Here is a hasty note set that covers some thinking about kite trains in the technical kite community and its AWE understanding:
Open AWE has long studied how to tap
lattice waves, not seeing them as undesirable "instability."
Kiters simply damp train oscillations with tails and other details,
when the application is public display.
Dynamic Stability as a "resonant" mode has been considered ideal for tapping for energy.
Tapping free energy is done in crosswind plane. Longitudinal axis holds the zero-point energy.
These traveling waves can reflect by strong turbulence transients, gradient, or pilot lift.
Traveling waves vary according to wind velocity, but the mode is stable across a wide range.
Traveling waves generally entrain to the moving wind field.
Canonical normal modes are distinct
phases. These have potential application to modulate sweep area (i.e.,
1st mode sweeps most).
Standing wave modes develop by special design and/or conditions. Kite Arches naturally support standing waves.
We have been inspired by lattice
wave energy in crystals as a heuristic similarity class, avoiding
high-dimensional intractability in our models.
Does two-line steering input, with canceling pull-turn push-turn constant train-segment length, ease computation issues?
Wubbo's SpiderMill concept, as a
kite network of tri-tether nodes, has been Open-AWE's to extend and
develop. TUDelft seems to have completely neglected it. Report? [ ]
=========== This
sort of rough kiter's domain art could go on indefinitely, but this
gives one a conceptual snapshot. Hoping others' future work can further
validate empirical kite network research in AWE, dating back to 2007.
Jan. 26, 2020, post by Joe Faust
Hyperkites: some miscellaneous quotes:
"Hyperkites
were invented by Randy Tom of the Bay Area Sundowners, and now
exclusively licensed through Kites Unlimited in Atlantic Beach,
NC."
"Along
with Randy Tom, Frederick Belloff, aka Rick Bell and John Caiazza were
all responsible for the invention of the Hyperkite.I worked for Rick
and was engaged to his step-son in the early 90's. I still have the
original Hyperkites manual that they composed yet never published"
"It does seem that "Randy Tom", the designer of the original Hyperkites has long been out of business."
"Hyperkites (The company) closed its doors in 1998 after the dominance of the "Big Wing" took over the stunt kite community."
"This
is a five-pack of Hyperkites, bought in the early 1980's. Made of
ripstop nylon with wood spars, these were sport kites made to fly in
stacks or trains. Sold in kite stores across the United States, they
were popular because of their "show" potential when flown in very long
stacks (30 kites +). Hyperkites have been the kite of choice for the
Bay Area Sundowners, the oldest continual-performing sport kite team in
the United States. Custom Hyperkites, with dynamic graphic sails were a
specialty of kite artist Randy Tom. I remember them being sold in 3-
and 6- packs, but this is a 5-pack, so that may be the way they were
sold."
Dec. 24, 2019, post by Dave Santos
Best Kite-Train Lattice-Wave Video
Jim Nicholls' 685th kite review elegantly captures kite-train lattice-wave essentials-
Sept. 20, 2019 Dave Santos Kite Trains/Stacks gain Traction in AWEcademia
Note that too-close a kite stack self interferes. so looser
train-spacing is the best power-to-weight-and-airspace. The hidden
issue is whether active digital Optimal Control of many-body problem is
not better done by embodied passive dynamic stability methods. Formal
AWE theory is catching up to classic multi-kite train and stack
practice long reviewed and endorsed here. Sad that Wubbo's SpiderMill
is not cited as an antecedent, still, great to see the Ivory Tower
again coming around to widely known informal kite art. This is a key
paper to move rigorous AWE topology theory toward laterally extended
kite networks interconnected aloft. Congratulations to the authors, two
well known to us (Reinhart and Moritz) and two new (Johem and Thilo)-
Practical Note: Too-close a kite-stack self interferes, so looser
train-spacing is best power-to-weight-and-airspace. The undiscussed
issue is whether active digital Optimal Control of the hairy many-body
problem is not better done by embodied passive dynamic stability
methods.
Dragons and centiped trains
(review for AWES futures). Sky worms. Sky snakes. Sky dragons. Consider
scaling and PTOs. Considedr mods for width; and wing choices.
Titles of linked videos that hold some lessons about kite stacks and kite trains: (please send more; thanks)