Abstract
Kites were essential platforms for professional exploration of the atmosphere for more than two centuries, from 1749 until 1954. This chapter details the chronology of kite-based atmospheric research and presents a brief examination of the well-documented scientific kiting based at the Royal Prussian Aeronautical Observatory. Parallels are drawn between scientific kiting from then and contemporary power-generation kiting. Basic kite types of the time are presented and the design evolution from those towards advanced payload carriers is discussed. These include the Lindenberg S-and R-Kites, the latter of which featuring an effective passive depower mechanism. The practices of launch and retrieval of kites and the components developed for this purpose are outlined, in particular those in use at the Meteorological Observatory Lindenberg. Their methods and techniques represented the state of the art after WWI and lay the groundwork for modern efforts at atmospheric energy extraction using kites.
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Schmidt, W., Anderson, W. (2013). Kites: Pioneers of Atmospheric Research. In: Ahrens, U., Diehl, M., Schmehl, R. (eds) Airborne Wind Energy. Green Energy and Technology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-39965-7_6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-39965-7_6
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