Kites & kiting

[JMJones0424]

This paper from a study in Texas is referenced in the above article. >> Wind and Temperature Profile Characteristics From Observations on a 1400 ft. Tower

I think this is the correct url for your link: http://journals.ametsoc.org/doi/pdf/10.1175/1520-0450(1964)003%3C0299%3AWATPCF%3E2.0.CO%3B2

 

Thank you, I will read it shortly. [EDIT]  After reading, It's clear that my understanding of the topic is far more deficient than I imagined.

Edited July 16, 2017 by JMJones0424

[Turtle]

I think this is the correct url for your link: http://journals.ametsoc.org/doi/pdf/10.1175/1520-0450(1964)003%3C0299%3AWATPCF%3E2.0.CO%3B2

 

Thank you, I will read it shortly. [EDIT]  After reading, It's clear that my understanding of the topic is far more deficient than I imagined.

Link fixed. Danke.

 

I'm right there learning with you JM.

[Turtle]

I'm trying to work up the wherewithal to get out and do some flying, and toward that end I took out my kites and set each up and inspected them. I also bought 300 yds. of 80 lb. test braided Dacron line, the first decent line I have had in decades. (I had been using bulky twisted line of unknown test.) Stay tuned...

 

I also ran across a PDF from Kitelines magazine which gives a thorough history of kiting over the last century or so. Still reading, but here's the link for those of you interested peeps. >> Kite For a Purpose (The Golden Age of Kites?)

[LaurieAG]

I'm trying to work up the wherewithal to get out and do some flying, and toward that end I took out my kites and set each up and inspected them. I also bought 300 yds. of 80 lb. test braided Dacron line, the first decent line I have had in decades. (I had been using bulky twisted line of unknown test.) Stay tuned...

 

I also ran across a PDF from Kitelines magazine which gives a thorough history of kiting over the last century or so. Still reading, but here's the link for those of you interested peeps. >> Kite For a Purpose (The Golden Age of Kites?)

 

Braided Dacron is excellent for kite strings Turtle as they have limited and consistent stretch characteristics wet or dry.

 

This article might be a potential candidate for some sort of future self deployed kite assisted lander. 

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/print-then-heat-self-assembling-space-stations-180963997/

[Turtle]

Braided Dacron is excellent for kite strings Turtle as they have limited and consistent stretch characteristics wet or dry.

The package says 'Low Stretch'. :thumbs_up I think my mistake all these years has been looking for flying line in the hardware departments. Low and behold, I found the braided Dacron in the fishing department. :lol: The package also says 'Hollow, spliceable construction', though with 300 yards of the stuff I can't imagine having to make any splices. Diameter is .078" which will give considerably less drag than my previous junk.

 

I made up a 50' length of the Dacron line with snap swivels at each end, and I plan to use this between a smaller lead kite and a heavier kite below in a train.

 

This article might be a potential candidate for some sort of future self deployed kite assisted lander. 

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/print-then-heat-self-assembling-space-stations-180963997/

Cool thingy! However, in order to be a kite there would have to be a tether to ground and that would require a landing of its own. Nonetheless, the glider-lander concept is good and in fact has been proposed for mini-probes.

This Probe Will Hang-Glide Down to the Surface of Mars: Meet MARSDROP, JPL's new future Mars microprobe

 

A tensegrity kite is an interesting idea. Here are some commercial models:

>> Synergy 333 @ Windswept Kites

>> Synergetic Series @ Windswept Kites

 

>> Main page Windswept Kites

[LaurieAG]

Here's my current thinking for my Flymaxion™ kite. All squares will be sails and all triangles left open. Orientation and bridling as below; brown arrow is wind direction. What say yee? 320px-Cuboctahedronb.jpg

 

Those opposite square panels look good Turtle but the kite may be a bit un flight worthy with the 2 pairs of parallel square sides being at angles to each other. 

[hazelm]

___I recall meeting an older guy at one of the kite festivals back in the 80's who related a neat story. Seems it was back in the 1920's before widespread electrification of the rural areas, ie. no overhead wires, & this guy & his friends took a kerosene lamp & tied it inside a large box kite. Then they tied the kite to the bumper of their Model T Ford & took off driving through the countryside. The old man said the whole countryside was in an uproar over the 'mystery' lights in the sky!

___One of the neat things about it all was how this old fella's eyes lit up as he relived his youth in that story. Now I'm wondering what is the oldest example of a kite known? Mmmm...

Turtle, I confess to not having read all three pages but wondering if you got your answer.   Oldest kite?  Perhaps Icarus?  He went up with his.  Came back down with it, too, poor fellow.

 

Excuse me.   34 pages?  Excuse?  With temperature fast approaching 103, I refuse to accept responsibility for anything I do today.  Whew!

Edited July 21, 2017 by hazelm

[Turtle]

Those opposite square panels look good Turtle but the kite may be a bit un flight worthy with the 2 pairs of parallel square sides being at angles to each other.

Acknowledged. I will report on results of experiments once I get the thing together. I have 4 square frames done, and 2 to go. The triangles will appear of themselves as I glue the square frames to one-another. I will proceed in full knowledge that this thing may fly as well as a stick alone. :doh:

 

Turtle, I confess to not having read all three pages but wondering if you got your answer.   Oldest kite?  Perhaps Icarus?  He went up with his.  Came back down with it, too, poor fellow.

 

Excuse me.   34 pages?  Excuse?  With temperature fast approaching 103, I refuse to accept responsibility for anything I do today.  Whew!

I haven't seen any reference to kites in ancient Greece, and Icarus is said to have worn wings as did his father Daedalus that made them. Wings, not being tethered to the ground, can't be counted as kites. Some say Daedalus invented the sail and that he and Icarus escaped Crete by boat and Icarus fell in and drowned. :shrug: I would count a sail closer to a kite than wings.

 

The earliest written record of kites that I have run across come from 5th century BCE in China.

 

Take your time reading and don't let that heat get the better of you! :weather_hot:

[hazelm]

Acknowledged. I will report on results of experiments once I get the thing together. I have 4 square frames done, and 2 to go. The triangles will appear of themselves as I glue the square frames to one-another. I will proceed in full knowledge that this thing may fly as well as a stick alone. :doh:

 

I haven't seen any reference to kites in ancient Greece, and Icarus is said to have worn wings as did his father Daedalus that made them. Wings, not being tethered to the ground, can't be counted as kites. Some say Daedalus invented the sail and that he and Icarus escaped Crete by boat and Icarus fell in and drowned. :shrug: I would count a sail closer to a kite than wings.

 

The earliest written record of kites that I have run across come from 5th century BCE in China.

 

Take your time reading and don't let that heat get the better of you! :weather_hot:

You are right.  It was actually wings.  I just connected the two.  How much difference is there?  Both float on air.  But if you mean real kites - and I know you do - I just read this in Webster's International Encyclopedia:  "Originating in the ancient Far East, kite flying has long been a popular sport and has been used  for meteorological observations" - which you already knew, of course.  I'll bet children invented it.  Sound good?  Carry on.

Edited July 21, 2017 by hazelm

[Turtle]

You are right. It was actually wings. I just connected the two. How much difference is there? Both float on air. But if you mean real kites - and I know you do - I just read this in Webster's International Encyclopedia: "Originating in the ancient Far East, kite flying has long been a popular sport and has been used for meteorological observations" - which you already knew, of course. I'll bet children invented it. Sound good? Carry on.

I'll bet whoever invented the first kite was a child at some time. Onward & upward!

[hazelm]

Who would ever have thought flying a kite could be so complicated?  And here we are always telling someone to "Go fly a kite".  

Edited July 23, 2017 by hazelm

[Turtle]

Who would ever have thought flying a kite could be so complicated?  And here we are always telling someone to "Go fly a kite".  

The more I learn, the more I learn. :lol: From a simple dime-store delta to power generating giants, kiting is a fascinating topic for all. Those who would disagree can go pound sand down a rat hole. :P

[hazelm]

I was fascinated by your picture of a box kite.  Or I think that was the picture.  I would never have dreamed that.  And it flies!  Of course, they said the Wright brothers' "kite"  (plane) wouldn't fly but it did.  Never say never.   Can't make the Smiley work this morning.  So, <G>

[hazelm]

It was the one where you posted the following in reply to Laurie's comment that a kite you'd made or planned might not fly.  It was on a desk.  You wrote:

 

An update photo and a revisit of your comment Laurie. If you think about 'standard' box kites, they too have 2 pairs of parallel square sides at angles to each other. :good:

 

Probably a couple more days before any test flying.

[hazelm]

Ah, so that isn't the box kite.  Seen from a different angle, I get a totally different perspective.  Thanks.  hazelm

[Turtle]

Okaly dokaly. I have repaired the broken strut and cut away 2 opposite square sails. Result pictured below. I have it sitting in more-or-less the orientation I think it will fly, with the wind coming from directly behind the viewer. The 2 brown dots on the ends of the center horizontal strut are where I will first try a  2-leg bridle. Also marked on the image with 3 green dots at each corner are the 2 triangular faces to which I may be adding sails. 1 triangular face is on the bottom in the front, the other is on the top in the back.

Visual illusions free. A gentle head bang may help with perception.

Smoke 'em if ya got 'em. :esmoking:

Edited September 28, 2017 by Turtle

[hazelm]

Okaly dokaly. I have repaired the broken strut and cut away 2 opposite square sails. Result pictured below. I have it sitting in more-or-less the orientation I think it will fly, with the wind coming from directly behind the viewer. The 2 brown dots on the ends of the center horizontal strut are where I will first try a  2-leg bridle. Also marked on the image with 3 green dots at each corner are the 2 triangular faces to which I may be adding sails. 1 triangular face is on the bottom in the front, the other is on the top in the back.

Visual illusions free. A gentle head bang may help with perception.

Smoke 'em if ya got 'em. :esmoking:

 

And it will fly despite all those "escape holes" in it because of the four "wings".  Forgive my terms.  I have a vivid imagination for naming things.

 

I never heard of a cuboctahedron but if Buckminster is for it I am for it.  Carry on while I play catchup here.  Hazel