ParaglidingTim Parish (494)   http://www.paragliding-tales-and-reviews.com RC Plane With A Difference - An RC Paraglider!Posted Thursday, November 15, 2007 (247 days 7 hours ago.) Viewed 842 times. From a distance, all motorized radio-controlled paragliders are basically the same thing. A canopy, with radio gear and motor suspended below it. Doing aerial ballet, all slow and graceful. Well, graceful if the pilot has a smooth touch on the controls, just like the real thing. Free flight model paragliders are also flown, mainly on slopes. You can see that my definition of 'rc paraglider' is pretty broad. It includes free flight RC model paragliders, RC skydivers, powered RC paragliders and powered RC parachutes. The Buzz Now, these devices are guaranteed crowd pleasers from what I've heard. Someone at a trade show also observed that women in particular seemed to like the slow-moving and graceful spectacle of these miniature flying machines! To sum it up, the buzz around various kinds of flying forums on the Web backs up the claim that flying an RC paraglider is fun, downright easy and safe. How Do They Fly? Very similar to the full size in most cases, with 2 primary controls. That is, steering left/right, and power, from idle to full. In the simplest models, steering is done purely by weight-shift. That is, by pulling down on the lines on one side or the other, the pilot or gondola weight is shifted to the left or right. The canopy pretty much keeps the same shape while this is happening. Performing climbs and descents is very very simple! The wings fly at almost constant airspeed, so increasing power enough makes the model climb, while decreasing power enough causes a descent. Somewhere in between, there lies a power setting which will maintain constant height. On more expensive models, the trailing edges of the canopy can be pulled down, one side at a time. This is rigged similarly to the brakes on a full-size paraglider. Toys As with most model aircraft, the bottom end of the price range will just get you a plastic toy! There's one in particular that seems to be everywhere, and that's the Sky Surfer RC paraglider. The gondola and wing are plastic, the motor is electric and it needs fairly calm conditions. The prices for these models are in the 10s of US dollars, particularly the second hand ones on eBay! Serious Hobbyists Since the year 2000 or so, a few hobbyists have been keen enough to construct and fly their own RC paraglider. Most just use power kites rigged with a container for the radio gear. Plus a motor in some cases. There's at least one hobbyist whose designs fly well enough for him to sell them over the Web. He has been doing it for many years, and has the satisfaction of knowing that many units hand made by himself are flying at various locations all around the world. For those that are for sale, these model aircraft are worth several hundred US dollars. Commercial Manufacturers As of 2007, there are now a number of companies producing very well designed and manufactured RC paragliders. They use the latest kiting materials, such as rip-stop nylon for canopies and Kevlar for the lines. There is also a tendency to offer aerial-photography as part of the package. With these, high-quality photographic and/or video gear is included in the retail price. Not surprisingly, these units currently sell for between 500 and 1500 or so US dollars. Who Flies These Things? Compared to most model aircraft, the RC paraglider seems to appeal to a very wide range of people. Some groups that I found had a significant interest in these models include paraglider pilots, r/c pilots, aerial photographers and kite fliers. I might add that plenty of non-fliers, particularly women, might end up getting interested too. An RC paraglider is quite a contrast to your usual macho high-speed RC aircraft! The webmaster of Paragliding Tales and Reviews is Tim Parish, a motorless flight enthusiast. This site will introduce you to many aspects of paragliding, with a sprinkling of humor. Tim has had the pleasure of soaring in sailplanes, hang-gliders and paragliders in the past. His enthusiasm for these activities is evident in his writing, which he hopes will inspire. 
Permalink Comments (0) Kite Duration Records - From Stunt Kites to Giant Japanese KitesPosted Thursday, September 06, 2007 (318 days 5 hours ago.) Viewed 50 times. Two of the oldest records kept for kite flying are kite duration records and altitude records. In the 21st Century, the use of kites has exploded into all kinds of activities and sports. There's no real central spot for checking the full range of kiting records these days. Over the years, The Guinness Book of Records and Kite Lines magazine have played a part. Kite Lines is no longer published. However, searching the Web can be relied upon to fill in some details! Information about duration records for kites is pretty sketchy and fragmented. But never fear, I have done the research to bring you a number of fascinating tit-bits on the subject! The Challenges The whole point about records is that obstacles must be overcome. Kite duration records are no exception. In the case of single-line kites, the obstacles are usually weather-related. For example, periods of rain can make the flyer seek shelter or lose sight of the kite. Periods of very light wind can force the flyer to reel line in just to keep the kite in the air. Sport kites, or stunt kites as they are more commonly known, require even more attention since they must be flown continuously. So what do you do when nature calls? What about hunger? Some organization is necessary! Hence it makes sense to involve more than 1 flyer, and fly the kite in shifts. Flying multiple kites adds it's own special challenge. It's more of a mental drain to keep 2 or more kites out of each other's way for hours on end! Finally, the giant kites of Japan also set records from time to time. Just getting one of these into the air at all is a challenge, requiring the co-ordination of dozens of crew members. Plus they require strong winds to fly, so duration records are very much at the mercy of the weather. Actual Kite Duration Records Kite type: single-line kites Duration: 180 hours and 17 minutes Who flew: Edmonds Community College kite team, Harry Osborne directed The date: 29th. August, 1982 Location: Long Beach, Washington, U.S.A. Comments: Set at the Washington State International Kite Festival, using a parafoil kite. Kite type: dual-line sport kite Duration: 4 hours, 44 minutes and 44 seconds Who flew: James Robertshaw, Jonathan Harris & Simon Dann, each with one kite The date: 8th. October, 1995 Location: London Docklands Arena, London, England Comments: This was a Guinness World Record. They flew Revolution SUL kites. Kite type: 2 dual-line sport kites at once Duration: 5 hours, 1 minute and 7 seconds Who flew: Troy Gunn The date: 17th. September, 1993 Location: Clinton, Oklahoma, U.S.A. Comments: Troy flew one kite from his waist and the other with his hands, as a kick-off to the 1st Clinton Kite Festival. Kite type: 3 dual-line sport kites at once Duration: 12 hours and 12 minutes Who flew: Ray Bethell The date: sometime in 1994 Location: Long Beach, Washington, U.S.A. Comments: Ray flew one kite from each hand plus the other one from his waist. Since this record, Ray Bethell has set numerous other records, some of them duration records, with various configurations of stacked sport kites. Kite type: indoor kites Duration: 39 hours and 53 minutes Who flew: Carl Brewer, Tom Sisson and Bob McCort The date: 8th. February, 1980 Location: The Kingdome, Seattle, Washington, U.S.A. Comments: Tom Sisson is one of the founders of the Washington Kitefliers Association. Kite type: giant Japanese kites Duration: 6 hours, 7 minutes and 55 seconds Who flew: a crew of between 80 and 100 people, all at once! The date: sometime in 2001 Location: Sagamihara City, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan Comments: The Giant Kite Festival of Sagami is a traditional event that has been held since the Tenpou period (around 1830) in the Edo era. The kite itself is 14.5 by 14.5 meters (48 x 48 feet) in size and it weighs 950 kilograms (2100 pounds)! A very stiff breeze is required for it to fly. Finally... Hope you enjoyed reading that info. Of course, it was just an attempt to pull together all current kite duration records! The details will eventually go out of date as new records are set. However, it gives you some idea of the answer to that question - just how long can a kite be kept in the air? Tim Parish and his family are rediscovering the joys of kite flying. They log their kiting fun on their My-Best-Kite.com website, and also research the kiting world. This site will introduce you to many kinds of kites and kite flying activities, including stunt kites which feature in many kiting records.
Permalink Comments (0) Power Kites - A Brief HistoryPosted Friday, August 31, 2007 (323 days 9 hours ago.) Viewed 179 times. Power kites and traction kites have only been around since the 1970s. That's not a long time compared to some other categories of kite, such as Chinese kites or Box kites. However, quite a bit of traction kite development has taken place, so it's interesting to see just how far this kind of heavy-pulling kite has come. It's use in a wide range of sports has exploded since the turn of the millennium! 1970s A very significant early power kite was the Flexifoil. Way back in the 70s, it was a 2-line design by Ray Merry and Andrew Jones who worked in England. Flexifoil is now the name of a kiting company. 1980s An improved foil design called the Sparless Stunter was being sold, by the late 80s. Designed by Ted Dougherty, it had 6 cells and a square outline. However, it was soon overshadowed by even more advanced kites... 1990s Ted Dougherty also designed the Quadrifoil, which appeared soon after the Sparless Stunter. The Quadrifoil traction kite was one of the very first 4-liners in the history of power kites. Rectangular in outline, it was first seen in competition in 1990. This name became a brand, and many later versions of the original Quadrifoil were sold as the Competition C1 and C3. There was also a Q2000 range and lastly a Competition X range of Quadrifoil kites. All these later kites were roughly elliptical in outline, and weren't actually designed by Ted Dougherty. While all this was happening, a kite designer from New Zealand called Peter Lynn was just as busy. Peter came out with the 2-line Peel kite in 1991. Being made in fairly large sizes, right up to 10 square meters (1080 square feet), the Peel was most often used for traction. Unlike most kites used for traction, the Peter Lynn designs are not parafoils. People were still buying the Peel kite in the late 90s. Another kite which was sold in the mid 90s was the QuadTrac, again by Ted Dougherty. A 4-liner, construction and sales were handled by a company called Skynasaur. The kites themselves were often referred to as 'Skynasaurs'. Later in the 90s, one of the original designers of the Flexifoil kite continued his success with a range of 4-liners called Skytiger. Sticking with the rectangular outline like the Flexifoil, the Skytiger kites were reliable and stable traction kites. The original range was eventually followed by the 'Hi' series. The new kites were designed to pull even harder, for a given sail area. Some designers were developing traction kites for pure speed. These were a bit trickier to fly though! A good example of this was the Predator, by Peter Mirkovic of Sky Kites. In the late 90s, this was the most successful design in the U.K., being used a lot in buggy races. 2000s Probably the most interesting development in the new millennium was how paraglider manufacturers entered the traction kite market! In particular, a well-known French company called Ozone. This company has built paragliders since the early days of the sport so it's no surprise that the kites they produce are very high quality. Another development was the introduction of 'depowerable' designs that flew on all 4 lines, with smoothly adjustable pulling power during flight. Earlier designs without this feature flew on just 2 lines, with the remaining 2 lines being used for steering and a limited amount of depowering. Power kites have become more specialized in recent years. Take for example, 3 kites from Ozone that were available in 2007. The Ozone Fury is 'entry level' meaning nice and stable for new kite flyers. The Yakusa is designed specifically for buggy racing. Another design, the Access, is sold as an all-rounder although it was originally designed for snow kiting. With its extra line, it can be de-powered instantly in an emergency. For example, if you are hit with an unusually strong gust of wind. Hope you enjoyed this short history of power kites. How much further can designers push the limits of lightness, strength and super-accurate construction? We've seen relaunchable kites, depowerable kites, the 5th line, so what might be the next big thing? Tim Parish and his family are rediscovering the joys of kite flying. They log their kiting fun on their My-Best-Kite.com website, and also research the kiting world. This site will introduce you to many kinds of kites and kite flying activities, including power kites and traction kites of course!
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