What is the
most efficient design for a kite?
When it comes to kite
designs, efficiency is a question that is difficult to answer,
because it depends on a number of different factors. For example,
you will have different efficiencies to consider if you are talking
about single line, dual line, or quad line kites, while you will
have an entirely different set of parameters to work with if you are
designing a large kite compared to if you are making a smaller kite.
This guide will provide information to help you make your kite more
efficient in its design, no matter which design you choose.
Perhaps the most important area to consider in kite design
efficiency is the number of strings (also called lines) that will be
attached to the kite. while most people are familiar with single
line kites, there are also dual and quad line kites regularly sold
that offer increased control over your kite. However, as single line
kites are the most popular kites, they shall be the focus of this
article. Let's go through each of the variations and discuss factors
related to design efficiency. If you are designing a single line
kite, you can group the designs into about six different categories,
although there will be overlap with particular models. There are
flat kites, dihedral and bowed kites, sled kites, cellular kites,
parafoil kites, and rotating kites. Flats and dihedral or bow kites
are the most popular, so these will be discussed below.
Flat kites are the simplest possible types of kites, and they are
basically flat sheets of material with spars (the sticks that give a
kite its shape) and a bridle for support. The bridle is the string
portion that connects the kite to the flying line; it determines the
angle at which the kite catches the wind. Flat kites are the most
common kites in existence, and this is because they are very easy to
make. However, the design is inherently unstable and inefficient.
You can increase stability and efficiency in a number of ways, most
of which involve making sure the majority of drag (that is the
resistance of the kite as it flies through the air) is generated a
distance below and behind the point of tow (this is where the kite
is attached to the flying line). You can increase efficiency in flat
single line kites by adding a tail, adding vents and holes toward
the back of the sail, adding a keel, or arranging the bridle so the
towing point is farther forward. For greater efficiency, you will
want to avoid too many vents or heavy tails as they waste energy
from the wind which frequently results in lower angles of flight
when the kite is in the air. Similarly, vents are rarely found in
Bowed and dihedral kites are the second kind of single line kite.
Although several ways were discussed int he previous section for
increasing the efficiency of a flat single line kite, it is often
easier to skip all of those steps and simply make the kite bowed.
This is done by making the wind-facing surface a little convex. As a
result, if the kite tips to the right or to the left, one side of
the kite will have a more perpendicular angle with respect to the
wind, while the other side will have a lesser angle. As a result,
the side that is more directly against the wind will experience more
wind, restoring a balanced position to the kite. You can make a kite
convex with respect to the wind by bowing the kite or by making a
dihedral out of it. To bow the kite, you can either run a line
between the two ends of the cross spar and tension it to make a
suitable bow, or you can make the cross spar out of two pieces and
set them at a slight angle to one another. This is known as a
dihedral. You then join them in the middle.