Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The SkySails propulsion system consists of a large foil kite, an electronic control system for the kite, and an automatic system to retract the kite. The kite, while 1–2 orders of magnitude larger, bears similarities to the arc kites used in kitesurfing. However, the kite is an inflatable rather than a ram-air kite.
The tug kite line is very elastic; when tensed, the line is long; during use for launch, the kite line shortens. Controlling the kite's wing attitudes is up to the pilot who frequently is hung from a short kite line while controlling a triangle control frame or other airframe part or even aerodynamic surface controls. Professional instruction ...
Kite rig; List of kite festivals; Sea Tails, video installation; Solar balloon, a solar-heated hot air balloon that can be flown like a kite, but on windless days. Uttarayan, the kite flying festival of western India; Weifang International Kite Festival
The mast also inflates and deflates the kite. When not in use, mast and deflated kite fold away. [4] A conventional ship with a SkySails system burns less fuel, and has two propulsion methods, making it a type of hybrid vehicle. SkySails' kite propulsion from upper wind power is a traction use of high altitude wind power.
For long voyages, the kite rig must be more autonomously controlled. Due to the lifting power of kites, they are often used with hydrofoils. [2] Points of sail (with a kite buggy) Current kite rigs can be sailed within 50 degrees of the wind. [1] Placing turbines in the boat's hull can let the kite power generate electricity on board. [3]
The lift generated by the kite and other flying characteristics are affected by the kite's angle of attack, which is set by the bridle; the arrangement of lines which terminate the main kite lines and attach to a number of points across the kite's surface. Power kites having 4 or 5 lines come in two variants, fixed bridle and depowerable.
The Peel was a popular kite traction kite in the early to mid-1990s and continued to sell into the late 1990s and was sold in sizes up to 10 m 2. The Peel was also a two-line kite flown in the same style as the Flexifoil. The next evolution on the foil kites for traction activities was the development of the 4-line foil kite.
Good kite design and construction practice includes the aim of having the left and right sides of the kite's wing be mirror images of each other, for balance. A collection of builders are exploring asymmetrical designs, which involve special challenges. [71] Autogyro kites (gyro kite, heli-kite, helicopter kite) use unpowered autorotation