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Building a Person-carrying Kite
Index Key: ENG025
Author: ted theis
Subject: Building a person-carrying kite.
I want to build a kite large enough to lift freshmen off the ground to about
50 feet in the air. How big should I build this kite? The weight limit
will be about 100 pounds, with student and gear.
Response #: 1 of 1
Author: rickru
I cannot give you any exact answers, but I hope to be able to steer you to
where you might find the answers yourself. First, let me say that I hope
this is a theoretical application as I am sure you can understand how
potentially dangerous it would be to actually try this.
What I would suggest is to visit your local sports store and inquire about
hang-gliders. These are in effect "human kites." You can get a manufac-
turer's address from the supplier and contact them by writing or perhaps
long distance phone. No doubt they can supply information on the engineer-
ing of their products.
Finally, once again, this type of kite flying would be very dangerous I and
I would not recommend it. You can see the safety features one uses when
hang-gliding and could inquire at hospitals regarding injury statistics for
hang-gliders. You would certainly be responsible for any injuries.
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