[Rick Masters]

[JoeF]

Great addition, Rick Masters !

In support of your add: http://tinyurl.com/SolarChimneyTechnology

[JoeF]

Modify Harry Valentine's (and Doug Selsam's and astronaut Wubbo Ockels, and others' laddermills) to carry HGs up the loop and release the HGs at altitude):

[JoeF]

  INFLATABLE AND TRANSPORTABLE DUNE FOR SOARING FLIGHTS  
(groundhandling & free-style) by Pere Casellas

Pere's portable dune belongs to the family of portable ridges or the family of portable fences (all small portable mountains).

Christo's Running Fence modified for HG soaring for short or long distances across lands or waterway belong to the "portable mountain" topic.
Some images: http://tinyurl.com/RunningFenceIMAGES
There may be contests on flatland on or lakes or seas that use ambient wind for ridge-soaring of HGs using artificial portable mountains of the fence sort.

A little lift during assembly of the potential HG soaring fence:

[JoeF]

Dave Santos posted a note in reply:

As megascale kite lattices emerged over years of AWES Forum discussion*, quasi-mountain qualities became evident. "Kite matter" structure can match or even exceed mountain-scale and create local climate effects. Kite matter can blend-in to the sky or landscape by camouflage coloring, or even be designed to look like a real mountain. It can form ghostly mountains of sparse sail-spacing, almost invisible, yet with a spatial presence of a mountain. They can look like anything, with lighting effects to boot. The common poster vision of a castle on an uprooted flying mountain could be created in real life.

Kite mountains are hollow, of course, and would feel like vast cathedrals from within. Living around megascale kite farm lattices might be like living near mountains, but these are almost living mountains, more like giant monsters even, so there would be a scary vibe in bad conditions. But we intend to create friendly monsters, from the start. Kite Cloud, kite mountain; both express the basic idea, but Tomas Mann may have named it best: "Magic Mountain". Kite magic is real, and we are the student wizards.

* I recall some years ago how RobertC boggled at the idea of a megakite the size of Table Mountain (S. Africa), when the key enabling soft-kite construction concept was found, of many-km rope loadpaths, with sails (in "kixel" arrays) hanked on.
--------------------- tech note ---------------------
JoeF rightly notes these mountains can move, perhaps travelling the globe like clouds. A kite cloud could work by complex DSing of local lattice units against remote units across internal flow shear, creating net-lift and propulsion. A spider-mill opposed by another spider-mill in FFAWE mode would have a cloud-like character.

CC+ Open-AWE IP Pool

[JoeF]

SheetBowlSoarHG.png (14.37 KiB) Viewed 6543 times

This scheme for a portable mountain does not need thick 3D inflation. Just use kite-system-lifted sheet (tarp, textile, rip-stop Nylon, doped net, wide-mesh net with cells covered with recycled film segments, ... ). Arch kite and trains for aggregate stability will do. Not shown are kite-train secondary kite-stop tag lines to rein breakaways. Soft soil anchors for safety (not just tent spikes or other hard spikes). Gambions may be used for anchors.

Soar the ridge lift of the bowl formed.
Down the system by using the safety breakaway stop lines. Down arch kite by letting one end go and using that end to walk down the arch.
Roll up the bowl sheet and put away the kite parts. Travel to some other site for a new afternoon of slope soaring.

The shown could be set up over water. This portable mountain may be of minimal size just allowing a hang glider to barely stay aloft. Or the arrangement may be scaled to large or huge, even higher ridge than Torrey Pines cliffs.

~ JoeF

[Bob Kuczewski]

WOW!!!!

There's some seriously creative stuff here!!!

   
   

    
   

[JoeF]

Christmas Portable Mountain 2014

ChristmasPortableMountain2014.png (23 KiB) Viewed 6525 times

There is a zone of first lift where one will not have enough vertical space to get flying upon release of HG from the launch system. So, it is key to have the system be ever capable for safe operation.
RC control of the kite servant wings could be replaced with control-line system.
Tether-visibility markers are to meet FAA rules.
Notice that the shown system does not use cars, trucks, winches, scooter winches, horses, team tuggers, bungee, power boats, tug boats, etc. The featured Christmas Portable Mountain may be a solo operation, but teams are recommended.
Note that the sketch has hang place for hang glider; however, it is recommended to have a significant hang line for hanging the hang glider.
The tether length between the hung HG and the system anchor may be very long; in all cases we would want the HG to be lifted to an altitude that provide ample verticality to more than avoid the first lift zone where flight may not be obtained near the ground. Ballistic parachute might be involved in the system.

"Up-and-Down Technology"
~ JoeF

[Bob Kuczewski]

Christmas Portable Mountain 2014

The attachment ChristmasPortableMountain2014.png is no longer available

There is a zone of first lift where one will not have enough vertical space to get flying upon release of HG from the launch system. So, it is key to have the system be ever capable for safe operation.
RC control of the kite servant wings could be replaced with control-line system.
Tether-visibility markers are to meet FAA rules.
Notice that the shown system does not use cars, trucks, winches, scooter winches, horses, team tuggers, bungee, power boats, tug boats, etc. The featured Christmas Portable Mountain may be a solo operation, but teams are recommended.
Note that the sketch has hang place for hang glider; however, it is recommended to have a significant hang line for hanging the hang glider.
The tether length between the hung HG and the system anchor may be very long; in all cases we would want the HG to be lifted to an altitude that provide ample verticality to more than avoid the first lift zone where flight may not be obtained near the ground. Ballistic parachute might be involved in the system.

"Up-and-Down Technology"
~ JoeF

This might be the best idea of them all Joe!!

The Lifting Kites just need to be able to generate the differential between the hang glider's own lifting ability in the wind and gross weight of the hang glider and pilot. With the hang glider tethered to a fixed point, it will have an airspeed equal to the wind. If that were enough to lift the hang glider and pilot, then the kites wouldn't be needed at all. But in typical cases (especially when the hang glider is starting on the ground) there won't be enough upward force generated to lift the pilot and glider. So that's where the downwind kites come into play. They only have to make up that difference.

By the way, here's a picture of Bill Cummings (far off in the distance) being flown as a kite by his spouse (up close).

In this case, they didn't need any additional lifting kites, but if the wind weren't so strong, the extra lifting kites would have helped.

By the way, this brings up another possibility. What if there were a way to augment the wing of the hang glider itself with a lifting mechanism (kite, paraglider, speed wing ...) during the "up kiting" phase of the flight. Then once the glider is at altitude, the lifting mechanism could be disabled (collapsed, folded, and retracted into the glider itself). Then the line could be retrieved more easily without having to fight the kite.

[JoeF]

Christmas Portable Mountain
Yes, BobK, your massage over the matter is exactly on target. Good teaming for Lift ways!
1. The high-speed-near-ground wind forms safety challenges. Bill-Cummings-and-wife-kiting-team situation and image is a living gem classic image! The high wind at ground that is sufficient for direct static kiting invites its own sphere of safety cares. The flying occurs near immediately even at release, but then just how the high wind is behaving will often challenge landing challenges. High ground wind usually will still have the wind gradient for even higher winds aloft where carefully flying under tether will challenge the situation for the holding wife, as slight pitch changes could overcome the wife FAST. Bill Moyes early self-kited in high wind as he anchored tether to a tree base. These high ground wind challenges form a sector of less recommendation than operating in low ground wind situation (where the first lift zone fall challenges are present). Also, at Torrance Beach cliff, I was anchor for kiting line as Bill Moyes kite launched from the cliff; then he let the line go; my kiting him is a classic treasured point in my experiences. Bill Cummings wife and I share similar experiences: We both kited a HG-ered "Bill." But here kiting of her "Bill" was much more extensive; thanks for posting the image, BobK !

2. The servant lifting wings ... yes, may be far from HG or close to HG or integrated with HG; in past discussions "morphing" of the HG's area brings a solution close to what you neatly mention in above post. The morphing HG may be set with high area for kiting in the low near-ground wind; then as lift occurs and the gradient is climbed, then the morphing brings the area smaller in the HG as the HG is kited; the morphing HG thus keeps its adjusting-area parts for use immediately again. E.g. Start HG with area opf 400 sq ft and have that area reduce as the climb up occurs to faster wind; morph down to say 180 sq ft for release and glide and soar. The main kiting tether drops with its safety line drogue in ready for the next HG launch which could be for the same HG that was just recently released for glide. If there is a difference of say 4 mph that might be provided by a few ground team tuggers, then first lift-off could be effected while finishing the climb under kiting action may then not need tugging team; HG pilot could crank morphed area in or out as needed.

3. Your close servant lifting surfaces are wings of the kiting system; thus it matches topic exactly.

4. One anticipated use of the Christmas Portable Mountain favors mild-weather low-ground-wind environment where non-morphing HGs could be lifted. The servant lifter kite system could morph by lines or RC and servos for AoA and reefed area-by-demand, all to give rise and lowering of the servant wings while also providing enough lift to face near-zero ground wind where HG would give next to no lift, but almost only drag; we content then with a taller challenge layer or vertical zone where safety is surely a concern.

5. Advanced Christmas Portable Mountain could smartly read main-tether tension for governing kite-servant wings' attitude/area/L/D, so excessive climb rates for the HG won't occur which could give unwanted negative load on the HG (as occurred in a balloon lift done by Dave Kilbourne where the launch-snap tug by the balloon high climb out ended in bending Dave's HG-frame; he went to altitude and finished the drop and flight; but Donnita H. and he and others were concerned about that initial-moment-snapped HG with frame bending! The balloon snap launch is on some videos of early renaissance hang gliding).
~JoeF