Richmond Air Force

The Richmond Air Force was founded in 1986 when a group of kite fliers began to congregate at Innsbrook Office Park in western Henrico County, near Richmond, VA. In the beginning, there were no competitions and few community kite flys. Fliers met on Saturday and Sundays, mostly flying Hawaiian Team kites and Spin-offs. Growth was slow and erratic a... lthough the membership role grew steadily. There was no attempt to build any formal organization and news of events was transmitted by one newsletter and by word of mouth. Appearances were made at the Smithsonian Institute in March and at Wildwood, NJ in May by various members of the group. Members competed at the Outer Banks, NC, Ocean City, MD and at Wildwood, NJ on a regular basis. Around 1990, commercial growth at Innsbrook began to squeeze out the kiting enthusiasts and a search was made to locate a new flying site. After much searching, the group discovered Dorey Park off Darby town Road in Eastern Henrico County. It wasn't as well kept in the beginning - the amenities were somewhat spartan - but improvements were made regularly as more people discovered the park. Today, Dorey Park provides fields for soccer, football, baseball, softball, and rugby. The Richmond Air Force has adopted this park as its home field. While the field is criticized as a low wind location, most of the top competitors in the Eastern League show up at the Old Dominion Stunt Kite Championships in late June each year for a top flight show of kiting mastery. Fliers travel from an area bounded by New Hampshire, Ohio, and Florida just to attend this particular event which is second or third in attendance in the Eastern League each year. In recent years, the Richmond Air Force has made an effort to carry kiting across the Commonwealth of Virginia. Events have been scheduled at Dorey Park in Henrico County, at Roanoke, VA, at Newport News, VA, at Orange County, VA., at Lignum, VA. at Winchester, VA, Nags Head, NC, and at Beach Mountain, N.C. The club members demonstrate many different types of ...Read More