Power kite

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Kite surfing in strong onshore winds off the north shore of O‘ahu in Hawai‘i. Note the wind-surfer catching the wave break.

A power kite or traction kite is a large kite designed to provide significant pull to the user. They come in three main forms: foils, leading edge inflatables and Supporting Leading Edge. There are also rigid-framed kites and soft single skin kites. There are several different control systems used with these kites which have two to five lines and a bar or handles.

Power kites are generally used in conjunction with a vehicle or board, such as in

• kitesurfing on a kiteboard
• kite buggying on a purpose-built 3-wheeled cart
• kite landboarding on an all Terrain Board/Mountainboard/Landboard
• kite skating on all-terrain roller skates
• snow kiting on skis or snowboards
• kite jumping, using a power kite for jumping above the ground
• manlifting, where a harnessed kite flier is tethered to the ground or one or more people to provide tension and lift

Powerkite video

Kites of related design are used for sailing, including speed-sailing. A kite-powered boat (Jacob's Ladder) set the C-Class world sailing speed record with a speed of 25 knots in 1982, a record that stood for six years.^[1]. A kite-board was the first sailing craft to exceed a speed of 50 knots in October 2008.^[1]

Power kites range in size from 1.5 m² up to 23.5 m². All kites are made for specific purposes: some for water, land, power or manoeuverability.

[edit] See also

Illustration of LEI(R), Bow(L) and Foil(T) Power kites

• Bow kite
• Foil kite
• Leading edge inflatable kite
• Kite types
• Kite applications
• Kite mooring
• SkySails - industrial-scale power kites for pulling ships

[edit] External links

• ikointl.com - International Kiteboarding Organization
• Extreme Kites (www.ExtremeKites.com.au) - Leading Power Kite Information Portal, Forums, Videos, Reviews, News and Galleries.
• www.racekites.com - World kiting community and forum with over 1,400 independent reviews.
• Power Kite Forum - Kite Traction Sports Community.
• Kiteboarding Links - Guide All about Kite Surfing.
• Kiteboarding Directory Online kiteboarding magazine with information, reviews, tips and care for power kites.
• [1] Movies of power kites
• Learn kiting at breaking wave- Learn some of the basics of kiting
• Traction Kiting- Traction Kiting in Scotland

[edit] References

1. ^ ^{a b} World Sailing Speed Records Committee (WSSRC)