Zippy8 wrote:Juha wrote:WEIGHTS RAWK, DUDE!!
Well quite. Thank you Mr. Double VF Winner for that insight.
your kite’s Center of Gravity. This is the spot that marks the axis around which the kite will pitch when doing all those flippy-floppy moves.
You know what ? This
really isn't true. Take a look at your favourite video shot from the side of the kite and the centre of rotation is frequently nowhere near the kite, let alone at the static CoG.
Agree with me dammit !!!
Mike.
I agree Mike
I believe the Centre of Gravity (CoG) and described inte Kitelife article is not valid (in terms of where and why you put weights on a kite).
When we talk about a moving body we should be talking about something called the Instantaneous
Axis of Rotation.
When the kite flips, rolls, etc., its motion is described as its rotation
and translation about and axis. The kite does not do its things about a fixed point as the article implies !!
It does them about an axis (which not always can be determined and which most of the time is well outside the kite itself). The location of the instantaneous axis of rotation is constantly changing as motion takes place, and with it, a whole set of effects of different rotational inertias in different moments of the motion.
In trying to visualize the concept, the Instantaneous axis of rotation has
a lot to do with how the kite tricks, and how those tricks look !!!
(This is well studied in physics, kinematics, and biomechanics -my area of interest. A Google search on the IAR will produce a few interesting articles. Most with lots of numbers and formulas).
Tony