Free-flight AWE ---no tether to groundstations besides smartly pointed laser

Facing the counterpoints of renewable energy with FFAWE solutions has yet to be discussed in the halls of governments and barely in the depths of the AWE community. What is FFAWE? There are several types; one type involves a tether with a wing at each end of the tether while the integrity flies; another type is the smart soaring wing that has turbines onboard to mine excess lift; another involves simply gliding and soaring machine; another involves morphing blimps that rise and fall while also mining energy. For the one type of double-ended tether, the misnomer "untethered kite system" neglects the stark fact that both wings are tethered by each other; but the innocence regards that the system is not tethered to fixed ground. FFAWE has its moorings, but the moorings are moving about in the stream along with other parts. Caution: uncontrolled systems of FFAWE can cause damage to persons and property, perhaps in big ways; so, take all precautions in experiments; we do not want uncontrolled devices causing damage, injury, or death. Controls and redundant controls are invited. Even a simple toy kite lower drogued with a small kytoon out in free-flight could cause injury downwind.

Take a tethered aircraft; that aircraft is tethered to something that is static or moving relative to terra firma as a frame of reference. Many moving mooring points are well known: tugged ships, towed human bodies, kiteboards, sailing ships, tugged hydro-turbined barges, etc. Now replace the moving mooring point with a morphable controllable kite resulting in a mechanical system that has a tether with an aircraft at both ends of the tether, and with no tether to the ground, but only up in the air. Fly the two coupled aircraft into different wind environments; fly the upper aircraft into a jet stream and let the lower aircraft be out of the jet stream. Smartly balance forces on each of the two aircraft while mining part of the forces on one or both of the aircraft for directly generating electricity converted to laser-beams or microwave beams smartly pointed to selected receptive air stations or ground stations around the world.

Jan. 20, 2010

Mark,
Just to clarify, as I am not sure if we are on same page, perhaps my terms were not opened enough.
Your good work on the dynamic soaring by a single aircraft somewhat in the vein of Taras Kiceniuk, Jr. and Gary Osoba's work, and, of course, the near-ground model slope dynamic soaring efforts, are very interesting realms (tactics shared especially by some sea birds).

However, a quite different realm regards the focus on a long tether between two controlled wings where one wing is in jet-stream, say, and the other wing is not in the jet-steam; the coupled wings stand firmly so the delta is large for mining and flying. Actually most of AWECS relate to the two-body coupled by tether, but where one body is the earth also allowing the delta to be cause for mining energy. Differently is the free-free flight tether with mooring being not the earth, but a wing; such will sometimes allow a kind of doubling of delta for mining when the two wind spaces are in opposite directions like on our streets with cars going in opposite direction on the same street.

Dale C. Kramer (copied herein) admitted he already has in one of the wings an energy mining RAT. Scaling up the whole arrangement is a second category of dynamically soaring. The free-flight tether with wings terminating both ends of the tether is a dynamic soaring arrangement far different from the single aircraft mining delta wind scene. So, I am not sure your reply included the Richard Miller-Dale-Kramer-free-flight-two-wing-tether-coupled dynamic system. I would not want NASA to miss the opportunity to do deep pioneering work on a challenging FF-AWE method family.
Thank you for you moment on this clarification,
JoeF

Without Visible Means of Support, book, 1967, free-flight two-kite couple set into free-flight; inspired the furthered meditation on the system by Joe Faust, evidenced in Low & Slow and Hang Glider; such tech was later visited for AWE by Joe Faust, Dave Culp, Wayne German, Dave Santos, and Dale C. Kramer. The AWECS versions involve full air-only as well as air-water hybrids for energy mining and for travel. Uncontrolled versions have been flown without energy mining. Hybrids begin to be seen in powerkiting. Dale C. Kramer has been planning manned travel with the free coupled-two-kite version. Joe Faust is proposing that NASA help develop the technology for effecting the AWECS of such coupled-two-kite flying; in 2010, NASA M. Moore put the matter to far futuredom. Yet Team FF-AWE will continue development with aim for control development and trials January 2011

2011 FF-AWE or TKT Team:
Richard Miller (rip, emeritus), Joe Faust, Wayne German, Dave Santos, Dale C. Kramer, Dave Culp, Marten Bondestam, Massimo Ippolito, Andrea Papini , Daniele Spagli, Dawn White, David Carmein, Joe Hadzicki (Revolution Kites in Joes Adventure), and _______?
Contact: Editor@UpperWindpower.com if you consider yourself on FF-AWE.

http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/kitegen/message/1435 and following thread there.

http://www.mabonideas.com/aeroplane.html has a two-kite free-flight aerokite dynamic soaring sketch [[FF-AWE]]

Grazie Massimo! Temevo di aver pensato ad una cavolata! :-)
Però la mia idea è un po' diversa e visto che ho suscitato la vostra reazione continuo a descriverla per capire insieme a voi se sto solo vaneggiando! :-)
Per rispondere a Marchitti ed a Claudio, l'AeroKite è un oggetto volante che sfrutta i venti di alta quota pur volando a bassa o "media" quota. E' quindi diverso sia da un parapendio che da un aliante.
Il brevetto di Kramer si avvicina già un po' di più alla mia idea: in pratica è un aliante a motore dove il motore è il kite.
L'idea del finlandese è ancora un po' più vicina perché ha l'aerobrake.

In tutti questi casi però, per volare si fa sempre affidamento ad un aliante. La portanza, la stabilità e la direzione di volo sono date dalle ali e dal timone dell'aliante. Il kite ha lo scopo principale di rimpiazzare la spinta dei motori (anche se un po' influisce sulla portanza). Il volo quindi è controllato principalmente agendo sui flapper delle ali, sul timone di coda e solo in seconda battuta controllando il kite. La mia idea invece, vorrebbe ribaltare questo concetto: il volo è controllato principalmente dai kite.

Immaginate un piccolo Carusel. Ora prendete un disco volante (con diametro poco più grande per motivi di aerodinamica). Staccate tutta la "parte rotore" del carusel e fissatela sopra il disco volante. Ecco l'AeroKite o se preferite UFOKite! :-)
Il controllo sarebbe quasi totalmente affidato al cervellone centrale del carusel che deve essere riprogrammato appositamente per il nuovo scopo. In questo caso infatti invece di ottimizzare la forza tangenziale, dovrebbe controllare il vettore forza risultante ed il vettore momento risultante, applicati al baricentro del disco volante. Alcuni kite volerebbero alti per raccogliere la spinta e la portanza, altri kite volerebbero bassi e avrebbero la funzione che il fillandese chiama aerofreno. Inoltre durante il volo si potrebbe anche produrre energia, sfruttando sempre lo stesso differenziale fra vento in alta quota e vento in bassa. L'aeromobile potrebbe anche avere dei fan elettrici (o turbofan tipo aerei) per le manovre di decollo atterraggio, emergenza o per quelle manovre necessarie che i venti non permettono in un certo momento.

Quindi....nel mio mondo dei sogni..... un sistema del genere avrebbe:
Impatto quasi zero
Grande capacità di carico
Grande risparmio spazio e di materiali (Il disco volante rispetto all'aereo ha i 2 rapporti "Volume utile al trasporto/Materiale utilizzato" e "Volume utile al trasporto/Ingombro" molto più alti).
Correggetemi se sbaglio ma mi sembra di ricordare che i venti di alta quota a diverse latitudini soffiano sempre nella stessa direzione (est o ovest). Sono come dei nastri trasportatori che fanno tutto il giro della terra, giusto? Se fosse così l'UFOKite potrebbe essere un vettore alternativo agli aerei ed alle navi per i trasporti intercontinentali. (Alternativo solo per quegli spostamenti fra paesi all'interno delle stesse fasce di vento. Esempio: Cina-->Usa-->EU-->Russia-->Cina -->USA-->.....)

Scusate ma mi è venuta voglia di fantasticare! :-)

Ciao a tutti
Andrea P

"Sailing doesn't require wind over water or even wind over land. KiteShip can exploit the differential between an underwater current and still water nearby or that between the Earth's jet stream and still air above, below or alongside to sail using a pair of tethered wings, one in each fluid. Twin-kite technology unleashes such vehicles from ground level limitations. We can sail on the Earth's jet stream at hundreds of mile per hour under complete control over millions of miles of surface to maintain station in the Earth's stratosphere for surveillance and communication applications, and the outer Solar System gas giant planetary atmospheres."
~Dave Culp at http://www.kiteship.com/aerospace.php

1994 note by Lloyd M. Trefethen

Gary Osoba makes progress August 2011

http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=101467#101467

FFAWE of the type: kite hang glider leaves for a flight with two or more persons. One or more persons (or all) leave the FFAWE system for a skydive mission; they end up wingsuit flying or not, but terminate using another FFAWE device: gliding parachute or non-gliding parachute. If all leave the kite system, then consider RC guide the FFK back to base camp.

Video examples:
- http://vimeo.com/50615425
- http://www.zapiks.com/evasion.html
- Hybrid aggregate: http://youtu.be/byoiNHbEQBg
- Parachute jump from a hang glider

Via 2011 and 2012 interest and investment, we add Henry (Hank) DeBey to the FFAWE Club.

Group discuss: http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/AirborneWindEnergy/message/8119

Dec. 4, 2012: Preamble: We have FFAWE club that has a high focus on using wind differentials to derive energy for deliberate purposes (energy gain, travel, soaring, extended gliding) where Miller in 1967 may have been a leading published first. Henry (Hank) DeBey seems to be adding himself to the FFAWE club. In December of 2011 he wrote to me about having little kiting experience and he was wanting further explanation on just how calm-air kiting would work (various differentials used by phased tugging, multiple-point pumping of lines, etc). And now in 2012 we see he is forwarding the use of what Richard Miller, Faust, Dave Santos, Wayne German, Kramer , and others have been exploring---special realm of AWES. Welcome Hank to the FFAWE club!

Henry (Hank) DeBey

Levopters (L. lift up wing)

http://windpoweredaircraft.com/

"In general, the strength of the wind in Earth’s atmosphere becomes stronger by about 4 miles per hour for every 1,000 feet of higher altitude. Our Wind Powered Aircraft, referred to as levopters, extract energy from different winds at different altitudes by connecting wings at different altitudes with a slender but very strong tethers"

Free-Flight Modes (Night-Mode) ... Dec. 2013 notes by Dave Santos

http://energykitesystems.net/0/FFAWE/FFAWEin1976NewScientist.JPG "free-flying double kite" and AWES "onboard windmills" for powering instruments to guide the two wings in the double-kite arrangement in free-flight.

"free-flying kites"

Article was announced in FFAWE matters: AirborneWindEnergy/message/9020 on April 16, 2013. The article seemed to miss many safety concerns about free-flight kiting.

[ The concepts found mentioned are found by me to be already in the public domain; I hope the company develops practical systems; in the development there may need to be some global inventing done, but certainly strong engineering. ~JpF, May 27, 2013. Discuss in the forum. ]

His poster at AWEC2013
Group forum for discussing untethered flying units.

Explore Daniel C. Funcheon: AirborneWindEnergy/conversations/messages/10991

Partly related are studies on Negative Kiting.

Emmanuel du Pontavice

First page clipping of WO2013041025 (A1)
WO2013041025 (A9) - WING RING, AND MECHANISM AND METHOD WITH SAME
One priority date: 2011 09 20 Luo Conggui, Qiu Shouyong

It is a guess that the inventors are applying some claim to known FFAWE systems among other things. See patent; but we await a quality translation of the patent to English. Anyone?

Above is an air-air FFAWE system. See also else: air-water, air-air, and water-water FFAWE. Even soil-water, soil-soil, soil-air FFAWE.

Wave Power water-water system

April 2014, the FFAWE Club recognized Stephen B. Heppe, D.Sc. as member for his robust patent activity in the realm of FFAWE.

US417755 Aerial Apparatus by David Thayer

Harry Valentine seems to have qualified for FFAWE Club:

Ground-effect FFAWE suggestion by Harry Valentine, 16 May 2014 DiscussHere

Peter A. Sharp inducted in FFAWE club: Initial notice of qualifying data for membership: HERE.