Public Lab Research note


Flying off wind with the Dazzle Delta

by mathew | February 14, 2013 19:43 14 Feb 19:43 | #5983 | #5983

Last sunday I got a chance to test out off-wind flying with the three tail attachment points on my G-kites Dazzle delta in super low winds less than 4mph on the ground, a little more above. not enough to lift a camera. I practiced in the Willamette Valley (portland, OR) for the steady winds, and also to use the Steel Bridge in the background as a reference.

I flew the delta with four different tail configurations-- no tails, two tails- one from the middle and one on the left side, one tail on the left, and two tails on the left. Two tails on the left got me about 35-45 degrees off wind, about 1/3 of the way out into the river. One tail on the left and two tails- one in the middle and one on the left, had the same tack angle.

I'll have to go back and see how it flies in higher winds with that much asymmetrical tail. The wind was too low to try adding weight to one side or the other of the kite. That said, in these preliminary tests the kite was extremely steady, I was quite pleasantly surprised by its performance. I expected small gusts to send the kite spinning, but it maintained a fairly even tack.


1 Comments

Nice research note, and these are looking great!

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