Chris Croft

February 2001

Chris is one of the more well known kiting characters, and can often be found at kite festivals sat on top of his white van commentating on the events (and passing spectators).
Despite his close involvement with the Berrow kite buggy festival, Chris was not actually an organiser. Instead he was happy to provide the use of his caravan and PA during the week to help make the event more enjoyable for everyone concerned.
On an evening Chris kept people entertained in the Berrow marquee with his own unique sense of humour.

Q. How did you get in to kiting ?
A. "I first picked up a kite as a kid. My first kite was a Red Arrow aluminium frame plastic kite and was 6ft tall.
Next I had a Brookite number 2 stunter and started stacking a few of these together. In the end I had a train of 15 tied together with fishing line.
I started the Kent Kite Klub and was chairman of that for nine years.
I bought my first buggy in 1990 and flew Peels. The first buggy meetings were held at Gwithian, St. Ives in Cornwall and I became the first person in Britain to buy a 'Land Lizard'.
At the first European Championship ever held in Pembrey I came first. I was a total outsider and had three kites and one buggy at that time.
There is a danger that when you have too much kit it becomes difficult to choose the right kite. I just had three kites and so I had to go with what I had. Now I have a massive amount of kit including nine buggies".

Q. What do you do when you are not flying kites ?
A. "I'm a Plasterer. I specialise in lime putty & ceilings."

Q. What do you enjoy about kiting ?
A. "Nowadays I'm more of a promoter than a flyer. I enjoy turning a kite show into an interesting event, which is why I have the PA.
I do talks at schools and scout meetings about kiting and have done TV work in the past. When I started the Kent Kite Klub lots of old men came out of the woodwork and brought along the kites they had made in the past."

Q. At what point did you realise that kiting was becoming more than just a hobby ?
A. "It always has been a passion. It was Peter Powell that really helped kiting become more popular."

Q. What is the highlight of your kite flying life so far ?
A. "I've always been there at the forefront and held all the enduro trophies. I'm probably a bit crazy. I held the record at Pembrey for endurance over two miles. I've also taken part in a twelve hour enduro at Saunton Sands which was about 1300 miles and had 5 teams of 3 people."

Q. What is your favourite kite ?
A. "My favourites are a set of 3 Speed Wings, and my Snoopy Red Baron."

	Chris buggying with Snoopy

Q. What is the funniest thing you have done or seen involving kites ?
A. "The freestyle buggier at Berrow."

Q. What would you like to happen next in kiting ?
A. "My main aim in life is to see fair play. I don't want to see underdogs, I want to see everybody enjoying themselves.
I'm a bit of an independent person and so if people are nice to me I'm nice to them. I'm also a people watcher, my main hobby is studying people."

Q. Where is kiting going (buggying, surfing, etc) ?
A. "I'm a buggier and so kite surfing holds no interest for me. I'm a bit annoyed by kite surfing because it has all the books, magazines, etc. now. Perhaps buggying is going to grow so big that it burns itself out; there will be no place to go. People are not always aware about the availability of insurance such as through the BBC or PKA, and just go buggying uninsured which could lead to problems for everyone.

 

Chris lived up to his enduro reputation and was presented with the 'Last Gasp Plate' at the THE LAST GASP 2000.
Report and photo's at www.airbrain.co.uk/Last Gasp 2000 report.htm.

Chris Croft is a National Instructor for Kite Buggies and a good person to speak to for kiting advice.
If you would like to contact Chris about talks on kites, or need someone to commentate at your festival, contact the Kite Gallery on 01892 521042.