First kite test with new foils. Sensor stiffeners worked nicely. We used the quadcopter to film the kite launch and beginning of the test. Joe’s dad, Jim Brock, joined us on this test.
Tow test today to test sensor extensions and modified T-foil. Sensor extensions were not stiff enough. We returned to the shop and stiffened them by bonding half-circular carbon tube to the inside of the sensors with methacrylate, for testing later today. We also practiced shooting video from the quadcopter. Joe’s dad, Jim Brock, joined us on this test.
First test of the year. We headed south toward the San Mateo bridge to catch some good wind. We used the chair wheels to steer the boat today, and we’re getting used to them. Big kite for the wind conditions; some difficulty with depower. We used the Garmin VIRB camera for the first time. It has excellent video quality and writes gps data to gpx files that Jamie should be able to link to KAIView, which would finally allow us to line up visual and numerical data points. Martin Bretschneider and Peter Trow joined us on this test.
Took the kiteboat out in low wind to try the new 40 sqm kite for the first time. This kite is part of the new quiver of kites and has the same design as the 25 and 18 sqm kites we used earlier this month. The larger sized kite proved very helpful in the low wind, but we were disappointed in the kite’s ability to hold its shape under load. This design features unusually slim struts, which worked well with a higher inflation pressure on the 18 sqm kite, but the struts do not seem rigid enough for this larger size. We noticed this problem to a lesser extent with the 25 sqm version of this kite. We’re currently working […more]
Test today for a last chance at photographing from the helicopter before Dudu goes back to Brazil. The wind was gusty and disappointingly low, but an unusual wind direction and some unexpected wildfire smoke made for good lighting and unique camera angles. We measured each of the bridle segments on the 25 sqm KW kite this morning and photographed the leading edge to check for asymmetry, but found nothing off. It does have wingtip battens that are smaller than those in the the 20, 30, and 40 sqm versions of the same design. Erika joined us again today, as did Roland Verheul.
