cars is now a subsidiary of the Chinese automotive company Geely.

In the early research I found a treasure: the complete report of the Olympic Games in Stockholm 1912. This report established that Sweden met Great Britain in the Tug-of-War final and Sweden defeated Great Britain 2 – 0.

Further research on Internet gave remarkably enough also a short  movie sequence of the the actual match between Sweden and Great Britain: Great Britain vs Sweden.

Since all the athletes in the British team were policemen from City of London Police and Metropolitan Police I sent emails to these and asked if they had any documentation or photographies. City of London Police sent a nice reply with photo of the team and old letter that gave an account for the adventures of the British Tug-of-War team, see below.

I also sent similar emails to some Swedish associations, like Sweden’s Central Association for the Promotion of Sport and Swedish Tug of War Federation, but they had no documentation (although SCAPS since than has published their archives). The project Arena Stockholm 1912-2012, who had put up a video on the upcoming centennial, were reluctant to give any help.

The British team. Letter and picture courtesy of City of London Police

The Swedish team.

 

Poster for the Tug-of-War competition Monday July 8: Dragkamp Sverige-Storbritannien

Stockholm 1912 at Dieppe 2012

Stockholm 1912 is by far my most well researched kite ever.

When I got the invitation to the 2012 kite festival in Dieppe, Brunswick, Canada, in November 2011 and I learned that the theme for the competition was simply “The Olympics” two thoughts flashed in parallel through my brain:

  • A) Wasn’t Tug-of-War an Olympic game in the early Olympics?
  • B) Hadn’t I already made a rough sketch of a Tug-of-War arch?

A: Sure enough: Tug-of-War was an olympic game from the games in Paris 1900 until the games in Antwerp 1920.

B: The Swedish word for Tug-of-War is Dragkamp, which sounds very similar to the word Drak-kamp (meaning ‘kite combat’), and with this play with words in mind I indeed had drawn a rough sketch on a glass door to a cabinet above my kite work bench.

Exactly 100 years earlier, 1912, the Olympic games were played in Stockholm. Already in 2012 there was a lot of information about the Stockholm Olympic games on Internet, and lo and behold: Sweden took part in the Tug-of-War game.

Sweden meeting Great Britain in the Olympic Games 1912

There even is a short video from that Tug-of-War game: Tug-of-War Stockholm 1912. The video will open in a new tab. Turn down the sound!

As for B): a rough sketch of a Tug-of-War arch:

#2 on the list of kite ideas drawn on the glass door of a cabinet over my work bench: Arch: dragkamp

(The rest of the list is still not done)

In 1912 the Olympic Games were held in Stockholm, and Tug-of-War was still one of the Games. Only two of five registered teams showed up for the competition: Great Britain and Sweden. Sweden won the gold medal by winning 2 – 0 in the only match that was.

My original intention was to dispense Absolut Vodka from the kite and I have the gear ready, but it seems the kite doesn’t have much lifting power: with 1/2 liter of liquid in a ‘camel back’ on the backside it’s difficult to keep the kite in the air and have the hands free for dispensing.

So I have resorted to dispense Absolut on the kite festivals’ farewell dinners.

 

Pic. by Brigitte Brussieres           Pic. by Sumiko Yamashita      Pic. by Liu Zhiping

 

   

Pic. by Ashley Ware Lane               Pic. by Sumiko Yamashita           Pic. by Long Kwong

Picture courtesy of Riga

Absolut was established in 1879 by Lars Olsson Smith, known as The King of Spirits. His portrait is on the medallion on the bottle and slightly modified on the kites.

 

   

For a kite to deserve the name Absolut the kite needs to have a complex bridle system, like Japanese kites.

The first installment of 25 bridle lines, each 34 m long was done in an empty corridor in the office during a weekend.  Unfortunately I had made a bad choice of bridle line: the line was a bit stiff, which I thought was good, but it turned out to be sticky so when the bridles had been daisy chained out for flying, the lines stuck together everywhere! Could not be sorted out!

I later changed line type and also made a black Absolut Kite with only a seven point bridle along the spine.

   

Sticker: Kite bridling in progress    34 m  long corridor                      25 lines

Absolut Kite is inspired by the many brilliant ads that started with Andy Warhol’s painting in 1985 and was followed up by other artists recommended by Warhol. The ads are full of wit, artistry and imagination as they deftly communicate the brand’s values.

I asked the Absolut company for permission to make the kite already in 2002, got a reply that the request had been handed to the proper instance and then nothing happened. As there was no firm NO I decided to go on, but it still took a few years before I got around making it.

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

Absolut Vodka is a brand of vodka, produced near Åhus, in southern Sweden. Absolut is one of the largest brands of spirits in the world (after Officer’s Choice, Smirnoff, Bacardi) and is sold in 126 countries.

Absolut practices a One Source production philosophy, meaning that every aspect of their production journey takes place in and around the small village of Åhus, Sweden. Every drop of water and every seed of wheat comes from one water source and one community.

Absolut was established in 1879 by Lars Olsson Smith and is produced in Åhus, Sweden. Smith challenged the city of Stockholm’s liquor marketing monopoly with his vodka. It was sold just outside the city border at a lower price than the monopoly’s product. Smith even offered free boat rides to the distillery and “Rent Brännvin” made Smith a fortune.

In 1917, the Swedish government monopolized the country’s alcohol industry. Vodka was then sold nationwide under the name “Absolut Rent Brännvin“. In 1979, the old name Absolut was picked up when the upper-price range ABSOLUT VODKA was introduced. ‘Renat’ is still a euphemism for spirits in Sweden, and the name of another vodka product sold by Pernod Ricard Sweden AB.

Absolut Vodka was introduced to the global market in 1979. Today Absolut sells over 100 million litres of vodka annually (2018). The vodka is made from winter wheat.

Before going to watch the first game Sweden played at Euro Cup in soccer 2000 I made a kite with a Swedish flag to fly on the beach during the intermission: my colleagues and me were to watch the game at Sheraton garden in Abu Dhabi.

There was no wind and Sweden lost the game, but I have been flying the flag now and then elsewhere.

This kite is also courtesy IKEA, and the model is simply a fighter kite with balancing tail on the opposite side where the free part of  the flag is.

The flag of Sweden, simply.

Sverker above viking grave mounds, Sävja kullar, outside Uppsala

The Sverker can easily be stacked, and when stacking a smaller one behind a larger one you don’t see the difference in size in the sky.

I have made the Sverker in two sizes and also in versions for light wind. This is a large Sverker in Icarex and with SkyShark tubes, and it flew in practically zero wind. Unfortunately I lost it in Wuhan, China, 2016, after whole day’s flying.

 As Sala Drak & Tangosällskap (famous group from central Sweden) was going westwards (Washington – Monmouth – Dieppe) in 1996 they decided to make a new Viking invasion, this time from the sky. I had the idea of the ‘Bowtie’ sail and someone else in the group had the idea of the semi-3D bow. Karin and Per Byström made the first three ships from flower support bamboo sticks and table cloth from some of the group’s many parties, and called them Svea, Göta and Vendel. I built my kite a little bit different and called it Sverker and has since then updated it in years 2001, 2005 & 2016. It is the Byström version that is included in Ron Moulton’s book Kites (1997, pp 220-221). 

Sverker in an old Viking name, and also the name of my father and my own middle name.

The plan for Sverker can be found here: http://windman.se/kite-plans/

Swedish pre-history ends around 800 AD, when the Viking Age begins and written sources are available. The Viking Age lasted until the mid-11th century, when the Christianization of Scandinavia was largely completed when Sweden became the last Norse country to adopt Christianity.

The Swedes took part in many Western raids against England alongside the Danes and Norwegians of which many successfully acquired Danegeld as seen on the England runestones. The Swedes were also very active traders and raiders in the eastern and southeastern parts of Europe. The large Russian mainland and its many navigable rivers offered good prospects for trading and plundering. These routes brought them into contact with the Byzantine and Muslim empires which later led to the formation of the Varangian Guard, an elite fighting force made up by Norsemen.

Viking ships were marine vessels of unique structure, built by the Vikings during the Viking Age.

The boat-types were quite varied, depending on what the ship was intended for, but they were generally characterized as being slender and flexible boats, with symmetrical ends with true keel. They were clinker built, which is the overlapping of planks riveted together. Some might have had a dragon’s head or other circular object protruding from the bow and stern for design, although this is only inferred from historical sources. Viking ships were not just used for their military prowess but for long-distance trade, exploration and colonization.

After being heavily taken down by Peter Lynn on Cervia beach in 1995 I added one cell.

It was promptly approved by Peter.

Volvolare

A Chinese Dragon type kite, but with alternating round and triangular cells, with a Volvo 850 as ‘dragonhead’.

    VOLVO (latin) - I roll

    Volare (italian) - I fly

Made in 1995

Volvo Cars (Swedish: Volvo personvagnar), stylized as VOLVO, is a Swedish luxury vehicles brand. Its cars are marketed as being safe, solidly built, and reliable.  It is headquartered in Torslanda in Gothenburg, Sweden.

The company Volvo Cars was founded in 1927 as a subsidiary of the ball bearing manufacturer SKF.  Volvo Cars is now a subsidiary of the Chinese automotive company Geely.

The complete official report, 1117 pages, of The Olympic Games of Stockholm 1912 was available on Internet. In this was included a whole chapter on the Tug of War competition as well as a chapter on the rules for the ToW competition.

Noteable was the name of the President for the Tug of War Committee: Captain Gösta Drake – The word ‘drake’ in Swedish has both the meaning ‘dragon’ as well as ‘kite’!

 

Here is an excerpt PDF with the Tug-of-War chapter, giving an account on the preparations, pictures of the teams and an exposition for the competition itself. The PDF will open in the same frame, so click the BACK button to come back. 21. Tug-of-war 1912

Here is an excerpt PDF on the new rules for Tug-of-War in Stockholm 1912 where the footwear was particularly addressed due to a controversy (see below) in the 1908 Olympic games: 21. ToW rules 1912

In the 1908 Olympic games in London three club teams from different police forces in Great Britain took all the three medals. The team represented by the Liverpool Police won the bronze medal against Sweden, with the City of London Police team getting gold and the Metropolitan Police winning the silver medal.

However there were complaints over the controversial heavy footwear worn by the Liverpool Police team.

Alan Knott, of the Tug of War Association, said: “It is reported that the Liverpool Police ‘were wearing enormous shoes, so heavy in fact that it was only with great effort that they could lift their feet from the ground’!

But the team from Liverpool insisted this was their regulation police footwear which presumably they would wear on the beat.

Despite of the rules banning “prepared boots or shoes with any protruding nails”, an American protest in the first round was overruled and the Liverpool Police team won the pull easily.

The US claimed using footwear which rendered them practically immobile could clearly be a help to the Liverpool squad.

Mr Knott said: “At the close of the competition, the Liverpool Police team offered to pull their American opponents in bare feet, but that offer was declined.”

 

In the early research I found a treasure: the complete report of the Olympic Games in Stockholm 1912. This report established that Sweden met Great Britain in the Tug-of-War final and Sweden defeated Great Britain 2 – 0.

Further research on Internet gave remarkably enough also a short  movie sequence of the the actual match between Sweden and Great Britain: Great Britain vs Sweden.

Since all the athletes in the British team were policemen from City of London Police and Metropolitan Police I sent emails to these and asked if they had any documentation or photographies. City of London Police sent a nice reply with photo of the team and old letter that gave an account for the adventures of the British Tug-of-War team, see below.

I also sent similar emails to some Swedish associations, like Sweden’s Central Association for the Promotion of Sport and Swedish Tug of War Federation, but they had no documentation (although SCAPS since than has published their archives). The project Arena Stockholm 1912-2012, who had put up a video on the upcoming centennial, were reluctant to give any help.

The British team. Letter and picture courtesy of City of London Police

The Swedish team.

 

Poster for the Tug-of-War competition Monday July 8: Dragkamp Sverige-Storbritannien

Stockholm 1912 at Dieppe 2012

Stockholm 1912 is by far my most well researched kite ever.

When I got the invitation to the 2012 kite festival in Dieppe, Brunswick, Canada, in November 2011 and I learned that the theme for the competition was simply “The Olympics” two thoughts flashed in parallel through my brain:

  • A) Wasn’t Tug-of-War an Olympic game in the early Olympics?
  • B) Hadn’t I already made a rough sketch of a Tug-of-War arch?

A: Sure enough: Tug-of-War was an olympic game from the games in Paris 1900 until the games in Antwerp 1920.

B: The Swedish word for Tug-of-War is Dragkamp, which sounds very similar to the word Drak-kamp (meaning ‘kite combat’), and with this play with words in mind I indeed had drawn a rough sketch on a glass door to a cabinet above my kite work bench.

Exactly 100 years earlier, 1912, the Olympic games were played in Stockholm. Already in 2012 there was a lot of information about the Stockholm Olympic games on Internet, and lo and behold: Sweden took part in the Tug-of-War game.

Sweden meeting Great Britain in the Olympic Games 1912

There even is a short video from that Tug-of-War game: Tug-of-War Stockholm 1912. The video will open in a new tab. Turn down the sound!

As for B): a rough sketch of a Tug-of-War arch:

#2 on the list of kite ideas drawn on the glass door of a cabinet over my work bench: Arch: dragkamp

(The rest of the list is still not done)

In 1912 the Olympic Games were held in Stockholm, and Tug-of-War was still one of the Games. Only two of five registered teams showed up for the competition: Great Britain and Sweden. Sweden won the gold medal by winning 2 – 0 in the only match that was.

My original intention was to dispense Absolut Vodka from the kite and I have the gear ready, but it seems the kite doesn’t have much lifting power: with 1/2 liter of liquid in a ‘camel back’ on the backside it’s difficult to keep the kite in the air and have the hands free for dispensing.

So I have resorted to dispense Absolut on the kite festivals’ farewell dinners.

 

Pic. by Brigitte Brussieres           Pic. by Sumiko Yamashita      Pic. by Liu Zhiping

 

   

Pic. by Ashley Ware Lane               Pic. by Sumiko Yamashita           Pic. by Long Kwong

Picture courtesy of Riga

Absolut was established in 1879 by Lars Olsson Smith, known as The King of Spirits. His portrait is on the medallion on the bottle and slightly modified on the kites.

 

   

For a kite to deserve the name Absolut the kite needs to have a complex bridle system, like Japanese kites.

The first installment of 25 bridle lines, each 34 m long was done in an empty corridor in the office during a weekend.  Unfortunately I had made a bad choice of bridle line: the line was a bit stiff, which I thought was good, but it turned out to be sticky so when the bridles had been daisy chained out for flying, the lines stuck together everywhere! Could not be sorted out!

I later changed line type and also made a black Absolut Kite with only a seven point bridle along the spine.

   

Sticker: Kite bridling in progress    34 m  long corridor                      25 lines

Absolut Kite is inspired by the many brilliant ads that started with Andy Warhol’s painting in 1985 and was followed up by other artists recommended by Warhol. The ads are full of wit, artistry and imagination as they deftly communicate the brand’s values.

I asked the Absolut company for permission to make the kite already in 2002, got a reply that the request had been handed to the proper instance and then nothing happened. As there was no firm NO I decided to go on, but it still took a few years before I got around making it.

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

Absolut Vodka is a brand of vodka, produced near Åhus, in southern Sweden. Absolut is one of the largest brands of spirits in the world (after Officer’s Choice, Smirnoff, Bacardi) and is sold in 126 countries.

Absolut practices a One Source production philosophy, meaning that every aspect of their production journey takes place in and around the small village of Åhus, Sweden. Every drop of water and every seed of wheat comes from one water source and one community.

Absolut was established in 1879 by Lars Olsson Smith and is produced in Åhus, Sweden. Smith challenged the city of Stockholm’s liquor marketing monopoly with his vodka. It was sold just outside the city border at a lower price than the monopoly’s product. Smith even offered free boat rides to the distillery and “Rent Brännvin” made Smith a fortune.

In 1917, the Swedish government monopolized the country’s alcohol industry. Vodka was then sold nationwide under the name “Absolut Rent Brännvin“. In 1979, the old name Absolut was picked up when the upper-price range ABSOLUT VODKA was introduced. ‘Renat’ is still a euphemism for spirits in Sweden, and the name of another vodka product sold by Pernod Ricard Sweden AB.

Absolut Vodka was introduced to the global market in 1979. Today Absolut sells over 100 million litres of vodka annually (2018). The vodka is made from winter wheat.

Before going to watch the first game Sweden played at Euro Cup in soccer 2000 I made a kite with a Swedish flag to fly on the beach during the intermission: my colleagues and me were to watch the game at Sheraton garden in Abu Dhabi.

There was no wind and Sweden lost the game, but I have been flying the flag now and then elsewhere.

This kite is also courtesy IKEA, and the model is simply a fighter kite with balancing tail on the opposite side where the free part of  the flag is.

The flag of Sweden, simply.

Sverker above viking grave mounds, Sävja kullar, outside Uppsala

The Sverker can easily be stacked, and when stacking a smaller one behind a larger one you don’t see the difference in size in the sky.

I have made the Sverker in two sizes and also in versions for light wind. This is a large Sverker in Icarex and with SkyShark tubes, and it flew in practically zero wind. Unfortunately I lost it in Wuhan, China, 2016, after whole day’s flying.

 As Sala Drak & Tangosällskap (famous group from central Sweden) was going westwards (Washington – Monmouth – Dieppe) in 1996 they decided to make a new Viking invasion, this time from the sky. I had the idea of the ‘Bowtie’ sail and someone else in the group had the idea of the semi-3D bow. Karin and Per Byström made the first three ships from flower support bamboo sticks and table cloth from some of the group’s many parties, and called them Svea, Göta and Vendel. I built my kite a little bit different and called it Sverker and has since then updated it in years 2001, 2005 & 2016. It is the Byström version that is included in Ron Moulton’s book Kites (1997, pp 220-221). 

Sverker in an old Viking name, and also the name of my father and my own middle name.

The plan for Sverker can be found here: http://windman.se/kite-plans/

Swedish pre-history ends around 800 AD, when the Viking Age begins and written sources are available. The Viking Age lasted until the mid-11th century, when the Christianization of Scandinavia was largely completed when Sweden became the last Norse country to adopt Christianity.

The Swedes took part in many Western raids against England alongside the Danes and Norwegians of which many successfully acquired Danegeld as seen on the England runestones. The Swedes were also very active traders and raiders in the eastern and southeastern parts of Europe. The large Russian mainland and its many navigable rivers offered good prospects for trading and plundering. These routes brought them into contact with the Byzantine and Muslim empires which later led to the formation of the Varangian Guard, an elite fighting force made up by Norsemen.

Viking ships were marine vessels of unique structure, built by the Vikings during the Viking Age.

The boat-types were quite varied, depending on what the ship was intended for, but they were generally characterized as being slender and flexible boats, with symmetrical ends with true keel. They were clinker built, which is the overlapping of planks riveted together. Some might have had a dragon’s head or other circular object protruding from the bow and stern for design, although this is only inferred from historical sources. Viking ships were not just used for their military prowess but for long-distance trade, exploration and colonization.

After being heavily taken down by Peter Lynn on Cervia beach in 1995 I added one cell.

It was promptly approved by Peter.

Volvolare

A Chinese Dragon type kite, but with alternating round and triangular cells, with a Volvo 850 as ‘dragonhead’.

    VOLVO (latin) - I roll

    Volare (italian) - I fly

Made in 1995

Volvo Cars (Swedish: Volvo personvagnar), stylized as VOLVO, is a Swedish luxury vehicles brand. Its cars are marketed as being safe, solidly built, and reliable.  It is headquartered in Torslanda in Gothenburg, Sweden.

The company Volvo Cars was founded in 1927 as a subsidiary of the ball bearing manufacturer SKF.  Volvo Cars is now a subsidiary of the Chinese automotive company Geely.

With the selected pictures of my brothers as both Swedish and British teams I brought my laptop and projector down to the basement of my house and projected the images on the wall where I had hang Nylon Paper and drew the outlines and some important details.

Some of the figures were so big so they didn’t fit in the width of the material but had to be split up in two parts; usually the split coming in the waist.

I was certain I had enough material, but with five figures left I ran out of Nylon Paper: I had completely forgotten that I had given away some 15 meters to kite friends for testing.

This material, Nylon Paper, or in Chinese Si Bu Lan (撕 不 烂), is an artificial, very strong paper that I had only been able yo find in a certain shop in Beijing. I sent an urgent email to old friend Li Ruoxin, he immediately bought what I needed and sent it by courir so within a week I could continue that work.

While I was waiting for the missing material I cut out what I already had drawn and glued together the figures that had been split.

To make the shirts more white (the material is quite translucent) I glued an extra layer one each shirt.

 

My apartment was full of Tug-of-Warers-to-be hanging and drying everywhere

                                           In the bathroom

                                            In the kitchen

                                            In the living room

Painting the trousers was easy: all black, but painting the faces more difficult: I had to make all faces individually different from my brothers! Adding a mustache to 90 % was important.

Again my apartment was full of Tug-of-Warers-to-be hanging and drying everywhere.

                                           In the hallway

                                           In the bedroom

The Swedish team painted and resting in the sofa, awaiting to be framed

For spines I glued bamboo sticks together with skin side out, and to give even more strength I glue-wrapped strips of Nylon Paper around them like some Japanese do.

The British team framed.

The complete official report, 1117 pages, of The Olympic Games of Stockholm 1912 was available on Internet. In this was included a whole chapter on the Tug of War competition as well as a chapter on the rules for the ToW competition.

Noteable was the name of the President for the Tug of War Committee: Captain Gösta Drake – The word ‘drake’ in Swedish has both the meaning ‘dragon’ as well as ‘kite’!

 

Here is an excerpt PDF with the Tug-of-War chapter, giving an account on the preparations, pictures of the teams and an exposition for the competition itself. The PDF will open in the same frame, so click the BACK button to come back. 21. Tug-of-war 1912

Here is an excerpt PDF on the new rules for Tug-of-War in Stockholm 1912 where the footwear was particularly addressed due to a controversy (see below) in the 1908 Olympic games: 21. ToW rules 1912

In the 1908 Olympic games in London three club teams from different police forces in Great Britain took all the three medals. The team represented by the Liverpool Police won the bronze medal against Sweden, with the City of London Police team getting gold and the Metropolitan Police winning the silver medal.

However there were complaints over the controversial heavy footwear worn by the Liverpool Police team.

Alan Knott, of the Tug of War Association, said: “It is reported that the Liverpool Police ‘were wearing enormous shoes, so heavy in fact that it was only with great effort that they could lift their feet from the ground’!

But the team from Liverpool insisted this was their regulation police footwear which presumably they would wear on the beat.

Despite of the rules banning “prepared boots or shoes with any protruding nails”, an American protest in the first round was overruled and the Liverpool Police team won the pull easily.

The US claimed using footwear which rendered them practically immobile could clearly be a help to the Liverpool squad.

Mr Knott said: “At the close of the competition, the Liverpool Police team offered to pull their American opponents in bare feet, but that offer was declined.”

 

In the early research I found a treasure: the complete report of the Olympic Games in Stockholm 1912. This report established that Sweden met Great Britain in the Tug-of-War final and Sweden defeated Great Britain 2 – 0.

Further research on Internet gave remarkably enough also a short  movie sequence of the the actual match between Sweden and Great Britain: Great Britain vs Sweden.

Since all the athletes in the British team were policemen from City of London Police and Metropolitan Police I sent emails to these and asked if they had any documentation or photographies. City of London Police sent a nice reply with photo of the team and old letter that gave an account for the adventures of the British Tug-of-War team, see below.

I also sent similar emails to some Swedish associations, like Sweden’s Central Association for the Promotion of Sport and Swedish Tug of War Federation, but they had no documentation (although SCAPS since than has published their archives). The project Arena Stockholm 1912-2012, who had put up a video on the upcoming centennial, were reluctant to give any help.

The British team. Letter and picture courtesy of City of London Police

The Swedish team.

 

Poster for the Tug-of-War competition Monday July 8: Dragkamp Sverige-Storbritannien

Stockholm 1912 at Dieppe 2012

Stockholm 1912 is by far my most well researched kite ever.

When I got the invitation to the 2012 kite festival in Dieppe, Brunswick, Canada, in November 2011 and I learned that the theme for the competition was simply “The Olympics” two thoughts flashed in parallel through my brain:

  • A) Wasn’t Tug-of-War an Olympic game in the early Olympics?
  • B) Hadn’t I already made a rough sketch of a Tug-of-War arch?

A: Sure enough: Tug-of-War was an olympic game from the games in Paris 1900 until the games in Antwerp 1920.

B: The Swedish word for Tug-of-War is Dragkamp, which sounds very similar to the word Drak-kamp (meaning ‘kite combat’), and with this play with words in mind I indeed had drawn a rough sketch on a glass door to a cabinet above my kite work bench.

Exactly 100 years earlier, 1912, the Olympic games were played in Stockholm. Already in 2012 there was a lot of information about the Stockholm Olympic games on Internet, and lo and behold: Sweden took part in the Tug-of-War game.

Sweden meeting Great Britain in the Olympic Games 1912

There even is a short video from that Tug-of-War game: Tug-of-War Stockholm 1912. The video will open in a new tab. Turn down the sound!

As for B): a rough sketch of a Tug-of-War arch:

#2 on the list of kite ideas drawn on the glass door of a cabinet over my work bench: Arch: dragkamp

(The rest of the list is still not done)

In 1912 the Olympic Games were held in Stockholm, and Tug-of-War was still one of the Games. Only two of five registered teams showed up for the competition: Great Britain and Sweden. Sweden won the gold medal by winning 2 – 0 in the only match that was.

My original intention was to dispense Absolut Vodka from the kite and I have the gear ready, but it seems the kite doesn’t have much lifting power: with 1/2 liter of liquid in a ‘camel back’ on the backside it’s difficult to keep the kite in the air and have the hands free for dispensing.

So I have resorted to dispense Absolut on the kite festivals’ farewell dinners.

 

Pic. by Brigitte Brussieres           Pic. by Sumiko Yamashita      Pic. by Liu Zhiping

 

   

Pic. by Ashley Ware Lane               Pic. by Sumiko Yamashita           Pic. by Long Kwong

Picture courtesy of Riga

Absolut was established in 1879 by Lars Olsson Smith, known as The King of Spirits. His portrait is on the medallion on the bottle and slightly modified on the kites.

 

   

For a kite to deserve the name Absolut the kite needs to have a complex bridle system, like Japanese kites.

The first installment of 25 bridle lines, each 34 m long was done in an empty corridor in the office during a weekend.  Unfortunately I had made a bad choice of bridle line: the line was a bit stiff, which I thought was good, but it turned out to be sticky so when the bridles had been daisy chained out for flying, the lines stuck together everywhere! Could not be sorted out!

I later changed line type and also made a black Absolut Kite with only a seven point bridle along the spine.

   

Sticker: Kite bridling in progress    34 m  long corridor                      25 lines

Absolut Kite is inspired by the many brilliant ads that started with Andy Warhol’s painting in 1985 and was followed up by other artists recommended by Warhol. The ads are full of wit, artistry and imagination as they deftly communicate the brand’s values.

I asked the Absolut company for permission to make the kite already in 2002, got a reply that the request had been handed to the proper instance and then nothing happened. As there was no firm NO I decided to go on, but it still took a few years before I got around making it.

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

Absolut Vodka is a brand of vodka, produced near Åhus, in southern Sweden. Absolut is one of the largest brands of spirits in the world (after Officer’s Choice, Smirnoff, Bacardi) and is sold in 126 countries.

Absolut practices a One Source production philosophy, meaning that every aspect of their production journey takes place in and around the small village of Åhus, Sweden. Every drop of water and every seed of wheat comes from one water source and one community.

Absolut was established in 1879 by Lars Olsson Smith and is produced in Åhus, Sweden. Smith challenged the city of Stockholm’s liquor marketing monopoly with his vodka. It was sold just outside the city border at a lower price than the monopoly’s product. Smith even offered free boat rides to the distillery and “Rent Brännvin” made Smith a fortune.

In 1917, the Swedish government monopolized the country’s alcohol industry. Vodka was then sold nationwide under the name “Absolut Rent Brännvin“. In 1979, the old name Absolut was picked up when the upper-price range ABSOLUT VODKA was introduced. ‘Renat’ is still a euphemism for spirits in Sweden, and the name of another vodka product sold by Pernod Ricard Sweden AB.

Absolut Vodka was introduced to the global market in 1979. Today Absolut sells over 100 million litres of vodka annually (2018). The vodka is made from winter wheat.

Before going to watch the first game Sweden played at Euro Cup in soccer 2000 I made a kite with a Swedish flag to fly on the beach during the intermission: my colleagues and me were to watch the game at Sheraton garden in Abu Dhabi.

There was no wind and Sweden lost the game, but I have been flying the flag now and then elsewhere.

This kite is also courtesy IKEA, and the model is simply a fighter kite with balancing tail on the opposite side where the free part of  the flag is.

The flag of Sweden, simply.

Sverker above viking grave mounds, Sävja kullar, outside Uppsala

The Sverker can easily be stacked, and when stacking a smaller one behind a larger one you don’t see the difference in size in the sky.

I have made the Sverker in two sizes and also in versions for light wind. This is a large Sverker in Icarex and with SkyShark tubes, and it flew in practically zero wind. Unfortunately I lost it in Wuhan, China, 2016, after whole day’s flying.

 As Sala Drak & Tangosällskap (famous group from central Sweden) was going westwards (Washington – Monmouth – Dieppe) in 1996 they decided to make a new Viking invasion, this time from the sky. I had the idea of the ‘Bowtie’ sail and someone else in the group had the idea of the semi-3D bow. Karin and Per Byström made the first three ships from flower support bamboo sticks and table cloth from some of the group’s many parties, and called them Svea, Göta and Vendel. I built my kite a little bit different and called it Sverker and has since then updated it in years 2001, 2005 & 2016. It is the Byström version that is included in Ron Moulton’s book Kites (1997, pp 220-221). 

Sverker in an old Viking name, and also the name of my father and my own middle name.

The plan for Sverker can be found here: http://windman.se/kite-plans/

Swedish pre-history ends around 800 AD, when the Viking Age begins and written sources are available. The Viking Age lasted until the mid-11th century, when the Christianization of Scandinavia was largely completed when Sweden became the last Norse country to adopt Christianity.

The Swedes took part in many Western raids against England alongside the Danes and Norwegians of which many successfully acquired Danegeld as seen on the England runestones. The Swedes were also very active traders and raiders in the eastern and southeastern parts of Europe. The large Russian mainland and its many navigable rivers offered good prospects for trading and plundering. These routes brought them into contact with the Byzantine and Muslim empires which later led to the formation of the Varangian Guard, an elite fighting force made up by Norsemen.

Viking ships were marine vessels of unique structure, built by the Vikings during the Viking Age.

The boat-types were quite varied, depending on what the ship was intended for, but they were generally characterized as being slender and flexible boats, with symmetrical ends with true keel. They were clinker built, which is the overlapping of planks riveted together. Some might have had a dragon’s head or other circular object protruding from the bow and stern for design, although this is only inferred from historical sources. Viking ships were not just used for their military prowess but for long-distance trade, exploration and colonization.

After being heavily taken down by Peter Lynn on Cervia beach in 1995 I added one cell.

It was promptly approved by Peter.

Volvolare

A Chinese Dragon type kite, but with alternating round and triangular cells, with a Volvo 850 as ‘dragonhead’.

    VOLVO (latin) - I roll

    Volare (italian) - I fly

Made in 1995

Volvo Cars (Swedish: Volvo personvagnar), stylized as VOLVO, is a Swedish luxury vehicles brand. Its cars are marketed as being safe, solidly built, and reliable.  It is headquartered in Torslanda in Gothenburg, Sweden.

The company Volvo Cars was founded in 1927 as a subsidiary of the ball bearing manufacturer SKF.  Volvo Cars is now a subsidiary of the Chinese automotive company Geely.

Having come this far in my research I felt I needed to verify that the idea of an arch of Tug-of-War really would work, so I had my son lying down on the floor on a piece of Nylon paper and draw the contour of him as he lay in two of the positions of the Swedish team below, cut out the profiles and attached frames.

In March that year, before I attended the kite festival in Cha Am, I spent a few days in Bali and made a successful test flight on Merta Sari Beach in Sanur: The arch would work!

Though I had collected pictures of Tug-of-War from Internet over the years they wouldn’t suit as models for the kites in an arch: I needed straight side views of the pullers.

Neither the pictures of the Swedish team nor the British team would do either because the were from half front.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Swedish team                                                         British team (during warming up)

What I learned from the above pictures was that both teams had black trousers and white long sleeved shirts with the country flag on the chest. In both teams some members were right handed and others were left handed.

I gathered I had to create my own models and summoned my friends in Sala Kite & Tango Party for a spring lunch and photo session. We had a great afternoon, but when I looked at the resulting pictures I realized I had not been well prepared and had made the shooting in an unorganized way.

                                            Picture courtesy Per Byström

Next photo session would be with my two brothers, Ragnar and Ingvar, both of them quite heavily built. I told them to wear black trousers and a white long sleeved T-shirt and I supplied small flags to attach on the chest. With the camera on a tripod and a suitable background I shot some hundred photos and selected a few that showed action and energy.

The 8 pictures plus one spare with action and energy of the Swedish team:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With the selected pictures of my brothers as both Swedish and British teams I brought my laptop and projector down to the basement of my house and projected the images on the wall where I had hang Nylon Paper and drew the outlines and some important details.

Some of the figures were so big so they didn’t fit in the width of the material but had to be split up in two parts; usually the split coming in the waist.

I was certain I had enough material, but with five figures left I ran out of Nylon Paper: I had completely forgotten that I had given away some 15 meters to kite friends for testing.

This material, Nylon Paper, or in Chinese Si Bu Lan (撕 不 烂), is an artificial, very strong paper that I had only been able yo find in a certain shop in Beijing. I sent an urgent email to old friend Li Ruoxin, he immediately bought what I needed and sent it by courir so within a week I could continue that work.

While I was waiting for the missing material I cut out what I already had drawn and glued together the figures that had been split.

To make the shirts more white (the material is quite translucent) I glued an extra layer one each shirt.

 

My apartment was full of Tug-of-Warers-to-be hanging and drying everywhere

                                           In the bathroom

                                            In the kitchen

                                            In the living room

Painting the trousers was easy: all black, but painting the faces more difficult: I had to make all faces individually different from my brothers! Adding a mustache to 90 % was important.

Again my apartment was full of Tug-of-Warers-to-be hanging and drying everywhere.

                                           In the hallway

                                           In the bedroom

The Swedish team painted and resting in the sofa, awaiting to be framed

For spines I glued bamboo sticks together with skin side out, and to give even more strength I glue-wrapped strips of Nylon Paper around them like some Japanese do.

The British team framed.

The complete official report, 1117 pages, of The Olympic Games of Stockholm 1912 was available on Internet. In this was included a whole chapter on the Tug of War competition as well as a chapter on the rules for the ToW competition.

Noteable was the name of the President for the Tug of War Committee: Captain Gösta Drake – The word ‘drake’ in Swedish has both the meaning ‘dragon’ as well as ‘kite’!

 

Here is an excerpt PDF with the Tug-of-War chapter, giving an account on the preparations, pictures of the teams and an exposition for the competition itself. The PDF will open in the same frame, so click the BACK button to come back. 21. Tug-of-war 1912

Here is an excerpt PDF on the new rules for Tug-of-War in Stockholm 1912 where the footwear was particularly addressed due to a controversy (see below) in the 1908 Olympic games: 21. ToW rules 1912

In the 1908 Olympic games in London three club teams from different police forces in Great Britain took all the three medals. The team represented by the Liverpool Police won the bronze medal against Sweden, with the City of London Police team getting gold and the Metropolitan Police winning the silver medal.

However there were complaints over the controversial heavy footwear worn by the Liverpool Police team.

Alan Knott, of the Tug of War Association, said: “It is reported that the Liverpool Police ‘were wearing enormous shoes, so heavy in fact that it was only with great effort that they could lift their feet from the ground’!

But the team from Liverpool insisted this was their regulation police footwear which presumably they would wear on the beat.

Despite of the rules banning “prepared boots or shoes with any protruding nails”, an American protest in the first round was overruled and the Liverpool Police team won the pull easily.

The US claimed using footwear which rendered them practically immobile could clearly be a help to the Liverpool squad.

Mr Knott said: “At the close of the competition, the Liverpool Police team offered to pull their American opponents in bare feet, but that offer was declined.”

 

In the early research I found a treasure: the complete report of the Olympic Games in Stockholm 1912. This report established that Sweden met Great Britain in the Tug-of-War final and Sweden defeated Great Britain 2 – 0.

Further research on Internet gave remarkably enough also a short  movie sequence of the the actual match between Sweden and Great Britain: Great Britain vs Sweden.

Since all the athletes in the British team were policemen from City of London Police and Metropolitan Police I sent emails to these and asked if they had any documentation or photographies. City of London Police sent a nice reply with photo of the team and old letter that gave an account for the adventures of the British Tug-of-War team, see below.

I also sent similar emails to some Swedish associations, like Sweden’s Central Association for the Promotion of Sport and Swedish Tug of War Federation, but they had no documentation (although SCAPS since than has published their archives). The project Arena Stockholm 1912-2012, who had put up a video on the upcoming centennial, were reluctant to give any help.

The British team. Letter and picture courtesy of City of London Police

The Swedish team.

 

Poster for the Tug-of-War competition Monday July 8: Dragkamp Sverige-Storbritannien

Stockholm 1912 at Dieppe 2012

Stockholm 1912 is by far my most well researched kite ever.

When I got the invitation to the 2012 kite festival in Dieppe, Brunswick, Canada, in November 2011 and I learned that the theme for the competition was simply “The Olympics” two thoughts flashed in parallel through my brain:

  • A) Wasn’t Tug-of-War an Olympic game in the early Olympics?
  • B) Hadn’t I already made a rough sketch of a Tug-of-War arch?

A: Sure enough: Tug-of-War was an olympic game from the games in Paris 1900 until the games in Antwerp 1920.

B: The Swedish word for Tug-of-War is Dragkamp, which sounds very similar to the word Drak-kamp (meaning ‘kite combat’), and with this play with words in mind I indeed had drawn a rough sketch on a glass door to a cabinet above my kite work bench.

Exactly 100 years earlier, 1912, the Olympic games were played in Stockholm. Already in 2012 there was a lot of information about the Stockholm Olympic games on Internet, and lo and behold: Sweden took part in the Tug-of-War game.

Sweden meeting Great Britain in the Olympic Games 1912

There even is a short video from that Tug-of-War game: Tug-of-War Stockholm 1912. The video will open in a new tab. Turn down the sound!

As for B): a rough sketch of a Tug-of-War arch:

#2 on the list of kite ideas drawn on the glass door of a cabinet over my work bench: Arch: dragkamp

(The rest of the list is still not done)

In 1912 the Olympic Games were held in Stockholm, and Tug-of-War was still one of the Games. Only two of five registered teams showed up for the competition: Great Britain and Sweden. Sweden won the gold medal by winning 2 – 0 in the only match that was.

My original intention was to dispense Absolut Vodka from the kite and I have the gear ready, but it seems the kite doesn’t have much lifting power: with 1/2 liter of liquid in a ‘camel back’ on the backside it’s difficult to keep the kite in the air and have the hands free for dispensing.

So I have resorted to dispense Absolut on the kite festivals’ farewell dinners.

 

Pic. by Brigitte Brussieres           Pic. by Sumiko Yamashita      Pic. by Liu Zhiping

 

   

Pic. by Ashley Ware Lane               Pic. by Sumiko Yamashita           Pic. by Long Kwong

Picture courtesy of Riga

Absolut was established in 1879 by Lars Olsson Smith, known as The King of Spirits. His portrait is on the medallion on the bottle and slightly modified on the kites.

 

   

For a kite to deserve the name Absolut the kite needs to have a complex bridle system, like Japanese kites.

The first installment of 25 bridle lines, each 34 m long was done in an empty corridor in the office during a weekend.  Unfortunately I had made a bad choice of bridle line: the line was a bit stiff, which I thought was good, but it turned out to be sticky so when the bridles had been daisy chained out for flying, the lines stuck together everywhere! Could not be sorted out!

I later changed line type and also made a black Absolut Kite with only a seven point bridle along the spine.

   

Sticker: Kite bridling in progress    34 m  long corridor                      25 lines

Absolut Kite is inspired by the many brilliant ads that started with Andy Warhol’s painting in 1985 and was followed up by other artists recommended by Warhol. The ads are full of wit, artistry and imagination as they deftly communicate the brand’s values.

I asked the Absolut company for permission to make the kite already in 2002, got a reply that the request had been handed to the proper instance and then nothing happened. As there was no firm NO I decided to go on, but it still took a few years before I got around making it.

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

Absolut Vodka is a brand of vodka, produced near Åhus, in southern Sweden. Absolut is one of the largest brands of spirits in the world (after Officer’s Choice, Smirnoff, Bacardi) and is sold in 126 countries.

Absolut practices a One Source production philosophy, meaning that every aspect of their production journey takes place in and around the small village of Åhus, Sweden. Every drop of water and every seed of wheat comes from one water source and one community.

Absolut was established in 1879 by Lars Olsson Smith and is produced in Åhus, Sweden. Smith challenged the city of Stockholm’s liquor marketing monopoly with his vodka. It was sold just outside the city border at a lower price than the monopoly’s product. Smith even offered free boat rides to the distillery and “Rent Brännvin” made Smith a fortune.

In 1917, the Swedish government monopolized the country’s alcohol industry. Vodka was then sold nationwide under the name “Absolut Rent Brännvin“. In 1979, the old name Absolut was picked up when the upper-price range ABSOLUT VODKA was introduced. ‘Renat’ is still a euphemism for spirits in Sweden, and the name of another vodka product sold by Pernod Ricard Sweden AB.

Absolut Vodka was introduced to the global market in 1979. Today Absolut sells over 100 million litres of vodka annually (2018). The vodka is made from winter wheat.

Before going to watch the first game Sweden played at Euro Cup in soccer 2000 I made a kite with a Swedish flag to fly on the beach during the intermission: my colleagues and me were to watch the game at Sheraton garden in Abu Dhabi.

There was no wind and Sweden lost the game, but I have been flying the flag now and then elsewhere.

This kite is also courtesy IKEA, and the model is simply a fighter kite with balancing tail on the opposite side where the free part of  the flag is.

The flag of Sweden, simply.

Sverker above viking grave mounds, Sävja kullar, outside Uppsala

The Sverker can easily be stacked, and when stacking a smaller one behind a larger one you don’t see the difference in size in the sky.

I have made the Sverker in two sizes and also in versions for light wind. This is a large Sverker in Icarex and with SkyShark tubes, and it flew in practically zero wind. Unfortunately I lost it in Wuhan, China, 2016, after whole day’s flying.

 As Sala Drak & Tangosällskap (famous group from central Sweden) was going westwards (Washington – Monmouth – Dieppe) in 1996 they decided to make a new Viking invasion, this time from the sky. I had the idea of the ‘Bowtie’ sail and someone else in the group had the idea of the semi-3D bow. Karin and Per Byström made the first three ships from flower support bamboo sticks and table cloth from some of the group’s many parties, and called them Svea, Göta and Vendel. I built my kite a little bit different and called it Sverker and has since then updated it in years 2001, 2005 & 2016. It is the Byström version that is included in Ron Moulton’s book Kites (1997, pp 220-221). 

Sverker in an old Viking name, and also the name of my father and my own middle name.

The plan for Sverker can be found here: http://windman.se/kite-plans/

Swedish pre-history ends around 800 AD, when the Viking Age begins and written sources are available. The Viking Age lasted until the mid-11th century, when the Christianization of Scandinavia was largely completed when Sweden became the last Norse country to adopt Christianity.

The Swedes took part in many Western raids against England alongside the Danes and Norwegians of which many successfully acquired Danegeld as seen on the England runestones. The Swedes were also very active traders and raiders in the eastern and southeastern parts of Europe. The large Russian mainland and its many navigable rivers offered good prospects for trading and plundering. These routes brought them into contact with the Byzantine and Muslim empires which later led to the formation of the Varangian Guard, an elite fighting force made up by Norsemen.

Viking ships were marine vessels of unique structure, built by the Vikings during the Viking Age.

The boat-types were quite varied, depending on what the ship was intended for, but they were generally characterized as being slender and flexible boats, with symmetrical ends with true keel. They were clinker built, which is the overlapping of planks riveted together. Some might have had a dragon’s head or other circular object protruding from the bow and stern for design, although this is only inferred from historical sources. Viking ships were not just used for their military prowess but for long-distance trade, exploration and colonization.

After being heavily taken down by Peter Lynn on Cervia beach in 1995 I added one cell.

It was promptly approved by Peter.

Volvolare

A Chinese Dragon type kite, but with alternating round and triangular cells, with a Volvo 850 as ‘dragonhead’.

    VOLVO (latin) - I roll

    Volare (italian) - I fly

Made in 1995

Volvo Cars (Swedish: Volvo personvagnar), stylized as VOLVO, is a Swedish luxury vehicles brand. Its cars are marketed as being safe, solidly built, and reliable.  It is headquartered in Torslanda in Gothenburg, Sweden.

The company Volvo Cars was founded in 1927 as a subsidiary of the ball bearing manufacturer SKF.  Volvo Cars is now a subsidiary of the Chinese automotive company Geely.

Having come this far in my research I felt I needed to verify that the idea of an arch of Tug-of-War really would work, so I had my son lying down on the floor on a piece of Nylon paper and draw the contour of him as he lay in two of the positions of the Swedish team below, cut out the profiles and attached frames.

In March that year, before I attended the kite festival in Cha Am, I spent a few days in Bali and made a successful test flight on Merta Sari Beach in Sanur: The arch would work!

Though I had collected pictures of Tug-of-War from Internet over the years they wouldn’t suit as models for the kites in an arch: I needed straight side views of the pullers.

Neither the pictures of the Swedish team nor the British team would do either because the were from half front.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Swedish team                                                         British team (during warming up)

What I learned from the above pictures was that both teams had black trousers and white long sleeved shirts with the country flag on the chest. In both teams some members were right handed and others were left handed.

I gathered I had to create my own models and summoned my friends in Sala Kite & Tango Party for a spring lunch and photo session. We had a great afternoon, but when I looked at the resulting pictures I realized I had not been well prepared and had made the shooting in an unorganized way.

                                            Picture courtesy Per Byström

Next photo session would be with my two brothers, Ragnar and Ingvar, both of them quite heavily built. I told them to wear black trousers and a white long sleeved T-shirt and I supplied small flags to attach on the chest. With the camera on a tripod and a suitable background I shot some hundred photos and selected a few that showed action and energy.

The 8 pictures plus one spare with action and energy of the Swedish team:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With the selected pictures of my brothers as both Swedish and British teams I brought my laptop and projector down to the basement of my house and projected the images on the wall where I had hang Nylon Paper and drew the outlines and some important details.

Some of the figures were so big so they didn’t fit in the width of the material but had to be split up in two parts; usually the split coming in the waist.

I was certain I had enough material, but with five figures left I ran out of Nylon Paper: I had completely forgotten that I had given away some 15 meters to kite friends for testing.

This material, Nylon Paper, or in Chinese Si Bu Lan (撕 不 烂), is an artificial, very strong paper that I had only been able yo find in a certain shop in Beijing. I sent an urgent email to old friend Li Ruoxin, he immediately bought what I needed and sent it by courir so within a week I could continue that work.

While I was waiting for the missing material I cut out what I already had drawn and glued together the figures that had been split.

To make the shirts more white (the material is quite translucent) I glued an extra layer one each shirt.

 

My apartment was full of Tug-of-Warers-to-be hanging and drying everywhere

                                           In the bathroom

                                            In the kitchen

                                            In the living room

Painting the trousers was easy: all black, but painting the faces more difficult: I had to make all faces individually different from my brothers! Adding a mustache to 90 % was important.

Again my apartment was full of Tug-of-Warers-to-be hanging and drying everywhere.

                                           In the hallway

                                           In the bedroom

The Swedish team painted and resting in the sofa, awaiting to be framed

For spines I glued bamboo sticks together with skin side out, and to give even more strength I glue-wrapped strips of Nylon Paper around them like some Japanese do.

The British team framed.

The complete official report, 1117 pages, of The Olympic Games of Stockholm 1912 was available on Internet. In this was included a whole chapter on the Tug of War competition as well as a chapter on the rules for the ToW competition.

Noteable was the name of the President for the Tug of War Committee: Captain Gösta Drake – The word ‘drake’ in Swedish has both the meaning ‘dragon’ as well as ‘kite’!

 

Here is an excerpt PDF with the Tug-of-War chapter, giving an account on the preparations, pictures of the teams and an exposition for the competition itself. The PDF will open in the same frame, so click the BACK button to come back. 21. Tug-of-war 1912

Here is an excerpt PDF on the new rules for Tug-of-War in Stockholm 1912 where the footwear was particularly addressed due to a controversy (see below) in the 1908 Olympic games: 21. ToW rules 1912

In the 1908 Olympic games in London three club teams from different police forces in Great Britain took all the three medals. The team represented by the Liverpool Police won the bronze medal against Sweden, with the City of London Police team getting gold and the Metropolitan Police winning the silver medal.

However there were complaints over the controversial heavy footwear worn by the Liverpool Police team.

Alan Knott, of the Tug of War Association, said: “It is reported that the Liverpool Police ‘were wearing enormous shoes, so heavy in fact that it was only with great effort that they could lift their feet from the ground’!

But the team from Liverpool insisted this was their regulation police footwear which presumably they would wear on the beat.

Despite of the rules banning “prepared boots or shoes with any protruding nails”, an American protest in the first round was overruled and the Liverpool Police team won the pull easily.

The US claimed using footwear which rendered them practically immobile could clearly be a help to the Liverpool squad.

Mr Knott said: “At the close of the competition, the Liverpool Police team offered to pull their American opponents in bare feet, but that offer was declined.”

 

In the early research I found a treasure: the complete report of the Olympic Games in Stockholm 1912. This report established that Sweden met Great Britain in the Tug-of-War final and Sweden defeated Great Britain 2 – 0.

Further research on Internet gave remarkably enough also a short  movie sequence of the the actual match between Sweden and Great Britain: Great Britain vs Sweden.

Since all the athletes in the British team were policemen from City of London Police and Metropolitan Police I sent emails to these and asked if they had any documentation or photographies. City of London Police sent a nice reply with photo of the team and old letter that gave an account for the adventures of the British Tug-of-War team, see below.

I also sent similar emails to some Swedish associations, like Sweden’s Central Association for the Promotion of Sport and Swedish Tug of War Federation, but they had no documentation (although SCAPS since than has published their archives). The project Arena Stockholm 1912-2012, who had put up a video on the upcoming centennial, were reluctant to give any help.

The British team. Letter and picture courtesy of City of London Police

The Swedish team.

 

Poster for the Tug-of-War competition Monday July 8: Dragkamp Sverige-Storbritannien

Stockholm 1912 at Dieppe 2012

Stockholm 1912 is by far my most well researched kite ever.

When I got the invitation to the 2012 kite festival in Dieppe, Brunswick, Canada, in November 2011 and I learned that the theme for the competition was simply “The Olympics” two thoughts flashed in parallel through my brain:

  • A) Wasn’t Tug-of-War an Olympic game in the early Olympics?
  • B) Hadn’t I already made a rough sketch of a Tug-of-War arch?

A: Sure enough: Tug-of-War was an olympic game from the games in Paris 1900 until the games in Antwerp 1920.

B: The Swedish word for Tug-of-War is Dragkamp, which sounds very similar to the word Drak-kamp (meaning ‘kite combat’), and with this play with words in mind I indeed had drawn a rough sketch on a glass door to a cabinet above my kite work bench.

Exactly 100 years earlier, 1912, the Olympic games were played in Stockholm. Already in 2012 there was a lot of information about the Stockholm Olympic games on Internet, and lo and behold: Sweden took part in the Tug-of-War game.

Sweden meeting Great Britain in the Olympic Games 1912

There even is a short video from that Tug-of-War game: Tug-of-War Stockholm 1912. The video will open in a new tab. Turn down the sound!

As for B): a rough sketch of a Tug-of-War arch:

#2 on the list of kite ideas drawn on the glass door of a cabinet over my work bench: Arch: dragkamp

(The rest of the list is still not done)

In 1912 the Olympic Games were held in Stockholm, and Tug-of-War was still one of the Games. Only two of five registered teams showed up for the competition: Great Britain and Sweden. Sweden won the gold medal by winning 2 – 0 in the only match that was.

My original intention was to dispense Absolut Vodka from the kite and I have the gear ready, but it seems the kite doesn’t have much lifting power: with 1/2 liter of liquid in a ‘camel back’ on the backside it’s difficult to keep the kite in the air and have the hands free for dispensing.

So I have resorted to dispense Absolut on the kite festivals’ farewell dinners.

 

Pic. by Brigitte Brussieres           Pic. by Sumiko Yamashita      Pic. by Liu Zhiping

 

   

Pic. by Ashley Ware Lane               Pic. by Sumiko Yamashita           Pic. by Long Kwong

Picture courtesy of Riga

Absolut was established in 1879 by Lars Olsson Smith, known as The King of Spirits. His portrait is on the medallion on the bottle and slightly modified on the kites.

 

   

For a kite to deserve the name Absolut the kite needs to have a complex bridle system, like Japanese kites.

The first installment of 25 bridle lines, each 34 m long was done in an empty corridor in the office during a weekend.  Unfortunately I had made a bad choice of bridle line: the line was a bit stiff, which I thought was good, but it turned out to be sticky so when the bridles had been daisy chained out for flying, the lines stuck together everywhere! Could not be sorted out!

I later changed line type and also made a black Absolut Kite with only a seven point bridle along the spine.

   

Sticker: Kite bridling in progress    34 m  long corridor                      25 lines

Absolut Kite is inspired by the many brilliant ads that started with Andy Warhol’s painting in 1985 and was followed up by other artists recommended by Warhol. The ads are full of wit, artistry and imagination as they deftly communicate the brand’s values.

I asked the Absolut company for permission to make the kite already in 2002, got a reply that the request had been handed to the proper instance and then nothing happened. As there was no firm NO I decided to go on, but it still took a few years before I got around making it.

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

Absolut Vodka is a brand of vodka, produced near Åhus, in southern Sweden. Absolut is one of the largest brands of spirits in the world (after Officer’s Choice, Smirnoff, Bacardi) and is sold in 126 countries.

Absolut practices a One Source production philosophy, meaning that every aspect of their production journey takes place in and around the small village of Åhus, Sweden. Every drop of water and every seed of wheat comes from one water source and one community.

Absolut was established in 1879 by Lars Olsson Smith and is produced in Åhus, Sweden. Smith challenged the city of Stockholm’s liquor marketing monopoly with his vodka. It was sold just outside the city border at a lower price than the monopoly’s product. Smith even offered free boat rides to the distillery and “Rent Brännvin” made Smith a fortune.

In 1917, the Swedish government monopolized the country’s alcohol industry. Vodka was then sold nationwide under the name “Absolut Rent Brännvin“. In 1979, the old name Absolut was picked up when the upper-price range ABSOLUT VODKA was introduced. ‘Renat’ is still a euphemism for spirits in Sweden, and the name of another vodka product sold by Pernod Ricard Sweden AB.

Absolut Vodka was introduced to the global market in 1979. Today Absolut sells over 100 million litres of vodka annually (2018). The vodka is made from winter wheat.

Before going to watch the first game Sweden played at Euro Cup in soccer 2000 I made a kite with a Swedish flag to fly on the beach during the intermission: my colleagues and me were to watch the game at Sheraton garden in Abu Dhabi.

There was no wind and Sweden lost the game, but I have been flying the flag now and then elsewhere.

This kite is also courtesy IKEA, and the model is simply a fighter kite with balancing tail on the opposite side where the free part of  the flag is.

The flag of Sweden, simply.

Sverker above viking grave mounds, Sävja kullar, outside Uppsala

The Sverker can easily be stacked, and when stacking a smaller one behind a larger one you don’t see the difference in size in the sky.

I have made the Sverker in two sizes and also in versions for light wind. This is a large Sverker in Icarex and with SkyShark tubes, and it flew in practically zero wind. Unfortunately I lost it in Wuhan, China, 2016, after whole day’s flying.

 As Sala Drak & Tangosällskap (famous group from central Sweden) was going westwards (Washington – Monmouth – Dieppe) in 1996 they decided to make a new Viking invasion, this time from the sky. I had the idea of the ‘Bowtie’ sail and someone else in the group had the idea of the semi-3D bow. Karin and Per Byström made the first three ships from flower support bamboo sticks and table cloth from some of the group’s many parties, and called them Svea, Göta and Vendel. I built my kite a little bit different and called it Sverker and has since then updated it in years 2001, 2005 & 2016. It is the Byström version that is included in Ron Moulton’s book Kites (1997, pp 220-221). 

Sverker in an old Viking name, and also the name of my father and my own middle name.

The plan for Sverker can be found here: http://windman.se/kite-plans/

Swedish pre-history ends around 800 AD, when the Viking Age begins and written sources are available. The Viking Age lasted until the mid-11th century, when the Christianization of Scandinavia was largely completed when Sweden became the last Norse country to adopt Christianity.

The Swedes took part in many Western raids against England alongside the Danes and Norwegians of which many successfully acquired Danegeld as seen on the England runestones. The Swedes were also very active traders and raiders in the eastern and southeastern parts of Europe. The large Russian mainland and its many navigable rivers offered good prospects for trading and plundering. These routes brought them into contact with the Byzantine and Muslim empires which later led to the formation of the Varangian Guard, an elite fighting force made up by Norsemen.

Viking ships were marine vessels of unique structure, built by the Vikings during the Viking Age.

The boat-types were quite varied, depending on what the ship was intended for, but they were generally characterized as being slender and flexible boats, with symmetrical ends with true keel. They were clinker built, which is the overlapping of planks riveted together. Some might have had a dragon’s head or other circular object protruding from the bow and stern for design, although this is only inferred from historical sources. Viking ships were not just used for their military prowess but for long-distance trade, exploration and colonization.

After being heavily taken down by Peter Lynn on Cervia beach in 1995 I added one cell.

It was promptly approved by Peter.

Volvolare

A Chinese Dragon type kite, but with alternating round and triangular cells, with a Volvo 850 as ‘dragonhead’.

    VOLVO (latin) - I roll

    Volare (italian) - I fly

Made in 1995

Volvo Cars (Swedish: Volvo personvagnar), stylized as VOLVO, is a Swedish luxury vehicles brand. Its cars are marketed as being safe, solidly built, and reliable.  It is headquartered in Torslanda in Gothenburg, Sweden.

The company Volvo Cars was founded in 1927 as a subsidiary of the ball bearing manufacturer SKF.  Volvo Cars is now a subsidiary of the Chinese automotive company Geely.

Unfortunately the arch was ruined when it rained at the kite festival in Bintulu, just one month after the premier flight in Canada: the glue gave in to the rain and all parts drifted apart and the paint was scrubbed off in many places. I brought home the pieces to repair, but I could not bring myself to go through all that trouble again to repair the arch.

Then, as I had moved to Bali, I had found that printing on Nylon Paper worked fine and was fairly cheap. So instead of painting I Photoshopped all the figures, downsized them a bit and got them printed. But frame still in bamboo (with some fiber glass).

Video of new edition flying at the kite festival in Hsinchu, Taiwan,  September 2018 in pretty strong wind.

Having come this far in my research I felt I needed to verify that the idea of an arch of Tug-of-War really would work, so I had my son lying down on the floor on a piece of Nylon paper and draw the contour of him as he lay in two of the positions of the Swedish team below, cut out the profiles and attached frames.

In March that year, before I attended the kite festival in Cha Am, I spent a few days in Bali and made a successful test flight on Merta Sari Beach in Sanur: The arch would work!

Though I had collected pictures of Tug-of-War from Internet over the years they wouldn’t suit as models for the kites in an arch: I needed straight side views of the pullers.

Neither the pictures of the Swedish team nor the British team would do either because the were from half front.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Swedish team                                                         British team (during warming up)

What I learned from the above pictures was that both teams had black trousers and white long sleeved shirts with the country flag on the chest. In both teams some members were right handed and others were left handed.

I gathered I had to create my own models and summoned my friends in Sala Kite & Tango Party for a spring lunch and photo session. We had a great afternoon, but when I looked at the resulting pictures I realized I had not been well prepared and had made the shooting in an unorganized way.

                                            Picture courtesy Per Byström

Next photo session would be with my two brothers, Ragnar and Ingvar, both of them quite heavily built. I told them to wear black trousers and a white long sleeved T-shirt and I supplied small flags to attach on the chest. With the camera on a tripod and a suitable background I shot some hundred photos and selected a few that showed action and energy.

The 8 pictures plus one spare with action and energy of the Swedish team:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With the selected pictures of my brothers as both Swedish and British teams I brought my laptop and projector down to the basement of my house and projected the images on the wall where I had hang Nylon Paper and drew the outlines and some important details.

Some of the figures were so big so they didn’t fit in the width of the material but had to be split up in two parts; usually the split coming in the waist.

I was certain I had enough material, but with five figures left I ran out of Nylon Paper: I had completely forgotten that I had given away some 15 meters to kite friends for testing.

This material, Nylon Paper, or in Chinese Si Bu Lan (撕 不 烂), is an artificial, very strong paper that I had only been able yo find in a certain shop in Beijing. I sent an urgent email to old friend Li Ruoxin, he immediately bought what I needed and sent it by courir so within a week I could continue that work.

While I was waiting for the missing material I cut out what I already had drawn and glued together the figures that had been split.

To make the shirts more white (the material is quite translucent) I glued an extra layer one each shirt.

 

My apartment was full of Tug-of-Warers-to-be hanging and drying everywhere

                                           In the bathroom

                                            In the kitchen

                                            In the living room

Painting the trousers was easy: all black, but painting the faces more difficult: I had to make all faces individually different from my brothers! Adding a mustache to 90 % was important.

Again my apartment was full of Tug-of-Warers-to-be hanging and drying everywhere.

                                           In the hallway

                                           In the bedroom

The Swedish team painted and resting in the sofa, awaiting to be framed

For spines I glued bamboo sticks together with skin side out, and to give even more strength I glue-wrapped strips of Nylon Paper around them like some Japanese do.

The British team framed.

The complete official report, 1117 pages, of The Olympic Games of Stockholm 1912 was available on Internet. In this was included a whole chapter on the Tug of War competition as well as a chapter on the rules for the ToW competition.

Noteable was the name of the President for the Tug of War Committee: Captain Gösta Drake – The word ‘drake’ in Swedish has both the meaning ‘dragon’ as well as ‘kite’!

 

Here is an excerpt PDF with the Tug-of-War chapter, giving an account on the preparations, pictures of the teams and an exposition for the competition itself. The PDF will open in the same frame, so click the BACK button to come back. 21. Tug-of-war 1912

Here is an excerpt PDF on the new rules for Tug-of-War in Stockholm 1912 where the footwear was particularly addressed due to a controversy (see below) in the 1908 Olympic games: 21. ToW rules 1912

In the 1908 Olympic games in London three club teams from different police forces in Great Britain took all the three medals. The team represented by the Liverpool Police won the bronze medal against Sweden, with the City of London Police team getting gold and the Metropolitan Police winning the silver medal.

However there were complaints over the controversial heavy footwear worn by the Liverpool Police team.

Alan Knott, of the Tug of War Association, said: “It is reported that the Liverpool Police ‘were wearing enormous shoes, so heavy in fact that it was only with great effort that they could lift their feet from the ground’!

But the team from Liverpool insisted this was their regulation police footwear which presumably they would wear on the beat.

Despite of the rules banning “prepared boots or shoes with any protruding nails”, an American protest in the first round was overruled and the Liverpool Police team won the pull easily.

The US claimed using footwear which rendered them practically immobile could clearly be a help to the Liverpool squad.

Mr Knott said: “At the close of the competition, the Liverpool Police team offered to pull their American opponents in bare feet, but that offer was declined.”

 

In the early research I found a treasure: the complete report of the Olympic Games in Stockholm 1912. This report established that Sweden met Great Britain in the Tug-of-War final and Sweden defeated Great Britain 2 – 0.

Further research on Internet gave remarkably enough also a short  movie sequence of the the actual match between Sweden and Great Britain: Great Britain vs Sweden.

Since all the athletes in the British team were policemen from City of London Police and Metropolitan Police I sent emails to these and asked if they had any documentation or photographies. City of London Police sent a nice reply with photo of the team and old letter that gave an account for the adventures of the British Tug-of-War team, see below.

I also sent similar emails to some Swedish associations, like Sweden’s Central Association for the Promotion of Sport and Swedish Tug of War Federation, but they had no documentation (although SCAPS since than has published their archives). The project Arena Stockholm 1912-2012, who had put up a video on the upcoming centennial, were reluctant to give any help.

The British team. Letter and picture courtesy of City of London Police

The Swedish team.

 

Poster for the Tug-of-War competition Monday July 8: Dragkamp Sverige-Storbritannien

Stockholm 1912 at Dieppe 2012

Stockholm 1912 is by far my most well researched kite ever.

When I got the invitation to the 2012 kite festival in Dieppe, Brunswick, Canada, in November 2011 and I learned that the theme for the competition was simply “The Olympics” two thoughts flashed in parallel through my brain:

  • A) Wasn’t Tug-of-War an Olympic game in the early Olympics?
  • B) Hadn’t I already made a rough sketch of a Tug-of-War arch?

A: Sure enough: Tug-of-War was an olympic game from the games in Paris 1900 until the games in Antwerp 1920.

B: The Swedish word for Tug-of-War is Dragkamp, which sounds very similar to the word Drak-kamp (meaning ‘kite combat’), and with this play with words in mind I indeed had drawn a rough sketch on a glass door to a cabinet above my kite work bench.

Exactly 100 years earlier, 1912, the Olympic games were played in Stockholm. Already in 2012 there was a lot of information about the Stockholm Olympic games on Internet, and lo and behold: Sweden took part in the Tug-of-War game.

Sweden meeting Great Britain in the Olympic Games 1912

There even is a short video from that Tug-of-War game: Tug-of-War Stockholm 1912. The video will open in a new tab. Turn down the sound!

As for B): a rough sketch of a Tug-of-War arch:

#2 on the list of kite ideas drawn on the glass door of a cabinet over my work bench: Arch: dragkamp

(The rest of the list is still not done)

In 1912 the Olympic Games were held in Stockholm, and Tug-of-War was still one of the Games. Only two of five registered teams showed up for the competition: Great Britain and Sweden. Sweden won the gold medal by winning 2 – 0 in the only match that was.

My original intention was to dispense Absolut Vodka from the kite and I have the gear ready, but it seems the kite doesn’t have much lifting power: with 1/2 liter of liquid in a ‘camel back’ on the backside it’s difficult to keep the kite in the air and have the hands free for dispensing.

So I have resorted to dispense Absolut on the kite festivals’ farewell dinners.

 

Pic. by Brigitte Brussieres           Pic. by Sumiko Yamashita      Pic. by Liu Zhiping

 

   

Pic. by Ashley Ware Lane               Pic. by Sumiko Yamashita           Pic. by Long Kwong

Picture courtesy of Riga

Absolut was established in 1879 by Lars Olsson Smith, known as The King of Spirits. His portrait is on the medallion on the bottle and slightly modified on the kites.

 

   

For a kite to deserve the name Absolut the kite needs to have a complex bridle system, like Japanese kites.

The first installment of 25 bridle lines, each 34 m long was done in an empty corridor in the office during a weekend.  Unfortunately I had made a bad choice of bridle line: the line was a bit stiff, which I thought was good, but it turned out to be sticky so when the bridles had been daisy chained out for flying, the lines stuck together everywhere! Could not be sorted out!

I later changed line type and also made a black Absolut Kite with only a seven point bridle along the spine.

   

Sticker: Kite bridling in progress    34 m  long corridor                      25 lines

Absolut Kite is inspired by the many brilliant ads that started with Andy Warhol’s painting in 1985 and was followed up by other artists recommended by Warhol. The ads are full of wit, artistry and imagination as they deftly communicate the brand’s values.

I asked the Absolut company for permission to make the kite already in 2002, got a reply that the request had been handed to the proper instance and then nothing happened. As there was no firm NO I decided to go on, but it still took a few years before I got around making it.

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

Absolut Vodka is a brand of vodka, produced near Åhus, in southern Sweden. Absolut is one of the largest brands of spirits in the world (after Officer’s Choice, Smirnoff, Bacardi) and is sold in 126 countries.

Absolut practices a One Source production philosophy, meaning that every aspect of their production journey takes place in and around the small village of Åhus, Sweden. Every drop of water and every seed of wheat comes from one water source and one community.

Absolut was established in 1879 by Lars Olsson Smith and is produced in Åhus, Sweden. Smith challenged the city of Stockholm’s liquor marketing monopoly with his vodka. It was sold just outside the city border at a lower price than the monopoly’s product. Smith even offered free boat rides to the distillery and “Rent Brännvin” made Smith a fortune.

In 1917, the Swedish government monopolized the country’s alcohol industry. Vodka was then sold nationwide under the name “Absolut Rent Brännvin“. In 1979, the old name Absolut was picked up when the upper-price range ABSOLUT VODKA was introduced. ‘Renat’ is still a euphemism for spirits in Sweden, and the name of another vodka product sold by Pernod Ricard Sweden AB.

Absolut Vodka was introduced to the global market in 1979. Today Absolut sells over 100 million litres of vodka annually (2018). The vodka is made from winter wheat.

Before going to watch the first game Sweden played at Euro Cup in soccer 2000 I made a kite with a Swedish flag to fly on the beach during the intermission: my colleagues and me were to watch the game at Sheraton garden in Abu Dhabi.

There was no wind and Sweden lost the game, but I have been flying the flag now and then elsewhere.

This kite is also courtesy IKEA, and the model is simply a fighter kite with balancing tail on the opposite side where the free part of  the flag is.

The flag of Sweden, simply.

Sverker above viking grave mounds, Sävja kullar, outside Uppsala

The Sverker can easily be stacked, and when stacking a smaller one behind a larger one you don’t see the difference in size in the sky.

I have made the Sverker in two sizes and also in versions for light wind. This is a large Sverker in Icarex and with SkyShark tubes, and it flew in practically zero wind. Unfortunately I lost it in Wuhan, China, 2016, after whole day’s flying.

 As Sala Drak & Tangosällskap (famous group from central Sweden) was going westwards (Washington – Monmouth – Dieppe) in 1996 they decided to make a new Viking invasion, this time from the sky. I had the idea of the ‘Bowtie’ sail and someone else in the group had the idea of the semi-3D bow. Karin and Per Byström made the first three ships from flower support bamboo sticks and table cloth from some of the group’s many parties, and called them Svea, Göta and Vendel. I built my kite a little bit different and called it Sverker and has since then updated it in years 2001, 2005 & 2016. It is the Byström version that is included in Ron Moulton’s book Kites (1997, pp 220-221). 

Sverker in an old Viking name, and also the name of my father and my own middle name.

The plan for Sverker can be found here: http://windman.se/kite-plans/

Swedish pre-history ends around 800 AD, when the Viking Age begins and written sources are available. The Viking Age lasted until the mid-11th century, when the Christianization of Scandinavia was largely completed when Sweden became the last Norse country to adopt Christianity.

The Swedes took part in many Western raids against England alongside the Danes and Norwegians of which many successfully acquired Danegeld as seen on the England runestones. The Swedes were also very active traders and raiders in the eastern and southeastern parts of Europe. The large Russian mainland and its many navigable rivers offered good prospects for trading and plundering. These routes brought them into contact with the Byzantine and Muslim empires which later led to the formation of the Varangian Guard, an elite fighting force made up by Norsemen.

Viking ships were marine vessels of unique structure, built by the Vikings during the Viking Age.

The boat-types were quite varied, depending on what the ship was intended for, but they were generally characterized as being slender and flexible boats, with symmetrical ends with true keel. They were clinker built, which is the overlapping of planks riveted together. Some might have had a dragon’s head or other circular object protruding from the bow and stern for design, although this is only inferred from historical sources. Viking ships were not just used for their military prowess but for long-distance trade, exploration and colonization.

After being heavily taken down by Peter Lynn on Cervia beach in 1995 I added one cell.

It was promptly approved by Peter.

Volvolare

A Chinese Dragon type kite, but with alternating round and triangular cells, with a Volvo 850 as ‘dragonhead’.

    VOLVO (latin) - I roll

    Volare (italian) - I fly

Made in 1995

Volvo Cars (Swedish: Volvo personvagnar), stylized as VOLVO, is a Swedish luxury vehicles brand. Its cars are marketed as being safe, solidly built, and reliable.  It is headquartered in Torslanda in Gothenburg, Sweden.

The company Volvo Cars was founded in 1927 as a subsidiary of the ball bearing manufacturer SKF.  Volvo Cars is now a subsidiary of the Chinese automotive company Geely.

This is the invitation that sparked it all:

 “…innovative use of materials used in the making of the kite“. As I had used bamboo and Nylon Paper, had glued instead of sewn and painted instead of appliqué I felt I at least had made something different.

I had not had the chance to test the arch at all at home, but the day before the competition in Dieppe there was wind enough to do that, and I made some small but very important addition to the frames.

At the competition day there was very little wind and the arch lay flat on ground. Just as I was explaining to the jury about the background and introducing my documentation of the Tug-of-War competition in Stockholm 2012 the wind picked up and the arch miraculously  self launched!

But alas! I had been interpreting the invitation wrong. It was a kite making competition, not a kite creation competition. The arch did not win any prize at all. Using bamboo and Nylon Paper instead of ripstop and carbon was obviously disqualifing, and with gluing the judges could not count stitches.  Instead a well made Dopero with appliqué got the first prize.

                                              Introducing the binder with the documentation of the Tug-of-War competition 100 years ago.

 

                                           Arch self launched in exactly the right moment

                                           British team pulling hard

                                           Ground display

Nearly the full both teams. The two red pentagon and single blue pentagon kites in the middle are the tapes required by the rules: “A coloured tape shall be affixed to the middle of the rope, with two other tapes of another colour fastened, one on each side, at a distance of 1.75 metres from each side of the central tape.“

Unfortunately the arch was ruined when it rained at the kite festival in Bintulu, just one month after the premier flight in Canada: the glue gave in to the rain and all parts drifted apart and the paint was scrubbed off in many places. I brought home the pieces to repair, but I could not bring myself to go through all that trouble again to repair the arch.

Then, as I had moved to Bali, I had found that printing on Nylon Paper worked fine and was fairly cheap. So instead of painting I Photoshopped all the figures, downsized them a bit and got them printed. But frame still in bamboo (with some fiber glass).

Video of new edition flying at the kite festival in Hsinchu, Taiwan,  September 2018 in pretty strong wind.

Having come this far in my research I felt I needed to verify that the idea of an arch of Tug-of-War really would work, so I had my son lying down on the floor on a piece of Nylon paper and draw the contour of him as he lay in two of the positions of the Swedish team below, cut out the profiles and attached frames.

In March that year, before I attended the kite festival in Cha Am, I spent a few days in Bali and made a successful test flight on Merta Sari Beach in Sanur: The arch would work!

Though I had collected pictures of Tug-of-War from Internet over the years they wouldn’t suit as models for the kites in an arch: I needed straight side views of the pullers.

Neither the pictures of the Swedish team nor the British team would do either because the were from half front.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Swedish team                                                         British team (during warming up)

What I learned from the above pictures was that both teams had black trousers and white long sleeved shirts with the country flag on the chest. In both teams some members were right handed and others were left handed.

I gathered I had to create my own models and summoned my friends in Sala Kite & Tango Party for a spring lunch and photo session. We had a great afternoon, but when I looked at the resulting pictures I realized I had not been well prepared and had made the shooting in an unorganized way.

                                            Picture courtesy Per Byström

Next photo session would be with my two brothers, Ragnar and Ingvar, both of them quite heavily built. I told them to wear black trousers and a white long sleeved T-shirt and I supplied small flags to attach on the chest. With the camera on a tripod and a suitable background I shot some hundred photos and selected a few that showed action and energy.

The 8 pictures plus one spare with action and energy of the Swedish team:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With the selected pictures of my brothers as both Swedish and British teams I brought my laptop and projector down to the basement of my house and projected the images on the wall where I had hang Nylon Paper and drew the outlines and some important details.

Some of the figures were so big so they didn’t fit in the width of the material but had to be split up in two parts; usually the split coming in the waist.

I was certain I had enough material, but with five figures left I ran out of Nylon Paper: I had completely forgotten that I had given away some 15 meters to kite friends for testing.

This material, Nylon Paper, or in Chinese Si Bu Lan (撕 不 烂), is an artificial, very strong paper that I had only been able yo find in a certain shop in Beijing. I sent an urgent email to old friend Li Ruoxin, he immediately bought what I needed and sent it by courir so within a week I could continue that work.

While I was waiting for the missing material I cut out what I already had drawn and glued together the figures that had been split.

To make the shirts more white (the material is quite translucent) I glued an extra layer one each shirt.

 

My apartment was full of Tug-of-Warers-to-be hanging and drying everywhere

                                           In the bathroom

                                            In the kitchen

                                            In the living room

Painting the trousers was easy: all black, but painting the faces more difficult: I had to make all faces individually different from my brothers! Adding a mustache to 90 % was important.

Again my apartment was full of Tug-of-Warers-to-be hanging and drying everywhere.

                                           In the hallway

                                           In the bedroom

The Swedish team painted and resting in the sofa, awaiting to be framed

For spines I glued bamboo sticks together with skin side out, and to give even more strength I glue-wrapped strips of Nylon Paper around them like some Japanese do.

The British team framed.

The complete official report, 1117 pages, of The Olympic Games of Stockholm 1912 was available on Internet. In this was included a whole chapter on the Tug of War competition as well as a chapter on the rules for the ToW competition.

Noteable was the name of the President for the Tug of War Committee: Captain Gösta Drake – The word ‘drake’ in Swedish has both the meaning ‘dragon’ as well as ‘kite’!

 

Here is an excerpt PDF with the Tug-of-War chapter, giving an account on the preparations, pictures of the teams and an exposition for the competition itself. The PDF will open in the same frame, so click the BACK button to come back. 21. Tug-of-war 1912

Here is an excerpt PDF on the new rules for Tug-of-War in Stockholm 1912 where the footwear was particularly addressed due to a controversy (see below) in the 1908 Olympic games: 21. ToW rules 1912

In the 1908 Olympic games in London three club teams from different police forces in Great Britain took all the three medals. The team represented by the Liverpool Police won the bronze medal against Sweden, with the City of London Police team getting gold and the Metropolitan Police winning the silver medal.

However there were complaints over the controversial heavy footwear worn by the Liverpool Police team.

Alan Knott, of the Tug of War Association, said: “It is reported that the Liverpool Police ‘were wearing enormous shoes, so heavy in fact that it was only with great effort that they could lift their feet from the ground’!

But the team from Liverpool insisted this was their regulation police footwear which presumably they would wear on the beat.

Despite of the rules banning “prepared boots or shoes with any protruding nails”, an American protest in the first round was overruled and the Liverpool Police team won the pull easily.

The US claimed using footwear which rendered them practically immobile could clearly be a help to the Liverpool squad.

Mr Knott said: “At the close of the competition, the Liverpool Police team offered to pull their American opponents in bare feet, but that offer was declined.”

 

In the early research I found a treasure: the complete report of the Olympic Games in Stockholm 1912. This report established that Sweden met Great Britain in the Tug-of-War final and Sweden defeated Great Britain 2 – 0.

Further research on Internet gave remarkably enough also a short  movie sequence of the the actual match between Sweden and Great Britain: Great Britain vs Sweden.

Since all the athletes in the British team were policemen from City of London Police and Metropolitan Police I sent emails to these and asked if they had any documentation or photographies. City of London Police sent a nice reply with photo of the team and old letter that gave an account for the adventures of the British Tug-of-War team, see below.

I also sent similar emails to some Swedish associations, like Sweden’s Central Association for the Promotion of Sport and Swedish Tug of War Federation, but they had no documentation (although SCAPS since than has published their archives). The project Arena Stockholm 1912-2012, who had put up a video on the upcoming centennial, were reluctant to give any help.

The British team. Letter and picture courtesy of City of London Police

The Swedish team.

 

Poster for the Tug-of-War competition Monday July 8: Dragkamp Sverige-Storbritannien

Stockholm 1912 at Dieppe 2012

Stockholm 1912 is by far my most well researched kite ever.

When I got the invitation to the 2012 kite festival in Dieppe, Brunswick, Canada, in November 2011 and I learned that the theme for the competition was simply “The Olympics” two thoughts flashed in parallel through my brain:

  • A) Wasn’t Tug-of-War an Olympic game in the early Olympics?
  • B) Hadn’t I already made a rough sketch of a Tug-of-War arch?

A: Sure enough: Tug-of-War was an olympic game from the games in Paris 1900 until the games in Antwerp 1920.

B: The Swedish word for Tug-of-War is Dragkamp, which sounds very similar to the word Drak-kamp (meaning ‘kite combat’), and with this play with words in mind I indeed had drawn a rough sketch on a glass door to a cabinet above my kite work bench.

Exactly 100 years earlier, 1912, the Olympic games were played in Stockholm. Already in 2012 there was a lot of information about the Stockholm Olympic games on Internet, and lo and behold: Sweden took part in the Tug-of-War game.

Sweden meeting Great Britain in the Olympic Games 1912

There even is a short video from that Tug-of-War game: Tug-of-War Stockholm 1912. The video will open in a new tab. Turn down the sound!

As for B): a rough sketch of a Tug-of-War arch:

#2 on the list of kite ideas drawn on the glass door of a cabinet over my work bench: Arch: dragkamp

(The rest of the list is still not done)

In 1912 the Olympic Games were held in Stockholm, and Tug-of-War was still one of the Games. Only two of five registered teams showed up for the competition: Great Britain and Sweden. Sweden won the gold medal by winning 2 – 0 in the only match that was.

My original intention was to dispense Absolut Vodka from the kite and I have the gear ready, but it seems the kite doesn’t have much lifting power: with 1/2 liter of liquid in a ‘camel back’ on the backside it’s difficult to keep the kite in the air and have the hands free for dispensing.

So I have resorted to dispense Absolut on the kite festivals’ farewell dinners.

 

Pic. by Brigitte Brussieres           Pic. by Sumiko Yamashita      Pic. by Liu Zhiping

 

   

Pic. by Ashley Ware Lane               Pic. by Sumiko Yamashita           Pic. by Long Kwong

Picture courtesy of Riga

Absolut was established in 1879 by Lars Olsson Smith, known as The King of Spirits. His portrait is on the medallion on the bottle and slightly modified on the kites.

 

   

For a kite to deserve the name Absolut the kite needs to have a complex bridle system, like Japanese kites.

The first installment of 25 bridle lines, each 34 m long was done in an empty corridor in the office during a weekend.  Unfortunately I had made a bad choice of bridle line: the line was a bit stiff, which I thought was good, but it turned out to be sticky so when the bridles had been daisy chained out for flying, the lines stuck together everywhere! Could not be sorted out!

I later changed line type and also made a black Absolut Kite with only a seven point bridle along the spine.

   

Sticker: Kite bridling in progress    34 m  long corridor                      25 lines

Absolut Kite is inspired by the many brilliant ads that started with Andy Warhol’s painting in 1985 and was followed up by other artists recommended by Warhol. The ads are full of wit, artistry and imagination as they deftly communicate the brand’s values.

I asked the Absolut company for permission to make the kite already in 2002, got a reply that the request had been handed to the proper instance and then nothing happened. As there was no firm NO I decided to go on, but it still took a few years before I got around making it.

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

Absolut Vodka is a brand of vodka, produced near Åhus, in southern Sweden. Absolut is one of the largest brands of spirits in the world (after Officer’s Choice, Smirnoff, Bacardi) and is sold in 126 countries.

Absolut practices a One Source production philosophy, meaning that every aspect of their production journey takes place in and around the small village of Åhus, Sweden. Every drop of water and every seed of wheat comes from one water source and one community.

Absolut was established in 1879 by Lars Olsson Smith and is produced in Åhus, Sweden. Smith challenged the city of Stockholm’s liquor marketing monopoly with his vodka. It was sold just outside the city border at a lower price than the monopoly’s product. Smith even offered free boat rides to the distillery and “Rent Brännvin” made Smith a fortune.

In 1917, the Swedish government monopolized the country’s alcohol industry. Vodka was then sold nationwide under the name “Absolut Rent Brännvin“. In 1979, the old name Absolut was picked up when the upper-price range ABSOLUT VODKA was introduced. ‘Renat’ is still a euphemism for spirits in Sweden, and the name of another vodka product sold by Pernod Ricard Sweden AB.

Absolut Vodka was introduced to the global market in 1979. Today Absolut sells over 100 million litres of vodka annually (2018). The vodka is made from winter wheat.

Before going to watch the first game Sweden played at Euro Cup in soccer 2000 I made a kite with a Swedish flag to fly on the beach during the intermission: my colleagues and me were to watch the game at Sheraton garden in Abu Dhabi.

There was no wind and Sweden lost the game, but I have been flying the flag now and then elsewhere.

This kite is also courtesy IKEA, and the model is simply a fighter kite with balancing tail on the opposite side where the free part of  the flag is.

The flag of Sweden, simply.

Sverker above viking grave mounds, Sävja kullar, outside Uppsala

The Sverker can easily be stacked, and when stacking a smaller one behind a larger one you don’t see the difference in size in the sky.

I have made the Sverker in two sizes and also in versions for light wind. This is a large Sverker in Icarex and with SkyShark tubes, and it flew in practically zero wind. Unfortunately I lost it in Wuhan, China, 2016, after whole day’s flying.

 As Sala Drak & Tangosällskap (famous group from central Sweden) was going westwards (Washington – Monmouth – Dieppe) in 1996 they decided to make a new Viking invasion, this time from the sky. I had the idea of the ‘Bowtie’ sail and someone else in the group had the idea of the semi-3D bow. Karin and Per Byström made the first three ships from flower support bamboo sticks and table cloth from some of the group’s many parties, and called them Svea, Göta and Vendel. I built my kite a little bit different and called it Sverker and has since then updated it in years 2001, 2005 & 2016. It is the Byström version that is included in Ron Moulton’s book Kites (1997, pp 220-221). 

Sverker in an old Viking name, and also the name of my father and my own middle name.

The plan for Sverker can be found here: http://windman.se/kite-plans/

Swedish pre-history ends around 800 AD, when the Viking Age begins and written sources are available. The Viking Age lasted until the mid-11th century, when the Christianization of Scandinavia was largely completed when Sweden became the last Norse country to adopt Christianity.

The Swedes took part in many Western raids against England alongside the Danes and Norwegians of which many successfully acquired Danegeld as seen on the England runestones. The Swedes were also very active traders and raiders in the eastern and southeastern parts of Europe. The large Russian mainland and its many navigable rivers offered good prospects for trading and plundering. These routes brought them into contact with the Byzantine and Muslim empires which later led to the formation of the Varangian Guard, an elite fighting force made up by Norsemen.

Viking ships were marine vessels of unique structure, built by the Vikings during the Viking Age.

The boat-types were quite varied, depending on what the ship was intended for, but they were generally characterized as being slender and flexible boats, with symmetrical ends with true keel. They were clinker built, which is the overlapping of planks riveted together. Some might have had a dragon’s head or other circular object protruding from the bow and stern for design, although this is only inferred from historical sources. Viking ships were not just used for their military prowess but for long-distance trade, exploration and colonization.

After being heavily taken down by Peter Lynn on Cervia beach in 1995 I added one cell.

It was promptly approved by Peter.

Volvolare

A Chinese Dragon type kite, but with alternating round and triangular cells, with a Volvo 850 as ‘dragonhead’.

    VOLVO (latin) - I roll

    Volare (italian) - I fly

Made in 1995

Volvo Cars (Swedish: Volvo personvagnar), stylized as VOLVO, is a Swedish luxury vehicles brand. Its cars are marketed as being safe, solidly built, and reliable.  It is headquartered in Torslanda in Gothenburg, Sweden.

The company Volvo Cars was founded in 1927 as a subsidiary of the ball bearing manufacturer SKF.  Volvo Cars is now a subsidiary of the Chinese automotive company Geely.

This is the invitation that sparked it all:

 “…innovative use of materials used in the making of the kite“. As I had used bamboo and Nylon Paper, had glued instead of sewn and painted instead of appliqué I felt I at least had made something different.

I had not had the chance to test the arch at all at home, but the day before the competition in Dieppe there was wind enough to do that, and I made some small but very important addition to the frames.

At the competition day there was very little wind and the arch lay flat on ground. Just as I was explaining to the jury about the background and introducing my documentation of the Tug-of-War competition in Stockholm 2012 the wind picked up and the arch miraculously  self launched!

But alas! I had been interpreting the invitation wrong. It was a kite making competition, not a kite creation competition. The arch did not win any prize at all. Using bamboo and Nylon Paper instead of ripstop and carbon was obviously disqualifing, and with gluing the judges could not count stitches.  Instead a well made Dopero with appliqué got the first prize.

                                              Introducing the binder with the documentation of the Tug-of-War competition 100 years ago.

 

                                           Arch self launched in exactly the right moment

                                           British team pulling hard

                                           Ground display

Nearly the full both teams. The two red pentagon and single blue pentagon kites in the middle are the tapes required by the rules: “A coloured tape shall be affixed to the middle of the rope, with two other tapes of another colour fastened, one on each side, at a distance of 1.75 metres from each side of the central tape.“

Unfortunately the arch was ruined when it rained at the kite festival in Bintulu, just one month after the premier flight in Canada: the glue gave in to the rain and all parts drifted apart and the paint was scrubbed off in many places. I brought home the pieces to repair, but I could not bring myself to go through all that trouble again to repair the arch.

Then, as I had moved to Bali, I had found that printing on Nylon Paper worked fine and was fairly cheap. So instead of painting I Photoshopped all the figures, downsized them a bit and got them printed. But frame still in bamboo (with some fiber glass).

Video of new edition flying at the kite festival in Hsinchu, Taiwan,  September 2018 in pretty strong wind.

Having come this far in my research I felt I needed to verify that the idea of an arch of Tug-of-War really would work, so I had my son lying down on the floor on a piece of Nylon paper and draw the contour of him as he lay in two of the positions of the Swedish team below, cut out the profiles and attached frames.

In March that year, before I attended the kite festival in Cha Am, I spent a few days in Bali and made a successful test flight on Merta Sari Beach in Sanur: The arch would work!

Though I had collected pictures of Tug-of-War from Internet over the years they wouldn’t suit as models for the kites in an arch: I needed straight side views of the pullers.

Neither the pictures of the Swedish team nor the British team would do either because the were from half front.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Swedish team                                                         British team (during warming up)

What I learned from the above pictures was that both teams had black trousers and white long sleeved shirts with the country flag on the chest. In both teams some members were right handed and others were left handed.

I gathered I had to create my own models and summoned my friends in Sala Kite & Tango Party for a spring lunch and photo session. We had a great afternoon, but when I looked at the resulting pictures I realized I had not been well prepared and had made the shooting in an unorganized way.

                                            Picture courtesy Per Byström

Next photo session would be with my two brothers, Ragnar and Ingvar, both of them quite heavily built. I told them to wear black trousers and a white long sleeved T-shirt and I supplied small flags to attach on the chest. With the camera on a tripod and a suitable background I shot some hundred photos and selected a few that showed action and energy.

The 8 pictures plus one spare with action and energy of the Swedish team:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With the selected pictures of my brothers as both Swedish and British teams I brought my laptop and projector down to the basement of my house and projected the images on the wall where I had hang Nylon Paper and drew the outlines and some important details.

Some of the figures were so big so they didn’t fit in the width of the material but had to be split up in two parts; usually the split coming in the waist.

I was certain I had enough material, but with five figures left I ran out of Nylon Paper: I had completely forgotten that I had given away some 15 meters to kite friends for testing.

This material, Nylon Paper, or in Chinese Si Bu Lan (撕 不 烂), is an artificial, very strong paper that I had only been able yo find in a certain shop in Beijing. I sent an urgent email to old friend Li Ruoxin, he immediately bought what I needed and sent it by courir so within a week I could continue that work.

While I was waiting for the missing material I cut out what I already had drawn and glued together the figures that had been split.

To make the shirts more white (the material is quite translucent) I glued an extra layer one each shirt.

 

My apartment was full of Tug-of-Warers-to-be hanging and drying everywhere

                                           In the bathroom

                                            In the kitchen

                                            In the living room

Painting the trousers was easy: all black, but painting the faces more difficult: I had to make all faces individually different from my brothers! Adding a mustache to 90 % was important.

Again my apartment was full of Tug-of-Warers-to-be hanging and drying everywhere.

                                           In the hallway

                                           In the bedroom

The Swedish team painted and resting in the sofa, awaiting to be framed

For spines I glued bamboo sticks together with skin side out, and to give even more strength I glue-wrapped strips of Nylon Paper around them like some Japanese do.

The British team framed.

The complete official report, 1117 pages, of The Olympic Games of Stockholm 1912 was available on Internet. In this was included a whole chapter on the Tug of War competition as well as a chapter on the rules for the ToW competition.

Noteable was the name of the President for the Tug of War Committee: Captain Gösta Drake – The word ‘drake’ in Swedish has both the meaning ‘dragon’ as well as ‘kite’!

 

Here is an excerpt PDF with the Tug-of-War chapter, giving an account on the preparations, pictures of the teams and an exposition for the competition itself. The PDF will open in the same frame, so click the BACK button to come back. 21. Tug-of-war 1912

Here is an excerpt PDF on the new rules for Tug-of-War in Stockholm 1912 where the footwear was particularly addressed due to a controversy (see below) in the 1908 Olympic games: 21. ToW rules 1912

In the 1908 Olympic games in London three club teams from different police forces in Great Britain took all the three medals. The team represented by the Liverpool Police won the bronze medal against Sweden, with the City of London Police team getting gold and the Metropolitan Police winning the silver medal.

However there were complaints over the controversial heavy footwear worn by the Liverpool Police team.

Alan Knott, of the Tug of War Association, said: “It is reported that the Liverpool Police ‘were wearing enormous shoes, so heavy in fact that it was only with great effort that they could lift their feet from the ground’!

But the team from Liverpool insisted this was their regulation police footwear which presumably they would wear on the beat.

Despite of the rules banning “prepared boots or shoes with any protruding nails”, an American protest in the first round was overruled and the Liverpool Police team won the pull easily.

The US claimed using footwear which rendered them practically immobile could clearly be a help to the Liverpool squad.

Mr Knott said: “At the close of the competition, the Liverpool Police team offered to pull their American opponents in bare feet, but that offer was declined.”

 

In the early research I found a treasure: the complete report of the Olympic Games in Stockholm 1912. This report established that Sweden met Great Britain in the Tug-of-War final and Sweden defeated Great Britain 2 – 0.

Further research on Internet gave remarkably enough also a short  movie sequence of the the actual match between Sweden and Great Britain: Great Britain vs Sweden.

Since all the athletes in the British team were policemen from City of London Police and Metropolitan Police I sent emails to these and asked if they had any documentation or photographies. City of London Police sent a nice reply with photo of the team and old letter that gave an account for the adventures of the British Tug-of-War team, see below.

I also sent similar emails to some Swedish associations, like Sweden’s Central Association for the Promotion of Sport and Swedish Tug of War Federation, but they had no documentation (although SCAPS since than has published their archives). The project Arena Stockholm 1912-2012, who had put up a video on the upcoming centennial, were reluctant to give any help.

The British team. Letter and picture courtesy of City of London Police

The Swedish team.

 

Poster for the Tug-of-War competition Monday July 8: Dragkamp Sverige-Storbritannien

Stockholm 1912 at Dieppe 2012

Stockholm 1912 is by far my most well researched kite ever.

When I got the invitation to the 2012 kite festival in Dieppe, Brunswick, Canada, in November 2011 and I learned that the theme for the competition was simply “The Olympics” two thoughts flashed in parallel through my brain:

  • A) Wasn’t Tug-of-War an Olympic game in the early Olympics?
  • B) Hadn’t I already made a rough sketch of a Tug-of-War arch?

A: Sure enough: Tug-of-War was an olympic game from the games in Paris 1900 until the games in Antwerp 1920.

B: The Swedish word for Tug-of-War is Dragkamp, which sounds very similar to the word Drak-kamp (meaning ‘kite combat’), and with this play with words in mind I indeed had drawn a rough sketch on a glass door to a cabinet above my kite work bench.

Exactly 100 years earlier, 1912, the Olympic games were played in Stockholm. Already in 2012 there was a lot of information about the Stockholm Olympic games on Internet, and lo and behold: Sweden took part in the Tug-of-War game.

Sweden meeting Great Britain in the Olympic Games 1912

There even is a short video from that Tug-of-War game: Tug-of-War Stockholm 1912. The video will open in a new tab. Turn down the sound!

As for B): a rough sketch of a Tug-of-War arch:

#2 on the list of kite ideas drawn on the glass door of a cabinet over my work bench: Arch: dragkamp

(The rest of the list is still not done)

In 1912 the Olympic Games were held in Stockholm, and Tug-of-War was still one of the Games. Only two of five registered teams showed up for the competition: Great Britain and Sweden. Sweden won the gold medal by winning 2 – 0 in the only match that was.

My original intention was to dispense Absolut Vodka from the kite and I have the gear ready, but it seems the kite doesn’t have much lifting power: with 1/2 liter of liquid in a ‘camel back’ on the backside it’s difficult to keep the kite in the air and have the hands free for dispensing.

So I have resorted to dispense Absolut on the kite festivals’ farewell dinners.

 

Pic. by Brigitte Brussieres           Pic. by Sumiko Yamashita      Pic. by Liu Zhiping

 

   

Pic. by Ashley Ware Lane               Pic. by Sumiko Yamashita           Pic. by Long Kwong

Picture courtesy of Riga

Absolut was established in 1879 by Lars Olsson Smith, known as The King of Spirits. His portrait is on the medallion on the bottle and slightly modified on the kites.

 

   

For a kite to deserve the name Absolut the kite needs to have a complex bridle system, like Japanese kites.

The first installment of 25 bridle lines, each 34 m long was done in an empty corridor in the office during a weekend.  Unfortunately I had made a bad choice of bridle line: the line was a bit stiff, which I thought was good, but it turned out to be sticky so when the bridles had been daisy chained out for flying, the lines stuck together everywhere! Could not be sorted out!

I later changed line type and also made a black Absolut Kite with only a seven point bridle along the spine.

   

Sticker: Kite bridling in progress    34 m  long corridor                      25 lines

Absolut Kite is inspired by the many brilliant ads that started with Andy Warhol’s painting in 1985 and was followed up by other artists recommended by Warhol. The ads are full of wit, artistry and imagination as they deftly communicate the brand’s values.

I asked the Absolut company for permission to make the kite already in 2002, got a reply that the request had been handed to the proper instance and then nothing happened. As there was no firm NO I decided to go on, but it still took a few years before I got around making it.

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

Absolut Vodka is a brand of vodka, produced near Åhus, in southern Sweden. Absolut is one of the largest brands of spirits in the world (after Officer’s Choice, Smirnoff, Bacardi) and is sold in 126 countries.

Absolut practices a One Source production philosophy, meaning that every aspect of their production journey takes place in and around the small village of Åhus, Sweden. Every drop of water and every seed of wheat comes from one water source and one community.

Absolut was established in 1879 by Lars Olsson Smith and is produced in Åhus, Sweden. Smith challenged the city of Stockholm’s liquor marketing monopoly with his vodka. It was sold just outside the city border at a lower price than the monopoly’s product. Smith even offered free boat rides to the distillery and “Rent Brännvin” made Smith a fortune.

In 1917, the Swedish government monopolized the country’s alcohol industry. Vodka was then sold nationwide under the name “Absolut Rent Brännvin“. In 1979, the old name Absolut was picked up when the upper-price range ABSOLUT VODKA was introduced. ‘Renat’ is still a euphemism for spirits in Sweden, and the name of another vodka product sold by Pernod Ricard Sweden AB.

Absolut Vodka was introduced to the global market in 1979. Today Absolut sells over 100 million litres of vodka annually (2018). The vodka is made from winter wheat.

Before going to watch the first game Sweden played at Euro Cup in soccer 2000 I made a kite with a Swedish flag to fly on the beach during the intermission: my colleagues and me were to watch the game at Sheraton garden in Abu Dhabi.

There was no wind and Sweden lost the game, but I have been flying the flag now and then elsewhere.

This kite is also courtesy IKEA, and the model is simply a fighter kite with balancing tail on the opposite side where the free part of  the flag is.

The flag of Sweden, simply.

Sverker above viking grave mounds, Sävja kullar, outside Uppsala

The Sverker can easily be stacked, and when stacking a smaller one behind a larger one you don’t see the difference in size in the sky.

I have made the Sverker in two sizes and also in versions for light wind. This is a large Sverker in Icarex and with SkyShark tubes, and it flew in practically zero wind. Unfortunately I lost it in Wuhan, China, 2016, after whole day’s flying.

 As Sala Drak & Tangosällskap (famous group from central Sweden) was going westwards (Washington – Monmouth – Dieppe) in 1996 they decided to make a new Viking invasion, this time from the sky. I had the idea of the ‘Bowtie’ sail and someone else in the group had the idea of the semi-3D bow. Karin and Per Byström made the first three ships from flower support bamboo sticks and table cloth from some of the group’s many parties, and called them Svea, Göta and Vendel. I built my kite a little bit different and called it Sverker and has since then updated it in years 2001, 2005 & 2016. It is the Byström version that is included in Ron Moulton’s book Kites (1997, pp 220-221). 

Sverker in an old Viking name, and also the name of my father and my own middle name.

The plan for Sverker can be found here: http://windman.se/kite-plans/

Swedish pre-history ends around 800 AD, when the Viking Age begins and written sources are available. The Viking Age lasted until the mid-11th century, when the Christianization of Scandinavia was largely completed when Sweden became the last Norse country to adopt Christianity.

The Swedes took part in many Western raids against England alongside the Danes and Norwegians of which many successfully acquired Danegeld as seen on the England runestones. The Swedes were also very active traders and raiders in the eastern and southeastern parts of Europe. The large Russian mainland and its many navigable rivers offered good prospects for trading and plundering. These routes brought them into contact with the Byzantine and Muslim empires which later led to the formation of the Varangian Guard, an elite fighting force made up by Norsemen.

Viking ships were marine vessels of unique structure, built by the Vikings during the Viking Age.

The boat-types were quite varied, depending on what the ship was intended for, but they were generally characterized as being slender and flexible boats, with symmetrical ends with true keel. They were clinker built, which is the overlapping of planks riveted together. Some might have had a dragon’s head or other circular object protruding from the bow and stern for design, although this is only inferred from historical sources. Viking ships were not just used for their military prowess but for long-distance trade, exploration and colonization.

After being heavily taken down by Peter Lynn on Cervia beach in 1995 I added one cell.

It was promptly approved by Peter.

Volvolare

A Chinese Dragon type kite, but with alternating round and triangular cells, with a Volvo 850 as ‘dragonhead’.

    VOLVO (latin) - I roll

    Volare (italian) - I fly

Made in 1995

Volvo Cars (Swedish: Volvo personvagnar), stylized as VOLVO, is a Swedish luxury vehicles brand. Its cars are marketed as being safe, solidly built, and reliable.  It is headquartered in Torslanda in Gothenburg, Sweden.

The company Volvo Cars was founded in 1927 as a subsidiary of the ball bearing manufacturer SKF.  Volvo Cars is now a subsidiary of the Chinese automotive company Geely.

The Swedish inventor Johan Petter Johansson received in 1891 a patent for an improved design of the adjustable spanner that is still used today. He had his own business, Enköpings Mekaniska Verkstad (the Mechanical Workshop of Enköping), but made an agreement with the company B.A. Hjorth & Company [BAHCO], also located in Enköping, to distribute his tools worldwide under the “Bahco” trademark. The Bahco tools became greatly successful, and the company is still in operation and has manufactured over 100 million wrenches to date.

This is the invitation that sparked it all:

 “…innovative use of materials used in the making of the kite“. As I had used bamboo and Nylon Paper, had glued instead of sewn and painted instead of appliqué I felt I at least had made something different.

I had not had the chance to test the arch at all at home, but the day before the competition in Dieppe there was wind enough to do that, and I made some small but very important addition to the frames.

At the competition day there was very little wind and the arch lay flat on ground. Just as I was explaining to the jury about the background and introducing my documentation of the Tug-of-War competition in Stockholm 2012 the wind picked up and the arch miraculously  self launched!

But alas! I had been interpreting the invitation wrong. It was a kite making competition, not a kite creation competition. The arch did not win any prize at all. Using bamboo and Nylon Paper instead of ripstop and carbon was obviously disqualifing, and with gluing the judges could not count stitches.  Instead a well made Dopero with appliqué got the first prize.

                                              Introducing the binder with the documentation of the Tug-of-War competition 100 years ago.

 

                                           Arch self launched in exactly the right moment

                                           British team pulling hard

                                           Ground display

Nearly the full both teams. The two red pentagon and single blue pentagon kites in the middle are the tapes required by the rules: “A coloured tape shall be affixed to the middle of the rope, with two other tapes of another colour fastened, one on each side, at a distance of 1.75 metres from each side of the central tape.“

Unfortunately the arch was ruined when it rained at the kite festival in Bintulu, just one month after the premier flight in Canada: the glue gave in to the rain and all parts drifted apart and the paint was scrubbed off in many places. I brought home the pieces to repair, but I could not bring myself to go through all that trouble again to repair the arch.

Then, as I had moved to Bali, I had found that printing on Nylon Paper worked fine and was fairly cheap. So instead of painting I Photoshopped all the figures, downsized them a bit and got them printed. But frame still in bamboo (with some fiber glass).

Video of new edition flying at the kite festival in Hsinchu, Taiwan,  September 2018 in pretty strong wind.

Having come this far in my research I felt I needed to verify that the idea of an arch of Tug-of-War really would work, so I had my son lying down on the floor on a piece of Nylon paper and draw the contour of him as he lay in two of the positions of the Swedish team below, cut out the profiles and attached frames.

In March that year, before I attended the kite festival in Cha Am, I spent a few days in Bali and made a successful test flight on Merta Sari Beach in Sanur: The arch would work!

Though I had collected pictures of Tug-of-War from Internet over the years they wouldn’t suit as models for the kites in an arch: I needed straight side views of the pullers.

Neither the pictures of the Swedish team nor the British team would do either because the were from half front.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Swedish team                                                         British team (during warming up)

What I learned from the above pictures was that both teams had black trousers and white long sleeved shirts with the country flag on the chest. In both teams some members were right handed and others were left handed.

I gathered I had to create my own models and summoned my friends in Sala Kite & Tango Party for a spring lunch and photo session. We had a great afternoon, but when I looked at the resulting pictures I realized I had not been well prepared and had made the shooting in an unorganized way.

                                            Picture courtesy Per Byström

Next photo session would be with my two brothers, Ragnar and Ingvar, both of them quite heavily built. I told them to wear black trousers and a white long sleeved T-shirt and I supplied small flags to attach on the chest. With the camera on a tripod and a suitable background I shot some hundred photos and selected a few that showed action and energy.

The 8 pictures plus one spare with action and energy of the Swedish team:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With the selected pictures of my brothers as both Swedish and British teams I brought my laptop and projector down to the basement of my house and projected the images on the wall where I had hang Nylon Paper and drew the outlines and some important details.

Some of the figures were so big so they didn’t fit in the width of the material but had to be split up in two parts; usually the split coming in the waist.

I was certain I had enough material, but with five figures left I ran out of Nylon Paper: I had completely forgotten that I had given away some 15 meters to kite friends for testing.

This material, Nylon Paper, or in Chinese Si Bu Lan (撕 不 烂), is an artificial, very strong paper that I had only been able yo find in a certain shop in Beijing. I sent an urgent email to old friend Li Ruoxin, he immediately bought what I needed and sent it by courir so within a week I could continue that work.

While I was waiting for the missing material I cut out what I already had drawn and glued together the figures that had been split.

To make the shirts more white (the material is quite translucent) I glued an extra layer one each shirt.

 

My apartment was full of Tug-of-Warers-to-be hanging and drying everywhere

                                           In the bathroom

                                            In the kitchen

                                            In the living room

Painting the trousers was easy: all black, but painting the faces more difficult: I had to make all faces individually different from my brothers! Adding a mustache to 90 % was important.

Again my apartment was full of Tug-of-Warers-to-be hanging and drying everywhere.

                                           In the hallway

                                           In the bedroom

The Swedish team painted and resting in the sofa, awaiting to be framed

For spines I glued bamboo sticks together with skin side out, and to give even more strength I glue-wrapped strips of Nylon Paper around them like some Japanese do.

The British team framed.

The complete official report, 1117 pages, of The Olympic Games of Stockholm 1912 was available on Internet. In this was included a whole chapter on the Tug of War competition as well as a chapter on the rules for the ToW competition.

Noteable was the name of the President for the Tug of War Committee: Captain Gösta Drake – The word ‘drake’ in Swedish has both the meaning ‘dragon’ as well as ‘kite’!

 

Here is an excerpt PDF with the Tug-of-War chapter, giving an account on the preparations, pictures of the teams and an exposition for the competition itself. The PDF will open in the same frame, so click the BACK button to come back. 21. Tug-of-war 1912

Here is an excerpt PDF on the new rules for Tug-of-War in Stockholm 1912 where the footwear was particularly addressed due to a controversy (see below) in the 1908 Olympic games: 21. ToW rules 1912

In the 1908 Olympic games in London three club teams from different police forces in Great Britain took all the three medals. The team represented by the Liverpool Police won the bronze medal against Sweden, with the City of London Police team getting gold and the Metropolitan Police winning the silver medal.

However there were complaints over the controversial heavy footwear worn by the Liverpool Police team.

Alan Knott, of the Tug of War Association, said: “It is reported that the Liverpool Police ‘were wearing enormous shoes, so heavy in fact that it was only with great effort that they could lift their feet from the ground’!

But the team from Liverpool insisted this was their regulation police footwear which presumably they would wear on the beat.

Despite of the rules banning “prepared boots or shoes with any protruding nails”, an American protest in the first round was overruled and the Liverpool Police team won the pull easily.

The US claimed using footwear which rendered them practically immobile could clearly be a help to the Liverpool squad.

Mr Knott said: “At the close of the competition, the Liverpool Police team offered to pull their American opponents in bare feet, but that offer was declined.”

 

In the early research I found a treasure: the complete report of the Olympic Games in Stockholm 1912. This report established that Sweden met Great Britain in the Tug-of-War final and Sweden defeated Great Britain 2 – 0.

Further research on Internet gave remarkably enough also a short  movie sequence of the the actual match between Sweden and Great Britain: Great Britain vs Sweden.

Since all the athletes in the British team were policemen from City of London Police and Metropolitan Police I sent emails to these and asked if they had any documentation or photographies. City of London Police sent a nice reply with photo of the team and old letter that gave an account for the adventures of the British Tug-of-War team, see below.

I also sent similar emails to some Swedish associations, like Sweden’s Central Association for the Promotion of Sport and Swedish Tug of War Federation, but they had no documentation (although SCAPS since than has published their archives). The project Arena Stockholm 1912-2012, who had put up a video on the upcoming centennial, were reluctant to give any help.

The British team. Letter and picture courtesy of City of London Police

The Swedish team.

 

Poster for the Tug-of-War competition Monday July 8: Dragkamp Sverige-Storbritannien

Stockholm 1912 at Dieppe 2012

Stockholm 1912 is by far my most well researched kite ever.

When I got the invitation to the 2012 kite festival in Dieppe, Brunswick, Canada, in November 2011 and I learned that the theme for the competition was simply “The Olympics” two thoughts flashed in parallel through my brain:

  • A) Wasn’t Tug-of-War an Olympic game in the early Olympics?
  • B) Hadn’t I already made a rough sketch of a Tug-of-War arch?

A: Sure enough: Tug-of-War was an olympic game from the games in Paris 1900 until the games in Antwerp 1920.

B: The Swedish word for Tug-of-War is Dragkamp, which sounds very similar to the word Drak-kamp (meaning ‘kite combat’), and with this play with words in mind I indeed had drawn a rough sketch on a glass door to a cabinet above my kite work bench.

Exactly 100 years earlier, 1912, the Olympic games were played in Stockholm. Already in 2012 there was a lot of information about the Stockholm Olympic games on Internet, and lo and behold: Sweden took part in the Tug-of-War game.

Sweden meeting Great Britain in the Olympic Games 1912

There even is a short video from that Tug-of-War game: Tug-of-War Stockholm 1912. The video will open in a new tab. Turn down the sound!

As for B): a rough sketch of a Tug-of-War arch:

#2 on the list of kite ideas drawn on the glass door of a cabinet over my work bench: Arch: dragkamp

(The rest of the list is still not done)

In 1912 the Olympic Games were held in Stockholm, and Tug-of-War was still one of the Games. Only two of five registered teams showed up for the competition: Great Britain and Sweden. Sweden won the gold medal by winning 2 – 0 in the only match that was.

My original intention was to dispense Absolut Vodka from the kite and I have the gear ready, but it seems the kite doesn’t have much lifting power: with 1/2 liter of liquid in a ‘camel back’ on the backside it’s difficult to keep the kite in the air and have the hands free for dispensing.

So I have resorted to dispense Absolut on the kite festivals’ farewell dinners.

 

Pic. by Brigitte Brussieres           Pic. by Sumiko Yamashita      Pic. by Liu Zhiping

 

   

Pic. by Ashley Ware Lane               Pic. by Sumiko Yamashita           Pic. by Long Kwong

Picture courtesy of Riga

Absolut was established in 1879 by Lars Olsson Smith, known as The King of Spirits. His portrait is on the medallion on the bottle and slightly modified on the kites.

 

   

For a kite to deserve the name Absolut the kite needs to have a complex bridle system, like Japanese kites.

The first installment of 25 bridle lines, each 34 m long was done in an empty corridor in the office during a weekend.  Unfortunately I had made a bad choice of bridle line: the line was a bit stiff, which I thought was good, but it turned out to be sticky so when the bridles had been daisy chained out for flying, the lines stuck together everywhere! Could not be sorted out!

I later changed line type and also made a black Absolut Kite with only a seven point bridle along the spine.

   

Sticker: Kite bridling in progress    34 m  long corridor                      25 lines

Absolut Kite is inspired by the many brilliant ads that started with Andy Warhol’s painting in 1985 and was followed up by other artists recommended by Warhol. The ads are full of wit, artistry and imagination as they deftly communicate the brand’s values.

I asked the Absolut company for permission to make the kite already in 2002, got a reply that the request had been handed to the proper instance and then nothing happened. As there was no firm NO I decided to go on, but it still took a few years before I got around making it.

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

Absolut Vodka is a brand of vodka, produced near Åhus, in southern Sweden. Absolut is one of the largest brands of spirits in the world (after Officer’s Choice, Smirnoff, Bacardi) and is sold in 126 countries.

Absolut practices a One Source production philosophy, meaning that every aspect of their production journey takes place in and around the small village of Åhus, Sweden. Every drop of water and every seed of wheat comes from one water source and one community.

Absolut was established in 1879 by Lars Olsson Smith and is produced in Åhus, Sweden. Smith challenged the city of Stockholm’s liquor marketing monopoly with his vodka. It was sold just outside the city border at a lower price than the monopoly’s product. Smith even offered free boat rides to the distillery and “Rent Brännvin” made Smith a fortune.

In 1917, the Swedish government monopolized the country’s alcohol industry. Vodka was then sold nationwide under the name “Absolut Rent Brännvin“. In 1979, the old name Absolut was picked up when the upper-price range ABSOLUT VODKA was introduced. ‘Renat’ is still a euphemism for spirits in Sweden, and the name of another vodka product sold by Pernod Ricard Sweden AB.

Absolut Vodka was introduced to the global market in 1979. Today Absolut sells over 100 million litres of vodka annually (2018). The vodka is made from winter wheat.

Before going to watch the first game Sweden played at Euro Cup in soccer 2000 I made a kite with a Swedish flag to fly on the beach during the intermission: my colleagues and me were to watch the game at Sheraton garden in Abu Dhabi.

There was no wind and Sweden lost the game, but I have been flying the flag now and then elsewhere.

This kite is also courtesy IKEA, and the model is simply a fighter kite with balancing tail on the opposite side where the free part of  the flag is.

The flag of Sweden, simply.

Sverker above viking grave mounds, Sävja kullar, outside Uppsala

The Sverker can easily be stacked, and when stacking a smaller one behind a larger one you don’t see the difference in size in the sky.

I have made the Sverker in two sizes and also in versions for light wind. This is a large Sverker in Icarex and with SkyShark tubes, and it flew in practically zero wind. Unfortunately I lost it in Wuhan, China, 2016, after whole day’s flying.

 As Sala Drak & Tangosällskap (famous group from central Sweden) was going westwards (Washington – Monmouth – Dieppe) in 1996 they decided to make a new Viking invasion, this time from the sky. I had the idea of the ‘Bowtie’ sail and someone else in the group had the idea of the semi-3D bow. Karin and Per Byström made the first three ships from flower support bamboo sticks and table cloth from some of the group’s many parties, and called them Svea, Göta and Vendel. I built my kite a little bit different and called it Sverker and has since then updated it in years 2001, 2005 & 2016. It is the Byström version that is included in Ron Moulton’s book Kites (1997, pp 220-221). 

Sverker in an old Viking name, and also the name of my father and my own middle name.

The plan for Sverker can be found here: http://windman.se/kite-plans/

Swedish pre-history ends around 800 AD, when the Viking Age begins and written sources are available. The Viking Age lasted until the mid-11th century, when the Christianization of Scandinavia was largely completed when Sweden became the last Norse country to adopt Christianity.

The Swedes took part in many Western raids against England alongside the Danes and Norwegians of which many successfully acquired Danegeld as seen on the England runestones. The Swedes were also very active traders and raiders in the eastern and southeastern parts of Europe. The large Russian mainland and its many navigable rivers offered good prospects for trading and plundering. These routes brought them into contact with the Byzantine and Muslim empires which later led to the formation of the Varangian Guard, an elite fighting force made up by Norsemen.

Viking ships were marine vessels of unique structure, built by the Vikings during the Viking Age.

The boat-types were quite varied, depending on what the ship was intended for, but they were generally characterized as being slender and flexible boats, with symmetrical ends with true keel. They were clinker built, which is the overlapping of planks riveted together. Some might have had a dragon’s head or other circular object protruding from the bow and stern for design, although this is only inferred from historical sources. Viking ships were not just used for their military prowess but for long-distance trade, exploration and colonization.

After being heavily taken down by Peter Lynn on Cervia beach in 1995 I added one cell.

It was promptly approved by Peter.

Volvolare

A Chinese Dragon type kite, but with alternating round and triangular cells, with a Volvo 850 as ‘dragonhead’.

    VOLVO (latin) - I roll

    Volare (italian) - I fly

Made in 1995

Volvo Cars (Swedish: Volvo personvagnar), stylized as VOLVO, is a Swedish luxury vehicles brand. Its cars are marketed as being safe, solidly built, and reliable.  It is headquartered in Torslanda in Gothenburg, Sweden.

The company Volvo Cars was founded in 1927 as a subsidiary of the ball bearing manufacturer SKF.  Volvo Cars is now a subsidiary of the Chinese automotive company Geely.

Sweden is a country with no kite tradition whatsoever, but sometimes I like to make kites with a connection to Sweden.

In 1891 Swedish inventor Johan Petter Johansson received a patent for an improved design of the adjustable spanner that is still used today. He had his own business, Enköpings Mekaniska Verkstad (the Mechanical Workshop of Enköping), but made an agreement with the company B.A. Hjorth & Company [BAHCO], also located in Enköping, to distribute his tools worldwide under the “Bahco” trademark. The Bahco tools became greatly successful, and the company is still in operation and has manufactured over 100 million wrenches to date.

I asked my brother Ragnar to send a picture of one of his many Bahco spanners, and he kindly obliged.

I made the kite of bamboo and Nylon Paper, and the length of the kite is 200 cm. It is dismountable to fit in a 40 x 60 cm envelope.

 

The Swedish inventor Johan Petter Johansson received in 1891 a patent for an improved design of the adjustable spanner that is still used today. He had his own business, Enköpings Mekaniska Verkstad (the Mechanical Workshop of Enköping), but made an agreement with the company B.A. Hjorth & Company [BAHCO], also located in Enköping, to distribute his tools worldwide under the “Bahco” trademark. The Bahco tools became greatly successful, and the company is still in operation and has manufactured over 100 million wrenches to date.

This is the invitation that sparked it all:

 “…innovative use of materials used in the making of the kite“. As I had used bamboo and Nylon Paper, had glued instead of sewn and painted instead of appliqué I felt I at least had made something different.

I had not had the chance to test the arch at all at home, but the day before the competition in Dieppe there was wind enough to do that, and I made some small but very important addition to the frames.

At the competition day there was very little wind and the arch lay flat on ground. Just as I was explaining to the jury about the background and introducing my documentation of the Tug-of-War competition in Stockholm 2012 the wind picked up and the arch miraculously  self launched!

But alas! I had been interpreting the invitation wrong. It was a kite making competition, not a kite creation competition. The arch did not win any prize at all. Using bamboo and Nylon Paper instead of ripstop and carbon was obviously disqualifing, and with gluing the judges could not count stitches.  Instead a well made Dopero with appliqué got the first prize.

                                              Introducing the binder with the documentation of the Tug-of-War competition 100 years ago.

 

                                           Arch self launched in exactly the right moment

                                           British team pulling hard

                                           Ground display

Nearly the full both teams. The two red pentagon and single blue pentagon kites in the middle are the tapes required by the rules: “A coloured tape shall be affixed to the middle of the rope, with two other tapes of another colour fastened, one on each side, at a distance of 1.75 metres from each side of the central tape.“

Unfortunately the arch was ruined when it rained at the kite festival in Bintulu, just one month after the premier flight in Canada: the glue gave in to the rain and all parts drifted apart and the paint was scrubbed off in many places. I brought home the pieces to repair, but I could not bring myself to go through all that trouble again to repair the arch.

Then, as I had moved to Bali, I had found that printing on Nylon Paper worked fine and was fairly cheap. So instead of painting I Photoshopped all the figures, downsized them a bit and got them printed. But frame still in bamboo (with some fiber glass).

Video of new edition flying at the kite festival in Hsinchu, Taiwan,  September 2018 in pretty strong wind.

Having come this far in my research I felt I needed to verify that the idea of an arch of Tug-of-War really would work, so I had my son lying down on the floor on a piece of Nylon paper and draw the contour of him as he lay in two of the positions of the Swedish team below, cut out the profiles and attached frames.

In March that year, before I attended the kite festival in Cha Am, I spent a few days in Bali and made a successful test flight on Merta Sari Beach in Sanur: The arch would work!

Though I had collected pictures of Tug-of-War from Internet over the years they wouldn’t suit as models for the kites in an arch: I needed straight side views of the pullers.

Neither the pictures of the Swedish team nor the British team would do either because the were from half front.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Swedish team                                                         British team (during warming up)

What I learned from the above pictures was that both teams had black trousers and white long sleeved shirts with the country flag on the chest. In both teams some members were right handed and others were left handed.

I gathered I had to create my own models and summoned my friends in Sala Kite & Tango Party for a spring lunch and photo session. We had a great afternoon, but when I looked at the resulting pictures I realized I had not been well prepared and had made the shooting in an unorganized way.

                                            Picture courtesy Per Byström

Next photo session would be with my two brothers, Ragnar and Ingvar, both of them quite heavily built. I told them to wear black trousers and a white long sleeved T-shirt and I supplied small flags to attach on the chest. With the camera on a tripod and a suitable background I shot some hundred photos and selected a few that showed action and energy.

The 8 pictures plus one spare with action and energy of the Swedish team:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With the selected pictures of my brothers as both Swedish and British teams I brought my laptop and projector down to the basement of my house and projected the images on the wall where I had hang Nylon Paper and drew the outlines and some important details.

Some of the figures were so big so they didn’t fit in the width of the material but had to be split up in two parts; usually the split coming in the waist.

I was certain I had enough material, but with five figures left I ran out of Nylon Paper: I had completely forgotten that I had given away some 15 meters to kite friends for testing.

This material, Nylon Paper, or in Chinese Si Bu Lan (撕 不 烂), is an artificial, very strong paper that I had only been able yo find in a certain shop in Beijing. I sent an urgent email to old friend Li Ruoxin, he immediately bought what I needed and sent it by courir so within a week I could continue that work.

While I was waiting for the missing material I cut out what I already had drawn and glued together the figures that had been split.

To make the shirts more white (the material is quite translucent) I glued an extra layer one each shirt.

 

My apartment was full of Tug-of-Warers-to-be hanging and drying everywhere

                                           In the bathroom

                                            In the kitchen

                                            In the living room

Painting the trousers was easy: all black, but painting the faces more difficult: I had to make all faces individually different from my brothers! Adding a mustache to 90 % was important.

Again my apartment was full of Tug-of-Warers-to-be hanging and drying everywhere.

                                           In the hallway

                                           In the bedroom

The Swedish team painted and resting in the sofa, awaiting to be framed

For spines I glued bamboo sticks together with skin side out, and to give even more strength I glue-wrapped strips of Nylon Paper around them like some Japanese do.

The British team framed.

The complete official report, 1117 pages, of The Olympic Games of Stockholm 1912 was available on Internet. In this was included a whole chapter on the Tug of War competition as well as a chapter on the rules for the ToW competition.

Noteable was the name of the President for the Tug of War Committee: Captain Gösta Drake – The word ‘drake’ in Swedish has both the meaning ‘dragon’ as well as ‘kite’!

 

Here is an excerpt PDF with the Tug-of-War chapter, giving an account on the preparations, pictures of the teams and an exposition for the competition itself. The PDF will open in the same frame, so click the BACK button to come back. 21. Tug-of-war 1912

Here is an excerpt PDF on the new rules for Tug-of-War in Stockholm 1912 where the footwear was particularly addressed due to a controversy (see below) in the 1908 Olympic games: 21. ToW rules 1912

In the 1908 Olympic games in London three club teams from different police forces in Great Britain took all the three medals. The team represented by the Liverpool Police won the bronze medal against Sweden, with the City of London Police team getting gold and the Metropolitan Police winning the silver medal.

However there were complaints over the controversial heavy footwear worn by the Liverpool Police team.

Alan Knott, of the Tug of War Association, said: “It is reported that the Liverpool Police ‘were wearing enormous shoes, so heavy in fact that it was only with great effort that they could lift their feet from the ground’!

But the team from Liverpool insisted this was their regulation police footwear which presumably they would wear on the beat.

Despite of the rules banning “prepared boots or shoes with any protruding nails”, an American protest in the first round was overruled and the Liverpool Police team won the pull easily.

The US claimed using footwear which rendered them practically immobile could clearly be a help to the Liverpool squad.

Mr Knott said: “At the close of the competition, the Liverpool Police team offered to pull their American opponents in bare feet, but that offer was declined.”

 

In the early research I found a treasure: the complete report of the Olympic Games in Stockholm 1912. This report established that Sweden met Great Britain in the Tug-of-War final and Sweden defeated Great Britain 2 – 0.

Further research on Internet gave remarkably enough also a short  movie sequence of the the actual match between Sweden and Great Britain: Great Britain vs Sweden.

Since all the athletes in the British team were policemen from City of London Police and Metropolitan Police I sent emails to these and asked if they had any documentation or photographies. City of London Police sent a nice reply with photo of the team and old letter that gave an account for the adventures of the British Tug-of-War team, see below.

I also sent similar emails to some Swedish associations, like Sweden’s Central Association for the Promotion of Sport and Swedish Tug of War Federation, but they had no documentation (although SCAPS since than has published their archives). The project Arena Stockholm 1912-2012, who had put up a video on the upcoming centennial, were reluctant to give any help.

The British team. Letter and picture courtesy of City of London Police

The Swedish team.

 

Poster for the Tug-of-War competition Monday July 8: Dragkamp Sverige-Storbritannien

Stockholm 1912 at Dieppe 2012

Stockholm 1912 is by far my most well researched kite ever.

When I got the invitation to the 2012 kite festival in Dieppe, Brunswick, Canada, in November 2011 and I learned that the theme for the competition was simply “The Olympics” two thoughts flashed in parallel through my brain:

  • A) Wasn’t Tug-of-War an Olympic game in the early Olympics?
  • B) Hadn’t I already made a rough sketch of a Tug-of-War arch?

A: Sure enough: Tug-of-War was an olympic game from the games in Paris 1900 until the games in Antwerp 1920.

B: The Swedish word for Tug-of-War is Dragkamp, which sounds very similar to the word Drak-kamp (meaning ‘kite combat’), and with this play with words in mind I indeed had drawn a rough sketch on a glass door to a cabinet above my kite work bench.

Exactly 100 years earlier, 1912, the Olympic games were played in Stockholm. Already in 2012 there was a lot of information about the Stockholm Olympic games on Internet, and lo and behold: Sweden took part in the Tug-of-War game.

Sweden meeting Great Britain in the Olympic Games 1912

There even is a short video from that Tug-of-War game: Tug-of-War Stockholm 1912. The video will open in a new tab. Turn down the sound!

As for B): a rough sketch of a Tug-of-War arch:

#2 on the list of kite ideas drawn on the glass door of a cabinet over my work bench: Arch: dragkamp

(The rest of the list is still not done)

In 1912 the Olympic Games were held in Stockholm, and Tug-of-War was still one of the Games. Only two of five registered teams showed up for the competition: Great Britain and Sweden. Sweden won the gold medal by winning 2 – 0 in the only match that was.

My original intention was to dispense Absolut Vodka from the kite and I have the gear ready, but it seems the kite doesn’t have much lifting power: with 1/2 liter of liquid in a ‘camel back’ on the backside it’s difficult to keep the kite in the air and have the hands free for dispensing.

So I have resorted to dispense Absolut on the kite festivals’ farewell dinners.

 

Pic. by Brigitte Brussieres           Pic. by Sumiko Yamashita      Pic. by Liu Zhiping

 

   

Pic. by Ashley Ware Lane               Pic. by Sumiko Yamashita           Pic. by Long Kwong

Picture courtesy of Riga

Absolut was established in 1879 by Lars Olsson Smith, known as The King of Spirits. His portrait is on the medallion on the bottle and slightly modified on the kites.

 

   

For a kite to deserve the name Absolut the kite needs to have a complex bridle system, like Japanese kites.

The first installment of 25 bridle lines, each 34 m long was done in an empty corridor in the office during a weekend.  Unfortunately I had made a bad choice of bridle line: the line was a bit stiff, which I thought was good, but it turned out to be sticky so when the bridles had been daisy chained out for flying, the lines stuck together everywhere! Could not be sorted out!

I later changed line type and also made a black Absolut Kite with only a seven point bridle along the spine.

   

Sticker: Kite bridling in progress    34 m  long corridor                      25 lines

Absolut Kite is inspired by the many brilliant ads that started with Andy Warhol’s painting in 1985 and was followed up by other artists recommended by Warhol. The ads are full of wit, artistry and imagination as they deftly communicate the brand’s values.

I asked the Absolut company for permission to make the kite already in 2002, got a reply that the request had been handed to the proper instance and then nothing happened. As there was no firm NO I decided to go on, but it still took a few years before I got around making it.

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

Absolut Vodka is a brand of vodka, produced near Åhus, in southern Sweden. Absolut is one of the largest brands of spirits in the world (after Officer’s Choice, Smirnoff, Bacardi) and is sold in 126 countries.

Absolut practices a One Source production philosophy, meaning that every aspect of their production journey takes place in and around the small village of Åhus, Sweden. Every drop of water and every seed of wheat comes from one water source and one community.

Absolut was established in 1879 by Lars Olsson Smith and is produced in Åhus, Sweden. Smith challenged the city of Stockholm’s liquor marketing monopoly with his vodka. It was sold just outside the city border at a lower price than the monopoly’s product. Smith even offered free boat rides to the distillery and “Rent Brännvin” made Smith a fortune.

In 1917, the Swedish government monopolized the country’s alcohol industry. Vodka was then sold nationwide under the name “Absolut Rent Brännvin“. In 1979, the old name Absolut was picked up when the upper-price range ABSOLUT VODKA was introduced. ‘Renat’ is still a euphemism for spirits in Sweden, and the name of another vodka product sold by Pernod Ricard Sweden AB.

Absolut Vodka was introduced to the global market in 1979. Today Absolut sells over 100 million litres of vodka annually (2018). The vodka is made from winter wheat.

Before going to watch the first game Sweden played at Euro Cup in soccer 2000 I made a kite with a Swedish flag to fly on the beach during the intermission: my colleagues and me were to watch the game at Sheraton garden in Abu Dhabi.

There was no wind and Sweden lost the game, but I have been flying the flag now and then elsewhere.

This kite is also courtesy IKEA, and the model is simply a fighter kite with balancing tail on the opposite side where the free part of  the flag is.

The flag of Sweden, simply.

Sverker above viking grave mounds, Sävja kullar, outside Uppsala

The Sverker can easily be stacked, and when stacking a smaller one behind a larger one you don’t see the difference in size in the sky.

I have made the Sverker in two sizes and also in versions for light wind. This is a large Sverker in Icarex and with SkyShark tubes, and it flew in practically zero wind. Unfortunately I lost it in Wuhan, China, 2016, after whole day’s flying.

 As Sala Drak & Tangosällskap (famous group from central Sweden) was going westwards (Washington – Monmouth – Dieppe) in 1996 they decided to make a new Viking invasion, this time from the sky. I had the idea of the ‘Bowtie’ sail and someone else in the group had the idea of the semi-3D bow. Karin and Per Byström made the first three ships from flower support bamboo sticks and table cloth from some of the group’s many parties, and called them Svea, Göta and Vendel. I built my kite a little bit different and called it Sverker and has since then updated it in years 2001, 2005 & 2016. It is the Byström version that is included in Ron Moulton’s book Kites (1997, pp 220-221). 

Sverker in an old Viking name, and also the name of my father and my own middle name.

The plan for Sverker can be found here: http://windman.se/kite-plans/

Swedish pre-history ends around 800 AD, when the Viking Age begins and written sources are available. The Viking Age lasted until the mid-11th century, when the Christianization of Scandinavia was largely completed when Sweden became the last Norse country to adopt Christianity.

The Swedes took part in many Western raids against England alongside the Danes and Norwegians of which many successfully acquired Danegeld as seen on the England runestones. The Swedes were also very active traders and raiders in the eastern and southeastern parts of Europe. The large Russian mainland and its many navigable rivers offered good prospects for trading and plundering. These routes brought them into contact with the Byzantine and Muslim empires which later led to the formation of the Varangian Guard, an elite fighting force made up by Norsemen.

Viking ships were marine vessels of unique structure, built by the Vikings during the Viking Age.

The boat-types were quite varied, depending on what the ship was intended for, but they were generally characterized as being slender and flexible boats, with symmetrical ends with true keel. They were clinker built, which is the overlapping of planks riveted together. Some might have had a dragon’s head or other circular object protruding from the bow and stern for design, although this is only inferred from historical sources. Viking ships were not just used for their military prowess but for long-distance trade, exploration and colonization.

After being heavily taken down by Peter Lynn on Cervia beach in 1995 I added one cell.

It was promptly approved by Peter.

Volvolare

A Chinese Dragon type kite, but with alternating round and triangular cells, with a Volvo 850 as ‘dragonhead’.

    VOLVO (latin) - I roll

    Volare (italian) - I fly

Made in 1995

Volvo Cars (Swedish: Volvo personvagnar), stylized as VOLVO, is a Swedish luxury vehicles brand. Its cars are marketed as being safe, solidly built, and reliable.  It is headquartered in Torslanda in Gothenburg, Sweden.

The company Volvo Cars was founded in 1927 as a subsidiary of the ball bearing manufacturer SKF.  Volvo Cars is now a subsidiary of the Chinese automotive company Geely.

Sweden is a country with no kite tradition whatsoever, but sometimes I like to make kites with a connection to Sweden.

In 1891 Swedish inventor Johan Petter Johansson received a patent for an improved design of the adjustable spanner that is still used today. He had his own business, Enköpings Mekaniska Verkstad (the Mechanical Workshop of Enköping), but made an agreement with the company B.A. Hjorth & Company [BAHCO], also located in Enköping, to distribute his tools worldwide under the “Bahco” trademark. The Bahco tools became greatly successful, and the company is still in operation and has manufactured over 100 million wrenches to date.

I asked my brother Ragnar to send a picture of one of his many Bahco spanners, and he kindly obliged.

I made the kite of bamboo and Nylon Paper, and the length of the kite is 200 cm. It is dismountable to fit in a 40 x 60 cm envelope.

 

The Swedish inventor Johan Petter Johansson received in 1891 a patent for an improved design of the adjustable spanner that is still used today. He had his own business, Enköpings Mekaniska Verkstad (the Mechanical Workshop of Enköping), but made an agreement with the company B.A. Hjorth & Company [BAHCO], also located in Enköping, to distribute his tools worldwide under the “Bahco” trademark. The Bahco tools became greatly successful, and the company is still in operation and has manufactured over 100 million wrenches to date.

This is the invitation that sparked it all:

 “…innovative use of materials used in the making of the kite“. As I had used bamboo and Nylon Paper, had glued instead of sewn and painted instead of appliqué I felt I at least had made something different.

I had not had the chance to test the arch at all at home, but the day before the competition in Dieppe there was wind enough to do that, and I made some small but very important addition to the frames.

At the competition day there was very little wind and the arch lay flat on ground. Just as I was explaining to the jury about the background and introducing my documentation of the Tug-of-War competition in Stockholm 2012 the wind picked up and the arch miraculously  self launched!

But alas! I had been interpreting the invitation wrong. It was a kite making competition, not a kite creation competition. The arch did not win any prize at all. Using bamboo and Nylon Paper instead of ripstop and carbon was obviously disqualifing, and with gluing the judges could not count stitches.  Instead a well made Dopero with appliqué got the first prize.

                                              Introducing the binder with the documentation of the Tug-of-War competition 100 years ago.

 

                                           Arch self launched in exactly the right moment

                                           British team pulling hard

                                           Ground display

Nearly the full both teams. The two red pentagon and single blue pentagon kites in the middle are the tapes required by the rules: “A coloured tape shall be affixed to the middle of the rope, with two other tapes of another colour fastened, one on each side, at a distance of 1.75 metres from each side of the central tape.“

Unfortunately the arch was ruined when it rained at the kite festival in Bintulu, just one month after the premier flight in Canada: the glue gave in to the rain and all parts drifted apart and the paint was scrubbed off in many places. I brought home the pieces to repair, but I could not bring myself to go through all that trouble again to repair the arch.

Then, as I had moved to Bali, I had found that printing on Nylon Paper worked fine and was fairly cheap. So instead of painting I Photoshopped all the figures, downsized them a bit and got them printed. But frame still in bamboo (with some fiber glass).

Video of new edition flying at the kite festival in Hsinchu, Taiwan,  September 2018 in pretty strong wind.

Having come this far in my research I felt I needed to verify that the idea of an arch of Tug-of-War really would work, so I had my son lying down on the floor on a piece of Nylon paper and draw the contour of him as he lay in two of the positions of the Swedish team below, cut out the profiles and attached frames.

In March that year, before I attended the kite festival in Cha Am, I spent a few days in Bali and made a successful test flight on Merta Sari Beach in Sanur: The arch would work!

Though I had collected pictures of Tug-of-War from Internet over the years they wouldn’t suit as models for the kites in an arch: I needed straight side views of the pullers.

Neither the pictures of the Swedish team nor the British team would do either because the were from half front.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Swedish team                                                         British team (during warming up)

What I learned from the above pictures was that both teams had black trousers and white long sleeved shirts with the country flag on the chest. In both teams some members were right handed and others were left handed.

I gathered I had to create my own models and summoned my friends in Sala Kite & Tango Party for a spring lunch and photo session. We had a great afternoon, but when I looked at the resulting pictures I realized I had not been well prepared and had made the shooting in an unorganized way.

                                            Picture courtesy Per Byström

Next photo session would be with my two brothers, Ragnar and Ingvar, both of them quite heavily built. I told them to wear black trousers and a white long sleeved T-shirt and I supplied small flags to attach on the chest. With the camera on a tripod and a suitable background I shot some hundred photos and selected a few that showed action and energy.

The 8 pictures plus one spare with action and energy of the Swedish team:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With the selected pictures of my brothers as both Swedish and British teams I brought my laptop and projector down to the basement of my house and projected the images on the wall where I had hang Nylon Paper and drew the outlines and some important details.

Some of the figures were so big so they didn’t fit in the width of the material but had to be split up in two parts; usually the split coming in the waist.

I was certain I had enough material, but with five figures left I ran out of Nylon Paper: I had completely forgotten that I had given away some 15 meters to kite friends for testing.

This material, Nylon Paper, or in Chinese Si Bu Lan (撕 不 烂), is an artificial, very strong paper that I had only been able yo find in a certain shop in Beijing. I sent an urgent email to old friend Li Ruoxin, he immediately bought what I needed and sent it by courir so within a week I could continue that work.

While I was waiting for the missing material I cut out what I already had drawn and glued together the figures that had been split.

To make the shirts more white (the material is quite translucent) I glued an extra layer one each shirt.

 

My apartment was full of Tug-of-Warers-to-be hanging and drying everywhere

                                           In the bathroom

                                            In the kitchen

                                            In the living room

Painting the trousers was easy: all black, but painting the faces more difficult: I had to make all faces individually different from my brothers! Adding a mustache to 90 % was important.

Again my apartment was full of Tug-of-Warers-to-be hanging and drying everywhere.

                                           In the hallway

                                           In the bedroom

The Swedish team painted and resting in the sofa, awaiting to be framed

For spines I glued bamboo sticks together with skin side out, and to give even more strength I glue-wrapped strips of Nylon Paper around them like some Japanese do.

The British team framed.

The complete official report, 1117 pages, of The Olympic Games of Stockholm 1912 was available on Internet. In this was included a whole chapter on the Tug of War competition as well as a chapter on the rules for the ToW competition.

Noteable was the name of the President for the Tug of War Committee: Captain Gösta Drake – The word ‘drake’ in Swedish has both the meaning ‘dragon’ as well as ‘kite’!

 

Here is an excerpt PDF with the Tug-of-War chapter, giving an account on the preparations, pictures of the teams and an exposition for the competition itself. The PDF will open in the same frame, so click the BACK button to come back. 21. Tug-of-war 1912

Here is an excerpt PDF on the new rules for Tug-of-War in Stockholm 1912 where the footwear was particularly addressed due to a controversy (see below) in the 1908 Olympic games: 21. ToW rules 1912

In the 1908 Olympic games in London three club teams from different police forces in Great Britain took all the three medals. The team represented by the Liverpool Police won the bronze medal against Sweden, with the City of London Police team getting gold and the Metropolitan Police winning the silver medal.

However there were complaints over the controversial heavy footwear worn by the Liverpool Police team.

Alan Knott, of the Tug of War Association, said: “It is reported that the Liverpool Police ‘were wearing enormous shoes, so heavy in fact that it was only with great effort that they could lift their feet from the ground’!

But the team from Liverpool insisted this was their regulation police footwear which presumably they would wear on the beat.

Despite of the rules banning “prepared boots or shoes with any protruding nails”, an American protest in the first round was overruled and the Liverpool Police team won the pull easily.

The US claimed using footwear which rendered them practically immobile could clearly be a help to the Liverpool squad.

Mr Knott said: “At the close of the competition, the Liverpool Police team offered to pull their American opponents in bare feet, but that offer was declined.”

 

In the early research I found a treasure: the complete report of the Olympic Games in Stockholm 1912. This report established that Sweden met Great Britain in the Tug-of-War final and Sweden defeated Great Britain 2 – 0.

Further research on Internet gave remarkably enough also a short  movie sequence of the the actual match between Sweden and Great Britain: Great Britain vs Sweden.

Since all the athletes in the British team were policemen from City of London Police and Metropolitan Police I sent emails to these and asked if they had any documentation or photographies. City of London Police sent a nice reply with photo of the team and old letter that gave an account for the adventures of the British Tug-of-War team, see below.

I also sent similar emails to some Swedish associations, like Sweden’s Central Association for the Promotion of Sport and Swedish Tug of War Federation, but they had no documentation (although SCAPS since than has published their archives). The project Arena Stockholm 1912-2012, who had put up a video on the upcoming centennial, were reluctant to give any help.

The British team. Letter and picture courtesy of City of London Police

The Swedish team.

 

Poster for the Tug-of-War competition Monday July 8: Dragkamp Sverige-Storbritannien

Stockholm 1912 at Dieppe 2012

Stockholm 1912 is by far my most well researched kite ever.

When I got the invitation to the 2012 kite festival in Dieppe, Brunswick, Canada, in November 2011 and I learned that the theme for the competition was simply “The Olympics” two thoughts flashed in parallel through my brain:

  • A) Wasn’t Tug-of-War an Olympic game in the early Olympics?
  • B) Hadn’t I already made a rough sketch of a Tug-of-War arch?

A: Sure enough: Tug-of-War was an olympic game from the games in Paris 1900 until the games in Antwerp 1920.

B: The Swedish word for Tug-of-War is Dragkamp, which sounds very similar to the word Drak-kamp (meaning ‘kite combat’), and with this play with words in mind I indeed had drawn a rough sketch on a glass door to a cabinet above my kite work bench.

Exactly 100 years earlier, 1912, the Olympic games were played in Stockholm. Already in 2012 there was a lot of information about the Stockholm Olympic games on Internet, and lo and behold: Sweden took part in the Tug-of-War game.

Sweden meeting Great Britain in the Olympic Games 1912

There even is a short video from that Tug-of-War game: Tug-of-War Stockholm 1912. The video will open in a new tab. Turn down the sound!

As for B): a rough sketch of a Tug-of-War arch:

#2 on the list of kite ideas drawn on the glass door of a cabinet over my work bench: Arch: dragkamp

(The rest of the list is still not done)

In 1912 the Olympic Games were held in Stockholm, and Tug-of-War was still one of the Games. Only two of five registered teams showed up for the competition: Great Britain and Sweden. Sweden won the gold medal by winning 2 – 0 in the only match that was.

My original intention was to dispense Absolut Vodka from the kite and I have the gear ready, but it seems the kite doesn’t have much lifting power: with 1/2 liter of liquid in a ‘camel back’ on the backside it’s difficult to keep the kite in the air and have the hands free for dispensing.

So I have resorted to dispense Absolut on the kite festivals’ farewell dinners.

 

Pic. by Brigitte Brussieres           Pic. by Sumiko Yamashita      Pic. by Liu Zhiping

 

   

Pic. by Ashley Ware Lane               Pic. by Sumiko Yamashita           Pic. by Long Kwong

Picture courtesy of Riga

Absolut was established in 1879 by Lars Olsson Smith, known as The King of Spirits. His portrait is on the medallion on the bottle and slightly modified on the kites.

 

   

For a kite to deserve the name Absolut the kite needs to have a complex bridle system, like Japanese kites.

The first installment of 25 bridle lines, each 34 m long was done in an empty corridor in the office during a weekend.  Unfortunately I had made a bad choice of bridle line: the line was a bit stiff, which I thought was good, but it turned out to be sticky so when the bridles had been daisy chained out for flying, the lines stuck together everywhere! Could not be sorted out!

I later changed line type and also made a black Absolut Kite with only a seven point bridle along the spine.

   

Sticker: Kite bridling in progress    34 m  long corridor                      25 lines

Absolut Kite is inspired by the many brilliant ads that started with Andy Warhol’s painting in 1985 and was followed up by other artists recommended by Warhol. The ads are full of wit, artistry and imagination as they deftly communicate the brand’s values.

I asked the Absolut company for permission to make the kite already in 2002, got a reply that the request had been handed to the proper instance and then nothing happened. As there was no firm NO I decided to go on, but it still took a few years before I got around making it.

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

Absolut Vodka is a brand of vodka, produced near Åhus, in southern Sweden. Absolut is one of the largest brands of spirits in the world (after Officer’s Choice, Smirnoff, Bacardi) and is sold in 126 countries.

Absolut practices a One Source production philosophy, meaning that every aspect of their production journey takes place in and around the small village of Åhus, Sweden. Every drop of water and every seed of wheat comes from one water source and one community.

Absolut was established in 1879 by Lars Olsson Smith and is produced in Åhus, Sweden. Smith challenged the city of Stockholm’s liquor marketing monopoly with his vodka. It was sold just outside the city border at a lower price than the monopoly’s product. Smith even offered free boat rides to the distillery and “Rent Brännvin” made Smith a fortune.

In 1917, the Swedish government monopolized the country’s alcohol industry. Vodka was then sold nationwide under the name “Absolut Rent Brännvin“. In 1979, the old name Absolut was picked up when the upper-price range ABSOLUT VODKA was introduced. ‘Renat’ is still a euphemism for spirits in Sweden, and the name of another vodka product sold by Pernod Ricard Sweden AB.

Absolut Vodka was introduced to the global market in 1979. Today Absolut sells over 100 million litres of vodka annually (2018). The vodka is made from winter wheat.

Before going to watch the first game Sweden played at Euro Cup in soccer 2000 I made a kite with a Swedish flag to fly on the beach during the intermission: my colleagues and me were to watch the game at Sheraton garden in Abu Dhabi.

There was no wind and Sweden lost the game, but I have been flying the flag now and then elsewhere.

This kite is also courtesy IKEA, and the model is simply a fighter kite with balancing tail on the opposite side where the free part of  the flag is.

The flag of Sweden, simply.

Sverker above viking grave mounds, Sävja kullar, outside Uppsala

The Sverker can easily be stacked, and when stacking a smaller one behind a larger one you don’t see the difference in size in the sky.

I have made the Sverker in two sizes and also in versions for light wind. This is a large Sverker in Icarex and with SkyShark tubes, and it flew in practically zero wind. Unfortunately I lost it in Wuhan, China, 2016, after whole day’s flying.

 As Sala Drak & Tangosällskap (famous group from central Sweden) was going westwards (Washington – Monmouth – Dieppe) in 1996 they decided to make a new Viking invasion, this time from the sky. I had the idea of the ‘Bowtie’ sail and someone else in the group had the idea of the semi-3D bow. Karin and Per Byström made the first three ships from flower support bamboo sticks and table cloth from some of the group’s many parties, and called them Svea, Göta and Vendel. I built my kite a little bit different and called it Sverker and has since then updated it in years 2001, 2005 & 2016. It is the Byström version that is included in Ron Moulton’s book Kites (1997, pp 220-221). 

Sverker in an old Viking name, and also the name of my father and my own middle name.

The plan for Sverker can be found here: http://windman.se/kite-plans/

Swedish pre-history ends around 800 AD, when the Viking Age begins and written sources are available. The Viking Age lasted until the mid-11th century, when the Christianization of Scandinavia was largely completed when Sweden became the last Norse country to adopt Christianity.

The Swedes took part in many Western raids against England alongside the Danes and Norwegians of which many successfully acquired Danegeld as seen on the England runestones. The Swedes were also very active traders and raiders in the eastern and southeastern parts of Europe. The large Russian mainland and its many navigable rivers offered good prospects for trading and plundering. These routes brought them into contact with the Byzantine and Muslim empires which later led to the formation of the Varangian Guard, an elite fighting force made up by Norsemen.

Viking ships were marine vessels of unique structure, built by the Vikings during the Viking Age.

The boat-types were quite varied, depending on what the ship was intended for, but they were generally characterized as being slender and flexible boats, with symmetrical ends with true keel. They were clinker built, which is the overlapping of planks riveted together. Some might have had a dragon’s head or other circular object protruding from the bow and stern for design, although this is only inferred from historical sources. Viking ships were not just used for their military prowess but for long-distance trade, exploration and colonization.

After being heavily taken down by Peter Lynn on Cervia beach in 1995 I added one cell.

It was promptly approved by Peter.

Volvolare

A Chinese Dragon type kite, but with alternating round and triangular cells, with a Volvo 850 as ‘dragonhead’.

    VOLVO (latin) - I roll

    Volare (italian) - I fly

Made in 1995

Volvo Cars (Swedish: Volvo personvagnar), stylized as VOLVO, is a Swedish luxury vehicles brand. Its cars are marketed as being safe, solidly built, and reliable.  It is headquartered in Torslanda in Gothenburg, Sweden.

The company Volvo Cars was founded in 1927 as a subsidiary of the ball bearing manufacturer SKF.  Volvo Cars is now a subsidiary of the Chinese automotive company Geely.

IKEA (/aɪˈkiːə/ eye-KEE-ə, Swedish: [ɪˇkeːa]) is a European multinational group that designs and sells ready-to-assemble furniture, kitchen appliances and home accessories, among other useful goods and occasionally home services. Founded in Sweden in 1943 by 17-year-old Ingvar Kamprad, IKEA has been the world’s largest furniture retailer since 2008.  The company’s name is an acronym that consists of the founder’s initials (Ingvar Kamprad) plus those of Elmtaryd, the family farm where he was born, and the nearby village Agunnaryd (his hometown in Småland, southern Sweden).

Rather than being sold pre-assembled, much of IKEA’s furniture is designed to be assembled by the customer. The company claims that this helps reduce costs and use of packaging by not shipping air; the volume of a bookcase, for example, is considerably less if it is shipped unassembled rather than assembled. This is also more practical for customers using public transport, because flat packs can be more easily carried.

Notable items of IKEA furniture include the Poäng armchair, the Billy bookcase and the Klippan sofa, all of which have sold by the tens of millions since the late 1970s.

IKEA products are identified by one-word (rarely two-word) names. Most of the names are Scandinavian in origin. Although there are some exceptions, most product names are based on a special naming system developed by IKEA. Company founder Kamprad was dyslexic and found that naming the furniture with proper names and words, rather than a product code, made the names easier to remember.

Some of IKEA’s Swedish product names have amusing or unfortunate connotations in other languages, sometimes resulting in the names being withdrawn in certain countries. Notable examples for English include the “Jerker” computer desk (discontinued several years ago as of 2013), “Fukta” plant spray, “Fartfull” workbench, and “Lyckhem” (meaning bliss).

Sweden is a country with no kite tradition whatsoever, but sometimes I like to make kites with a connection to Sweden.

In 1891 Swedish inventor Johan Petter Johansson received a patent for an improved design of the adjustable spanner that is still used today. He had his own business, Enköpings Mekaniska Verkstad (the Mechanical Workshop of Enköping), but made an agreement with the company B.A. Hjorth & Company [BAHCO], also located in Enköping, to distribute his tools worldwide under the “Bahco” trademark. The Bahco tools became greatly successful, and the company is still in operation and has manufactured over 100 million wrenches to date.

I asked my brother Ragnar to send a picture of one of his many Bahco spanners, and he kindly obliged.

I made the kite of bamboo and Nylon Paper, and the length of the kite is 200 cm. It is dismountable to fit in a 40 x 60 cm envelope.

 

The Swedish inventor Johan Petter Johansson received in 1891 a patent for an improved design of the adjustable spanner that is still used today. He had his own business, Enköpings Mekaniska Verkstad (the Mechanical Workshop of Enköping), but made an agreement with the company B.A. Hjorth & Company [BAHCO], also located in Enköping, to distribute his tools worldwide under the “Bahco” trademark. The Bahco tools became greatly successful, and the company is still in operation and has manufactured over 100 million wrenches to date.

This is the invitation that sparked it all:

 “…innovative use of materials used in the making of the kite“. As I had used bamboo and Nylon Paper, had glued instead of sewn and painted instead of appliqué I felt I at least had made something different.

I had not had the chance to test the arch at all at home, but the day before the competition in Dieppe there was wind enough to do that, and I made some small but very important addition to the frames.

At the competition day there was very little wind and the arch lay flat on ground. Just as I was explaining to the jury about the background and introducing my documentation of the Tug-of-War competition in Stockholm 2012 the wind picked up and the arch miraculously  self launched!

But alas! I had been interpreting the invitation wrong. It was a kite making competition, not a kite creation competition. The arch did not win any prize at all. Using bamboo and Nylon Paper instead of ripstop and carbon was obviously disqualifing, and with gluing the judges could not count stitches.  Instead a well made Dopero with appliqué got the first prize.

                                              Introducing the binder with the documentation of the Tug-of-War competition 100 years ago.

 

                                           Arch self launched in exactly the right moment

                                           British team pulling hard

                                           Ground display

Nearly the full both teams. The two red pentagon and single blue pentagon kites in the middle are the tapes required by the rules: “A coloured tape shall be affixed to the middle of the rope, with two other tapes of another colour fastened, one on each side, at a distance of 1.75 metres from each side of the central tape.“

Unfortunately the arch was ruined when it rained at the kite festival in Bintulu, just one month after the premier flight in Canada: the glue gave in to the rain and all parts drifted apart and the paint was scrubbed off in many places. I brought home the pieces to repair, but I could not bring myself to go through all that trouble again to repair the arch.

Then, as I had moved to Bali, I had found that printing on Nylon Paper worked fine and was fairly cheap. So instead of painting I Photoshopped all the figures, downsized them a bit and got them printed. But frame still in bamboo (with some fiber glass).

Video of new edition flying at the kite festival in Hsinchu, Taiwan,  September 2018 in pretty strong wind.

Having come this far in my research I felt I needed to verify that the idea of an arch of Tug-of-War really would work, so I had my son lying down on the floor on a piece of Nylon paper and draw the contour of him as he lay in two of the positions of the Swedish team below, cut out the profiles and attached frames.

In March that year, before I attended the kite festival in Cha Am, I spent a few days in Bali and made a successful test flight on Merta Sari Beach in Sanur: The arch would work!

Though I had collected pictures of Tug-of-War from Internet over the years they wouldn’t suit as models for the kites in an arch: I needed straight side views of the pullers.

Neither the pictures of the Swedish team nor the British team would do either because the were from half front.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Swedish team                                                         British team (during warming up)

What I learned from the above pictures was that both teams had black trousers and white long sleeved shirts with the country flag on the chest. In both teams some members were right handed and others were left handed.

I gathered I had to create my own models and summoned my friends in Sala Kite & Tango Party for a spring lunch and photo session. We had a great afternoon, but when I looked at the resulting pictures I realized I had not been well prepared and had made the shooting in an unorganized way.

                                            Picture courtesy Per Byström

Next photo session would be with my two brothers, Ragnar and Ingvar, both of them quite heavily built. I told them to wear black trousers and a white long sleeved T-shirt and I supplied small flags to attach on the chest. With the camera on a tripod and a suitable background I shot some hundred photos and selected a few that showed action and energy.

The 8 pictures plus one spare with action and energy of the Swedish team:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With the selected pictures of my brothers as both Swedish and British teams I brought my laptop and projector down to the basement of my house and projected the images on the wall where I had hang Nylon Paper and drew the outlines and some important details.

Some of the figures were so big so they didn’t fit in the width of the material but had to be split up in two parts; usually the split coming in the waist.

I was certain I had enough material, but with five figures left I ran out of Nylon Paper: I had completely forgotten that I had given away some 15 meters to kite friends for testing.

This material, Nylon Paper, or in Chinese Si Bu Lan (撕 不 烂), is an artificial, very strong paper that I had only been able yo find in a certain shop in Beijing. I sent an urgent email to old friend Li Ruoxin, he immediately bought what I needed and sent it by courir so within a week I could continue that work.

While I was waiting for the missing material I cut out what I already had drawn and glued together the figures that had been split.

To make the shirts more white (the material is quite translucent) I glued an extra layer one each shirt.

 

My apartment was full of Tug-of-Warers-to-be hanging and drying everywhere

                                           In the bathroom

                                            In the kitchen

                                            In the living room

Painting the trousers was easy: all black, but painting the faces more difficult: I had to make all faces individually different from my brothers! Adding a mustache to 90 % was important.

Again my apartment was full of Tug-of-Warers-to-be hanging and drying everywhere.

                                           In the hallway

                                           In the bedroom

The Swedish team painted and resting in the sofa, awaiting to be framed

For spines I glued bamboo sticks together with skin side out, and to give even more strength I glue-wrapped strips of Nylon Paper around them like some Japanese do.

The British team framed.

The complete official report, 1117 pages, of The Olympic Games of Stockholm 1912 was available on Internet. In this was included a whole chapter on the Tug of War competition as well as a chapter on the rules for the ToW competition.

Noteable was the name of the President for the Tug of War Committee: Captain Gösta Drake – The word ‘drake’ in Swedish has both the meaning ‘dragon’ as well as ‘kite’!

 

Here is an excerpt PDF with the Tug-of-War chapter, giving an account on the preparations, pictures of the teams and an exposition for the competition itself. The PDF will open in the same frame, so click the BACK button to come back. 21. Tug-of-war 1912

Here is an excerpt PDF on the new rules for Tug-of-War in Stockholm 1912 where the footwear was particularly addressed due to a controversy (see below) in the 1908 Olympic games: 21. ToW rules 1912

In the 1908 Olympic games in London three club teams from different police forces in Great Britain took all the three medals. The team represented by the Liverpool Police won the bronze medal against Sweden, with the City of London Police team getting gold and the Metropolitan Police winning the silver medal.

However there were complaints over the controversial heavy footwear worn by the Liverpool Police team.

Alan Knott, of the Tug of War Association, said: “It is reported that the Liverpool Police ‘were wearing enormous shoes, so heavy in fact that it was only with great effort that they could lift their feet from the ground’!

But the team from Liverpool insisted this was their regulation police footwear which presumably they would wear on the beat.

Despite of the rules banning “prepared boots or shoes with any protruding nails”, an American protest in the first round was overruled and the Liverpool Police team won the pull easily.

The US claimed using footwear which rendered them practically immobile could clearly be a help to the Liverpool squad.

Mr Knott said: “At the close of the competition, the Liverpool Police team offered to pull their American opponents in bare feet, but that offer was declined.”

 

In the early research I found a treasure: the complete report of the Olympic Games in Stockholm 1912. This report established that Sweden met Great Britain in the Tug-of-War final and Sweden defeated Great Britain 2 – 0.

Further research on Internet gave remarkably enough also a short  movie sequence of the the actual match between Sweden and Great Britain: Great Britain vs Sweden.

Since all the athletes in the British team were policemen from City of London Police and Metropolitan Police I sent emails to these and asked if they had any documentation or photographies. City of London Police sent a nice reply with photo of the team and old letter that gave an account for the adventures of the British Tug-of-War team, see below.

I also sent similar emails to some Swedish associations, like Sweden’s Central Association for the Promotion of Sport and Swedish Tug of War Federation, but they had no documentation (although SCAPS since than has published their archives). The project Arena Stockholm 1912-2012, who had put up a video on the upcoming centennial, were reluctant to give any help.

The British team. Letter and picture courtesy of City of London Police

The Swedish team.

 

Poster for the Tug-of-War competition Monday July 8: Dragkamp Sverige-Storbritannien

Stockholm 1912 at Dieppe 2012

Stockholm 1912 is by far my most well researched kite ever.

When I got the invitation to the 2012 kite festival in Dieppe, Brunswick, Canada, in November 2011 and I learned that the theme for the competition was simply “The Olympics” two thoughts flashed in parallel through my brain:

  • A) Wasn’t Tug-of-War an Olympic game in the early Olympics?
  • B) Hadn’t I already made a rough sketch of a Tug-of-War arch?

A: Sure enough: Tug-of-War was an olympic game from the games in Paris 1900 until the games in Antwerp 1920.

B: The Swedish word for Tug-of-War is Dragkamp, which sounds very similar to the word Drak-kamp (meaning ‘kite combat’), and with this play with words in mind I indeed had drawn a rough sketch on a glass door to a cabinet above my kite work bench.

Exactly 100 years earlier, 1912, the Olympic games were played in Stockholm. Already in 2012 there was a lot of information about the Stockholm Olympic games on Internet, and lo and behold: Sweden took part in the Tug-of-War game.

Sweden meeting Great Britain in the Olympic Games 1912

There even is a short video from that Tug-of-War game: Tug-of-War Stockholm 1912. The video will open in a new tab. Turn down the sound!

As for B): a rough sketch of a Tug-of-War arch:

#2 on the list of kite ideas drawn on the glass door of a cabinet over my work bench: Arch: dragkamp

(The rest of the list is still not done)

In 1912 the Olympic Games were held in Stockholm, and Tug-of-War was still one of the Games. Only two of five registered teams showed up for the competition: Great Britain and Sweden. Sweden won the gold medal by winning 2 – 0 in the only match that was.

My original intention was to dispense Absolut Vodka from the kite and I have the gear ready, but it seems the kite doesn’t have much lifting power: with 1/2 liter of liquid in a ‘camel back’ on the backside it’s difficult to keep the kite in the air and have the hands free for dispensing.

So I have resorted to dispense Absolut on the kite festivals’ farewell dinners.

 

Pic. by Brigitte Brussieres           Pic. by Sumiko Yamashita      Pic. by Liu Zhiping

 

   

Pic. by Ashley Ware Lane               Pic. by Sumiko Yamashita           Pic. by Long Kwong

Picture courtesy of Riga

Absolut was established in 1879 by Lars Olsson Smith, known as The King of Spirits. His portrait is on the medallion on the bottle and slightly modified on the kites.

 

   

For a kite to deserve the name Absolut the kite needs to have a complex bridle system, like Japanese kites.

The first installment of 25 bridle lines, each 34 m long was done in an empty corridor in the office during a weekend.  Unfortunately I had made a bad choice of bridle line: the line was a bit stiff, which I thought was good, but it turned out to be sticky so when the bridles had been daisy chained out for flying, the lines stuck together everywhere! Could not be sorted out!

I later changed line type and also made a black Absolut Kite with only a seven point bridle along the spine.

   

Sticker: Kite bridling in progress    34 m  long corridor                      25 lines

Absolut Kite is inspired by the many brilliant ads that started with Andy Warhol’s painting in 1985 and was followed up by other artists recommended by Warhol. The ads are full of wit, artistry and imagination as they deftly communicate the brand’s values.

I asked the Absolut company for permission to make the kite already in 2002, got a reply that the request had been handed to the proper instance and then nothing happened. As there was no firm NO I decided to go on, but it still took a few years before I got around making it.

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

Absolut Vodka is a brand of vodka, produced near Åhus, in southern Sweden. Absolut is one of the largest brands of spirits in the world (after Officer’s Choice, Smirnoff, Bacardi) and is sold in 126 countries.

Absolut practices a One Source production philosophy, meaning that every aspect of their production journey takes place in and around the small village of Åhus, Sweden. Every drop of water and every seed of wheat comes from one water source and one community.

Absolut was established in 1879 by Lars Olsson Smith and is produced in Åhus, Sweden. Smith challenged the city of Stockholm’s liquor marketing monopoly with his vodka. It was sold just outside the city border at a lower price than the monopoly’s product. Smith even offered free boat rides to the distillery and “Rent Brännvin” made Smith a fortune.

In 1917, the Swedish government monopolized the country’s alcohol industry. Vodka was then sold nationwide under the name “Absolut Rent Brännvin“. In 1979, the old name Absolut was picked up when the upper-price range ABSOLUT VODKA was introduced. ‘Renat’ is still a euphemism for spirits in Sweden, and the name of another vodka product sold by Pernod Ricard Sweden AB.

Absolut Vodka was introduced to the global market in 1979. Today Absolut sells over 100 million litres of vodka annually (2018). The vodka is made from winter wheat.

Before going to watch the first game Sweden played at Euro Cup in soccer 2000 I made a kite with a Swedish flag to fly on the beach during the intermission: my colleagues and me were to watch the game at Sheraton garden in Abu Dhabi.

There was no wind and Sweden lost the game, but I have been flying the flag now and then elsewhere.

This kite is also courtesy IKEA, and the model is simply a fighter kite with balancing tail on the opposite side where the free part of  the flag is.

The flag of Sweden, simply.

Sverker above viking grave mounds, Sävja kullar, outside Uppsala

The Sverker can easily be stacked, and when stacking a smaller one behind a larger one you don’t see the difference in size in the sky.

I have made the Sverker in two sizes and also in versions for light wind. This is a large Sverker in Icarex and with SkyShark tubes, and it flew in practically zero wind. Unfortunately I lost it in Wuhan, China, 2016, after whole day’s flying.

 As Sala Drak & Tangosällskap (famous group from central Sweden) was going westwards (Washington – Monmouth – Dieppe) in 1996 they decided to make a new Viking invasion, this time from the sky. I had the idea of the ‘Bowtie’ sail and someone else in the group had the idea of the semi-3D bow. Karin and Per Byström made the first three ships from flower support bamboo sticks and table cloth from some of the group’s many parties, and called them Svea, Göta and Vendel. I built my kite a little bit different and called it Sverker and has since then updated it in years 2001, 2005 & 2016. It is the Byström version that is included in Ron Moulton’s book Kites (1997, pp 220-221). 

Sverker in an old Viking name, and also the name of my father and my own middle name.

The plan for Sverker can be found here: http://windman.se/kite-plans/

Swedish pre-history ends around 800 AD, when the Viking Age begins and written sources are available. The Viking Age lasted until the mid-11th century, when the Christianization of Scandinavia was largely completed when Sweden became the last Norse country to adopt Christianity.

The Swedes took part in many Western raids against England alongside the Danes and Norwegians of which many successfully acquired Danegeld as seen on the England runestones. The Swedes were also very active traders and raiders in the eastern and southeastern parts of Europe. The large Russian mainland and its many navigable rivers offered good prospects for trading and plundering. These routes brought them into contact with the Byzantine and Muslim empires which later led to the formation of the Varangian Guard, an elite fighting force made up by Norsemen.

Viking ships were marine vessels of unique structure, built by the Vikings during the Viking Age.

The boat-types were quite varied, depending on what the ship was intended for, but they were generally characterized as being slender and flexible boats, with symmetrical ends with true keel. They were clinker built, which is the overlapping of planks riveted together. Some might have had a dragon’s head or other circular object protruding from the bow and stern for design, although this is only inferred from historical sources. Viking ships were not just used for their military prowess but for long-distance trade, exploration and colonization.

After being heavily taken down by Peter Lynn on Cervia beach in 1995 I added one cell.

It was promptly approved by Peter.

Volvolare

A Chinese Dragon type kite, but with alternating round and triangular cells, with a Volvo 850 as ‘dragonhead’.

    VOLVO (latin) - I roll

    Volare (italian) - I fly

Made in 1995

Volvo Cars (Swedish: Volvo personvagnar), stylized as VOLVO, is a Swedish luxury vehicles brand. Its cars are marketed as being safe, solidly built, and reliable.  It is headquartered in Torslanda in Gothenburg, Sweden.

The company Volvo Cars was founded in 1927 as a subsidiary of the ball bearing manufacturer SKF.  Volvo Cars is now a subsidiary of the Chinese automotive company Geely.

When I made the Inflation I found that this design, Poster, was perfect for displaying simple images. Furthermore a Poster kite is a wonderful light wind kite. I am very thankful to Claude & Francis Paragon who have made the design (based on an Ohashi kite they told me) available.

Here is a challenge: in a brand name, replace one letter and then reshuffle the letters!

IKEA (/aɪˈkiːə/ eye-KEE-ə, Swedish: [ɪˇkeːa]) is a European multinational group that designs and sells ready-to-assemble furniture, kitchen appliances and home accessories, among other useful goods and occasionally home services. Founded in Sweden in 1943 by 17-year-old Ingvar Kamprad, IKEA has been the world’s largest furniture retailer since 2008.  The company’s name is an acronym that consists of the founder’s initials (Ingvar Kamprad) plus those of Elmtaryd, the family farm where he was born, and the nearby village Agunnaryd (his hometown in Småland, southern Sweden).

Rather than being sold pre-assembled, much of IKEA’s furniture is designed to be assembled by the customer. The company claims that this helps reduce costs and use of packaging by not shipping air; the volume of a bookcase, for example, is considerably less if it is shipped unassembled rather than assembled. This is also more practical for customers using public transport, because flat packs can be more easily carried.

Notable items of IKEA furniture include the Poäng armchair, the Billy bookcase and the Klippan sofa, all of which have sold by the tens of millions since the late 1970s.

IKEA products are identified by one-word (rarely two-word) names. Most of the names are Scandinavian in origin. Although there are some exceptions, most product names are based on a special naming system developed by IKEA. Company founder Kamprad was dyslexic and found that naming the furniture with proper names and words, rather than a product code, made the names easier to remember.

Some of IKEA’s Swedish product names have amusing or unfortunate connotations in other languages, sometimes resulting in the names being withdrawn in certain countries. Notable examples for English include the “Jerker” computer desk (discontinued several years ago as of 2013), “Fukta” plant spray, “Fartfull” workbench, and “Lyckhem” (meaning bliss).

Sweden is a country with no kite tradition whatsoever, but sometimes I like to make kites with a connection to Sweden.

In 1891 Swedish inventor Johan Petter Johansson received a patent for an improved design of the adjustable spanner that is still used today. He had his own business, Enköpings Mekaniska Verkstad (the Mechanical Workshop of Enköping), but made an agreement with the company B.A. Hjorth & Company [BAHCO], also located in Enköping, to distribute his tools worldwide under the “Bahco” trademark. The Bahco tools became greatly successful, and the company is still in operation and has manufactured over 100 million wrenches to date.

I asked my brother Ragnar to send a picture of one of his many Bahco spanners, and he kindly obliged.

I made the kite of bamboo and Nylon Paper, and the length of the kite is 200 cm. It is dismountable to fit in a 40 x 60 cm envelope.

 

The Swedish inventor Johan Petter Johansson received in 1891 a patent for an improved design of the adjustable spanner that is still used today. He had his own business, Enköpings Mekaniska Verkstad (the Mechanical Workshop of Enköping), but made an agreement with the company B.A. Hjorth & Company [BAHCO], also located in Enköping, to distribute his tools worldwide under the “Bahco” trademark. The Bahco tools became greatly successful, and the company is still in operation and has manufactured over 100 million wrenches to date.

This is the invitation that sparked it all:

 “…innovative use of materials used in the making of the kite“. As I had used bamboo and Nylon Paper, had glued instead of sewn and painted instead of appliqué I felt I at least had made something different.

I had not had the chance to test the arch at all at home, but the day before the competition in Dieppe there was wind enough to do that, and I made some small but very important addition to the frames.

At the competition day there was very little wind and the arch lay flat on ground. Just as I was explaining to the jury about the background and introducing my documentation of the Tug-of-War competition in Stockholm 2012 the wind picked up and the arch miraculously  self launched!

But alas! I had been interpreting the invitation wrong. It was a kite making competition, not a kite creation competition. The arch did not win any prize at all. Using bamboo and Nylon Paper instead of ripstop and carbon was obviously disqualifing, and with gluing the judges could not count stitches.  Instead a well made Dopero with appliqué got the first prize.

                                              Introducing the binder with the documentation of the Tug-of-War competition 100 years ago.

 

                                           Arch self launched in exactly the right moment

                                           British team pulling hard

                                           Ground display

Nearly the full both teams. The two red pentagon and single blue pentagon kites in the middle are the tapes required by the rules: “A coloured tape shall be affixed to the middle of the rope, with two other tapes of another colour fastened, one on each side, at a distance of 1.75 metres from each side of the central tape.“

Unfortunately the arch was ruined when it rained at the kite festival in Bintulu, just one month after the premier flight in Canada: the glue gave in to the rain and all parts drifted apart and the paint was scrubbed off in many places. I brought home the pieces to repair, but I could not bring myself to go through all that trouble again to repair the arch.

Then, as I had moved to Bali, I had found that printing on Nylon Paper worked fine and was fairly cheap. So instead of painting I Photoshopped all the figures, downsized them a bit and got them printed. But frame still in bamboo (with some fiber glass).

Video of new edition flying at the kite festival in Hsinchu, Taiwan,  September 2018 in pretty strong wind.

Having come this far in my research I felt I needed to verify that the idea of an arch of Tug-of-War really would work, so I had my son lying down on the floor on a piece of Nylon paper and draw the contour of him as he lay in two of the positions of the Swedish team below, cut out the profiles and attached frames.

In March that year, before I attended the kite festival in Cha Am, I spent a few days in Bali and made a successful test flight on Merta Sari Beach in Sanur: The arch would work!

Though I had collected pictures of Tug-of-War from Internet over the years they wouldn’t suit as models for the kites in an arch: I needed straight side views of the pullers.

Neither the pictures of the Swedish team nor the British team would do either because the were from half front.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Swedish team                                                         British team (during warming up)

What I learned from the above pictures was that both teams had black trousers and white long sleeved shirts with the country flag on the chest. In both teams some members were right handed and others were left handed.

I gathered I had to create my own models and summoned my friends in Sala Kite & Tango Party for a spring lunch and photo session. We had a great afternoon, but when I looked at the resulting pictures I realized I had not been well prepared and had made the shooting in an unorganized way.

                                            Picture courtesy Per Byström

Next photo session would be with my two brothers, Ragnar and Ingvar, both of them quite heavily built. I told them to wear black trousers and a white long sleeved T-shirt and I supplied small flags to attach on the chest. With the camera on a tripod and a suitable background I shot some hundred photos and selected a few that showed action and energy.

The 8 pictures plus one spare with action and energy of the Swedish team:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With the selected pictures of my brothers as both Swedish and British teams I brought my laptop and projector down to the basement of my house and projected the images on the wall where I had hang Nylon Paper and drew the outlines and some important details.

Some of the figures were so big so they didn’t fit in the width of the material but had to be split up in two parts; usually the split coming in the waist.

I was certain I had enough material, but with five figures left I ran out of Nylon Paper: I had completely forgotten that I had given away some 15 meters to kite friends for testing.

This material, Nylon Paper, or in Chinese Si Bu Lan (撕 不 烂), is an artificial, very strong paper that I had only been able yo find in a certain shop in Beijing. I sent an urgent email to old friend Li Ruoxin, he immediately bought what I needed and sent it by courir so within a week I could continue that work.

While I was waiting for the missing material I cut out what I already had drawn and glued together the figures that had been split.

To make the shirts more white (the material is quite translucent) I glued an extra layer one each shirt.

 

My apartment was full of Tug-of-Warers-to-be hanging and drying everywhere

                                           In the bathroom

                                            In the kitchen

                                            In the living room

Painting the trousers was easy: all black, but painting the faces more difficult: I had to make all faces individually different from my brothers! Adding a mustache to 90 % was important.

Again my apartment was full of Tug-of-Warers-to-be hanging and drying everywhere.

                                           In the hallway

                                           In the bedroom

The Swedish team painted and resting in the sofa, awaiting to be framed

For spines I glued bamboo sticks together with skin side out, and to give even more strength I glue-wrapped strips of Nylon Paper around them like some Japanese do.

The British team framed.

The complete official report, 1117 pages, of The Olympic Games of Stockholm 1912 was available on Internet. In this was included a whole chapter on the Tug of War competition as well as a chapter on the rules for the ToW competition.

Noteable was the name of the President for the Tug of War Committee: Captain Gösta Drake – The word ‘drake’ in Swedish has both the meaning ‘dragon’ as well as ‘kite’!

 

Here is an excerpt PDF with the Tug-of-War chapter, giving an account on the preparations, pictures of the teams and an exposition for the competition itself. The PDF will open in the same frame, so click the BACK button to come back. 21. Tug-of-war 1912

Here is an excerpt PDF on the new rules for Tug-of-War in Stockholm 1912 where the footwear was particularly addressed due to a controversy (see below) in the 1908 Olympic games: 21. ToW rules 1912

In the 1908 Olympic games in London three club teams from different police forces in Great Britain took all the three medals. The team represented by the Liverpool Police won the bronze medal against Sweden, with the City of London Police team getting gold and the Metropolitan Police winning the silver medal.

However there were complaints over the controversial heavy footwear worn by the Liverpool Police team.

Alan Knott, of the Tug of War Association, said: “It is reported that the Liverpool Police ‘were wearing enormous shoes, so heavy in fact that it was only with great effort that they could lift their feet from the ground’!

But the team from Liverpool insisted this was their regulation police footwear which presumably they would wear on the beat.

Despite of the rules banning “prepared boots or shoes with any protruding nails”, an American protest in the first round was overruled and the Liverpool Police team won the pull easily.

The US claimed using footwear which rendered them practically immobile could clearly be a help to the Liverpool squad.

Mr Knott said: “At the close of the competition, the Liverpool Police team offered to pull their American opponents in bare feet, but that offer was declined.”

 

In the early research I found a treasure: the complete report of the Olympic Games in Stockholm 1912. This report established that Sweden met Great Britain in the Tug-of-War final and Sweden defeated Great Britain 2 – 0.

Further research on Internet gave remarkably enough also a short  movie sequence of the the actual match between Sweden and Great Britain: Great Britain vs Sweden.

Since all the athletes in the British team were policemen from City of London Police and Metropolitan Police I sent emails to these and asked if they had any documentation or photographies. City of London Police sent a nice reply with photo of the team and old letter that gave an account for the adventures of the British Tug-of-War team, see below.

I also sent similar emails to some Swedish associations, like Sweden’s Central Association for the Promotion of Sport and Swedish Tug of War Federation, but they had no documentation (although SCAPS since than has published their archives). The project Arena Stockholm 1912-2012, who had put up a video on the upcoming centennial, were reluctant to give any help.

The British team. Letter and picture courtesy of City of London Police

The Swedish team.

 

Poster for the Tug-of-War competition Monday July 8: Dragkamp Sverige-Storbritannien

Stockholm 1912 at Dieppe 2012

Stockholm 1912 is by far my most well researched kite ever.

When I got the invitation to the 2012 kite festival in Dieppe, Brunswick, Canada, in November 2011 and I learned that the theme for the competition was simply “The Olympics” two thoughts flashed in parallel through my brain:

  • A) Wasn’t Tug-of-War an Olympic game in the early Olympics?
  • B) Hadn’t I already made a rough sketch of a Tug-of-War arch?

A: Sure enough: Tug-of-War was an olympic game from the games in Paris 1900 until the games in Antwerp 1920.

B: The Swedish word for Tug-of-War is Dragkamp, which sounds very similar to the word Drak-kamp (meaning ‘kite combat’), and with this play with words in mind I indeed had drawn a rough sketch on a glass door to a cabinet above my kite work bench.

Exactly 100 years earlier, 1912, the Olympic games were played in Stockholm. Already in 2012 there was a lot of information about the Stockholm Olympic games on Internet, and lo and behold: Sweden took part in the Tug-of-War game.

Sweden meeting Great Britain in the Olympic Games 1912

There even is a short video from that Tug-of-War game: Tug-of-War Stockholm 1912. The video will open in a new tab. Turn down the sound!

As for B): a rough sketch of a Tug-of-War arch:

#2 on the list of kite ideas drawn on the glass door of a cabinet over my work bench: Arch: dragkamp

(The rest of the list is still not done)

In 1912 the Olympic Games were held in Stockholm, and Tug-of-War was still one of the Games. Only two of five registered teams showed up for the competition: Great Britain and Sweden. Sweden won the gold medal by winning 2 – 0 in the only match that was.

My original intention was to dispense Absolut Vodka from the kite and I have the gear ready, but it seems the kite doesn’t have much lifting power: with 1/2 liter of liquid in a ‘camel back’ on the backside it’s difficult to keep the kite in the air and have the hands free for dispensing.

So I have resorted to dispense Absolut on the kite festivals’ farewell dinners.

 

Pic. by Brigitte Brussieres           Pic. by Sumiko Yamashita      Pic. by Liu Zhiping

 

   

Pic. by Ashley Ware Lane               Pic. by Sumiko Yamashita           Pic. by Long Kwong

Picture courtesy of Riga

Absolut was established in 1879 by Lars Olsson Smith, known as The King of Spirits. His portrait is on the medallion on the bottle and slightly modified on the kites.

 

   

For a kite to deserve the name Absolut the kite needs to have a complex bridle system, like Japanese kites.

The first installment of 25 bridle lines, each 34 m long was done in an empty corridor in the office during a weekend.  Unfortunately I had made a bad choice of bridle line: the line was a bit stiff, which I thought was good, but it turned out to be sticky so when the bridles had been daisy chained out for flying, the lines stuck together everywhere! Could not be sorted out!

I later changed line type and also made a black Absolut Kite with only a seven point bridle along the spine.

   

Sticker: Kite bridling in progress    34 m  long corridor                      25 lines

Absolut Kite is inspired by the many brilliant ads that started with Andy Warhol’s painting in 1985 and was followed up by other artists recommended by Warhol. The ads are full of wit, artistry and imagination as they deftly communicate the brand’s values.

I asked the Absolut company for permission to make the kite already in 2002, got a reply that the request had been handed to the proper instance and then nothing happened. As there was no firm NO I decided to go on, but it still took a few years before I got around making it.

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

Absolut Vodka is a brand of vodka, produced near Åhus, in southern Sweden. Absolut is one of the largest brands of spirits in the world (after Officer’s Choice, Smirnoff, Bacardi) and is sold in 126 countries.

Absolut practices a One Source production philosophy, meaning that every aspect of their production journey takes place in and around the small village of Åhus, Sweden. Every drop of water and every seed of wheat comes from one water source and one community.

Absolut was established in 1879 by Lars Olsson Smith and is produced in Åhus, Sweden. Smith challenged the city of Stockholm’s liquor marketing monopoly with his vodka. It was sold just outside the city border at a lower price than the monopoly’s product. Smith even offered free boat rides to the distillery and “Rent Brännvin” made Smith a fortune.

In 1917, the Swedish government monopolized the country’s alcohol industry. Vodka was then sold nationwide under the name “Absolut Rent Brännvin“. In 1979, the old name Absolut was picked up when the upper-price range ABSOLUT VODKA was introduced. ‘Renat’ is still a euphemism for spirits in Sweden, and the name of another vodka product sold by Pernod Ricard Sweden AB.

Absolut Vodka was introduced to the global market in 1979. Today Absolut sells over 100 million litres of vodka annually (2018). The vodka is made from winter wheat.

Before going to watch the first game Sweden played at Euro Cup in soccer 2000 I made a kite with a Swedish flag to fly on the beach during the intermission: my colleagues and me were to watch the game at Sheraton garden in Abu Dhabi.

There was no wind and Sweden lost the game, but I have been flying the flag now and then elsewhere.

This kite is also courtesy IKEA, and the model is simply a fighter kite with balancing tail on the opposite side where the free part of  the flag is.

The flag of Sweden, simply.

Sverker above viking grave mounds, Sävja kullar, outside Uppsala

The Sverker can easily be stacked, and when stacking a smaller one behind a larger one you don’t see the difference in size in the sky.

I have made the Sverker in two sizes and also in versions for light wind. This is a large Sverker in Icarex and with SkyShark tubes, and it flew in practically zero wind. Unfortunately I lost it in Wuhan, China, 2016, after whole day’s flying.

 As Sala Drak & Tangosällskap (famous group from central Sweden) was going westwards (Washington – Monmouth – Dieppe) in 1996 they decided to make a new Viking invasion, this time from the sky. I had the idea of the ‘Bowtie’ sail and someone else in the group had the idea of the semi-3D bow. Karin and Per Byström made the first three ships from flower support bamboo sticks and table cloth from some of the group’s many parties, and called them Svea, Göta and Vendel. I built my kite a little bit different and called it Sverker and has since then updated it in years 2001, 2005 & 2016. It is the Byström version that is included in Ron Moulton’s book Kites (1997, pp 220-221). 

Sverker in an old Viking name, and also the name of my father and my own middle name.

The plan for Sverker can be found here: http://windman.se/kite-plans/

Swedish pre-history ends around 800 AD, when the Viking Age begins and written sources are available. The Viking Age lasted until the mid-11th century, when the Christianization of Scandinavia was largely completed when Sweden became the last Norse country to adopt Christianity.

The Swedes took part in many Western raids against England alongside the Danes and Norwegians of which many successfully acquired Danegeld as seen on the England runestones. The Swedes were also very active traders and raiders in the eastern and southeastern parts of Europe. The large Russian mainland and its many navigable rivers offered good prospects for trading and plundering. These routes brought them into contact with the Byzantine and Muslim empires which later led to the formation of the Varangian Guard, an elite fighting force made up by Norsemen.

Viking ships were marine vessels of unique structure, built by the Vikings during the Viking Age.

The boat-types were quite varied, depending on what the ship was intended for, but they were generally characterized as being slender and flexible boats, with symmetrical ends with true keel. They were clinker built, which is the overlapping of planks riveted together. Some might have had a dragon’s head or other circular object protruding from the bow and stern for design, although this is only inferred from historical sources. Viking ships were not just used for their military prowess but for long-distance trade, exploration and colonization.

After being heavily taken down by Peter Lynn on Cervia beach in 1995 I added one cell.

It was promptly approved by Peter.

Volvolare

A Chinese Dragon type kite, but with alternating round and triangular cells, with a Volvo 850 as ‘dragonhead’.

    VOLVO (latin) - I roll

    Volare (italian) - I fly

Made in 1995

Volvo Cars (Swedish: Volvo personvagnar), stylized as VOLVO, is a Swedish luxury vehicles brand. Its cars are marketed as being safe, solidly built, and reliable.  It is headquartered in Torslanda in Gothenburg, Sweden.

The company Volvo Cars was founded in 1927 as a subsidiary of the ball bearing manufacturer SKF.  Volvo Cars is now a subsidiary of the Chinese automotive company Geely.