The last time Jack Maschhoff flew a kite was 70 years ago. Yesterday, the 84-year-old Detroiter relived the thrill, but only for a few chilly minutes.
Cold gusts of wind lifted Maschhoff's 7 1/2-by-6 1/2-foot nylon kite off the ground, which was good -- until it pulled him down the Mall faster than his legs could keep up, dragging him through the mud.
Maschhoff came to the District to show off a kite he designed featuring a likeness of the United Nations seal. Before sending it to the U.S. Embassy in Iraq, he wanted it to fly in the Smithsonian's 39th annual Kite Festival.
He was among hundreds of unhappy kite fliers, including some from as far as Trinidad and China, who longed to participate in the festival, called "A Sky Fantasy." Some decided not to fly their homemade kites for fear of breaking them as the winds blew at 28 to 32 mph, festival organizers said.
"No kites are flying good. I'm disappointed," Maschhoff said. "It's too much wind."
Even some festival-goers from the Windy City declared it too windy.
"This is windier than Chicago," said Raphael Marczak, 13. He was visiting the District with his cousin Marta Micko, 15, while on spring break. Marta got one of the Smithsonian's 2,000 free, mini diamond-shaped kites held together with two sticks. She was soon back at the booth with a stick in one hand and the bright orange plastic kite in the other.
"My kite came apart, and I lost the stick," she said. With a new one in tow, Marta didn't heed the volunteers as they warned against flying the free kites.
Marta's older sister, District resident Aurelia Micko, said it was her first time at the kite flying event, which is held during the two-week National Cherry Blossom Festival. Rain on Saturday postponed the event. Micko, 30, wasn't flying a kite, but she put a positive spin on the weather.
"Look at all this wind," Micko said. "Otherwise, the kites wouldn't fly. It's a bit of magic on a cold and windy day."
Some kites wouldn't fly, such as the two-wing Wright Flyer, a miniature replica of the 1903 Wright brothers airplane. It drew many onlookers because of its large size but crashed as soon as it was launched.
One requirement dropped from the competition was that the kites fly 100 feet high for at least one minute.
"If they can fly it the actual 100 feet, that's good, but there won't be a penalty," said Brigitte Blachere of the kite festival committee. "We're happy . . . happy to be flying kites and happy for people who came to the event."
Rick Kinnaird, another festival committee member, said yesterday's winds couldn't compare with the 55 mph winds at the event two decades ago. Kite flying in the District is all about timing, he said.
"The best time of year to fly around here is in the fall," said Kinnaird, who has participated in the Kite Festival for 38 years. "Everybody thinks spring is best, but like today, it's too windy." The ideal weather for kite flying has 10 mph winds, he said.
Arlington residents Agata Boksa, 27, and her husband, Pawel, decided to take part in the festival after Agata's father came from Hartford, Conn., with dreams of flying a kite.
George Rapinski, 50, was trying not to lose his grasp on his six-foot, purple and turquoise dragon kite, as he laughed about his plans to build his own kite next year.
This year was a different story. Rapinski and Boksa bought smaller kites to practice with Friday, and they wound up stuck in a tree. Yesterday's efforts weren't any easier.
"I'm just trying to keep it up in the air with everybody," Rapinski said. "The wind is too hard. The kites are getting tangled."
