Transforming Sailing and Power Generation with The Ocean Kite Engine

my name is Christian and I'm excited to share my journey for a rare class of super fast wind powerered boat and the development of an engine that can power them my goal was not to be tied to tradition and use physics to deduce the fastest class of wind powered boat possible and try to keep my mind open onto what that might look like I would use Clues from around the world for my hunt for my true white whale the fastest class of Blue Water sailboat to counteract the lift of the sail and keep sail rocket from flying away like a kite there is a foil directly opposite the wing drawn in yellow which acts like a hook in the water to pull it back down to earth my initial lead was the current world record holder the vestia sail rocket but during my research I found its ocean fairing sibling and from a pure physics standpoint this was the most elegant design I've ever seen the healing emotion between the mass and the Keel is replaced by the tension between the kite and the Keel it's an order of magnitude less Mass it's basically a dystopian action movie this led my research to France where Luke aramat from ozone paragliding did it years ago rather than focusing on the sailboat's hull I propose to make it disappear let's forget about the transport function and concentrate fully on speed a sailboat without mass without exit ation from or by the interface Luke was actually able to suspend his craft between two opposing foils confirming that it worked it's all engine it's basically a TIE fighter not to mention the insane power to weight ratio and srao in France was already in on the secret but I had some questions I got in touch with Don mue down at Kai Concepts he co-founded project Kaio and the wind energy company mccan that got bought by Don probably has more experience than anyone in the world when it comes to experimental kite propulsion and he said you want a crew of at least three to four to manage the kite and you never want to take your eye off the kite which led me to a question how would you fit a working crew of three to four on this boat well Sky sales would be a hint this German company uses kites to pull ships and even power homes an RC control pod below the kite is used for steering but we could technically suspend the crew in a gondola below the unit this would improve stability and would allow the crew to manually control the Pod from within the cabin while not ruling out remote control and by understanding this geometry I was starting to see the form the boat would take a sort of deconstructed sailboat with a hydrofoil Keel underwater a multi-surface hole in the air and a kite sailing above that flying a boat like this would be inconceivable in terms of raw speed and Power power there is no comparison this is the rare class of ultra performance sailboat I've been looking for so Water World wasn't too far off back in my home state of Washington I began work on a proof of concept it seemed right to start with the control pod it would need to function like a turret above the super structure the sky sales control pod is designed to steer the kite but this new variation would also need to reel the tethers and decided to install a secret function I'll discuss [Music] later so my hands are free waiting to get some bigger kites obviously but this is a first Qui test this is a really test I proved that the concept worked I did a lot but I needed help from my community a friend noticed my work and invested a little seed money so I could get started on a prototype the focus would be on a consumer product a means of propulsion that people could use for their own projects I shared my progress on 3D printing forums and Pantheon design reached out at the perfect time so I went for a visit this BC startup specializes in printing parts for Tech and space companies like blue origin and I was really l lucky to have their help I decided to build the engine with high strength waterproof UV resistant ASA due to the marine environment with the aim to upgrade to carbon fiber ASA in the future and a block away was grin Technologies and these guys are geniuses the amount of thought they put into their controllers is staggering the control pod has a lot in common with electric bikes I was able to reconfigure their controller to work with the control pod on on top of that grin is one of the few companies in North America that installs their controllers with regen meaning the control pod could charge itself A friend gave me a space to work on the project so I went to the windy state of Colorado I started out with some bench test but it was time to get in the field and my friend's dad knew a Rancher named Charles with the perfect sight the Denver air was Far thinner and Guster than what I was used to though it's fully capable but look here the wind picks up 20 knots and when I say it can be propulsion device it just has tons of power we didn't even pull a a full kite Loop and this is what happened over 400 lb traveled straight through my machine and pulled out the anchors the mounting strategy would be important for anyone considering a kite engine on top of that there was a control issue that needed to be solved I built the engine but all the controls had to be familiar and intuitive an interesting concept for something that doesn't exist yet designed as the PowerHouse for Ultra performance sailboats this is kite control on a new level the new prototype kite engine so this is a typical kite bar but we're going to evolve past that so we've got the same controls we've got our right line middle line line and left line designed with three modes of operation a manual mode with a hand crank auxiliary and electric control Wheeling outline is easy with a capacity of 600 ft or 180 M adaptable to many boats maintain tactile control from anywhere on the vessel then turn off the engines and enjoy the sensation of a true downwind run translate your sailing experience to kite flying skill constructed for Harsh Marine environments built from waterproof UV resistant ASA its durability is unmatched a step Beyond a spin acre taking sailcraft to new levels of speed and maneuverability we can reel in and out line but how is the kite engine different than other kite controllers well what if we had complete Freedom no limitations like flying a kite with no strings attached to surpass human limitations [Music] this is why I built the kite engine Superior positional control during any maneuver pre-programed line management with optional electric [Music] control untwist line from the winch [Music] itself e of relaunch ability continuous downwind Loops transform your kite into a single bladed propeller and travel deeper in the wind window the kite engine is designed with regen braking technology this means it can translate speed for electrical power and charge itself when the kite is at altitude and starts to pull it spins the this generator and you can see the regen activate the line extends in the most efficient pattern for power generation thanks to advancements and control technology this means the kite can function as a sail as well as a wind turban both without the need for a mast or foundation and with automated control there are serious offshore wind energy implications for commercial and private use originally designed as the PowerHouse for Ultra performance sailboats the kite engine is the perfect outboard sail for boats that want to extend their range boats that need replacement rigging boats that have no rigging and anything in between ice snow Dunes land off-grade getaway or project we've yet to see

Channel: OCEAN KITE ENERGY

Views: 231,418

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Id: aolYqwVBScs

Length: 10min 0sec (600 seconds)

Published: Fri Mar 08 2024