Kite Lines - Vol.2 No. 4 - KiteLife

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Right, Art Kurle under his Super Conynedirectlyunder it. Below, the kite itself, its paintjob a bit flaked from hours of flight . <strong>No</strong>te thatthe triangular pattern of paint on the lower,supplemental plane gives it an eye-foolingthree-dimensional photographed appearance .Spray painting or use of colored Mylar adds tovisual appeal . Art says the kite's construction isconventional but a bit time-consuming .DesignWorkshopThe SuperConyneBy Arthur Kurle IWhen I was a kid, the ultimate kite tobuild, after having progressed through theusual two- and three-stickers, was theFrench war kite . Although the complexitydaunted many a young builder, thosewho persevered were always rewardedwith a stable, reliable kite that could belaunched from the hand and could becounted on to carry all the string theneighborhood could muster .It wasn't until many years later that Irealized that the war kite was a variationof a design patented by Silas Conynearound the turn of the century . Silas's kitediffered from the war kite by being completelycollapsible ; the wing stick was removableand there was no rigid connectionbetween the upper and lower longitudinalsticks . Both versions are still popular today,but I seldom run into the French war kitename anymore; it is usually "rigid Conyne"or "standard Conyne" and rightly so .Hence, Super Conyne .I did some experimenting with therigid version around 1970 with a view tomaximizing performance . I found thatadding a supplemental wing made thisgood kite a great kite . Stability was unaffected,but string angle and climbingspeed were greatly improved .Although I still don't fully understandthe aerodynamics involved, somethinglike this happens : The lower wing causesa slot or Venturi effect between the twowings which gives the lower wing lift wayout of proportion to its size . There is apronounced low pressure region betweenthe wings ; the covering on the triangularcells bulges outward, rather than inward,as is usual in the standard Conyne . I suspectthat air flow around the upper wingis augmented in some way ; at least theupper wing seems never to stall . This lattercharacteristic (not stalling) gives the kitea phenomenal rate of climb . I have seenclimbs so fast with this kite that it coaststhrough the zenith just from the momentumbuilt up during the climb .I built a contest version of this kitewhich won the "Best Use of AerodynamicPrinciples" award in the Smithsonian <strong>Kite</strong>Carnival . I still have this kite ; it's a bitseedy from about 25 hours in the air, butit still flies just as well as it did then .I would like to propose this design as afiducial or standard kite by which to judgetwo categories of kite performance : lineangle and rate of climb . Both of thesecategories are a measure of aerodynamicefficiency . Any subjective judging factorscan be cancelled out by two (or more)kites flown side by side in the same air .Complicated scoring systems and measurementtechniques can be dispensed with ;in a side-by-side contest, the winner isimmediately obvious . This type of eliminationcompetition would be interestingto spectators too, something like a tennistournament . I am not suggesting that wedo away with conventional scoring systems,but it seems that kite festivals havea tendency to degenerate into beautycontests, with minimal recognition beinggiven to flight performance . Let's put theinnovators, the tinkerers, the flight techniciansback in the ball game .
MATERIALS• Sticks (20) are 5/32 " square spruce,sugar pine or hard balsa . The small wingbraces can be considerably smaller . Dowelsor any sort of take-apart construction arenot recommended .• String for outlining the upper wingand the trailing edge of the lower wingshould be 12- or 15-lb . braided nylon ; donot use monofilament . I use a glue gunfor assembly* but standard gluing andassembly techniques will work well . Exactsymmetry is very important ; use a squareand tape to keep things straight and trueas you work .• Covering is 1/2-mil Mylar® . I do notrecommend cloth or any porous materialfor covering ; performance will be compromised. If you can't find 1/2-mil Mylar,heavy kitchen plastic (freezer wrap) maybe used, but it may give you some shrinkingand/or stretching problems .• For adhesive to apply the covering, Iuse Goodyear Pliobond ® . It's somewhatmessy but very effective . When yourfingers start sticking together, clean upwith lacquer thinner .CONSTRUCTION TIPSWhen applying the wing covering, donot pull the outline string in more thanhalf an inch . The upper wing coveringshould be loose enough that it hangsdown about 1 1/2 inches when the kite isinverted . The upper wing covering passesover the top of the cross stick and is notglued to it .The bridle should be made of 30- or40-lb . test braided nylon line ; this weightwill minimize tangling . Adjust the threepartbridle carefully so that each partcarries its share of the load ; otherwise,the frame will bend in flight . Do not use atwo-leg bridle .FLYINGThis kite will not fly in light winds ; itneeds 4 1/2 knots . With 8 to 10 knots, itwill outfly anything in sight . You can getslightly better low-end performance bylengthening the cross stick to 42 inches .Lengths more than this may invite instability. The finished kite should weighabout 4 1/z ounces .One last thing : this kite is a pain in theneck to fly-literally . It's because of thehigh line angle, but for kitefliers that's anice kind of pain .
Page 4: Contents CopyrightMONUMENTALITY in
Page 8: LettersCOFFEE STIRRERS TO THE RESCU
Page 12: What's New:Kites, Books,, Sundries7
Page 19 and 20: MONUMENTALITYin kites: a symposiumW
Page 21 and 22: coming construction errors andpoor
Page 31 and 32: tures such as flying birds, swimmin
Page 33 and 34: Weight Watching Japan's GiantsA. PE
Page 36 and 37: Profiles . . .Louise Crowley: FreeS
Page 38 and 39: For 23 years, Bill Trebilcock, Prin
Page 40 and 41: Kite Traction Record EstablishedIt
Page 42: ILLINOISWilliam E. Temple writes wi
Page 46 and 47: AUSTRALIAThe Australian Kite Associ

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