November 2011 Archive

K2 tow test – Nov 22

11/22/11

Today we towed K2 around the bay to test new logger updates. We hoped also to try our new 50 sqm high-aspect-ratio kite, but the wind was too low. Damon’s father-in-law joined us on the Protector. Joe and Vincent also tried out brand-new drysuits, and Gabe’s father visited the shop.

from Jamie:
For the first time on K2, we are now recording the kitearm angle and the rudder pitch angle. We are particularly interested in relating the rudder pitch to the boat speed, since this is an important manual adjustment that could be automated in the future. Currently, the helmsman must adjust the pitch of the rudder to keep the boat level as the boat speed changes. An example […more]

New 50 sqm kite

11/21/11

We received our new 40 sqm and 50 sqm high-aspect-ratio kites from China. Today Don and Joe set up the 50 sqm in the shop. We hope to test it tomorrow on K2 if the wind is strong enough.

Kite Inflation Maintenance System

11/15/11

Jamie has augmented our kite inflation controller, which monitors a kite’s inflation levels and maintains a designated psi by inflating the kite further, in case of a leak or temperature change, for example. The new electronics add precise pressure measurement, a radio link to the ground, and remote pressure control. In the photos, the system is inflating a kite section to 8 psi. Our smaller kites take higher inflation pressures, up to 9 psi, whereas the larger kites take lower pressures, 2-3 psi. This system is splashproof, but not waterproof, which is sufficient now that our launch and retrieval procedures largely keep the kite out of the water.

The graph shows the pressure as the small kite section is inflated […more]

K2 test with 30 sqm kite – Nov 4

11/4/11

A short test today, our first with the new kitearm. Not a lot of wind, but we did get up on foils and get some pull on the kitearm, which worked well under those conditions. We tested the kitearm in the shop prior to taking it out (see previous post) to ensure that there was no danger of it breaking under high kite loads.

Kai View Data:
20111104-k2-30m-kiteArm.kai.bz2