Who keeps QuadKites.org alive?

QuadKites.org is a volunteer project dedicated to sharing knowledge about quad-line kites.

I mainly design, write and maintain it, but its content owes a great deal to the pilots, builders, teams and creators who have been sharing their experience for many years.

My name is Alban Baraffe, but in the kite community I am mostly known as Alban Kites.

I have been flying quad-line kites since 2018. I enjoy precision, of course, but above all the pleasure of flying, progressing and having fun with other pilots.

Flying with others is where I have learned the most: observing, sharing, adapting to others and building something together. It also taught me how to guide a group while staying attentive to each person’s level, pace and enjoyment.

I created QuadKites.org to extend that experience beyond the flying field: gather scattered knowledge, make it more accessible and help it circulate between pilots.

The site relies heavily on the experiences, creations and content shared by the community. I also increasingly add my own knowledge, observations and field notes.

This approach continues on the field, through exchanges between pilots, team flying and kite clinic facilitation in France.

I research, organize and write content, adapt or translate selected resources, document techniques and maneuvers, restore old websites and develop QuadKites.org.

QuadKites.org is also an experimental ground where I test digital practices discovered through my professional experience.

It is a way to learn by doing, while trying to produce something useful and lasting for the kite-flying community.

I can rely on kite-flying friends whom I ask for advice, proofreading, corrections, field tests or feedback. They do not necessarily write pages, but their perspective as a pilot, builder or organizer makes the content more accurate and more useful.

Special thanks to:

• François Kite
• René Boscassi
• Marco Bandera
• Elena Bandera
• Sara Rizzetto
• Gilles Szpyrka
• Jean Apostolides

Until now, these contributions have often stayed in the background of the project. Naming them is also a way to recognize this quiet work: a remark, a doubt cleared up, or an explanation tested with someone can improve a page as much as a long paragraph.

A large part of QuadKites.org is based on resources originally produced by kite flyers: building tutorials, educational videos, plans, competition figures, articles, forum discussions and old community websites.

Some creators play a broader role than producing a single resource. They publish, organize and maintain content that keeps kiting alive on the web, a rare, demanding and valuable effort.

I especially want to highlight several still-active people whose work has inspired, and still inspires, the evolution of QuadKites.org:

• Thierry Bressure, for his KiteJust4Fun blog;
• Nilo Velez, for the collection of plans shared through Kiteplans.org;
• Nic O’Neil, for her many videos, Fortuna Found, Sportkite.org and her channel’s podcasts;
• Sven Arnesen, for his Aerialis Kites blog and tutorials;
• Jesse Kapsten, for his active Sky Rider LTD channel;
• John Barresi, for his considerable work to develop quad-line kiting and make it accessible to everyone, especially through KiteForge.com and Fly With Intent.

Their work is not all present on QuadKites.org, but it matters to the spirit of the site: sharing what we know, making resources easy to find and making people want to keep learning.

When I republish, adapt or archive a resource, I try to keep the connection with its origin: author, context, available source and adaptations made. Among the people and projects already presented on the site are Polo Kites, Yves Ganne, Punk Sportif, Christiaan, Kite Just 4 Fun, Revomania, Addict Kite and Tom’s Kite Building.

You do not need to write a long article to contribute: all feedback, even very short, is welcome.

A correction, a photograph, field feedback, a translation, an old resource found again or a clearer explanation can already move the project forward.

You can contact us to propose a contribution, request a correction, suggest a resource to reference, share field knowledge or add details about the origin of a piece of content. Even simple feedback on a useful page helps us enrich the site and encourages us to keep going.

Last updated Jul 26, 2026