Re: Quick release harness it time
Posted: Mon Aug 06, 2012 4:52 pm
Here is something to be considered and is related to the topic:
How will a loose kite act, when it is totally released, and dragging a harness, which is attached to it's chicken loop?
In a past KF thread concerning the value of bar "floaties" (those foam tubes on the rear lines, at the bar), the point was brought up, that the "floaties" keep the bar on the surface and stop it from sinking, when the kite is completely released. It was noted that, if the bar sinks, the added force of the water on the bar, causes the kite to form itself into a "wind-catcher", and this makes the kite move faster, and therefore, is much harder to run after and catch.
Will an attached harness create the same effect, of increasing the resistance, resulting in more pull from the kite? Or will there be another effect, that might make it easier to catch the kite? Will an attached harness, to a freely moving kite, cause the kite to relaunch, in a way that is more dangerous to an unwary, innocent bystander? If the kiter has the stopper ball engaged, when the kite and harness are cut loose, will that make a difference?
In thinking about this, consider that the harness could be attached to either the chicken loop or it could be attached to the kite's safety strap.
Any hypothesis would be pretty easy to test... anyone want to volunteer to do the experiment? Just find some shallow water, with a kite-catcher-buddy located down wind... and do a controlled study, with and without a harness attached.
Let her fly!... report the results.
How will a loose kite act, when it is totally released, and dragging a harness, which is attached to it's chicken loop?
In a past KF thread concerning the value of bar "floaties" (those foam tubes on the rear lines, at the bar), the point was brought up, that the "floaties" keep the bar on the surface and stop it from sinking, when the kite is completely released. It was noted that, if the bar sinks, the added force of the water on the bar, causes the kite to form itself into a "wind-catcher", and this makes the kite move faster, and therefore, is much harder to run after and catch.
Will an attached harness create the same effect, of increasing the resistance, resulting in more pull from the kite? Or will there be another effect, that might make it easier to catch the kite? Will an attached harness, to a freely moving kite, cause the kite to relaunch, in a way that is more dangerous to an unwary, innocent bystander? If the kiter has the stopper ball engaged, when the kite and harness are cut loose, will that make a difference?
In thinking about this, consider that the harness could be attached to either the chicken loop or it could be attached to the kite's safety strap.
Any hypothesis would be pretty easy to test... anyone want to volunteer to do the experiment? Just find some shallow water, with a kite-catcher-buddy located down wind... and do a controlled study, with and without a harness attached.
Let her fly!... report the results.