Closer to the action

[R Moore]

Hello again from Australia,

I'm leaving Sydney to live in the country in a town called Dubbo. It's 430 km to the west and 3/4 of the way to Cobar. This is within 3 hours drive to my flying zone on the disused air strip at Cable Downs, a 50,000 acre sheep station. It's a lot better than the 8 hour trip from Sydney. I should be able to do a lot more high altitude flying and it won't be like a major expedition every time I have a go at the altitude record.

I'm in the midst of packing all my equipment, kites and workshop.

I recently acquired a new electric motor and an inverter (electronic speed controller). The first motor burned out in October. The motor speed and torque is infinitely variable and addresses all the shortcomings of the previous setup. I will be able to do long line launches in still air plus release line in a much more controlled manner.

I have 2 line sets, 300 lb x 11,000 meters (36,000 ft) Dyneema 75 and 200 lb x 10,000 meters (32,500 ft) Spectra. This should be plenty enough for the single kite record and if it stays in good condition, will be enough to have a crack at the absolute kite train record. That one will not be easy.

I am building my inventory of kites with six new ones being built over the next few weeks ranging in size from 10 sq ft to 130 sq ft. These may form the basis for a high altitude kite train.

My next single kite attempt will be during Easter 2006 providing the other team members are available.

Cheers,

Bob Moore

PS, just to remind you northern hemispherians, that down under we are currently in early summer and the temp is between 80 - 100 degrees most days. It has taken a long time (200 YEARS) for us to get used to the idea that we are not in England and we will never have a white Christmas.

Christmas dinners are often held out doors or at the beach, if you live on the coast. It' too hot for me to try flying at Cable Downs in December, January and February. Last week it was 106 degrees at the air strip. (phew!).

[audioRob]

It IS winter here and coasting along at 70f.. no white christmas here either

[R Moore]

Hello kiters,

Last night I tested strobe lights on a kite. It looked very good.

I need the strobes because the Air Safety Authority has made it a condition of my high altitude flights. I am supposed to be down before last light, however I may be forced by the weather or equipment breakdown to fly into the night.

I informed the local police before testing as last year, another man flew a kite at night with lights above the township. A woman thought it was a UFO and reported it to police. They notified the Australian Federal authorities. It made the front page of the newspaper. Both parties were very embarrassed. (I checked out this story and it's true)

The winch has been completely rebuilt with a more powerful motor and digital inverter control with variable torque and speed. The line speed is much higher and also can be controlled to very low speeds with good torque.

There has been some trouble with the telemetry system and hopefully the replacement circuit board with arrive in time for testing. This sytem gives me kite tracking in real time with computer display.

I will be taking five or 6 kites depending on if I find the 12 metre kite that's been lost in the bush for 6 months. (see previous posts)

I going up to the flying zone tomorrow to do a GPS ground search. I want the GPS unit and tracking device back mainly but the kite and 1,500 metres of line will be nice as well.

I should be able to see the line drapped through the trees but I don't know what color the white Spectra would be after being exposed to the weather for 6 months. I believe that Spectra tolerates UV very well. It may be a bit hard to see if it's discolored by dust. Finding the kite only, despite it's size, would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. I know within a few degrees the kites heading but it could be anywhere within a 7km strip, 1 km wide. That's still a lot of area to cover. An air search didn't find it.

My 3rd attempt on the single line altitude record is scheduled for April 14th - 17th. With each attempt the equipment and techniques improve. Eventually I will reach my target.

Good luck to SBR Kiteman at Callaway Kite festival latter this year wth his attempt on the single kite record and to Michael Martellotti on the West Coast, on his program to break the absolute record for a kite train.

Bob Moore

Australia

www.kiterecord.org

[monkey]

thanks for the update!

[Penny Lingenfelter]

Yes, thanks for the update. Please keep us posted.

How are you launching your kite in still air on long lines?

BB

Penny

[R Moore]

If there is insufficient ground wind to self launch I will take out 300 - 800 metres (1,000 - 2,700 ft) of line and winch into the wind. Hopefully when the kite climbs to 1,000 ft +, there will be sufficient wind to not only sustain flight but to climb as well and have enough line tension to feed line out without losing height . The airstrip is 1,200 metres long but the wind needs to be aligned with the strip to do long winch assisted launches. Often I only have 100 metres cross strip to work with as there is bush to edge of the strip.

The closer the wind speed to kite stall, the more difficult it is to work to high altitude. With winds 10 knots +, I can launch with as little as 50 metres of line. The new winch motor will give much better speed and enable strong launches. The stall speed of my various record kites is between 5 and 7 knots. It also depends on air temp which effects density and lift.

I measured the initial climb rate of the 6 metre Conyne a few days ago and it was about 3,000 ft / minute! That's better than some aircraft.

BTW, While testing kites at a local field I was approached by a fireman. He was impressed with the size of the kites and as I got chatting about my record attempts, I mentioned a desire to fly from a pacific island in the trade winds. He is from the Cook islands in the middle of the Pacific and invited me to go to the Cook islands and stay with his family. I'm thinking about it seriously. They are absolute paradises and one of the best locations in the world for kite flying. It would, however be very expensive to ship all my equipment there.

Bob Moore

PS the Chicago Tribune ran an article on March 3rd about a man who wants to break the altitude record.

I kept tabs on the paper because a reporter contacted me about high altitude flying for some background. That's the third high altitude flyer, apart from me, in the last few months that has come out of the closet. I must have started an epidemic.

[Penny Lingenfelter]

PS the Chicago Tribune ran an article on March 3rd about a man who wants to break the altitude record.

I kept tabs on the paper because a reporter contacted me about high altitude flying for some background. That's the third high altitude flyer, apart from me, in the last few months that has come out of the closet. I must have started an epidemic.

Yup, Kiting is contagious. Kitechoo, kitechoo... I have a bad case of it too.

BB

Penny