Comments on: Cargo Ship Propelled by… A Kite?

By: Henchbot

Henchbot — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 02:52:19 +0000

epic.

By: dave

dave — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 14:21:09 +0000

What sort of cable is used to hold/control the kite? A steel cable will be strong enough but may be too heavy for normal wind use. Is it steerable? Does the ship need to ‘tack’ into the wind? If so does the kite fall whilst tacking?

Are there control surfaces on the wing?

Just a few of the questions that need answering…

By: mark

mark — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 09:57:03 +0000

very cool,I think I will try something with a skatebourrd

By: Oscar

Oscar — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 23:48:46 +0000

this shows us that small things can make the Difference
which now can save us millions of dollars keep it up!!

By: Roland

Roland — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 00:30:24 +0000

I don’t know…Those Illustrations look Photoshop’d.

The whole sail thing is a bit odd for me. Perhaps a giant pinwheel attached to a mast sending power to electric engines to assist propulsion would be more reasonable than kite power. The Ships forward movement would help that one. Collapsible or retractable.

By: shran

shran — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 15:26:34 +0000

Wind can be used in many applications and as Kite-buggier I know it can generate ___LOTS___ of power.

As long as there is wind it’s not difficult to pull a ship like this or even much larger ships. At low wind speed one can use a big kite to “harvest” the energy, at high wind speed a littler kite should be used.

One can also pull cars with kites (a buggy is some sort of car…), but roads aren’t designed to sail on. The kites are more or less used as a sail and Kite-boats/cars behave as such.
In order to sail one needs quite some space in all directions. There’s too little space on the left and right side of a road. A desert or large beach would be more suitable.

B.T.W. If you really want to see something spectacular, search for “Ice sailing” on You-tube, these vehicles reach speeds up to 160 MPH.

By: Gabriel Gadfly

Gabriel Gadfly — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 17:19:37 +0000

I love this idea. It’s taking an old idea (the sail boat) and upgrading it with modern technology.

By: Brainjack

Brainjack — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 23:49:22 +0000

Great technology. Now with all that extra shipping capacity, the world can continue to overburden the few remaining resources we have. Our greatgrandchildren will be at odds with basic nourishments like water. Good job reckless techies!

By: Elizabeth

Elizabeth — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 22:32:06 +0000

wait… wind powered ships?!!? I’ve never heard of THAT before!!!

By: lennon

lennon — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 20:07:25 +0000

its a great idea, my question isn’t how much wind would it take to lift and move the kite, but how much would be necessary to move the ship?