High Flying Fun: Using a Parafoil Kite Out on the Trail
By Richard Newstead, G3CWI
The ARS Sojourner
I'm the world's worst kite flier. It's official. I spent most of my childhood running up and down beaches with sticks, cloth and string. I had not got a clue and neither, it seems, had any of my aunts, uncles and other relations. Perhaps it runs in the family?

So, why am I telling you this? The reason is simple, I reckon that I'm uniquely well qualified to talk about the subject. After all, if I can get a kite to work then you will be sure to be able to get it to work better!

My involvement with kites for radio started in 1981. I was getting ready to go off to Antarctica as VP8ANT. Being a great planner, I was thinking about how to make sure that I could get on the air from there and kites came to mind.

I think it may have been due to reading that Antarctica was the windiest continent. Anyway, either that year or the year before there had been an article in QST about a new kind of kite. It was called a parafoil.

A company called Jalbert Aerotechnology in Boca Raton, FL was making them. I sent off for some information and they sent me a brochure. These kites were not cheap but they did look promising. They have several special characteristics that make them good for aerial work:

  • They are very stable in flight
  • They fly at a high angle
  • They are light and easy to fly
  • They have no rigid parts whatsoever to get broken.

The traditionalists use box kites (I think Marconi started that off) but I knew that I would never get one of them into the air!

My kite arrived and I set about testing it. The amazing thing was that I could launch and fly it easily - I have NEVER had to run with this baby. And what's more, it performed exactly as the sales literature said. Bliss.

After a while I got to flying it in stronger winds and then on one sad day, the 100 pound breaking strain line broke. Off sailed my kite, landing in a field of wheat.
There was no chance of finding it. I wrote to Mr. Jalbert and explained that I was hoping to take the kite to VP8 and that his recommended breaking-strain line had broken. By return, he sent me a new kite - no charge. That's good service!

Anyway, some months later, the wheat field got harvested and the harvester driver actually spotted the kite and retrieved it in tact. That was 1981. I have both kites here to this day.
Don't choose a kite that is too big. Mine seems to be about the right size for most aerial applications. The bigger ones will be impossible to handle in anything but a light breeze. Bigger is NOT better here!

So here is the first lesson. Spend some money on a really good kite (a Parafoil) and it will last for a long time and do great service.

Antarctica

Suitcase packed, off I headed, with my kites in tow. Boy, was it windy. I set about trying to break the endurance kit flying record.

It was a windy day and I managed about 18 hours before the wind really got up and the string broke again. However, there was not a wheat field for some distance so I managed to get the kite back.

Parafoils need the tension of the string to fly. Once the string breaks, they fly like a stone. Quite a handy characteristic.

On a field trip, I launched the kite from my sledge and called the base. They were rather surprised to get a call during the day but the kite certainly enabled me to put up a good aerial.

I also used the kite to launch an aerial to make some QSOs on 20 metres - reaching back to the UK with just eight watts of SSB. So the kite was a success.

Aerial types

There are several choices. The most obvious is to use an end-fed wire as the "string" for your kite. However, as the wind varies, the angle and direction will change (often a lot) which can be undesirable. I tend to hang a wire off the string, about 100 feet down from the kite. This gives a vertical aerial that is much more stable. Add a few radials and a tuner and you're in business.

With two kites, you can be more ambitious. I have flown a large inverted L before. However, my 80 meter 5/8 wavelength vertical seems to have been the best performer.
Caution

Avoid power lines. Avoid aircraft (my kite has been up to over 1000 feet). Avoid lightning. Avoid static rain. Any or all of these could get someone killed.

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Richard Newstead, G3CWI, who coordinates the Adventure Radio Society's activities in Europe, is an avid QRPer and outdoorsman living in the United Kingdom. He has operated all over the world, holding callsigns VP8ANT, JY8NT, V85NT, VK6ARN, VK9LW, G3CWI/CE, and SV5/G3CWI. The European Adventure Radio web site is:http://www.qsl.net/ars-eu/

G3cwi@tesco.net