Power kite
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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
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
- 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
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