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How to determine the pull of a kite


In article <CDwxqs.CAD@darkside.osrhe.edu>, wjon@okcforum.osrhe.edu (Jon Wagner) writes:
>Well physicist Have been working on the Grand Unification Theory of the
>entire universe, I don't see why we can't get a GUT's for kite 
>flying??  or better maybe a pocket or palm top program... 
>
>I mean absolutly no disrepect, having had students manage to break
>supposed unbreakable line or at least line that was suppose to be 
>'more' than needed in the winds with the kite!

I imagine that if you look around long enough you will uncover
information about the Hargrave box kite and the Eddy kite (both were
used by the US Weather Service). You should also be able to get some
information about parafoils since that configuration is used in
paraplanes and parachutes

I suspect that the question will never have a general answer because
the general answer is very complicated and you really don't need an
answer.

Why do you want to know the pull anyway? Usually it's to determine how
strong your line has to be, or whether you need help flying the kite,
or how large an anchor you need to hold the kite down. After flying
kites for a while you can usually get "close enough" (this is an
official engineering term ;-).

Besides, even if you came up with a number, you would have to
calibrate yourself to what the numbers mean. I remember flying a
pretty good sized rokkaku once in moderate wind. It was on 135 pound
dacron line and I thought it was pulling fairly hard. I was surprised
to see that the kite was pulling around 30 pounds (spring scale used
for weighing fish). I thought it was pulling much harder than this.

The number is just a starting point for choosing flying line strength.
Knots and line damage can easily half the total strength of the
system.
--
Marty Sasaki            Harvard University           Sasaki Kite Fabrications
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