(copied from GrassrootsMapping Wiki) Prototype a helium-filled kite that flies in low wind but d...
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3 CURRENT | mathew |
September 20, 2012 19:53
| about 12 years ago
(copied from GrassrootsMapping Wiki) Prototype a helium-filled kite that flies in low wind but does not drop due to wind: See this Ram Sled for a possible design: swap out the rammed air cylinders for helium? Black Knight 1At WhereCamp 2010 at Google Mountain View, a few of us built a prototype helium kite from a single 99 gallon trash bag. (JeffreyWarren, DanLyke, ReidBeels, and a few more) See photo gallery here: Flickr photos of Black Knight 1 Goals
Lessons learned
Black Knight 1.1Suggestion: try making 2 cylinders of helium that are reinforced and sealed with rings of tape. Then connect them with a membrane. NathanCooke, OliverYeh, and JeffreyWarren prototyped some small balloon kites using a plastic bag welder from MIT's D-Lab. We used 2.7 mil plastic with the welder set to 5.5. Triple seams were tough - like in 3d where three lines meet, which is how the old Black Knight design worked. Suggestion: try just sealing horizontally instead of doing a complex joint. We also tried just sealing a bag closed, then welding lines down the middle, so we use the bag as-is, water-tight, but create pontoons. Easier to show in a picture than explain in text, so here: Flight tests:Kite / Balloon Hybrid HistoryDomina Jalbert (of the parafoil fame) experimented with these under the name "Kytoon". They generally seem to be teardrop-shaped balloons with kite-style wings. Here's a reprint from an old Popular Mechanics article. Also see the "Helikite": Helikite on YouTube |
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2 | warren |
April 21, 2012 15:14
| over 12 years ago
(copied from GrassrootsMapping Wiki) Prototype a helium-filled kite that flies in low wind but does not drop due to wind: See this Ram Sled for a possible design: swap out the rammed air cylinders for helium? Black Knight 1At WhereCamp 2010 at Google Mountain View, a few of us built a prototype helium kite from a single 99 gallon trash bag. (JeffreyWarren, DanLyke, ReidBeels, and a few more) See photo gallery here: Flickr photos of Black Knight 1 Goals
Lessons learned
Black Knight 1.1Suggestion: try making 2 cylinders of helium that are reinforced and sealed with rings of tape. Then connect them with a membrane. NathanCooke, OliverYeh, and JeffreyWarren prototyped some small balloon kites using a plastic bag welder from MIT's D-Lab. We used 2.7 mil plastic with the welder set to 5.5. Triple seams were tough - like in 3d where three lines meet, which is how the old Black Knight design worked. Suggestion: try just sealing horizontally instead of doing a complex joint. We also tried just sealing a bag closed, then welding lines down the middle, so we use the bag as-is, water-tight, but create pontoons. Easier to show in a picture than explain in text, so here: Flight tests:Kite / Balloon Hybrid HistoryDomina Jalbert (of the parafoil fame) experimented with these under the name "Kytoon". They generally seem to be teardrop-shaped balloons with kite-style wings. Here's a reprint from an old Popular Mechanics article. Also see the "Helikite": Helikite on YouTube |
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1 | warren |
April 21, 2012 14:47
| over 12 years ago
(copied from GrassrootsMapping Wiki) Prototype a helium-filled kite that flies in low wind but does not drop due to wind: See this Ram Sled for a possible design: swap out the rammed air cylinders for helium? Black Knight 1At WhereCamp 2010 at Google Mountain View, a few of us built a prototype helium kite from a single 99 gallon trash bag. (JeffreyWarren, DanLyke, ReidBeels, and a few more) See photo gallery here: Flickr photos of Black Knight 1 Goals
Lessons learned
Black Knight 1.1Suggestion: try making 2 cylinders of helium that are reinforced and sealed with rings of tape. Then connect them with a membrane. NathanCooke, OliverYeh, and JeffreyWarren prototyped some small balloon kites using a plastic bag welder from MIT's D-Lab. We used 2.7 mil plastic with the welder set to 5.5. Triple seams were tough - like in 3d where three lines meet, which is how the old Black Knight design worked. Suggestion: try just sealing horizontally instead of doing a complex joint. We also tried just sealing a bag closed, then welding lines down the middle, so we use the bag as-is, water-tight, but create pontoons. Easier to show in a picture than explain in text, so here: Flight tests:Kite / Balloon Hybrid HistoryDomina Jalbert (of the parafoil fame) experimented with these under the name "Kytoon". They generally seem to be teardrop-shaped balloons with kite-style wings. Here's a reprint from an old Popular Mechanics article. Also see the "Helikite": Helikite on YouTube |
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0 | warren |
April 21, 2012 14:36
| over 12 years ago
(copied from GrassrootsMapping Wiki) Prototype a helium-filled kite that flies in low wind but does not drop due to wind: See this Ram Sled for a possible design: swap out the rammed air cylinders for helium? Black Knight 1At WhereCamp 2010 at Google Mountain View, a few of us built a prototype helium kite from a single 99 gallon trash bag. (JeffreyWarren, DanLyke, ReidBeels, and a few more) See photo gallery here: Flickr photos of Black Knight 1 Goals
Lessons learned
Black Knight 1.1Suggestion: try making 2 cylinders of helium that are reinforced and sealed with rings of tape. Then connect them with a membrane. NathanCooke, OliverYeh, and JeffreyWarren prototyped some small balloon kites using a plastic bag welder from MIT's D-Lab. We used 2.7 mil plastic with the welder set to 5.5. Triple seams were tough - like in 3d where three lines meet, which is how the old Black Knight design worked. Suggestion: try just sealing horizontally instead of doing a complex joint. We also tried just sealing a bag closed, then welding lines down the middle, so we use the bag as-is, water-tight, but create pontoons. Easier to show in a picture than explain in text, so here: Flight tests:Kite / Balloon Hybrid HistoryDomina Jalbert (of the parafoil fame) experimented with these under the name "Kytoon". They generally seem to be teardrop-shaped balloons with kite-style wings. Here's a reprint from an old Popular Mechanics article. Also see the "Helikite": Helikite on YouTube |
Revert |