Today we started to build protoypes. We decided to use the lightest grocery bag we have for all protoypes until we decide on a final shape. We will then test that shape with several different plastics to find the one that works best.
Our first protoype was very simple. It was a triangular shape with a long bar down the center, that goes past the triangle. The frame here was made of chopsticks. We then covered the triangle region with the plastic. The plastic was wrapped around the frame on the deges and taped down. This intial design was too front heavy. To combat this we added another chopstick to the back end of the middle stick. This prototype did not fly.
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| Figure 1: Protoype 1 |
In the next prototype we decided to extend the triangular area. To do this we added and extra chopstick to each side and cut a bigger sail. Everything was attached the same way as in prototype one. Once again, the kite was front heavy. At this point we had run out of chopsticks. As a stand in, we added a pencil, with the eraser removed to the back of the kite. The pencil was much heavier than the chopsticks. This caused the kite to stall. We fixed this by adding 2 small metal clips to the nose of the kite. Initially we had the center of the frame taped to the sail of the kite. We discovered that removing this tape helped the kite to glide better. This prototype flew much better than the first, though there is still much room for improvement.
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Figure 2: Prototype 2
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Goals for next week include improving the prototype. To do this we are going to try a lighter matieral for the frame as well as a substituting something lighter for the pencil. We also need to attach a string and make sure the kite will fly that way.
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