Greetings everyone. This past holiday weekend, our town had its
annual balloonfest here in Ashland, OH. There were many activities going
on for the entire community. I saw that they were having a kite demo,
which is one of the topics that I cover in my physics class when we are
covering Bernoulli's principle. I saw this one kite which was called a
quad kite because it requires 4 lines to handle it. Upon closer
observation, I saw that the kite was not flat, but was partially inflated
forming a type of airfoil. The front of the kite had an opening (some
had a fabric mesh in the front) which allowed the air to enter the kite
and inflate it. Come to think of it, it somewhat resembles the parachute
in the Dec. 1997 issue of "The Physics Teacher". Does anyone know if
there is a book out which talks about the physics of the kites in fairly
in-depth detail? Is there a book which tells how to go about making some
of these various kites? Also, is there a kite list-server, and if so,
how do I go about accessing it? I apologize for all of the questions,
but I no longer have access to the WWW. :-(
Next year, if anyone is in or near the north cental Ohio region,
you really should stop by Ashland, OH for the 4th of July Balloonfest.
This year, they hade the Mountain Dew Can balloon, a dragon balloon, and
a monster truck balloon, among many other balloons. Throughout the
weekend they have various balloon competitions. I really enjoy watching
the balloon launches, especially the torches. Hmmm...I wonder if I could
order one and tell my superintendent that it is a Bunsen burner. :-D