I last talked to Glenn Heasley in 2017. He and his partner George Ellis had launched a new business, Go Fly Your Kite, and it was taking off. It began when Glenn’s four-year-old son was flying his kite on the beach at Ballywalter, Co Down. Oliver insisted on drawing his own designs on the wings - little did he know the impact his idea would have, because it sowed a seed in his father’s imagination.
From Little Acorns
“It occurred to me there would be interest in not only the design but the mechanics of making and flying a kite and that it could be a valuable teaching instrument.” Fast forward seven years and Go Fly Your Kite is something to be reckoned with.
“Our workshops are both cross-community and cross-generational and can be dovetailed to reflect any topic for any community organisation,” he says.
“In June we’ll be involved in the Cruinniú na nÓg creative festival for young people on Saturday June 15. Before that there are events at Hillsborough Castle over Easter, in Girdwood Hub in north Belfast and in Downpatrick on St Patrick’s Day.”
Workshops are held in museums, schools, libraries and within community settings. They can be conducted in person or online, and plans are always moving forward; a radio controlled kite has popped up on the website and George and Glenn are looking to AI to help develop their ideas.
Children in Ukraine wanted no more air raid sirens and to return to their homes and be reunited with their displaced families
Themed For Any Event Anywhere
Parents and teachers are encouraged to get involved in the engineering aspect of kite flying using the natural environment of wind and space. There is also a health benefit as children become fixated on making and flying their kite rather than playing their video games.
“Last November we ran Science Week workshops for over 1,000 children across Ireland in association with Science Foundation Ireland. We focused on the science of flight with children aged eight years and upwards discussing gravity and aerodynamics with simple experiments.”
Some of those attending the workshops may well move on to work in the aeronautic industry, reflecting Lilian Bland who in 1911 became the first woman in Britain and Ireland to design, build and fly her own biplane Mayfly in Randalstown, Co Antrim.
The Word Is Out
“The highlight of the last 12 months has to have been our involvement in Eurovision 2023 in Liverpool,” says Glenn.
“Go Fly Your Kite was the only Ireland business from 700 applicants to deliver a project entitled ‘Land and Sky, Home and Dreams’ to children in Merseyside primary schools and to children in four war-torn cities across Ukraine. Our resources were couriered across Europe to Ukraine to enable the children to take part in exactly the same art kite workshops as those children taking part in Liverpool.
“Our project discussed the different emotions of children in Ukraine compared to children in Merseyside whose dreams differed in comparison to children in Ukraine. They wanted to be professional footballers and ballerinas, children in Ukraine wanted no more air raid sirens and to return to their homes and be reunited with their displaced families.
“We flipped the responses so children in Ukraine could see the lives of children in the UK and vice versa and the responses were remarkable. A unique heart warming project as the kites united children of Ukraine and UK. This culminated in a collective finale in both Merseyside and Ukraine with all the kites flown by the children.”
Certainly kite flying is fun but there’s a deeper meaning to this family-based concern. Children and adults are learning fascinating facts through kite flying; for instance, did you know the fastest recorded speed of a kite is over 120mph and the longest flying time is 180 hours?
I learned that wind is smooth until it hits an obstacle, that the aeroplane is a development of the kite and that aviation pioneer Samuel Cody crossed the English Channel in a small canvas boat powered by a kite. In 1901 Marconi used a kite to transmit the first radio signals across the Atlantic and Benjamin Franklin used a kite to prove that lightning was electricity.
Glenn tells how a 19-year-old boy in his wheelchair was able to draw on his kite, he was pushed around a football pitch and when his kite flew he was thrilled. A 10-year-old boy with autism used his pens to write his name for the first time.
“After one workshop, we all went outside to fly our kites, no two the same, the pride and joy of those who created them. For one unforgettable moment I stood there in wonder when all I could see were hundreds of kites and hear the laughter of delighted children - that was something special.”
More excitement to come.
