Kite applications
Encyclopedia
The kite
is used to do certain things; one kite or many kites are applied to achieve certain purposes, objectives, or tasks, that is: applications. Humans have applied the kite to bring perceived benefits during peace and war alike. New applications for the kite continue to be found. Only some innovative applications appear in national patents; others are communicated in newspapers, magazines, books, and Internet pages. Air kites, water kites, bi-media kites, fluid kites, gas kites, kytoons, paravanes, soil kites, solid kites, and plasma kites have niche applications that are furthering the interests of humans. Non-human-made kites have applications; some spiders make use of kiting.
Free-flight cross-country hang gliding kites both in the hang glider style and the paraglider style are permitting trips of hundreds of miles; records are recorded by the FAI. George Pocock (inventor)
was an early pioneer in kites for transportation. NASA continues to explore free-flying kites for delivering goods to earth surface and non-earth planet surfaces, including Mars. The severe projects for using very large kites to sail cargo ships is currently underway; KiteSail(tm) and KiteShip (tm) along with a series of patents and improvements in control of large ship-carried kite systems aim to save significant fuel.
Kiting one's kayak is getting a significant following A. Kinsman - kite kayaking tutorial..
of Eddy-kite fame lifted cameras to take photographs of cities and landscapes. Today KAP is the hobby of many enthusiasts, is a tool for surveying land and animals, and a mode for artistic expression. Professor Charles Benton illustrates how KAP can grow in one's life. Scott Haefner has one of the most extensive collection of KAP photographs; he shares his technology. San Francisco. Those who do KAP are called kapers KAP.
has developed ship-pulling kites as a supplemental power source for cargo ship
s, first tested in January 2008 on the ship
MS Beluga Skysails
. Trials on this 55 m ship have shown that, in favorable winds, the kite increases fuel-efficiency by up to 30%. This system is planned to be in full commercial production late 2008. Kites are also available as an auxiliary sail or emergency spinnaker
for sailing boats. Self-launching Parafoil
kites are attached to the mast.
MS Beluga Skysails
is the world's first commercial container
cargo ship
which is partially powered by a giant computer
-controlled kite (160 m². or 1,722 sq ft.). The kite could reduce fuel consumption by 20%. It was launched 17 December 2007 and is set to leave the northern German port of Bremerhaven
to Guanta
, Venezuela
at 1700 local time (1600 GMT), January 22, 2008. Stephan Wrage, managing director of SkySails
GmbH announced: "During the next few months we will finally be able to prove that our technology works in practice and significantly reduces fuel consumption and emissions." Verena Frank, project manager at Beluga Shipping GmbH, SkySails GmbH's partner further stated that "the project's core concept was using wind energy as auxiliary propulsion power and using wind as a free of charge energy".
Kite yachting may have started with Benjamin Franklin's pond pull. English Channel crossing.
's famous (but dangerous) experiment proving that lightning
is electricity
. Kites had an historical role in lifting scientific instruments to measure atmospheric conditions for weather forecasting
.
experimented with very large man-lifting kite
s, as did the Wright brothers
and Lawrence Hargrave
.
, kite surfing, kite buggying, kite buggy jumping, kite landboarding
, freestyle kite landboarding, snow kiting or snowkiting, downhill speed kiting, hang gliding
, and kite high jumping are among the extreme kite sports wherein competitions are held.
's emphatic forwarding of two-line stunt kites or sport kite
s help to move stunt kiting into a popular activity as well as a competitive sport. Also, the parafoil stunt kites feed the same sporting activity. Events for kites of more than two control lines are very evident. The four-line Revolution kite has been setting new standards in precision flying. Informal field competition and formal sport competition support a stunt-kite industry; seemingly endless refinements to the kite wing and kite line along with accessories continue unabated.
North American Kite Fighter Association (NAFKA)
Trawl-board and paravane innovator
In Kite Fishing by the Salt-Water Natives of Mala or Malaita Island, British Solomon Islands T. W. Edge-Partington, leaf kites are described. The sago palm or ivory nut tree has leaves from which natives of Mala or Malaita Island made kites for fishing.
. Lofting drop lines is one, but things don't stop there. Net-spreading underwater kites, soil kites (kiting achors), kiting bait, control-kite trolling of bait, recreational kiting during fishing sessions, aerial photography of fishing environment using kites, and out and back cycles of trolling bait using a kite. Recreational fishing, commercial fishing, and scientific and military uses of depressors of tow lines use water kiting to accomplish the effects wanted. The Use of Kites for Fishing—George Webster wrote comprehensively on kite fishing. Jetty/Pier Fishing.; _
Paravanes for Sportfishing.
A plan view of a Solomon islander's leaf fishing kite is shown in a photograph held by the Pitt-Rivers Museum is viewable at Natural History Magazine online; Pick from the Past, Natural History, April 1957: "Go Fly a Kite".
A major research and development project called Makani Power
, based in California
and funded by Google.org
, is investigating the use of kites in harnessing high altitude wind currents to generate electricity.
Video links for generating electricity by using kites:
to perform various underwater duties, for lifting payloads from one point to another, for raising rescue signals from rafts or stressed areas, for raising communications antenna, and for observation by lifting an observer above the field of battle, and by using kite aerial photography
. Barrage kites have been used in both open frame kites and kytoon types to defense against enemy aircraft.
Kim Yu-Sin (or Kim Yushin
), a Korean general, in 637 C.E. rallied his troops to defeat rebels by kite lofting a burning ball.
Kites were also used by Admiral Yi of the Joseon
(1392-1910) Dynasty of Korea. During the Japanese invasions of Korea (1592-1598), Admiral Yi commanded his navy
with kites. His kites had specific markings directing his fleet to perform his order. Admiral Yi was said to have over 300 such kites. The war
eventually resulted in a Chinese and Korean victory; the kites played a minor role in the war's conclusion.
In more modern times the British navy also used kites to haul human lookouts high into the air to see over the horizon and possibly the enemy ships, for example with the kite developed by Samuel Franklin Cody. Barrage kites were used to protect London as well as the Pacific coast of the United States during the last century. Kites and kytoons were used for lofting communications antenna. Submarines lofted observers in rotary kites. The Rogallo parawing kite and the Jalbert parafoil kite were used for governable parachutes (free-flying kites) to deliver troops and supplies.
's famous experiment proving that lightning
is electricity
. Kites were the precursors to aircraft, and were instrumental in the development of early flying craft. Alexander Graham Bell
experimented with very large man-lifting kite
s, as did the Wright brothers
and Lawrence Hargrave
. Kites had an historical role in lifting scientific instruments to measure atmospheric conditions for weather forecasting
. The Weather Doctor Almanac.
Collecting kited spiders with kited nets: Kites are used to take samples of upper air and to collect things found in the upper air. The spiders that kite to disperse (so-called ballooning (spider)
s) have been found in nets raised to upper air for collecting ; the method is noted carefully in Spider Ballooning: Development and Evaluation of Field Trapping Methods (Araneae) Balloon kite of the so-called ballooning spiderlings; the spiders' kite is not a balloon.
may be more convenient for such experiments, because kite carried antennas require a lot of wind, which may be not always possible with heavy equipment and a ground conductor. It must be taken into account during experiments, that a conductor carried by a kite can lead to a high voltage toward ground, which can endanger people and equipment, if suitable precautions (grounding through resistors or a parallel resonant-circuit tuned to transmission frequency) are not taken.
Kites for Lifting Antennas
Kites can be used to carry light effects such as lightsticks or battery powered lights.
such as power kite
s can also be used to sail upwind under the same principles as used by other sailing craft, provided that lateral forces on the ground or in the water are redirected as with the keels, center boards, wheels and ice blades of traditional sailing craft. In the last two decades several kite sailing sports have become popular, such as kite buggy
ing and kite surfing.
Kite sailing opens several possibilities not available in traditional sailing:
The German company SkySails
has developed ship-pulling kites as a supplemental power source for cargo ship
s, first tested in January 2008 on the ship
MS Beluga Skysails
. Trials on this 55 m ship have shown that, in favorable winds, the kite reduces fuel consumption by up to 30%. This system is planned to be in full commercial production late http://www.google.com/patents?id=pmVaAAAAEBAJ&dq=3326392 2008. Kites are available as an auxiliary sail or emergency spinnaker
for sailing boats. Self-launching Parafoil
kites are attached to the mast.
MS Beluga Skysails
is the world's first commercial container cargo ship
partially powered by a giant computer-controlled kite (160 m². or 1,722 sq ft.). The kite could reduce fuel consumption by 20%. It was launched on 17 December 2007 and was set to leave the northern German port of Bremerhaven
to Guanta
, Venezuela
on January 22, 2008. Stephan Wrage, managing director of SkySails
GmbH announced: "During the next few months we will finally be able to prove that our technology works in practice and significantly reduces fuel consumption and emissions." Verena Frank, project manager at Beluga Shipping GmbH, SkySails GmbH's partner further stated that "the project's core concept was using wind energy as auxiliary propulsion power and using wind as a free of charge energy".
Anne Quéméré has crossed solo the Atlantic Ocean using power kites. And on November 4, 2008, she started her bid to cross the Pacific Ocean under power kites as sailing powerto pull her in her small boat called Oceankite.
. Stakeholders of the nascent industry of generating power and saving fuel by use of large kite systems by 2010 was over 500 persons. A conceptual research and development project by Makani Power
, based in California
and funded by Google
, is investigating the use of kites in harnessing high altitude wind currents to generate electricity. Magenn Power's Floating Wind Generators Nearing Deployment and KiteGen
.
There are natural kites that play a part in shaping what happens on earth. Some leaves kite to relieve wind pressures, pump fluids, and to disconnect annually to fertilize the soils. Poet Pablo Rosenblueth expressed his understanding that children see leaves as kites. Poet Marvin Bell recognized leaves are kites in his Nightworks: Poems 1962-2000. The leaf wafts kitingly in the wind held by the tethered leaf stem; when it is fall time, the leaf stem has a de-mooring disconnect process; the wind then easily interracts with the leaf to cause it to fly off the trees and into a gliding fall to the ground. There is a following of kite makers that bridle leaves to fly them again as kites.
Billions of spiders use kiting to travel or disperse (see balloon kite of spider in kite types
(which is not a balloon); others use kiting to build bridge lines for their webs. Spiders hanging in the moving air on their silks are deflected to various points where they make anchor points for their web building. Carol Frost, biology researcher of the University of Alberta, Canada, observed kiting in spiderlings.
Kite
A kite is a tethered aircraft. The necessary lift that makes the kite wing fly is generated when air flows over and under the kite's wing, producing low pressure above the wing and high pressure below it. This deflection also generates horizontal drag along the direction of the wind...
is used to do certain things; one kite or many kites are applied to achieve certain purposes, objectives, or tasks, that is: applications. Humans have applied the kite to bring perceived benefits during peace and war alike. New applications for the kite continue to be found. Only some innovative applications appear in national patents; others are communicated in newspapers, magazines, books, and Internet pages. Air kites, water kites, bi-media kites, fluid kites, gas kites, kytoons, paravanes, soil kites, solid kites, and plasma kites have niche applications that are furthering the interests of humans. Non-human-made kites have applications; some spiders make use of kiting.
Kites for transportation
Long-distance travel across land , ice, and sea started centuries ago, but today significant tasks of moving people and goods from point A to point B are occurring; this is so in great part from the advances in kites and kite systems designs and technology, better understanding of winds, and use of computers and GPS. In 1889 kite sailing was carefully instructed via controlling large kite systems towing boats: Aerial ApparatusFree-flight cross-country hang gliding kites both in the hang glider style and the paraglider style are permitting trips of hundreds of miles; records are recorded by the FAI. George Pocock (inventor)
George Pocock (inventor)
George Pocock was an English schoolteacher and inventor of the "Charvolant", a kite-drawn carriage.Pocock was interested in kites from an early age, and experimented with pulling loads using kite power, gradually progressing from small stones to planks and large loads. He taught at a school in...
was an early pioneer in kites for transportation. NASA continues to explore free-flying kites for delivering goods to earth surface and non-earth planet surfaces, including Mars. The severe projects for using very large kites to sail cargo ships is currently underway; KiteSail(tm) and KiteShip (tm) along with a series of patents and improvements in control of large ship-carried kite systems aim to save significant fuel.
Kiting one's kayak is getting a significant following A. Kinsman - kite kayaking tutorial..
Kite Aerial Photography (KAP)
William A. EddyWilliam Abner Eddy
William Abner Eddy was an American accountant and journalist famous for his photographic and meteorological experiments with kites....
of Eddy-kite fame lifted cameras to take photographs of cities and landscapes. Today KAP is the hobby of many enthusiasts, is a tool for surveying land and animals, and a mode for artistic expression. Professor Charles Benton illustrates how KAP can grow in one's life. Scott Haefner has one of the most extensive collection of KAP photographs; he shares his technology. San Francisco. Those who do KAP are called kapers KAP.
Kites for teaching schooling subjects
The kite is frequently the vehicle for teaching aerodynamics, mathematics, art, history, culture, materials, cooperation, physical education, and problem solving.Kites as subject of publications
International organizations, national organizations, local kite clubs, kite shops, and individuals have kite and kiting as the focus of their publications. Subscribership and buyer levels vary. Kite pamphlets and books out-of-print become prized collectors' items.Large kites being applied over the oceans
The German company SkySailsSkySails
SkySails GmbH & Co. KG is a Hamburg-based company that sells equipment to propel cargo ships, large yachts and fishing vessels by the use of wind energy. The company was founded in 2001 by engineers Stephan Wrage and Thomas Meyer...
has developed ship-pulling kites as a supplemental power source for cargo ship
Cargo ship
A cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year; they handle the bulk of international trade...
s, first tested in January 2008 on the ship
Ship
Since the end of the age of sail a ship has been any large buoyant marine vessel. Ships are generally distinguished from boats based on size and cargo or passenger capacity. Ships are used on lakes, seas, and rivers for a variety of activities, such as the transport of people or goods, fishing,...
MS Beluga Skysails
MS Beluga Skysails
MS Beluga SkySails is a German commercial container cargo ship. It is the world's first ship partially powered by a giant computer-controlled kite, called the SkySails system...
. Trials on this 55 m ship have shown that, in favorable winds, the kite increases fuel-efficiency by up to 30%. This system is planned to be in full commercial production late 2008. Kites are also available as an auxiliary sail or emergency spinnaker
Spinnaker
A spinnaker is a special type of sail that is designed specifically for sailing off the wind from a reaching course to a downwind, i.e. with the wind 90°–180° off the bow. The spinnaker fills with wind and balloons out in front of the boat when it is deployed, called flying. It is constructed of...
for sailing boats. Self-launching Parafoil
Parafoil
A parafoil is a nonrigid airfoil with an aerodynamic cell structure which is inflated by the wind. Ram-air inflation forces the parafoil into a classic wing cross-section. Parafoils are most commonly constructed out of ripstop nylon....
kites are attached to the mast.
MS Beluga Skysails
MS Beluga Skysails
MS Beluga SkySails is a German commercial container cargo ship. It is the world's first ship partially powered by a giant computer-controlled kite, called the SkySails system...
is the world's first commercial container
Containerization
Containerization is a system of freight transport based on a range of steel intermodal containers...
cargo ship
Cargo ship
A cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year; they handle the bulk of international trade...
which is partially powered by a giant computer
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
-controlled kite (160 m². or 1,722 sq ft.). The kite could reduce fuel consumption by 20%. It was launched 17 December 2007 and is set to leave the northern German port of Bremerhaven
Bremerhaven
Bremerhaven is a city at the seaport of the free city-state of Bremen, a state of the Federal Republic of Germany. It forms an enclave in the state of Lower Saxony and is located at the mouth of the River Weser on its eastern bank, opposite the town of Nordenham...
to Guanta
Guanta
The Guanta Municipality is one of the 21 municipalities that makes up the eastern Venezuelan state of Anzoátegui and, according to a 2007 population estimate by the National Institute of Statistics of Venezuela, the municipality had a population of 31,629...
, Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
at 1700 local time (1600 GMT), January 22, 2008. Stephan Wrage, managing director of SkySails
SkySails
SkySails GmbH & Co. KG is a Hamburg-based company that sells equipment to propel cargo ships, large yachts and fishing vessels by the use of wind energy. The company was founded in 2001 by engineers Stephan Wrage and Thomas Meyer...
GmbH announced: "During the next few months we will finally be able to prove that our technology works in practice and significantly reduces fuel consumption and emissions." Verena Frank, project manager at Beluga Shipping GmbH, SkySails GmbH's partner further stated that "the project's core concept was using wind energy as auxiliary propulsion power and using wind as a free of charge energy".
Kite yachting may have started with Benjamin Franklin's pond pull. English Channel crossing.
Scientific kiting
Kites have also been used for scientific purposes, such as Benjamin FranklinBenjamin Franklin
Dr. Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat...
's famous (but dangerous) experiment proving that lightning
Lightning
Lightning is an atmospheric electrostatic discharge accompanied by thunder, which typically occurs during thunderstorms, and sometimes during volcanic eruptions or dust storms...
is electricity
Electricity
Electricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...
. Kites had an historical role in lifting scientific instruments to measure atmospheric conditions for weather forecasting
Weather forecasting
Weather forecasting is the application of science and technology to predict the state of the atmosphere for a given location. Human beings have attempted to predict the weather informally for millennia, and formally since the nineteenth century...
.
Kites used to test designs meant to become powered aircraft
Kites were the precursors to aircraft, and were instrumental in the development of early flying craft. Alexander Graham BellAlexander Graham Bell
Alexander Graham Bell was an eminent scientist, inventor, engineer and innovator who is credited with inventing the first practical telephone....
experimented with very large man-lifting kite
Man-lifting kite
A man-lifting kite is a kite designed to lift a person from the ground. Historically, man-lifting kites have been used chiefly for reconnaissance and entertainment. Interest in their development declined with the advent of powered flight at the beginning of the 20th century.-Early history:The first...
s, as did the Wright brothers
Wright brothers
The Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur , were two Americans credited with inventing and building the world's first successful airplane and making the first controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air human flight, on December 17, 1903...
and Lawrence Hargrave
Lawrence Hargrave
Lawrence Hargrave was an engineer, explorer, astronomer, inventor and aeronautical pioneer.- Early life :Hargrave was born in Greenwich, England, the second son of John Fletcher Hargrave and was educated at Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Kirkby Lonsdale, Westmorland...
.
Conductor carried up by a kite in the sky can lead to a high voltage shock, which can endanger people and equipment.
Kites for extreme sports
Kite boardingKite boarding
Kite boarding is a sport based on kitesurfing and snowboarding. It involves the use of a snowboard, with the most obsessed riders buying or building slightly modified snowboards for greater impacts, creating, essentially, a sturdy snowboard, as well as the use of a kite similar to the kite used in...
, kite surfing, kite buggying, kite buggy jumping, kite landboarding
Kite landboarding
Kite landboarding also known as Land kiteboarding or flyboarding, is based on the ever-growing sport of Kitesurfing, where a rider on a surf-style board is pulled over water by a kite. Kite landboarding involves the use of a mountain board or landboard, which is essentially an oversized skateboard...
, freestyle kite landboarding, snow kiting or snowkiting, downhill speed kiting, hang gliding
Hang gliding
Hang gliding is an air sport in which a pilot flies a light and unmotorized foot-launchable aircraft called a hang glider ....
, and kite high jumping are among the extreme kite sports wherein competitions are held.
Kites for competitive stunt-kiting sport
Peter PowellPeter Powell (kite)
For other individuals using the same name, see Peter PowellIn 1972, Peter Powell developed a steerable kite, using dual lines. Very early Peter Powell kites had spars made of ramin which were later replaced with aluminium tubing and later still by glass fibre spars. Originally they all came with...
's emphatic forwarding of two-line stunt kites or sport kite
Sport kite
A sport kite, also commonly known as a stunt kite, is a kite that can be maneuvred in the air.A related kit also controllable and used for recreation, but capable of generating a significant amount of pull and used for providing movement is the Power kite.-Competition:Developments in multi-line...
s help to move stunt kiting into a popular activity as well as a competitive sport. Also, the parafoil stunt kites feed the same sporting activity. Events for kites of more than two control lines are very evident. The four-line Revolution kite has been setting new standards in precision flying. Informal field competition and formal sport competition support a stunt-kite industry; seemingly endless refinements to the kite wing and kite line along with accessories continue unabated.
Kites for sport kite fighting
A kite has two essential parts: wing and tether line. In kite fighting, the kite line plays a huge part in the activity. Sport kite fighting is perhaps 2000 year old; participation worldwide is high.North American Kite Fighter Association (NAFKA)
Trawl-board and paravane innovator
In Kite Fishing by the Salt-Water Natives of Mala or Malaita Island, British Solomon Islands T. W. Edge-Partington, leaf kites are described. The sago palm or ivory nut tree has leaves from which natives of Mala or Malaita Island made kites for fishing.
Kites for advertising messages and logos
Kites can also be used as light-effect carrier, e.g., by carrying light-sticks or battery-powered light effects. Promotional kites: Companies buy large quantities of kites that feature their advertisement. Messages are sometimes displayed by lighting systems that are built into the kite system.Kites for entertainment
Frequently kites are used to entertain observers Some kiters get entertain themselves, but others enjoy entertaining the public or members of an organized gathering. This sector of application is part of recreational uses, but sometimes part of commercial uses.Kites for commercial fishing
Net-spreading underwater kites and kite vanes aid the control of large fishing nets. Remotely-controllable paravane Robert A. Kirby et al.Kites for recreational, sport, and subsistence fishing
There are several ways kites are used in recreatonal and sport fishingOffshore Kite Fishing
Offshore Kite Fishing is a sport fishing technique used to keep live bait on the surface of the water to attract and catch surface feeding predators. It is primarily used in Florida along the Atlantic coast and in the Caribbean for Sailfish...
. Lofting drop lines is one, but things don't stop there. Net-spreading underwater kites, soil kites (kiting achors), kiting bait, control-kite trolling of bait, recreational kiting during fishing sessions, aerial photography of fishing environment using kites, and out and back cycles of trolling bait using a kite. Recreational fishing, commercial fishing, and scientific and military uses of depressors of tow lines use water kiting to accomplish the effects wanted. The Use of Kites for Fishing—George Webster wrote comprehensively on kite fishing. Jetty/Pier Fishing.; _
Paravanes for Sportfishing.
A plan view of a Solomon islander's leaf fishing kite is shown in a photograph held by the Pitt-Rivers Museum is viewable at Natural History Magazine online; Pick from the Past, Natural History, April 1957: "Go Fly a Kite".
Kites used to decorate homes and businesses
Kites stilled are hung decoratively in rooms of homes and businesses to set the tone of a home or selling environment.Kites used to sell kites
Many kite stores fly kites regularly so that people will see the kites; one of the final purposes is for the store to profit from the flying of the kites. Kites are necessary to increase sales of kites.Kites used for generating electricity from rotation
Both air and hydro kites are used to generate electricity; the kite is set in the stream of air or water; various schemes are used to extract some of the stream's energy for converting that energy to electricity.A major research and development project called Makani Power
Makani Power
Makani Power is an Alameda, California-based company that develops airborne wind turbines with the support of Google and the U.S. Department of Energy office of ARPA-E...
, based in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and funded by Google.org
Google.org
Google.org is the charitable arm of Internet search engine company Google.The organization has committed over $100 million in investments and grants as of May 2010. To fund the organization, Google granted them 3 million shares during their initial public offering. As of August 2011, Google.org's 3...
, is investigating the use of kites in harnessing high altitude wind currents to generate electricity.
Video links for generating electricity by using kites:
- Back and forth taking kite generates electricity: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlSHH_djn94.
- MagGenn (Magnus-effect kite wind generator): a Magnus-effectMagnus effectThe Magnus effect is the phenomenon whereby a spinning object flying in a fluid creates a whirlpool of fluid around itself, and experiences a force perpendicular to the line of motion...
rotating kite electricity generation system: Magenn Power, Inc.; - KiteGen (kite generator). Italian company is working on several methods of generating electricity from kite systems. One key method is the "stem" system.High altitude wind power: an era of abundance?
- Makani PowerMakani PowerMakani Power is an Alameda, California-based company that develops airborne wind turbines with the support of Google and the U.S. Department of Energy office of ARPA-E...
's 10kW test platform autonomously generating power: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lH-GpeXC5Jk.
Military applications
Kites have been used for military uses in the past for signaling, for delivery of munitions, for free-flight kiting payloads from aircraft to ground positions, for kiting troops to points where they could parachute to destinations, for underwater kiting via paravanesParavane (weapon)
The paravane is a form of towed underwater "glider". It was developed by Cdr Usborne and Lt Burney financed by Sir George White, founder of the Bristol Aeroplane Company....
to perform various underwater duties, for lifting payloads from one point to another, for raising rescue signals from rafts or stressed areas, for raising communications antenna, and for observation by lifting an observer above the field of battle, and by using kite aerial photography
Kite aerial photography
Kite aerial photography is a hobby and a type of photography. A camera is lifted using a kite and is triggered either remotely or automatically to take aerial photographs. The camera rigs can range from the extremely simple, consisting of a trigger mechanism with a disposable camera, to complex...
. Barrage kites have been used in both open frame kites and kytoon types to defense against enemy aircraft.
Kim Yu-Sin (or Kim Yushin
Kim Yushin
Kim Yushin was a general in 7th-century Silla. He led the unification of the Korean peninsula by Silla under the reign of King Muyeol of Silla and King Munmu of Silla. He is said to have been the great-grandchild of King Guhae of Geumgwan Gaya, the last ruler of the Geumgwan Gaya state...
), a Korean general, in 637 C.E. rallied his troops to defeat rebels by kite lofting a burning ball.
Kites were also used by Admiral Yi of the Joseon
Joseon Dynasty
Joseon , was a Korean state founded by Taejo Yi Seong-gye that lasted for approximately five centuries. It was founded in the aftermath of the overthrow of the Goryeo at what is today the city of Kaesong. Early on, Korea was retitled and the capital was relocated to modern-day Seoul...
(1392-1910) Dynasty of Korea. During the Japanese invasions of Korea (1592-1598), Admiral Yi commanded his navy
Navy
A navy is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake- or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions...
with kites. His kites had specific markings directing his fleet to perform his order. Admiral Yi was said to have over 300 such kites. The war
War
War is a state of organized, armed, and often prolonged conflict carried on between states, nations, or other parties typified by extreme aggression, social disruption, and usually high mortality. War should be understood as an actual, intentional and widespread armed conflict between political...
eventually resulted in a Chinese and Korean victory; the kites played a minor role in the war's conclusion.
In more modern times the British navy also used kites to haul human lookouts high into the air to see over the horizon and possibly the enemy ships, for example with the kite developed by Samuel Franklin Cody. Barrage kites were used to protect London as well as the Pacific coast of the United States during the last century. Kites and kytoons were used for lofting communications antenna. Submarines lofted observers in rotary kites. The Rogallo parawing kite and the Jalbert parafoil kite were used for governable parachutes (free-flying kites) to deliver troops and supplies.
Science and meteorology
Kites have been used for scientific purposes, such as Benjamin FranklinBenjamin Franklin
Dr. Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat...
's famous experiment proving that lightning
Lightning
Lightning is an atmospheric electrostatic discharge accompanied by thunder, which typically occurs during thunderstorms, and sometimes during volcanic eruptions or dust storms...
is electricity
Electricity
Electricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...
. Kites were the precursors to aircraft, and were instrumental in the development of early flying craft. Alexander Graham Bell
Alexander Graham Bell
Alexander Graham Bell was an eminent scientist, inventor, engineer and innovator who is credited with inventing the first practical telephone....
experimented with very large man-lifting kite
Man-lifting kite
A man-lifting kite is a kite designed to lift a person from the ground. Historically, man-lifting kites have been used chiefly for reconnaissance and entertainment. Interest in their development declined with the advent of powered flight at the beginning of the 20th century.-Early history:The first...
s, as did the Wright brothers
Wright brothers
The Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur , were two Americans credited with inventing and building the world's first successful airplane and making the first controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air human flight, on December 17, 1903...
and Lawrence Hargrave
Lawrence Hargrave
Lawrence Hargrave was an engineer, explorer, astronomer, inventor and aeronautical pioneer.- Early life :Hargrave was born in Greenwich, England, the second son of John Fletcher Hargrave and was educated at Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Kirkby Lonsdale, Westmorland...
. Kites had an historical role in lifting scientific instruments to measure atmospheric conditions for weather forecasting
Weather forecasting
Weather forecasting is the application of science and technology to predict the state of the atmosphere for a given location. Human beings have attempted to predict the weather informally for millennia, and formally since the nineteenth century...
. The Weather Doctor Almanac.
Collecting kited spiders with kited nets: Kites are used to take samples of upper air and to collect things found in the upper air. The spiders that kite to disperse (so-called ballooning (spider)
Ballooning (spider)
Ballooning is a term used for the mechanical kiting that many spiders, especially small species, as well as certain mites and some caterpillars use to disperse through the air. Many small spiders use gossamer or especially fine silk to lift themselves off a surface or use the silk as an anchor in...
s) have been found in nets raised to upper air for collecting ; the method is noted carefully in Spider Ballooning: Development and Evaluation of Field Trapping Methods (Araneae) Balloon kite of the so-called ballooning spiderlings; the spiders' kite is not a balloon.
Kite types
Kites are tethered flying objects which fly by using aerodynamic lift, requiring wind, , for generation of airflow over the lifting surfaces.-Kite types:...
Radio aerials and light beacons
Kites can be used for radio purposes, by kites carrying antennas for MF, LF or VLF-transmitters. This method was used for the reception station of the first transatlantic transmission by Marconi. Captive balloonsMoored balloon
A moored balloon is an inflated fabric structure, often shaped like an airship and usually filled with helium, that is restrained by a cable attached to the ground or a vehicle. Moored balloons differ from airships and free balloons in that it is not free-flying.Moored balloons are sometimes...
may be more convenient for such experiments, because kite carried antennas require a lot of wind, which may be not always possible with heavy equipment and a ground conductor. It must be taken into account during experiments, that a conductor carried by a kite can lead to a high voltage toward ground, which can endanger people and equipment, if suitable precautions (grounding through resistors or a parallel resonant-circuit tuned to transmission frequency) are not taken.
Kites for Lifting Antennas
Kites can be used to carry light effects such as lightsticks or battery powered lights.
Kite traction
Kites can be used to pull people and vehicles downwind. Efficient foil-type kitesFoil kite
Foil kites are soft kites based on the design of the parafoil. They consist of a number of cells running fore to aft, some or all of which are open at the front to allow air to inflate the kite so it takes on an aerofoil section...
such as power kite
Power kite
A power kite or traction kite is a large kite designed to provide significant pull to the user.They come in three main forms: foils, leading edge inflatables and supported leading edge. There are also rigid-framed kites and soft single skin kites. There are several different control systems used...
s can also be used to sail upwind under the same principles as used by other sailing craft, provided that lateral forces on the ground or in the water are redirected as with the keels, center boards, wheels and ice blades of traditional sailing craft. In the last two decades several kite sailing sports have become popular, such as kite buggy
Kite buggy
A kite buggy is a light, purpose-built vehicle powered by a traction kite . It is single-seated and has one steerable front wheel and two fixed rear wheels. The driver sits in the seat located in the middle of the vehicle and accelerates and slows down by applying steering manoeuvres in...
ing and kite surfing.
Kite sailing opens several possibilities not available in traditional sailing:
- Wind speeds are greater at higher altitudes
- Kites may be manoeuvered dynamically which increases the force available dramatically
- There is no need for mechanical structures to withstand bending forces; vehicles or hulls can be very light or dispensed with all together
The German company SkySails
SkySails
SkySails GmbH & Co. KG is a Hamburg-based company that sells equipment to propel cargo ships, large yachts and fishing vessels by the use of wind energy. The company was founded in 2001 by engineers Stephan Wrage and Thomas Meyer...
has developed ship-pulling kites as a supplemental power source for cargo ship
Cargo ship
A cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year; they handle the bulk of international trade...
s, first tested in January 2008 on the ship
Ship
Since the end of the age of sail a ship has been any large buoyant marine vessel. Ships are generally distinguished from boats based on size and cargo or passenger capacity. Ships are used on lakes, seas, and rivers for a variety of activities, such as the transport of people or goods, fishing,...
MS Beluga Skysails
MS Beluga Skysails
MS Beluga SkySails is a German commercial container cargo ship. It is the world's first ship partially powered by a giant computer-controlled kite, called the SkySails system...
. Trials on this 55 m ship have shown that, in favorable winds, the kite reduces fuel consumption by up to 30%. This system is planned to be in full commercial production late http://www.google.com/patents?id=pmVaAAAAEBAJ&dq=3326392 2008. Kites are available as an auxiliary sail or emergency spinnaker
Spinnaker
A spinnaker is a special type of sail that is designed specifically for sailing off the wind from a reaching course to a downwind, i.e. with the wind 90°–180° off the bow. The spinnaker fills with wind and balloons out in front of the boat when it is deployed, called flying. It is constructed of...
for sailing boats. Self-launching Parafoil
Parafoil
A parafoil is a nonrigid airfoil with an aerodynamic cell structure which is inflated by the wind. Ram-air inflation forces the parafoil into a classic wing cross-section. Parafoils are most commonly constructed out of ripstop nylon....
kites are attached to the mast.
MS Beluga Skysails
MS Beluga Skysails
MS Beluga SkySails is a German commercial container cargo ship. It is the world's first ship partially powered by a giant computer-controlled kite, called the SkySails system...
is the world's first commercial container cargo ship
Cargo ship
A cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year; they handle the bulk of international trade...
partially powered by a giant computer-controlled kite (160 m². or 1,722 sq ft.). The kite could reduce fuel consumption by 20%. It was launched on 17 December 2007 and was set to leave the northern German port of Bremerhaven
Bremerhaven
Bremerhaven is a city at the seaport of the free city-state of Bremen, a state of the Federal Republic of Germany. It forms an enclave in the state of Lower Saxony and is located at the mouth of the River Weser on its eastern bank, opposite the town of Nordenham...
to Guanta
Guanta
The Guanta Municipality is one of the 21 municipalities that makes up the eastern Venezuelan state of Anzoátegui and, according to a 2007 population estimate by the National Institute of Statistics of Venezuela, the municipality had a population of 31,629...
, Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
on January 22, 2008. Stephan Wrage, managing director of SkySails
SkySails
SkySails GmbH & Co. KG is a Hamburg-based company that sells equipment to propel cargo ships, large yachts and fishing vessels by the use of wind energy. The company was founded in 2001 by engineers Stephan Wrage and Thomas Meyer...
GmbH announced: "During the next few months we will finally be able to prove that our technology works in practice and significantly reduces fuel consumption and emissions." Verena Frank, project manager at Beluga Shipping GmbH, SkySails GmbH's partner further stated that "the project's core concept was using wind energy as auxiliary propulsion power and using wind as a free of charge energy".
Anne Quéméré has crossed solo the Atlantic Ocean using power kites. And on November 4, 2008, she started her bid to cross the Pacific Ocean under power kites as sailing powerto pull her in her small boat called Oceankite.
Industrial
Lifting tree logs from logging fields:KITE LOGGING W. H. ROCKPower generation
Main article: High altitude wind powerHigh altitude wind power
High-altitude wind power has been imagined as a source of useful energy since 1833 with John Etzler's vision of capturing the power of winds high in the sky by use of tether and cable technology...
. Stakeholders of the nascent industry of generating power and saving fuel by use of large kite systems by 2010 was over 500 persons. A conceptual research and development project by Makani Power
Makani Power
Makani Power is an Alameda, California-based company that develops airborne wind turbines with the support of Google and the U.S. Department of Energy office of ARPA-E...
, based in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and funded by Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
, is investigating the use of kites in harnessing high altitude wind currents to generate electricity. Magenn Power's Floating Wind Generators Nearing Deployment and KiteGen
Kitegen
KiteGen is a concept developed in Italy for a wind harnessing machine that takes power from high altitude winds. The vertical axis orientation of the rotation is intended to eliminate the static and dynamic problems that prevent the increase in size of conventional wind turbines...
.
Non-man-made kite applications
Billions of spiders use kiting to travel or disperse (see balloon kite of spider in kite types
Kite types
Kites are tethered flying objects which fly by using aerodynamic lift, requiring wind, , for generation of airflow over the lifting surfaces.-Kite types:...
(which is not a balloon); others use kiting to build bridge lines for their webs. Spiders hanging in the moving air on their silks are deflected to various points where they make anchor points for their web building. Carol Frost, biology researcher of the University of Alberta, Canada, observed kiting in spiderlings.
See also
|
Kitesurfing Kitesurfing or Kiteboarding is an adventure surface water sport that has been described as combining wakeboarding, windsurfing, surfing, paragliding, and gymnastics into one extreme sport. Kitesurfing harnesses the power of the wind to propel a rider across the water on a small surfboard or a... Wakeboarding Wakeboarding is a surface water sport which involves riding a wakeboard over the surface of a body of water. It was developed from a combination of water skiing, snow boarding and surfing techniques.... Foilboard A foilboard or hydrofoil board is a surfboard with a hydrofoil that extends below the board into the water. This design causes the board to leave the surface of the water at various speeds.... Sit-down hydrofoil The sit-down hydrofoil is a fairly new water sport. Unlike water skiing and wakeboarding you do not ride on the water, instead your body and the board rise above the water, supported by the hydrofoil wing which is still under the water. This is done by being towed by a towboat with a driver and... Hang gliding Hang gliding is an air sport in which a pilot flies a light and unmotorized foot-launchable aircraft called a hang glider .... |
External links
- Uses of Kites
- Kite Games and Competitions
- FAA Regulations for Kites/Balloons FAR Part 101
- Ultralight aircraft. FAR Part 103 Some manned kite systems are ultralights under FAR Part 103.
- KiteLab, Ilwaco, Washington
- Energy Kite Systems