Kite Design, Manufacturing, and Repair

K2 Test – Mar 5

3/6/13

We took K2 out today in blustery conditions with winds from the South. We flew the same 50 sqm kite as yesterday, with this morning’s new bridle. The bridle distributed the load in such a way that the kite looked very flat, and we decided both that this bridle was not an improvement and that it was too windy for such a large kite. We then launched the 18 sqm kite with the unusual planform, which we had not yet flown in sufficient wind. The 18 sqm kite performed very well, and we hit a top speed of 33 knots with 3 crew. Attached kite closeups are mostly of this kite. We will try […more]

Bridle System Algorithm

2/8/12

Dudu has been working on the bridle system algorithm for the last 3 weeks, and he finally got it working.

It has the same tools as the current software with many improvements. The algorithm finds the perfect path from the bar through all the bifurcating points along the “tree” to finally end on each kite attachment point. Attached are some screen grabs of one bridle model, and below is the XML file that contains bridle data and the C++ code that is the “engine” of the bridle system.

This was designed to be flexible and allow the use on many types of objects other than conventional kites. Dudu is now working now on the UI (User Interface) to facilitate the flexible design and […more]

China trip December 2011 – Gas Kite Model

12/19/11

The Gas Kite is a lifting device that mixes the use of lighter-than-air gas lift with lift from a kite. Perfect for missions when the wind is too light to use our ROK kites to lift cameras, we take advantage that it will go up with almost no wind, then it will catch the light breeze that will help to stay even higher and stable.

Our main development this time in the factory was to study the 3D inflated shape of the lifting balloon. The original Gas Kite is made by welding 2 flat circles. The resulting inflated shape is not a sphere, but a “flattened sphere”, more like a pancake… or a burger. Because the balloon is made with […more]

Kiteboat kite with ribs

12/19/11
Bottom skin

Dudu and Don are working on a new kiteboat kite design that will feature a single leading edge with a partial lower skin to fair the entry. Plastic ribs, location at the stations where there is no strut to connect the top and bottom skins, will keep the geometry stable.

Shown in the photos is a sample section of this design. The tip sections on a whole kite will be held taut by the leading edge–the final shape should resemble the shape in the photos where Dudu holds the kite, and not the shape shown at the bottom. Black airfoil shape is a plastic rib–there are three in this sample section. Photo of Dudu holding the kite cross-wise shows the […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.

Precise kite inflation

7/19/11

Don and Joe modified the inflation tube that we use with the compressed air tank so it is possible to see to what pressure the kite is inflated. Previously, this was a problem with the compressed air tanks, because we just had to guess at the inflation by eyeballing the kite. The electric kite pumps have pressure gauges, but they take much longer to inflate a kite. Don and Joe used the newly arrived Cuben Fiber and Dacron kite for practice. We’ll use this kite for the first time later today on the Kitefoiler.