[JoeF]

In 1909: rotating portable mountain:

Source: http://aviadejavu.ru/Site/Crafts/Craft22261.htm

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[JoeF]

Rick Masters has found an interesting 1910 article that reminds me some of Bryan Roberts and others in long-wired electric aircraft... and my own essays on long-electric-cord launching of electric-motored aircraft and hang gliders. Others are invited to further this realm. Low or high plays may be involved. One low HG play might be an electric power source on the ground with a cord that allows climbing to 100 ft AGL and then dropping the cord and practice HG landings off flatland. Explore other means. I will here include Rick's note and article finding. And then we could go from there to alternative version on theme. In kite energy we are exploring long-line electric aircraft: Makani Power owned by Google long-wire powers the wing and then shuts off the power to crosswind kite the wing for a driving of the propellers that drive the motors-cum-generator to mine energy to send back down the wires; we are pretty sure that method for utility production won't win the AWE race, but it is fun to watch the millions being spent to learn about flying aircraft by long wires. The HG potential is an open space for exploration yet.

http://www.newspapers.com/clip/1641318/ ... extension/

This is very interesting because the motor could be used to gain significant altitude through ascending spirals, then the cord could be released for freeflight. This would be much safer than towing. The lightweight power cord could play out from a ground-based reel. The craft could be bungee-launched from level ground (like Blacks Beach) or run off a very low hill. The small sustainer motor would allow an easy climb. It could also be used with onboard batteries to avoid draining them during the power-hungry climb, thus saving them for intra-thermal or canyon jumping in ridge lift. Power could be supplied from a ground-based generator or utility power plug-in. Have you toyed with this concept yet? Do you know about lightweight conductors like carbon fiber?

We don't even need such lightweight conductors to soar Torrey today using this concept - but it's neat to think about. You could climb a mile or two with a lightweight cord. Put a little parachute on it for drag when you reel it back in from the ground. If the kid did this 115 years ago, we must all be fu**ing stupid not to have done this yet. It could even replace towing altogether!
You would need

1) a foldable prop
2) a shaft
3) cheap lightweight AC electric motor (no magnets)
4) mounting hardware
5) a female plug

Maybe 10 pounds. Maybe less.

Carbon nanotube wires and cables: near-term applications and future perspectives.
Jarosz P1, Schauerman C, Alvarenga J, Moses B, Mastrangelo T, Raffaelle R, Ridgley R, Landi B.

Abstract
Wires and cables are essential to modern society, and opportunities exist to develop new materials with reduced resistance, mass, and/or susceptibility to fatigue. This article describes how carbon nanotubes (CNTs) offer opportunities for integration into wires and cables for both power and data transmission due to their unique physical and electronic properties. Macroscopic CNT wires and ribbons are presently shown as viable replacements for metallic conductors in lab-scale demonstrations of coaxial, USB, and Ethernet cables. In certain applications, such as the outer conductor of a coaxial cable, CNT materials may be positioned to displace metals to achieve substantial benefits (e.g. reduction in cable mass per unit length (mass/length) up to 50% in some cases). Bulk CNT materials possess several unique properties which may offer advantages over metallic conductors, such as flexure tolerance and environmental stability. Specifically, CNT wires were observed to withstand greater than 200,000 bending cycles without increasing resistivity. Additionally, CNT wires exhibit no increase in resistivity after 80 days in a corrosive environment (1 M HCl), and little change in resistivity with temperature (<1% from 170-330 K). This performance is superior to conventional metal wires and truly novel for a wiring material. However, for CNTs to serve as a full replacement for metals, the electrical conductivity of CNT materials must be improved. Recently, the conductivity of a CNT wire prepared through simultaneous densification and doping has exceeded 1.3 × 10(6) S/m. This level of conductivity brings CNTs closer to copper (5.8 × 10(7) S/m) and competitive with some metals (e.g. gold) on a mass-normalized basis. Developments in manipulation of CNT materials (e.g. type enrichment, doping, alignment, and densification) have shown progress towards this goal. In parallel with efforts to improve bulk conductivity, integration of CNT materials into cabling architectures will require development in electrical contacting. Several methods for contacting bulk CNT materials to metals are demonstrated, including mechanical crimping and ultrasonic bonding, along with a method for reducing contact resistance by tailoring the CNT-metal interface via electroless plating. Collectively, these results summarize recent progress in CNT wiring technologies and illustrate that nanoscale conductors may become a disruptive technology in cabling designs.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21984338

Clipped by Rick Masters from The Salt Lake Tribune, 4 Dec 1910, Sun, First Edition

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See the many photos and story over the FEGS at http://www.skywindpower.com/science_generators.htm

One of my pet hopes is to rig up solar-recharge or wind-energy recharge or muscle-energy recharge of batteries to power a corded motored HG to obtain eFLPHG to 50 ft AGL in calms; release the cord, glide, have fun landing. The wing running launch and the wing-running landing and the gliding would be good exercise and fun. Repeat over and over and over again. Electrically assisted hang gliding on flats in calms. Clean. Quiet. No liquid fuels.

Many patents show fly-by-wire model aircraft; the wing is equipped with electric motors driving propellers; but the energy arrives through wires from the ground.
http://www.thertphut.co.uk/images/RTPsetup.png
http://www.thertphut.co.uk/ Electric "Round-the-Pole" (RTP)

[JoeF]

This is a partial repeat, but filed in "Portable Mountain" hereon:

Early in 1900s, for one, Harvard University had pre-announced gliding event with a division for foot-launchers. It was publicized. Competition was slated and performed. Recognition for place was given. Such was important in the growth of aeronautics and gliding. Harvard's Squantum field in 1911.

[JoeF]

Kansas University
http://kuhistory.com/articles/lorenzo-the-magnificent/

Wessel plunged over the side of the ramp without cheating gravity even for a moment. His machine was smashed, with one wing destroyed.

Legend Of The Fall. The Great Wessellini’s launch ramp was a wooden affair six feet high and 32 feet long situated below the Campanile and aimed at Memorial Stadium.

[Bill Cummings]

BobK, that skim-board kiting gliding history note is very on topic. Thanks.
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PortableMountainTorrey002.png

Optional power sources regarding the scene posted two posts up:
1. Have the Torrey Hawks haul-line team be up in the public parking lot or street; they could get better traction on their shoes.

2. Anchor a kite much out at sea; have the kite system lift water bags. Then upon "Go!" trigger the drop of the water bags vertically, but have the HG tow-up line go up to the pulley and to the dropping water bags. A kite-system safety downing line is key for safety and for closing the system for the day. A slack return line RL is used during towing up of HG; the RL lets team bring the tow line back for another Torrey Hawk or US Hawk to be towed up. Notice that the line haul team does not have to run on the beach; in this portable mountain version, the team needs only struggle to lift the water to altitude, hold the line until Go! is given. [[Alternative workarounds can be effective, see below.]]

Want to have team not work so hard to lift the water bag for recharge? Then design and install a kite control system that changes AoA of the train wing element that lowers P2 to near water level; then pull slack line of tow line to just taut; then change AoA of wing set again for heavy lift-back; the kite train then will lift the water using wind energy. Beach team would then use capstan to simply let out line as the P2 goes up with water bag near P2 to altitude ready for another launch; hence much less beach footprint and much less muscle involvement; smaller team too.

Want a near alternative that does not even use water bag? Consider using only a kite-system anchored sufficiently out to sea. Have AoA control of kite system. Lower the kite system wing set; have line from the main tether going to HG at shore or near-shore. Have a first anchor for the main system; then have a second anchor with pulley through which the HG tow line paths to an upper point on the kite system. When the AoA of the kite system is set for lift, then the HG tow line is pulled through the second anchor's pulley; and then the HG is towed to altitude. Plan carefully the positions of the parts. Respect air traffic and mark the lines that will be in air and on water surface. Have also a RL that is slack during HG tow up; use the RL to bring back the line end for towing another Torrey Hawk. Drawing may come later on this alternative.

Smarts for any of these systems will be important. Knowing the wind and distances and lengths and involved speeds and forces will play their spirits.

~ JoeF
Torrey Hawk
US Hawk
Mo Hawk

Beach launching at the base of Torrey Pines.
by Bill Cummings.

A marriage of water and land crosswind towing arts learn from experience.

While boat towing up hang gliders along the 400’ cliffs on each side of the mile wide Mississippi River at Lake Pepin (between Minnesota and Wisconsin) several concerns came into play. If the wind was nearly straight into the north facing four mile long Frontenac Ridge we had to avoid having a towline in the water that would cross a navigable barge and boat route up close along the base of the cliff.

No matter the water temperature, if a pilot were to impede the flow of barge or boat traffic by dropping a towline across this navigable route the pilot would figuratively, “Be landing in a lot of hot water.”

The wind direction up at the rim being just a few degrees to either side of straight in would have the wind direction at the base of the cliff extremely cross and greatly reduced in velocity.

While flying and looking at the wind print on the water at the base of the cliff there will be no question that you would be setting up to land to a great degree along the base of the cliff and nowhere near perpendicular to the cliff.

Piloting your boat up to the base of this cliff and seeing the big angle the wind was to the base of the cliff can be extremely deceiving. One would think that this cliff couldn’t be soarable but through experience you will know better.

To keep the towline out of the marked channel we platform launched along the base of the cliff into the (cliff turned) wind. The higher the pilot got the more would be the crab the pilot would take so as to keep the towline from landing in the trees on shore once released.

The length of towline needed to soar the rim is way shorter when towing along the base than needed when towing perpendicular to the
cliff.

Towing away from the base needs about a thousand feet of altitude to return to the 400’ rim. Towing along the base needs about six hundred feet of altitude to reach the four hundred foot rim.
How far in land the rim is will make a difference.

Now for the marriage partnership of crosswind water and land towing.

When the wind was crossing the road at a forty five degree angle and more let us say from the left we would move the glider to be foot launched (in static launch or stationary winch launch) to the right side of the road.

Over on the left side of the road about 175 to 200 feet up wind we would drive a two foot pipe one foot into the ground.

Next we would run the towline from the glider up wind to the pipe and drop the towline on the far side of the pipe from the tow vehicle or winch.

The foot launch would be straight into the wind toward the pipe/stake and would lift clear of the pipe as the pilot gained altitude. Once launched straight into the wind and free of the pipe there is no problem crabbing down the road in the crosswind as you climb out.

Now let’s hold the reception on the beach at the base of Torrey Pines.
(Put two beach air mattresses inside the double surface but always try to stay over the beach and not over the water.)

# 1) Figure out North or south where the stationary winch will be staked down near the shoreline. (Just beyond the end of the ridge would be nice if possible, to keep the line on the beach and not tangle with the hillside.)

# 2) Run the towline from the winch to the extra long stake driven two feet into the sand at the water line with one foot sticking up.

# 3) Drape the towline on the ocean side of the stake.

# 4) Run the towline down wind of the stake to the hang glider pilot at the base of the cliff.

#5) MANDATORY: All pilot must carry a palm sized compressed air boat horn to blow when up wind of the concessionaire building for safety collision avoidance notice. Long blasts are safer.

[Bob Kuczewski]

Thanks for the great suggestions, and they are great advice for sites where there isn't a dedicated flight park on the cliff.   

Your description would actually work very well for the physical situation at Torrey Pines. But I think there would be problems with the political / regulatory / practical situation there:

1. There's no vehicular access to the beach except by lifeguard trucks. So that would make it difficult to get towing equipment and gliders down there ... and back up.
   
2. The beach is often pretty crowded, so there would be some obvious and justified objection to any tow rope stretched along the beach. Even if the towing was done over the water, the dropped tow line might land over the beach unless the towing was done pretty far out.
   
3. It would be hard to justify all the trouble and expense of setting up such a system when people can just drive up to the City Park, set up their glider, launch, fly, and top land.

It turns out that the motivation to tow at Torrey is primarily in response to San Diego's city government not properly overseeing the flight park owned by the people. That's what we've been working to fix.