Authors: Peter Lynn
Date Submitted: May 31, 2001
Article Type: Journal

Waiting time for me! So there’s time to catch up with the aerodynamic sermonizing I’ve been meaning to get to for a year, specifically:

Myth l. That the upward performance (that is, the lift to drag ratio) of kites is primarily a function of profile and aspect ratio.

Wrong. The strongest determinant of L/D is angle of attack. Low angles of attack yield high L/D in an inverse relationship; profile and aspect ratio have comparatively little effect.

Myth 2. That the lift coeffiicient (power for size) of a kite is primarily determined by its profile and aspect ratio.

2Wrong. Angle of attack is again by far the strongest determinant of pull for area, and by close to a direct linear relationship in the range that matters for kites.

PDF Link: Journal Issue 7