Low-Tech Kite-Fishing in the Indo-Pacific

kite fishing 1908

“We set out to sea but kept close to the canoe occupied by the two fishermen. Off the island the old fisherman gradually played out the kite. As it swung in the breeze we noticed that the webbing just had enough length so that it touched the surface of the sea with every soft fall of the canoe as it rose and dipped. Presently there was an agitation in the sea behind the canoe and we could see several fish coming to the surface. Apparently intrigued by the tantalizing touching of the surface by the webbing, the fish were jumping for it. Finally one caught the webbing in his mounth and with a shout, the old fisherman neatly hooked it in with a hand net.”

Picture: Kite-Fishing off Pitilu (Admiralty Islands) as photographed in 1908 by H. Vogel of the Hamburg Südsee Expedition.

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Climbing Tall Stacks with the Aid of Kites

climbing tall stacks with the air of kites

“Having occasion to make emergency repairs to the large 170-ft. chimney of the Consumers’ Ice Company, Chicago, and finding that the cost of erecting a scaffold ran up into hundreds of dollars and would take too much time, I decided to use one of my cellular kites for the purpose of hoisting and attaching a suitable block and tackle.”

Read more: Climbing Tall Stacks with the Aid of Kites. Popular Mechanics, November 1906

Kite Power

Kitegen 1

Italian company Kite Gen is building a full-scale 3 megawatt version (video) of its promising wind turbine concept, we learn from MetaEfficient. A large kite is drawn upward to altitudes around 800 metres, where average wind speeds are four times as strong as they are near ground-based wind turbines. The kites power turbines by rising and flying back to gound level continuously. The retrieval phase is said to require a small fraction of the power that is generated during the flight. A first prototype was built in 2006. One of the recent improvements is an automatic launching system, powered by fans. The technology generated an interesting discussion at the Oil Drum last summer. Previously: Floating windmills – energy from the clouds. Related: Kiteboating & Kite Aerial Photography.

Airships Past and Present, by A.Hildebrandt (1908)

airships past and present

Airships past and present – together with chapters on the use of balloons in connection with meteorology, photography and the carrier pigeon” by A. Hildebrandt, captain and instructor in the Prussian Balloon Corps (1908). Pictures, table of contents and list of illustrations below. Related: Camping in the clouds – the zeppelin that never lands / Green slow air cargo / Kite aerial photography.

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Kiteboating

Kiteboating

Following kitesurfing, kite buggying, kite landboarding and snowkiting (no slope required); kiteboating:

Airplay Kitesailing, Kite For Sail, KiteCat, the pioneers.

Previously: kitesurfing for cargo vessels. Related: sailing at the touch of a button / Sailing Rockets.

Kite aerial photography

Kite aerial photography

Introduction / Picture gallery / What you need / More at Wikipedia. Via Cabinet Magazine.