Altitude record attempt news

[R Moore]

Hello folks,

Over the Easter break I flew my 120 sq ft full cell Conyne Deltas to 10,466 ft, 8,070 ft, 9475 ft and 4,140 ft above the launch point. These flights took place on consecutive days from April 6th to 9th. After the record attempt flights finished, I flew a 90 sq ft delta to 4,855 ft on a thermal directly overhead and that was fun.

The flights were at my regular zone at Cable Downs near Cobar, NSW, Australia. In hindsight, the conditions on the 6th were just about ideal but a a late start meant I ran out of time to work the kite past a soft patch around 10,500 ft. I think I could have gone to 16,000 ft to claim the record. Next time we will camp on the airstrip to ensure an early start each day.

We are still very happy with the effort and is 4,000 ft above my previous best. We will return but I don't know exactly when. Life just keeps getting in the way of my kite flying! I will update my website with a full account of the flights soon, including pics, data and graphs. Here is a screen shot of a GPS excel spreadsheet from the flight on Friday 6th April. Note the graph is of GPS data and is above sea level. Ground level of 627 is deducted from this.

Bob Moore

Dubbo

Australia

[ant man]

how did you see the kite from that hight???

[R Moore]

how did you see the kite from that hight???

On the first day we reached 10,466 above the launch point. It was a large blue, yellow and purpla kite with a 20 ft wingspan and is generally visible with the naked eye to 10,000 ft. On this day there was a hazy layer between 6 & 7,000 ft which made naked eye sighting hard, especially after I looked away and then tried to locate it again. Althouugh I had lost it to my eyes by 8,000It was clearly visible using theodolites, telescopes & binoculars up to 10,466 ft.

It was damaged after that flight so over the next three days we used a white version with a black centre panel and black wing strips. This kite was extremely reflective and naked eye visibility was no problem to nearly 10,000 ft. I think it would have been clear to over 15,000 ft. Theodolite veiwing was even better, making the kite seem like it is only 500 ft away. After the second day the radio GPS telemetry failed and we used a theodolite to monitor the progress of the kite throughout the flights. In conjunction with a line payout meter I was able to determine the altitude of the kite within 50 ft at any time. There was an onboard GPS recording altitude and theodolite veiwing backed these data up.

I originally made a black kite as I thought black against a blue backgroud offered the best contrast but I have changed my mind about that. Of course, white against cloud would be hard to see but usually the sky is cloud free in this flying zone. I guess other colours such as fluoro orange may offer better all round visibility but the white was like a bright beacon for most of the day. I had a bright flashing LED light which helped land the kite near darkness. This llight was naked eye visible from about 4,000 ft in half light but testing has shown this light is bright in darkness at 5,000 ft and would probably still be seen at 12,000 ft and perhaps beyond. It's can't be seen in daylight.

Bob Moore

[Quad KiT]

You should consider skydiver beacons.

[R Moore]

You should consider skydiver beacons.

Skydiving beacons would be fine if the batteries lasted more than 12 hours which is the maximum the kite may be in the air. Some I have seen on Paraschuting store sites are no different to what I use, that is, high intensity, multi flash pattern bicycle lights. Some may use Xenon strobes but these have a much higher current drain compared to high intensity LEDs and probably would not last the 12 hours I require. I haven't seen Xenon skydiver beacons advertised but they may be sold somewhere.

The best light I have tested so far is a very small single LED "lantern". It has 360 degree visiblity in the horizontal plane and up to 100 degree in the vertical plane. It only weighs 25 grams. This light was clearly visible from 4,000 ft on a dark night from a wide range of viewing points. From the point of view of the Air Safety Authority, they insist on lights so that aircraft may see the kite, even though the kite is not supposed to be flying at night. From my point of view they are essential to land the kite in darkness.

The maritime Xenon distress beacons last long enough but are much heavier. Some of these beacons are claimed to be visible up to 20 miles ground to air. Most weigh over 1 lb and I just don't need the brightness and effective range these offer.

Yes, I have considered skydiver beacons and numerous other light sources. The superbright LEDs offer good efficiency, brightness and are very light (and cheap!). I don't use them to aid measurement of the kite altitude as the latest I start reeling the line in is 2 hours before nightfall.

Bob Moore