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nose width: how does it affect flying caracteristics ?


In article <9308231220.AA25998@is1e.vub.ac.be>, plepez@ulb.ac.be (Lepez Philippe) writes:
>In article <1993Aug16.173213.15605@das.harvard.edu>, sasaki@netop3.harvard.edu
>(Marty Sasaki) writes:
>>The answer is,
>>
>>        It depends.
>>
>>or,
>>
>>        Try both and see.
>
>I would like to ask the knowledgeable guys out there, if they can go a bit 
>ahead of the 'it depends' and describe the effect of a large nose versus a 
>small one. Or in other words how does the nose width affect the flying of a 
>kite. If you can add some 'because' in your explanation that would be great.

I didn't mean to be flip or anything when answering this question. But
I am often amazed at how things work and am not surprised when someone
tries something and gets a different result than I got. Also, realize
that what I am about to say is more conjecture than fact, and is based
on my experience...

Nose width doesn't seem to be as important as how the nose is
stretched by the top spreader. The North Shore Radical, the Spectra
Comp Edge, and the Skynasaur Tracer all have "wide noses" with
moderate stretch. They track well and fly smoothly.

The Big Brother, Dean Jordan's Pro, and the Katana and Katana II have
narrower noses. They likewise track well and fly smoothly.

As Bert Tanaka has mentioned, lengthening the top spreader can have a
large effect on a kite. Along with increasing speed, a long spreader
can make the kite unstable. It doesn't seem to matter whether the kite
has a wide or a narrow nose...

I chose a narrower nose because it was easier to sew and looked neater.

So much for science and engineering ;-).
--
Marty Sasaki            Harvard University           Sasaki Kite Fabrications
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