Farewell AndyFly

AndyFly (Andrew Muirden) sadly passed away yesterday 29th August 2011 aged 47 years old.  

He will be missed by the whole community here at Extreme Kites, as well as the family and friends he has left behind.  AndyFly was not just a talented kiter, he was an inspirational person to so many.

AndyFly joined the Extreme Kites community in January of 2008 after being a "lurker."  He had purchased himself a second hand buggy after flying static for some time, the kiting bug had bit him and he was like any new kiter eager and excited.

AndyFly's first post on Extreme Kites finished with the line "enjoy reading and learning from the posts and hope to contribute."  At the point of writing that post three and a half years ago I don't think anyone, nor AndyFly himself would have imagined the positive impact he would have on Land Kiting all around Australia.  The more AndyFly kited, the more experience he gained, the more he shared and the larger his smiles grew.  His passion for kiting was infectious, as was his drive to help others.  If you were interested in land kiting, and had an afternoon spare, AndyFly would find a whole day spare and drive to meet you, welcome you and teach you.

March 2010 AndyFly joined the BrisKites Team, where his welcome described perfectly the person he was. His welcome was as much an endorsement of AndyFly as an individual, as it was a welcome to a team:

"I would like to welcome Andyfly to the BrisKites team. Andy has all the attributes we look for in a team rider at Briskites. Enthusiasm, talent and integrity." - Jason Kitchen, BrisKites

AndyFly appeared on websites and in magazines, however most notably in the last eighteen months he appeared at nearly every kiting event throughout the country!  January of this year AndyFly made his first trek, as did many of us to Kingston in South Australia. We had arguably one of the best times kiting, whether it was on the beach we camped on, or trekking off to the dry lake at midnight to kite in pitch black with the sound of AndyFly's wheels taking off followed by a thud as AndyFly soared through a pitch black sky with no moon.

After having spent a week on the beach in South Australia his passion, talent and enthusiasm for kiting was so evident to everyone there that the Adelaide Kite Flyers Association flew him as a guest to the Adelaide International Kite Festival where he displayed his skills in front of a huge crowd of onlookers.

This year AndyFly has taught and inspired many people, he was building momentum and growing in the community.  AndyFly kited more frequently, in more places around Australia than ever before bringing his vibrant, positive personality to every destination.  The Extreme Kites Team will also miss AndyFly's input, he was not only a public "Contributor" on the team however behind the scenes in the team areas he was always happy to share his ideas with us.

Our thoughts and condolences go out to all the "Flys" as we got to know them as, all the "big flys" and especially his son Daniel, "little fly" with whom he had just spent a great weekend kiting.  

Some photos of AndyFly enjoying life...