In formal terms, any single-line kite is chaotically yaw-unstable. Many AWES concepts depend on complex controls to artificially maintain critical yaw-stability over a lifetime. The necessary aerospace reliability is not there yet, Low-Complexity AWE has a ready solution-

By placing two anchors apart crosswind and running the spread lines to the kite-area, the yaw-axis is passively stabilized. This shows there is not only "Crosswind-Power", but also "Crosswind Stability". Stability is an information-theoretic thermodynamic cost to flight that must be "paid". The practical question is whether active- or passive-stability is favored for crosswind-power AWE.

A megascale Mothra Arch, by its tremendous Crosswind-Stability factor, can provide bulk stability for even a gigawatt-scale AWE extraction capacity (hosted WECS arrays). Inherent Crosswind-Stability offers superior scaling potential, land-airspace utilization, and lower cost and complexity than small-unit AWES active yaw-autonomy.

• CC BY NC SA         ~Dave Santos         21Sept2013              Discuss at:  AirborneWindEnergy10208

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