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Science Fair and Kites


Lukester
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My 15yr old son and I have been bitten by the kiteboarding bug. We have taken lessons and are just starting. He wants to do his H.S. science fair project on the Aerodynamics of Kites. I am a retired AF pilot and CFI and can help with the aerodynamics part, but could use some help on how to apply this to kites.

We were thinking about building three box kites with different Aspect Ratios, fly them and record the results. He would have to learn and explain the basic aerodynamics of kites, Newtons Laws, Bernoullis Principle, etc.

I have never built a kite. Anyone have any suggestions? Is this a reasonable idea? Suggestions or recommendations to steer us in the right direction?

Thanks,

Luke

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:) One of the best kites I can think of for showing aerodynamics in a kite is the Cody (no John, not because the Codys are my speciality), the Codys got their beginnings as man lifters and developed into the first airplane to fly in England. The Cody kites have wing lines to adjust the angle of attack of the wing to the wind as well as the dihedral of the wings. Try doing a computer search on Samuel F. Cody and you should get loads of information about the man and his kites as well as airplanes, one of the best bits of information you will find is by Jean Roberts with the Cody Society. The kites themselves are a bit of a trip to build but I believe there is a Cody coming out of China (John may know the name of the company) that is fairly inexpensive to buy. Just so you know the Cody is a double box kite with wings and a real pleasure to fly ;) If you have any questions about the Codys please feel free to ask here or e-mail me directly at the address below, I love talkin' Codys with anyone!
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