h a l f b a k e r yYou could have thought of that.
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Use a giant kite on a long line in fairly good winds to assist a rapid ascent saving a climb or drive up a steep hill.
The kite would have a light weight hand and foot hold in the back, simple handholds and possibly a toe catch, or ski boot type attachment for easy release enabling a hang glider
equipped passenger to hold on and catapult skyward when released.
Benefits- free launch, option to release early for inexperienced fliers, cool zoom straight up at high speed factor.
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Couldn't the hang glider itself serve as the kite? |
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Quite possibly so. My thoughts on this are that they are sized to a certain extent for the fliers weight and would not have enough wind catching area for a very rapid ascent. |
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But, I'll be blunt... I really don't know. :) |
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Don't they use a winch to launch sailplanes? Wouldn't that accomplish much of what you're after? |
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Hangliders in the MidWest often use a winch to launch hang gliders. |
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Trucks have been used, as have aircraft in unusual situations. |
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[subflower], it's not unusual to use an aircraft to tow up a hang glider. People do that all over the place. |
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A great spot in Florida stays busy using an ultralight for the job. |
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A winch is a very different thing than how this would turn out because you wouldn't have to be running to lift off with the kite. I give it a bun. [+] |
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As a former hang glider pilot, I can attest that this has been done -- and seems to me a slight bit riskier than the preferred way of 'foot launching' off of a big hill. |
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I'm just remembering the nose dives my kites always seemed to do at the beach just after launch... |
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Dreaded "lock-out" kills. However, there will be a day when kited hang glider pilots stay an hour on kited format in order to drag a grounded railed electric generator back and forth ...left and right of the wind window ...in order to have fun and practice piloting while making electricity for the neighbors. |
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