A day spent with family...

     My love for flying stunt kites started on a very special day in October 1992. Prior to that day, I didn't know what "stunt kite flying" was.
     I was on vacation visiting my eldest brother and his wife and two sons who were young teens at the time. We were all sitting in the living room and the conversation turned to "What are we going to do today?". My brother said, "We're going to take you kite flying". With a surprised look on my face and thinking "oh boy, kids diamond kites, my nephews can't be interested in this", he immediately said, "Stunt kites........two hands".  I didn't know what I was in for. After arriving at a small undeveloped park a few blocks from their home, I soon realized what flying a Top Of The Line Spin-Off and Hawaiian was about. I remember it being a "wow" moment, seeing (and hearing) those kites in the sky and it being a real test of coordination also. It was fun and eye opening. I flew mostly the Spin-Off but did get a taste of the Hawaiian. We all had a great day of flying and I couldn't wait to do it again.
     Later that night after dinner and hanging out in the living room again, my two nephews walked out of one of the bedrooms holding one of the kites we flew, all wrapped up neatly in its bag. They said, "Here uncle Kenny, this is for you". It was the 12 Panel Rainbow Spin-Off. I was shocked. I looked right at my brother like "really?" and he said "Go ahead, take it. You had fun today. You can learn on this one and when your ready you can move up to a Hawaiian". I am so lucky to have a great family.

Today...
     Since then, every time I fly that kite, I relive that day. I am thankful of this event because it has brought me many great days of kite flying. What I like most about kite flying is that it makes me think about life, god, family and....I dream!

SoarinKites.com...

     After 20 years of flying sport kites, I started acquiring Top Of The Line Sport Kites. After a few poor purchases, I quickly realized I needed to educate myself on the details of the TOTL kites. On to the internet!...Nope. No single website existed for what I was looking for. My searching did lead me to many websites though, including the AKA, the Kitelife Forum and the GWTW  Forum. Even with many resources, they only offered "some" pieces of the puzzle. My greatest and most unexpected find in my search though was Pam Kirk and Mike Dennis. They were not only the ultimate source for anything TOTL, we became the best of friends. SoarinKites.com and The Soarin Collection for that matter, would not be what it is today without Pam & Mike.

     After years of learning from Pam & Mike, I eventually expressed the idea to them of building a website where anyone could 1) learn about the history of TOTL and the people involved (the Museum), 2) get details of every TOTL kite model (Reference) and 3) see all the kites in question (The Soarin Collection). They were very supportive and began for the first time to realize the importance of documenting their kites and artifacts especially when they began to part with them. This website began as a collaboration between Mike Dennis and my self. Nothing was published without the approval of Mike. One underlying issue with a site like this is "information loss" as Mike put it. Since many years have past since the "Flight Squadron" and the manufacturing of TOTL kites, memories have faded and some details may be gone forever. Luckily, many publications still exist and Pam & Mike were excellent note takers.

     Although The Soarin Collection is focused mainly on the Top Of The Line Sport Kites brand, other dual line stunt kites and SLK's (Single Line Kites) in the collection are represented also. The Soarin Collection is comprised of the kite collections of myself, Ken Parsons and my brother Warren Parsons. SoarinKites.com exists to preserve the history of Top Of The Line Sport Kites, the company that started "team" stunt kite flying and is presented here for reference to kite enthusiasts. Enjoy!

The Future...

     Is bright.

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