R5 Kite

FlyNY'09, kite festival & competition, Van Alen Institute

R5 on the CNC mill

 

 

R5 rigged & bridled

last minute adjustments

the countdown...
air!

Traditionally kites are composed of skin and surface made of two very different materials. Today’s technology is making it possible to construct a shell-kite – a single entity that is both skin and structure, reinforced only where needed. Our first prototype is made out of found EPS foam sheet, a common construction (rigid insulation) material that is too often discarded straight into a landfill instead of finding other uses. R5 is the approximate insulation value of this shell. The first flight tests revealed design flaws (too heavy, not enough lift), but have also proven the potential of this system. A+M is currently working on the second version of the shell kite.

R5 was awarded an honorable mention at the FlyNY09 – we rocked the category “Spectacular Failure to Launch.” And how many planes did the Wright brothers crash before they got one into the air?

Austin + Mergold LLC

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
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