Kites & kiting

[Turtle]

___I received 1 reply from Chinook Observer giving a date, but they had that wrong. I scanned the article & sent to them for verification & permission to post.

[Turtle]

___I received a note from the Chinook Observer giving their permission to post the article & photo they published in January 1984.

Documentation of the World's Largest Kite (click image for readable text)

___ I have a number of comments on the article & incident.
___One error in the article is the dimensions given as 115 x 14; it should read 115 x 124 feet. Late in the article they give the correct square footage of 14,260 square feet.
___Guiness never recognized the record & the kite was destroyed in an arson fire at the community college where it was built by Harry Osborne & his students . The team attempted to fly it several times during the Wahington Interntional Kite Festival (only its 2nd year!), but no favorable conditions prevailed. The actual flight took place after the festival ended, & few saw it. I did see the kite that day, but left before the flight & accident. They tethered the main hawser to a drump truck loaded with wet sand, & it was one of the dozens of intermediate lines that snagged Steve's foot & hauled him up over 100 feet; the wind slacked, the kite luffed, & Eric fell. In the ensuing uproar, the duration of the flight fell from attention.
___Because the festival is a family oriented business, the story of a kite death doesn't fit the image & so has languished. A toast to Steve, Harry, & all who flew the Worlds Largest Kite.

[Turtle]

___The World's Largest Kite is a type called a parafoil & it seems it is the preferred form for very large kites for the last several decades. From an engineering standpoint the main mistake repeated over & over in flying these behemoths is making no accomodations for an adjustable bridle. Whether remotely operated by a tether or automatic using an arrangement of shock cords, an adjustable bridle fascilitates an easier launch by increasing the angle of attack & also allows spilling air out of the kite in higher wind speeds. A tether operated bridle adds a measure of safety in that the operator may completely deflate the kite for descent or in dangerous circumstances.
___Any way the wind blows.

[TheBigDog]

Kites! When I was a kid my dad and a friend toyed going into the business of manufacturing big kites. Never got past the prototype phase, but it was really cool!

We used to go to kite contests with all four, and usually won largest kite with the smallest one we brought, a delta kite with a 10 foot wingspan. With enough wind the 14 footer flew very well too. And on a couple occasions we got the 18 foot monster up in the air. My dad had built a big hand winch out of plywood to control the line. On two occasions we got the monster, 14 foot tall box kite to fly. It was tough to get going and took several grown men to fly it. It would pull the winch along the ground and people would pile onto it to help hold in steady. We never managed to reel it in, it always managed to crash within a minute or two.

The most fun were the 10 foot and 14 foot kites. We used to fly them in the vacant lot across the street from our apartment complex. The first two times the police showed up when they received a number of UFO reports. I was about 8 years old and was a slight lad. I used to do what I called "kite jumping". I would straddle the 2" dowel that the 500 pound test line was attached to once all 1000 feet was out. Then, holding the line while sitting on the spool I would jump into the air and float like I was on the moon. It was fantastic. I remember making 15 - 20 foot leaps and having my dad chasing after me and laughing while telling me to be more careful.

Great times with kites.

Bill

[Racoon]

I sure hope Turtle sees this BigDog!

Your stock has just risen!

[Racoon]

Originally Posted by Turtle

G'day back at ya Gubba! Roight yoou ahr mate!
___We have opposums, but I live in the city & they mostly get in garbage that I know; we have racoons too here. (Pacific Northwest US) We have plenty of orchards round about though; hazel nuts (filberts), apples, cherrys, & plums, but I don't know any growers or if opossums are a problem for 'em.
___I have experience in using remote control to drop teddys from a kite, but never dropped a bushie mate! Good luck.

Trying to work the Quote thing, while interested in kites!

" ; we have racoons too here. (Pacific Northwest US)"

[Turtle]

Originally Posted by TheBigDog

... My dad had built a big hand winch out of plywood to control the line. On two occasions we got the monster, 14 foot tall box kite to fly. It was tough to get going and took several grown men to fly it. It would pull the winch along the ground and people would pile onto it to help hold in steady. We never managed to reel it in, it always managed to crash within a minute or two.

... I remember making 15 - 20 foot leaps and having my dad chasing after me and laughing while telling me to be more careful.

Great times with kites.

Bill

Sweet! I built a winch too for my aerial photography, but I staked it to the ground with long steel bolts on each corner. Rather than reel the kite in, I walked it down by using a thick glove along the line & pulling it down as I walked toward it. When I got it down, I disconnected the line & reeled it in limp. I don't have the reel or line anymore, but I have my home-built 6 1/2 foot box kite. Ity is purple & blue ripstop nylon on 3/4"x 1 1/2 " birch plywood main struts with eight 3/8" maple dowel stretchers. She's smoke damaged & torn, but flyable with some TLC. What a rush to hang on to monsters in a gale!

[Turtle]

Well here's some kite trivia I did not know before, and tied to earthquakes as well! Seems aerial photography from kites has been around just about since cameras.


http://earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/nca/1906/kap/

Originally Posted by USGS

Just three weeks after the 1906 Earthquake, professional photographer George Lawrence snapped his famous photograph, “San Francisco in Ruins,” from a 49-pound camera raised 1,000 feet above the bay with a train of Conyne kites.

If you scroll down a bit on this link, you find a description of the Conyne kites.
http://www.kites.org/zoo/single/cell/cell.html

[Turtle]

Unabashed Bump.

Go Fly A Kite!

[Turtle]

I have noticed this thread getting some attention of late, so I thought I'd revisit the idea of setting a new altitude record using a single kite.
Here's a quick link to what seems the latest record:
http://www.history-of-kites.info/Rec...e_Flights.html

I think a more elaborate design is called for, perhaps with expandable surfaces to deal with thinner air at high altitude and an adjustable bridle to handle the varying wind speeds.
Any ideas? Conjectures on what the limit might be? Proposals for a hoax?