DOCSLIB.ORG

Skiing All Day, Every Day.” Her Pitch Is Ir- Power with Your Body Weight

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Skiing All Day, Every Day.” Her Pitch Is Ir- Power with Your Body Weight in its third year, is the first formal snowkite circuit held in the U.S., with elimination-type heats that include racing and freestyle. Smith is also among two dozen snowkiters who’ve come to Utah to lay fresh tracks through a treeless expanse of lesser peaks and broad valleys in the Wasatch range. She has invited me to tag along. Today’s starting point is 40 miles southeast of Park City at the Strawberry Reservoir, where I ar- rive just as a breeze begins to quicken. Apparently I’m late, as several riders are already rigging gear in a snowbound meadow across the highway. They’ve come from throughout the U.S. (I meet two guys who drove 50 hours to get here from Florida) and from around the world—Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Russia, Norway, Canada, and Aruba—to partake in the Best Superfly Open, the third stop on the NAST tour. It’s an impassioned group that exudes a near-re- ferocious blizzard put me in a foul mood ligious devotion to the sport. Competing is integral, yesterday, as I navigated snowy roads and but more than anything else the event is an excuse “Ten A dodged flatland drivers crawling through for this burgeoning community to get its stoke minutes Utah’s Wasatch Mountains toward Park City. But on, pairing sessions in the Utah backcountry with later I’m when I wake up this morning and see the after- après-kite pub crawls. “I’ve been a downhill skier blasting past math—29 inches in 24 hours—I know I’m in store and tele skier my whole life and a backcountry skier them, racing for a very good day. The late-February sun is already for more than 20 years,” says 53-year-old Ken Lucas, around, signaling its bluebird intentions through clearing a snowkite pioneer who got interested in the sport tracking the skies. Three world-class mountains beckon within in 1998 after demonstrating it to an astonished shit out of a short drive. group of K2 sta" at Mt. Hood Meadows in Oregon. everything, Sure, it’s god-awful President’s Day weekend, and “What I like to tell people who love powder is that and then I hordes of dawdling boobies will track up the hill your typical resort powder run is only a minute. But pack up my before lunchtime. Even so, with more than two feet with snowkiting, it can be an hour or more.” kite and wait of flu", there should be ample to poach if you know for them at where to look. And I do. Yet after receiving a wake- nowkiting and kiteboarding are fraternal the top.” up text from a friend (“the wind is on”), I can’t help twins, born in the late 1990s on the North pondering the blasphemous alternative: forsaking a SShore of Maui. Wave-riding kiteboarders powder day for a new sport I am only just beginning immediately realized they could adapt the concept to grasp proficiently. for snow. The gear is straightforward: a set of four “With snowkiting, there are no lift lines, you don’t high-tensile nylon lines, 70 feet long, link the kite need a ticket, and it’s always untracked powder,” to a control bar coupled to a harness around your Trisha Smith tells me at breakfast. “It’s your dream waist. By leaning back, you can control the kite’s day of skiing all day, every day.” Her pitch is ir- power with your body weight. This virtually elimi- resistible. Smith, 31, is a professional snowkiter nates any strain on your arms or shoulders and and a director of operations for the North American makes steering e"ortless even in high wind. Gusts Snowkite Tour (NAST). The four-stage event, now aren’t a problem either. Just shove the control bar 68 || 02.2012 away from you and the kite will rapidly decelerate. on board, too. “You don’t need to take a truck to the Above: Event organizers Today’s kites make the switch from water to snow top,” says Alex Peterson, a veteran paraglider. “With update athletes on race- seamlessly. The only di"erence is what’s under- a kite I can entertain myself for hours by kiting up day conditions for the 2011 foot: Snowkiters use skis (or snowboards) instead the side of a mountain, flying down over the tops of Snowkite Superfly Slalom. of twin-tip kiteboards or sur#oards. And snowkit- the trees, and then kiting right back up again. It’s a ing is infinitely easier and safer to learn. Drowning closed loop.” Opposite: Tyler Brown is not an issue. Rogue waves won’t pulverize your Peterson, a native Minnesotan, is among the (left) gets high at the 2011 kite. You don’t have to worry about drifting miles sport’s extremists. He builds his own rigging and Best Superfly Open. We’re downwind. And if the breeze shuts o", you aren’t wears a modified climbing harness so he can launch guessing pro kiter Trisha shark bait marooned a half mile o"shore. his kite from ridgelines and soar several hundred Smith (right) is usually “Combining kiting with skiing is an easy tran- feet above the ground (check out his YouTube happier than you are. sition,” says Smith, who grew up skiing Crystal videos). If he spots a tempting bowl, he’ll just set Mountain, Washington. “If you already know how to himself down to link a few powder turns, then go ski, you can pick it up in a day.” For this reason, the airborne again—an extraordinary feat I witness popularity of snowkiting has soared in recent years. firsthand in Strawberry. Resorts are increasingly partnering with snowkite “For me, it’s always been about flying,” Peterson schools, which are popping up across America’s says. But the majority of snowkiters are more risk- snowbelt, to o"er skiers an alternative to lift-locked averse. Typically they’re seasoned skiers who have skiing or backcountry hiking. Keystone, Colorado, discovered that a kite is a good way to reach the permits inbounds snowkiting on its cat-accessed virgin powder stashes we all covet. “A kite changes bowls (far from lifts and high above treeline). So everything,” says legendary ski mountaineer and does Utah’s Powder Mountain. Some devout back- explorer Andrew McLean, 50, who lives in Park country skiers are even forsaking skins for kites. City and has led several polar expeditions, using Heli-ski operators are starting to see a few clients kites to haul himself swiftly across thousands of bringing kites along. Park-and-pipe riders have miles of forbidding ice and snow. The best part, he discovered that kites generate vertical lift, adding says: “In a huge field of powder, you get one endless massive air to their moves. The paragliding crowd is face shot.” 69 rior to coming GO FLY to the four-day A KITE PNAST event at Strawberry, I had only STRONG SKIERS snowkited on iced- WILL PICK UP over lakes, where the SNOWKITING wind is steadier. But at QUICKLY. BEEN 8,000 feet, encircled by KITEBOARDING? mountains, weather is IT WILL HELP. fickle. The wind can gust up in seconds and then > Gear The first question (as always) is about size. vanish just as quickly. Most newbies start with a A lot of snowkiters small trainer kite, which will carry skins in case a lull allow you to get a feel for the wind without constantly strands them. Thank- getting yarded. See if you fully, it doesn’t happen can borrow or rent a trainer, often, primarily because as you’ll quickly want to move o! training wheels kites can generate and purchase your first kite. thrust in even a gentle (Consider used equipment breeze. Unlike on water, to save a few bucks.) Two additional words on gear: where you need a fairly rock skis. You’ll learn away sti" wind to overcome from groomed slopes and friction, on snow you en- manicured fall lines. There will be core shots. counter little resistance (remember, it’s ice). > Where Find an open, flat, Nobody demonstrates snow-covered meadow or this concept better than field. Stay far away from streets, railroad tracks, ski Jacob Buzianis, 35, a lifts, utility towers, people, pro rider who lives in and horned livestock. You Salt Lake City and was don’t want to hit anything or have anything snag your kite. an early exploiter of the region’s huge snowkit- > Conditions A kite’s ing potential, naming energy increases expo- nentially, so if wind speed several of the backcoun- doubles, lift quadruples. try routes. Buzianis runs That can mean instant a local snowkite school trouble in gusting condi- tions. Start mellow. Winds and was instrumental under 10 knots or so should in bringing NAST to be plenty. Strawberry, where, at Damien Leroy updates the da!y > Best Advice Set your the moment, a heavy, after the 2011 Snowkite Soldiers pride aside and take a wet snow is falling hard comp in Fairfield, Idaho. Neon lesson from a pro. Really. amid seemingly dead- one-piece not included. > More Intel There are a calm air. growing number of snowkit- Most of us have ing schools and websites, already packed it in, but Buzianis somehow gets his skinning up and skiing down,” he says. “But now, many of which are con- nected with kiteboarding kite airborne and vanishes into a su"ocating white- whenever it’s windy, I’m thinking about what I can operations. Snowkiting out for more than three hours.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Guidelines for Preparing Master's Theses
    LIQUID FORCE KITE CONTROL SYSTEM DESIGN A Senior Project submitted to the Faculty of California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Science in Industrial and Mechanical Engineering by Brendan Kerr, Alden Simmer, Brodie Sutherland March 2017 ABSTRACT Liquid Force Kite Control System Design Brendan Kerr, Alden Simmer, Brodie Sutherland Kiteboarding is an ocean sport wherein the participant, also known as a kiter, uses a large inflatable bow shaped kite to plane across the ocean on a surfboard or wakeboard. The rider is connected to his or her kite via a control bar system. This control system allows the kiter to steer the kite and add or remove power from the kite, in order to change direction and increase or decrease speed. This senior project focused on creating a new control bar system to replace a control bar system manufactured by a kiteboarding company, Liquid Force. The current Liquid Force control bar has two main faults, extraneous components and a lack of ergonomic design. Our team aimed to eliminate unneeded components and create a more ergonomic bar. By eliminating components, the bar would also be more cost effective to produce by using less material and requiring less time to manufacture. We first conducted a literature review into the areas of kiteboarding control systems and handle ergonomics. Based on studies done on optimal grip diameters for reducing forearm stress we concluded that the diameter for the bar grip should be at least a centimeter less than the maximum grip of the user.
    [Show full text]
  • Taking to the SKIES Canaan Valley Is No Stranger to Birds, but Now It’S Welcoming flyers of a Human Variety
    Taking to the SKIES Canaan Valley is no stranger to birds, but now it’s welcoming flyers of a human variety. WRITTEN BY JESS WALKER 22 WONDERFUL WEST VIRGINIA | JUNE 2019 For paragliding pilots, nothing compares to the thrill of sailing over hilltops and trees. irds make flight seem majestic. They swoop and soar over valleys with the wind in their feathers and sun on their backs. Yet, for humans, most of our experiences with flight are less grandiose. It’s difficult to conjure a sense of wonder crammed in the middle seat of a giant metal Btube, unsuccessfully trying to drown out the engine’s thrum with an in-flight movie. But some daredevils in the Canaan Valley have found an alternative way to take to the skies— one that doesn’t require an engine, checked baggage, or even a ticket. And it’s significantly more majestic than flying coach. Gliding in Canaan Valley Picture a parachute. Now, stretch that mental image until the circular chute becomes a long cigar shape. That’s a paragliding wing. A pilot, suspended in a harness, maneuvers the wing by tugging on lines and shifting her body weight. If the conditions are right, she can stay afloat for hours at a time. Paragliding as a recreational activity didn’t gain momentum until the 1970s and ’80s. Credit is commonly given to mountain climbers who wanted an easier way to descend from climbs. The sport is not to be confused with hang gliding, which employs a v-shaped wing with a rigid metal frame, the equipment typically weighing more than 45 pounds.
    [Show full text]
  • Skywings Feb 07
    RIDE THE WILD, WILD Cross-over is a serious mode of development for This gives a pilot choice for speed and wind of wings to fly in different conditions, usually higher adventure sports, and speed paragliding (more of strength, as in traction kiting where you do not stop winds. Spin offs, again reflecting past times, include titles later) comes from various backgrounds. In operating because the wind is too strong, you just “descent” wings with minimal volume and weight snowsports, snowkiting has followed the traction change your size of kite. So a typical buggier like for mountain exploration, like the new Ozone Ultra kite revolution. Buggies, landboards, skis and myself may well have a quiver of kites from 1.4 to Lite at 21m2. Sometimes a wing is for flying… and snowboards have all been pulled along by kites and 10m2. The other influence on this is from skydiving, sometimes it can return to the original primitive are now doing the same big airs that can be seen off where for years wings have been getting smaller to purpose of coming down safely. beaches with kitesurfing. And these sports borrow ensure a smaller pack volume that aids movement tricks from skateboarding with ramps and rails. No in freefall. These 160s, 190s and even 110s (square There will be an expansion of ski flying during the doubt someone somewhere has dropped into a half- feet!) equate to paragliding areas of 15, 17 and an winter season with all the usual competitions, pipe under kite traction! impressive 10m2! And just in case anyone unsure stunts and disasters.
    [Show full text]
  • Beginners Guide to Kite Boarding
    The Complete Beginner’s Guide About Kitesurfing What Is Kitesurfing? For some, it does not even ring a bell although, for others, it means everything and they build their life around it! Whether you have already witnessed it in person on your last vacation to the beach, maybe over the internet in your news feed or even in pop culture, for sure it made you wonder… What the heck are these guys doing dangling in the air under that big parachute? And how are they even doing it? If we were to talk to someone in the early 1960s about space exploration, let alone landing on the moon they would have thought we were crazy. What if we were to tell someone today that they can have the time of their life by practicing a water sport that involves standing up on a surfboard, strapped in a waist harness while being pulled along by a large kite up 25 meters in the air? That person probably wouldn’t believe it. Well, here we are today with hundreds of thousands of people learning and practicing kiteboarding every year. In this Complete Beginner’s Guide, we will go from the inception of the sport to where it is today and everything in between to understand what kitesurfing is all about. This guide will inform you about the history and origins of kitesurfing, the equipment, the environment, what it takes to become a kiter as well as the benefits of becoming one. Moreover, we will cover everything there is to know about the safety aspects of this action sport and the overall lifestyle and culture that has grown around it.
    [Show full text]
  • Bicycle in a Country Famous for the Pharaohs, the Promised Land and the Nile
    .TV series EpicTV Magazine 26 x 26 Min HD TV Series Producer: EpicTV Year: 2014, New Release! Sport: All Extreme Sports Audio: English Showcasing the best athletes, the biggest events, and the most jaw dropping action from around the globe, EpicTV Magazine with let you in on the thrills and spills and all the drama in between. Targeting a mostly male audience aged 18 to 40, the series uses a simple structure of humorous voice-over led links to guide the viewer through stories, clips and montages of adventure sports. Featuring all the fresh original content from Epic TV. Created using the Epic TV’s goldmine of clips, documentaries, news items and internet videos, these incredible stories, characters, feats of human prowess cover the most popular adventure sports in the world from wingsuit flying, rock climbing, skiing and snowboarding, to surfing, BMX and mountain-biking Wheel Sharks 4 x 22 Min HD TV Series Producer: TCF4 Productions Year: 2014 Theme: Cars, Motorsports, Reality Audio: English Wheel Sharks is about the fine art of finding a good deal on a used car. Brett and Zsolt are seasoned veterans of the auto industry, with nearly 50 years of experience between them. They’re familiar with everything from sedans to semis and can spot a lemon from a block away. But it’s their hearts that set them apart. Like the best soul guides, they help buyers identify what they’re really looking for in a vehicle and then help them find one to match. It takes patience and, most of the time, a few test drives.
    [Show full text]
  • Water and Snow Kite Risk Management and Key Skills! Conditions and Sites! • I first Learned Water Kiting in the Columbia Gorge
    © Bill Glude 20140610! !Alaska Windjammer Kites, www.akavalanches.com/! Water and Snow Kite Risk Management and Key Skills! ! Conditions and Sites! • I first learned water kiting in the Columbia Gorge. My instructor taught me a couple key principles to begin with:! 1. This is not windsurfing or sailing. This is aviation. You are attaching yourself to a flying machine.! 2. Accordingly, treat it like you would an airplane. Go through your preflight checklists. Do not fly in conditions you would not fly a Super Cub or an ultralight aircraft in! Strong turbulence, updrafts, squall lines, thunderstorms, hurricanes, offshore winds, dangerous ground conditions, or high gust-to-lull ratios are NOT conditions to kite in; go do something else on those days!! • People can get killed or seriously injured if they are careless with kites. The “kite- mare” videos on You Tube are people who have violated the risk management rules. Kite intelligently; take all the precautions you can. There is enough risk from mistakes even the most careful riders will inevitably make. Don’t end up on You Tube!! • Like aviation, the risk if you try to teach yourself or have your buddy teach you is high, but if you learn from a good teacher and follow the proper procedures, the risk is in the same range as any other active sport like skiing, snowboarding, and mountain biking.! • You want 100 meters, a football field’s length, of downwind space that is clear of anything that might hurt you, or anything you might hurt, especially when launching, landing, or practicing maneuvers.! • You will get dragged and possibly lifted into the air inadvertently sometimes, especially with full-length lines.
    [Show full text]
  • A Few Simple Kite Plans
    A Few Simple Kite Plans (Part of the “From Kites to Space” Unit) Compiled by Rebecca Kinley Fraker From Kites to Space KITE PLANS Foreword: If you were a member of any of my classes, as soon as I mentioned “kites” you would begin to giggle. Because my students claim that when Mrs. Fraker says the word “kite” all the wind in the state dies down, and everything becomes very still. Sometimes they suggest that I should go into the path of an approaching hurricane, announce a kite-building class, and stop those hurricane winds. Nevertheless, I have continued my love of kites. Faced with no wind, I have collected and modified different kite plans until many of my kites will fly in practically no breeze at all. Faced with little money, I found plans that use copier paper, bamboo skewers, and plastic bags. Faced with rainy weather and no open areas, I experimented until I found the paper bag kite which will fly in the classroom or hall with a minimum of arm movement. Please note: There are far more beautiful kites to make and many other categories of kites. I hope this unit will inspire you to do further research into sport and fighter kites. There are also new sports involving kites such as kite boarding, skiing with kites, and parasailing. I can say with confidence, BUILD THESE KITES AND THEY WILL FLY !!! Rebecca K. Fraker Atlantic Union Conference Teacher Bulletin www.teacherbulletin.org 2 From Kites to Space KITE PLANS Table of Contents Bumblebee Kite..............................................................................................4
    [Show full text]
  • An Introduction and Brief History
    KITES An Introduction and Brief History SKY WIND WORLD.ORG FLYING A ROKAKKU - FLYING BUFFALO PROJECT HISTORY From China kites spread to neighboring countries and across the seas to the Pacific region. At the same time they spread across Burma, India and arriving in North Africa about 1500 years ago. They did not arrive in Europe or America until much later probably via the trade routes Kites are thought to have originated in China about 3000 years ago. One story is that a fisherman was out on a windy day and his hat blew away and got caught on his fishing line which was then when these areas developed. blown up in to the air. Bamboo was a ready source of straight sticks for spars and silk fabric was available to make a light covering, then in the 2nd century AD paper was invented and is still used to this day. PHYSICS Kites fly when thrust, lift, drag and gravity are balanced. The flying line and bridle hold the kite at an angle to the wind so that the air flows faster across the top than the bottom producing the lift. THE PARTS OF A KITE 1 THE SAIL • This can be made of any material such as paper, fabric or plastic. • It is used to trap the air. The air must have somewhere to escape otherwise it spills over the front edge and makes the kite wobble. This can be done by using porous fabric or making it bend backwards to allow the air to slip smoothly over the side.
    [Show full text]
  • Snow Kiting and Biking in Avalanche Terrain
    Proceedings, International Snow Science Workshop, Banff, 2014 SNOW KITING AND BIKING IN AVALANCHE TERRAIN Sarah Carter1*, Jennie Milton2 and Jeremy Hanke3 1Alaska Avalanche Information Center, Valdez, Alaska, USA 2Snowkite Base Camp, Thredbo, Australia 3Soulrides Avalanche Education, Revelstoke, BC, Canada ABSTRACT: In recent years the summer sports of kite surfing and dirt biking have developed winter equivalents: the new sports of snow kiting and snow biking are introducing more recreationalists to avalanche terrain. When snow safety skills lag behind a riders’ ability to access steep, snow covered terrain, accidents may occur. Backcountry users, educators, and forecasters can explore the possibilities and potential problems that arise with the advent and growth of each sport. KEYWORDS: snow kite, snow bike, winter mountain travel, avalanche terrain, avalanche safety 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 Snow Kiting Snow kiting and snow biking have Snow kiting is an outdoor winter sport that developed as winter equivalents of their harnesses wind, enabling a person to glide respective summer sports, kite surfing and on snow. The sport is similar to kite surfing motor biking. We decided to discuss these or boarding, but uses snowboard or skis growing mountain sports, one non-motorized instead of surfboard or kiteboard. Historical and one motorized, as an opportunity to use of skiers pulled across snow by kites work with recreational communities in dates back to the 1800s (Fig. 1), possibly preventing avalanche accidents. earlier. During the late 1990s, snow kiting, as it is known today, developed. By way of media coverage, email survey, anecdotal information, and interviews with athletes, we are able to describe a marked increase in the use of snow kites and snow bikes.
    [Show full text]
  • USHPA RISK ASSESSMENT WORKSHEET Hang Gliding / Paragliding Site the United States Hang Gliding & Paragliding Association • • [email protected]
    USHPA RISK ASSESSMENT WORKSHEET Hang Gliding / Paragliding Site The United States Hang Gliding & Paragliding Association • www.ushpa.aero • [email protected] Flying Site Name: Villa Grove Site Location: Villa Grove, CO Annual/ Last Assessment 11 Jan 2019 (Closest City, State) Revision Date: Primary Launch GPS Coords: 38.2919, -105.8825 HG Primary LZ GPS Coords: 38.2680, -105.8981 PkLot (DD.DDDD, -DD.DDDD) (DD.DDDD, -DD.DDDD) 38.2916, -105.8822 PG 38.2666, -105.8981 HG LZ 9760 MSL 38.2631, -105.8963 Larrys Site Requirements: H2/P2 (morning / late evening), H3/P3 (midday, midday paragliding not advised during summer) examples: H3, P3, H3 w/ CL Advise HA, TUR ratings for afternoon flying for HG &PGs as well as SIV training for PGs Launch and primary LZs on public Forest Service/BLM land (not USHPA insured). Larry’s LZ is USHPA insured and primarily used for special events or “fly-ins” (gated property). Mini wing not recommended. Site Type: High Alt, Mt Thermal. High desert site conditions typical during summer flying season. examples: Coastal Cliff, High Alt, Mt Thermal, Eastern Ramp Site Guide Link: http://www.rmhpa.org/villa-grove-site-guide/ https://www.link.com Site Guide Review Login: Site Guide Review Password: (if protected) (if protected) Chapter #: 21 USHPA_Risk_Assessment_Worksheet V 2017-12-12 Page 1 of 18 Copyright © 1974 - 2017 United States Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association, Inc. All rights reserved. USHPA Risk Assessment Worksheet - Hang Gliding/Paragliding Flying Site Chapter/Club Name: Rocky Mountain Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association Name of Safety Coordinator: Ed Williams, Tavo Gutierrez, Ben Devoti Name of Site Coordinator: Jeff Bevan (PG), JJ John Jaugilas (HG), Larry Smith (local) (for chapter) For Risk Management Information & Process Instructions see: START HERE: USHPA RISK MANAGEMENT PROGRAM Quick Risk Management Plan Steps outline: 1.
    [Show full text]
  • The Complete Kiteboarding Training Guide
    the complete Kiteboarding Training Guide from KiteboardingExercises.com Version 3.2 – Oct. 2013 The Complete Kiteboarding Training Guide Version 3, Oct. 2013, KBX 2012 Author: Lars Rousing-Jørgensen, Denmark Website: http:// www.KiteboardingExercises.com E-mail: [email protected] All rights are reserved for www.KiteboardingExercises.com Feel free to share the download link with your friends. Copying printed versions is not allowed! 2 1. About www.KiteboardingExercises.com (KBX) ........................................................................ 4 2. Kiteboarding Training ............................................................................................................. 5 2.1. Plan your training ........................................................................................................................ 5 3. The KBX training programs ..................................................................................................... 6 3.0.1. Find the Right Program for You ........................................................................................................................ 6 3.0.2. How to Execute the Programs.......................................................................................................................... 6 3.0.3. How to do variations ........................................................................................................................................ 6 3.1. Basic Kiteboarding Training Program ...........................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • EHAWK: UAV - Remote Launch of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Kite Based System
    Rowan University Rowan Digital Works Theses and Dissertations 11-4-2015 EHAWK: UAV - remote launch of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Kite Based System Matthew R. Rossett Follow this and additional works at: https://rdw.rowan.edu/etd Part of the Aeronautical Vehicles Commons Recommended Citation Rossett, Matthew R., "EHAWK: UAV - remote launch of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Kite Based System" (2015). Theses and Dissertations. 1. https://rdw.rowan.edu/etd/1 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Rowan Digital Works. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Rowan Digital Works. For more information, please contact [email protected]. EHAWK: UAV REMOTE LAUNCH OF UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES KITE BASED SYSTEM by Matthew R. Rossett A Thesis Submitted to the Department of Mechanical Engineering College of Engineering In partial fulfillment of the requirement For the degree of Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering at Rowan University August 11, 2015 Thesis Chair: Dr. Hong Zhang © 2015 Matthew R. Rossett Acknowledgements To begin, I would first like to thank my adviser, Dr Zhang, for both providing this project and giving me guidance through it. I would also like to thank the project’s sponsor, the EPA, for their P3 grant which funded my research. In addition, I would like to thank all the members of my undergraduate clinic teams for their assistance and contribution to the research, particularly the spring 2015 team who really helped drive the project home. From that team, I would like to single out Chris Polizzi who put in much more work than he needed to as an undergraduate, showing true dedication to seeing this project completed.
    [Show full text]