Engineering’s Mario Garcia-Sanz earns Diekhoff Award for Graduate Teaching

My autaltic friend Daedalus admires the kite, which use the velocity of the wind, relative to that of the Earth to which the kite is tethered, to generate lift.  It now occurs to him that wind velocity always varies with height: not only does it increase at higher altitudes, but the large-scale surface winds (eg the trade winds) have return counter-currents flowing in the stratosphere above them. Accordingly, he is designing a free-flying double kite, with two independent aerofoil surfaces at different altitudes and so in different wind-streams, connected together by a long cable. Each tensions the other (or better, both are tensioned by a common load which they both support). The whole affair, the load and the two kites above it at different heights, is kept aloft by the wind-flows over the surfaces. It will need sophisticated on-board computer control to maintain height and stability in the face of changing wind conditions at the two altitudes, but modern circuitry is very light and has power requirements low enough to be met by small on-board windmills. The whole elegant creation, two surfaces, a load and a few kilometres of light connecting cable, will inevitably drift along the resultant of the two wind-velocities lifting it, but might manage to "hunt" up and down the atmosphere in search of winds to carry it in whatever direction radio-control or an inbuilt program required. Daedalus's free-flying kites will have many uses. Their ability to stay up indefinitely, or ascend or descend to radio command, will make them cheap and ideal for meteorological surveying, high-altitude photograph, infrared telescopy, etc.  With enough of them tacking about the atmosphere, long-range radio-propagation by active relaying from kite to kite, or just re-radiation from their long cables, would become statistically nearly perfect.  They would pose some threat to aircraft, but not much: most likely the plane would just sever a cable and leave the kite to drift gently down to earth.

[ ] What is the meaning of "autaltic" in the sentence?  Probably "autistic."  

[ ] Who was Daedalus in 1976? Unknown yet. But we know that in 1967 Richard Miller in his book Without Visible Means of Support  did describe free-soaring double-wing kite system.

[ ] Such free-flying kite systems were known in late 1800s described in literature by Gilbert Totten Woglom; his discovery came upon breakaways.

[ ] The 1976 article in New Scientist did describe AWES twice over: 1) Total system converting winds' energy for effective purposes, and 2) on-board windmills to generate electricity for driving purposed loads.

[ ] With judicious choice of the two wind streams and differential controls of the distant wings, very large choices of location may be obtained.

[ ] The 1976 article was not treating large systems; by such, some important safety concerns were not addressed.  Differently, lines may entangle aircraft and down them; loss of property and life may occur.  Failed systems of this sort could drag wing and lines to do tremendous damage on the ground. To effect practical and safe large systems of FFAWE, much care would be needed in design and operations.

[ ] Open public discussion and technical sharing may occur from the bridge post and its replies:

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