Newsletter, November 05
Dont fly kites in thunder storms!
Every kite book and kite sold comes with a great list of donts, including this one- because manufacturers and retailers wish to avoid liability for any and every possible stupid act by kite buyers that they could be held accountable for in the blame someone else atmosphere of this increasingly risk averse world.
Why cant we just have a kiteflying is subject to Darwinism catch all and be done with it!
Come to that, its not just the kiteflying corner of our world thats gone stupid, all corners of our lives are beset by intrusive nannying that supposedly will make us all safe.
Well it wont.
Arguably, the more petty hazards that are eliminated from our daily environment, the less prepared we are for those slings and arrows of outrageous fortune that either havent heard of the relevant legislation or perversely refuse to recognise the authority of the nannies.
Those of us who were raised during less politically correct times are programmed to take some responsibility for our own safety- or at least to not blame others when the wheels fall off. Up until 20 or so years ago, getting trampled by bigger kids in lolly scrambles was a useful lesson- rather than a national emergency requiring prosecution of all those remotely connected to the event (that have enough money or position to make it worthwhile of course), plus a worldwide ban on lolly scrambles (NZ has just started this particular ball rolling).
The young adults of tomorrow will walk straight into the first pitfall they cross paths with and wont make it past; but there was no warning sign. as they auger into the depths.
A young NZ woman, out on the loose for probably the first time, nearly died recently from a party pill overdose- shed downed 18 or so rather than the usual one or two, no doubt by some theory of the more the better. Since her recovery (courtesy of the taxpayer) shes been loudly and longley yelling blame in every direction except towards herself- and has been eagerly supported in this by the media and authorities whos remedy is more regulation, of course.
Its a self defeating spiral which will eventually self correct I guess- well just have to endure it for now,- but rather this silliness than the Spanish inquisition or medieval witch hunts I suppose.
Back to our little corner of the world though, Im not advocating unsafe kiteflying- quite the opposite- but what Im seeing increasingly is overt focus on a bureaucratic risk assessment schedule approach to kite event safety, at the expense, it seems to me, of actual safety.
But what about lightning strikes?
That its a risk is without question- after all Ben Franklin first demonstrated the electrical nature of lightning by flying a kite in a thunderstorm- didnt he?
I have seen lightning strike a Cody train- at Lunen in about 1997. It was spectacular, a giant flash and bang followed by the train separating into individual kites and drifting off across the Ruhr. Fortunately the anchor truck was unattended at that moment, so nobody was electrocuted.
If anyone ever has been electrocuted while kite flying, Lindenburg Observatorium in Germany would have to be a prime risk site. Kites were flown there on 4000 days between 1905 and 1938, on 1mm steel wire, to altitudes that regularly exceeded 3000ms and occasionally to above 7000ms.
They were certainly cognisant of the risk- their winch was isolated by substantial porcelain insulators- see attached photo.
And of course, they kept meticulous daily records.
However, from what Ive heard of Lindenburg history, there were no reported deaths or injuries from lightning strike there. And a closer look at the winch photo shows that the insulators had been by-passed by steel straps (for added rigidity I presume) at some time early in the game. So, after theyd had some experience they ceased being concerned about this risk- and about the only possible conclusion from this is that in practice, lightning strikes werent actually a problem.
And, DID Benjamin Franklin ever actually catch lightning with a kite?
A recent book; Bolt of Fate by Tom Tucker claims he didnt- and a close reading of Bens actual words show that he never actually claimed to have,- while carefully leading any gullible reader (all of us till now) to the assumption that he had. Ben was a devious man ( but only in his countrys interests of course), a politician, and a master of subtle wording, so Tuckers case is at least plausible, even if not yet widely accepted by Bens many fans.
So what is it with lightning then- you would think kites would be a prime target, or are us kitefliers so beloved of heaven that were somehow exempted- maybe here at last is evidence for intelligent design?
Well no, I dont think so, I have another theory:
Lightning is so intent on taking out another target that it has no energy left for kites and their personnel.
Lightning really has it in for deep well pumps; 100kw+ electric motor driven units that hide a 100ms or more underground.
Yeh right.
But its true, lightning strikes are a major cause of failure for deep well pumps.
There is a technical explanation for this; theyre right down there in the conductive water table and connected through the dry insulating layers of soil to the surface by thumping great bundles of copper wire.
Or maybe genus pump has somehow managed to get right up Thors nose.
Whatever, African deep well pump operators have found a solution- they bury old radiators adjacent to their wells as a diversion.
Fordson tractor radiators apparently work the best- do they array them as a pentagram I wonder?
So there you are- the worlds just been turned upside down again; Greater safety is making the world a more dangerous place, Ben was a fraud, kitefliers are the proof of divine intervention that creationists have long sought, and the mystery of where all the Fordson radiators have disappeared to is finally solved.
But wait, theres more:
The world of traction kiting has just been turned on its head as well.
Last week we flew the first AP kite that has been developed to a commercial level.
Its a 5m C Quad style kite and is the finest traction kite I have ever flown bar none. Of course it has the 75% or so de-power that enables dumping the pull with IMMEDIATE effect even at full speed under full power in the middle of the window that is the essence of the AP development, but its also exceptionally powerful for its size and has precise handling right across the range- just a beautiful kite to fly.
Theres a de-power principle that I should have understood before now but didnt:
When changing a kites angle of attack is used as a way to reduce its pull, until the total static de-power that is available exceeds at least 50%, the effect of reducing angle of attack (other than when a kite is static at the edge or apex) is to speed the kite up, which momentarily increases its pull. Up to about 30% or so, perversely, the more de-power available, the more pull has to be endured for a period until de-power actually kicks in. At about 50% this effect plateaus, from about 75% you get the lot, immediately.
.
When will these kites get to the market?- sorry, the news isnt so good. We cant release them until the patents are in place- and because AP is such a broad principle, writing up is no quick or easy job- more difficult than designing the first kite using the principles I expect. Also, once the patenting process starts, money flows out like a river for years and years. Naturally therefore, we wont be starting this river flowing until the latest possible moment. Currently Im thinking to wait until at least a second AP style kite gets to commercial standard. This is a race between a bridled foil, a single skin Arc and a NASA. They each still have particular problems to overcome. By Feb 06 at the latest Ill take the plunge no matter what- kitesailing, kitesledding and buggying only in private away from public view is no fun.
Peter Lynn,
Ashburton NZ, Oct 1 05
Coromandel 
Whangamata 
Information
How To 
Weather 
Advertising 
