Canopy Turned Kite

[kalaniwavo 0]

I was thinking the other day... what if I had an old canopy and shortened up the lines on the tail to create a positive angle of attack and then fabricated some method to control the canopy. think it would fly like a kite? anyone ever tried this.... I guess it could be too big to control.. just thinking it would be cool to fabricate a giant kite!

Aloha

[CSpenceFLY 1]

Yes it can be done. You don't need to shorten the lines. I can't remember if we left the brakes set or not. I'm wanting to say we figured out it flew better with the slider removed and about a 4 ft piece of line connecting the risers together. We flew ours on about 200 ft of rope. Don't connect yourself to the kite. If the winds are strong it will lift you and you will be injured.

[JohnMitchell 16]

I have a 200 sq ft Unit we fly as a beach kite. I tied a big long windsock on the brake lines for stability. You can lift a lot of junk with a canopy for a beach kite.

Jalbert originally conceived the square canopy as a kite, not a parachute.

[ryoder 1,590]

Quote

.. what if I had an old canopy and shortened up the lines on the tail to create a positive angle of attack

You have it backward.
Take a canopy on just risers out into the wind and try flying it.
You will find that it flies best when you are gripping part way up the front risers, effectively shortening the front lines and lengthening the rear lines.

"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

[yoink 321]

Quote

Quote

.. what if I had an old canopy and shortened up the lines on the tail to create a positive angle of attack

You have it backward.
Take a canopy on just risers out into the wind and try flying it.
You will find that it flies best when you are gripping part way up the front risers, effectively shortening the front lines and lengthening the rear lines.

That rather depends on the canopy and the strength of the wind.
In light winds it's better keeping the wing just rear of its neutral position above you, so a little tension on the rears helps. In stronger winds all this does is create a huge air brake that drags you along the ground or into the water.