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Kitewing
A kitewing is a wing-shaped sail designed to use wind power to provide speed and lift to riders in outdoor environments. It can be used on a number of different surfaces when paired with the appropriate vehicle, including skis, snowboards, and roller skates. Description A kitewing differs from a sports kite or traction kite in that a kitewing does not have a separate control system (see kite control systems Kite types, kite mooring, and kite applications result in a wide variety of kite control systems. Contemporary manufacturers, kite athletes, kite pilots, scientists, and engineers are expanding the possibilities. Single-line kite control systems ...). Instead, a kitewing is held directly in the hands of the user, which provides control, stability and depower. In addition, a kitewing does not have lines to tangle, and can be manoeuvred easily to perform a wide variety of tricks, turns and fast speeds. This additional control also makes a kitewing safer to use. The instant d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sail
A sail is a tensile structure—which is made from fabric or other membrane materials—that uses wind power to propel sailing craft, including sailing ships, sailboats, windsurfers, ice boats, and even sail-powered land vehicles. Sails may be made from a combination of woven materials—including canvas or polyester cloth, laminated membranes or bonded filaments—usually in a three- or four-sided shape. A sail provides propulsive force via a combination of lift and drag, depending on its angle of attack—its angle with respect to the apparent wind. Apparent wind is the air velocity experienced on the moving craft and is the combined effect of the true wind velocity with the velocity of the sailing craft. Angle of attack is often constrained by the sailing craft's orientation to the wind or point of sail. On points of sail where it is possible to align the leading edge of the sail with the apparent wind, the sail may act as an airfoil, generating propulsive force as air p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Skis
A ski is a narrow strip of semi-rigid material worn underfoot to glide over snow. Substantially longer than wide and characteristically employed in pairs, skis are attached to ski boots with ski bindings, with either a free, lockable, or partially secured heel. For climbing slopes, ski skins (originally made of seal fur, but now made of synthetic materials) can be attached at the base of the ski. Originally intended as an aid to travel over snow, they are now mainly used recreationally in the sport of skiing. Etymology and usage The word ''ski'' comes from the Old Norse word which means "cleft wood", "stick of wood" or "ski". In Old Norse common phrases describing skiing were ''fara á skíðum'' (to travel, move fast on skis), ''renna'' (to move swiftly) and ''skríða á skíðum'' (to stride on skis). In modern Norwegian the word ''ski'' has largely retained the Old Norse meaning in words for split firewood, wood building materials (such as bargeboards) and roundpole fence ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Snowboards
Snowboards are boards where the user places both feet, usually secured, to the same board. The board itself is wider than most skis, with the ability to glide on snow."snowboarding." Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. 17 Mar. 2009. . Snowboards widths are between 6 and 12 inches or 15 to 30 centimeters. Snowboards are differentiated from monoskis by the stance of the user. In monoskiing, the user stands with feet inline with direction of travel (facing tip of monoski/downhill) (parallel to long axis of board), whereas in snowboarding, users stand with feet transverse (more or less) to the longitude of the board. Users of such equipment may be referred to as ''snowboarder''s. ''Commercial snowboards'' generally require extra equipment such as bindings and special boots which help secure both feet of a snowboarder, who generally ride in an upright position. These types of boards are commonly used by people at ski resort, ski hills, mountains, backcountry, or res ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roller Skates
Roller skates, are shoes or bindings that fit onto shoes that are worn to enable the wearer to roll along on wheels. The first roller skate was an inline skate design, effectively an ice skate with wheels replacing the blade. Later the "quad skate" style became more popular, consisting of four wheels arranged in the same configuration as a typical car. Roller skating is a hobby, sport, and mode of transportation using roller skates. History While the first reported use of wheeled skates was on a London stage in 1743, the first patented "roller skate" was introduced in 1760 by Belgian inventor John Joseph Merlin. They were hard to steer and stopping was difficult due to the fact that they did not have any type of braking mechanism and as such they failed to gain popularity. Merlin demonstrated his invention during a party in the city of Huy, during which he skated while playing the violin. In the 1840s, Meyerbeer's opera ''Le prophète'' featured a scene in which performers ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kite Control Systems
Kite types, kite mooring, and kite applications result in a wide variety of kite control systems. Contemporary manufacturers, kite athletes, kite pilots, scientists, and engineers are expanding the possibilities. Single-line kite control systems High-altitude attempt single-line control systems On-board angle-of-attack mechanisms were used in the 2000 altitude record-making flight; the operators' designed adjuster limited kite line tension to not more than 100 pounds by altering the angle of attack of the kite's wing body. The kite's line had a control: a line payout meter that did not function in the record-setting flight. However, some special tether line lower end used bungee and pulley arrangements to lower the impact of gusts on the long tether. Control of a kite includes how other aircraft see the kite system; the team placed a radio beacon (using two-meter frequency detectable for 50 miles) on the kite; for sight visibility, strobe lights were hung from the kite's nose. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
