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SkySails
SkySails Group GmbH is a Hamburg-based company that sells kite rigs to propel cargo ships, large yachts and fishing vessels by wind energy as well as airborne wind energy systems for electricity production from high-altitude winds. Business SkySails Group GmbH is a successor company to SkySails GmbH, which was founded in 2001 by Stephan Wrage and Thomas Meyer in Hamburg. The company, while technically successful at cutting shipping costs and carbon emissions, has faced economic difficulties.Skysails
Captain John Konrad, Mariners Weather Log, April 2009, Volume 53, No. 1,

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MS Beluga Skysails
MS ''Onego Deusto'' (christened ''Beluga SkySails'') is a commercial container cargo ship. It is the world's first ship partially powered by a computer-controlled kite rig, called the SkySails system. It consists of a kite similar to a huge paraglider of up to area. Kite power The kite has an area of and reduces fuel consumption by 15–20% on average; it was set to be upgraded to in order to increase fuel savings by about 30%. Stephan Wrage, managing director of SkySails GmbH – which installed the kite – announced: "During the next few months we will finally be able to prove that our technology works in practice and significantly reduces fuel consumption and emissions." Verena Frank, project manager at Beluga Shipping GmbH, SkySails GmbH's partner, further stated that "the project's core concept was using wind energy as , auxiliary propulsion power and using wind as a free of charge energy". This kite is connected to the ship by a cable, and controlled by an automatic po ...
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Kite Applications
The kite can be used for many applications. Different kites such as water kites, bi-media kites, fluid kites, gas kites, kytoons, paravanes, soil kites, solid kites, and plasma kites have niche applications. Some animals, such as spiders, also make use of kiting. Aerial photography File:PicEddyKite.jpg, William Abner Eddy patented a kite. He used kites for aerial photography (KAP). File:US646375.png, US646375 Willian A. Eddy kite patent image. File:San Francisco in ruin edit2.jpg, Photo of the ruins of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake by George Lawrence of Chicago. Photographed using a kite system to loft a panoramic camera. William A. Eddy of Eddy-kite fame lifted cameras to take photographs of cities and landscapes. Today kite aerial photography (KAP) is the hobby of many enthusiasts, is a tool for surveying land and animals, and a mode for artistic expression. ProfessoCharles Bentonillustrates how KAP can grow in one's lifeScott Haefnerhas one of the most extensi ...
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Kite Rig
Kite rigs are wind-assisted propulsion systems for propelling a vehicle. They differ from conventional sails in that they are flown from kite control lines, not supported by masts. Vehicles driven by kites include boats, buggies, and vehicles with snow and ice runners. They may be as simple as a person flying a kite while standing on a specialized skateboard, or be large, complex systems fixed to the vehicle, with powered and automated controls. They have recreational and commercial uses. Structure Current kite rigs can be sailed within 50 degrees of the wind.Skysails
Captain John Konrad, Mariner's Weather Log, April 2009, Volume 53, No. 1,
This allows them to sai ...
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Kitesurfing
Kiteboarding or kitesurfing is a sport that involves using wind power with a large power kite to pull a rider across a water, land, or snow surface. It combines aspects of paragliding, surfing, windsurfing, skateboarding, snowboarding, and wakeboarding. Kiteboarding is among the less expensive and the more convenient sailing sports. After some concepts emerged in the late 1970s and early 1980s and some designs were successfully tested, the sport received a wider audience in the late 1990s and became mainstream at the turn of the century. It has freestyle, wave-riding, and racing competitions. The sport held the speed sailing record, reaching before being eclipsed by the Vestas Sailrocket. Worldwide, there are 1.5 million kitesurfers, while the industry sells around 100,000 to 150,000 kites per year. Most power kites are leading edge inflatable kites or foil kites attached by about of flying lines to a control bar and a harness. The kitesurfer rides on either a bidir ...
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Kite Control Lines
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. ...
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Hybrid Vehicle
A hybrid vehicle is one that uses two or more distinct types of power, such as submarines that use diesel when surfaced and batteries when submerged. Other means to store energy include pressurized fluid in hydraulic hybrids. The basic principle with hybrid vehicles is that the different motors work better at different speeds; the electric motor is more efficient at producing torque, or turning power, and the combustion engine is better for maintaining high speed than a typical electric motor. Switching from one to the other at the proper time while speeding up yields a win-win in terms of energy efficiency, such that it translates into greater fuel efficiency. Vehicle types Two-wheeled and cycle-type vehicles Mopeds, electric bicycles, and even electric kick scooters are a simple form of a hybrid, powered by an internal combustion engine or electric motor and the rider's muscles. Early prototype motorcycles in the late 19th century used the same principle. * In a par ...
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Airborne Wind Energy
Airborne wind energy (AWE) is the direct use or generation of wind energy by the use of aerodynamic or aerostatic lift devices. AWE technology is able to harvest high altitude winds, in contrast to wind turbines, which use a rotor mounted on a tower. The term high-altitude wind power (HAWP) has been used to refer to AWE systems. However, semantically HAWP might also include wind energy conversion systems that are somehow positioned at a large height from the ground or sea surface. Various mechanisms are proposed for capturing the kinetic energy of winds such as kites, kytoons, aerostats, gliders, gliders with turbines for regenerative soaring, sailplanes with turbines, or other airfoils, including multiple-point building- or terrain-enabled holdings. Once the mechanical energy is derived from the wind's kinetic energy, then many options are available for using that mechanical energy: direct traction, conversion to electricity aloft or at ground station, conversion to laser or m ...
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High-altitude Wind Energy
Airborne wind energy (AWE) is the direct use or generation of wind energy by the use of aerodynamic or aerostatic lift devices. AWE technology is able to harvest high altitude winds, in contrast to wind turbines, which use a rotor mounted on a tower. The term high-altitude wind power (HAWP) has been used to refer to AWE systems. However, semantically HAWP might also include wind energy conversion systems that are somehow positioned at a large height from the ground or sea surface. Various mechanisms are proposed for capturing the kinetic energy of winds such as kites, kytoons, aerostats, gliders, gliders with turbines for regenerative soaring, sailplanes with turbines, or other airfoils, including multiple-point building- or terrain-enabled holdings. Once the mechanical energy is derived from the wind's kinetic energy, then many options are available for using that mechanical energy: direct traction, conversion to electricity aloft or at ground station, conversion to laser or mi ...
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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 ...
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High Altitude Wind Power
Airborne wind energy (AWE) is the direct use or generation of wind energy by the use of aerodynamic or aerostatic lift devices. AWE technology is able to harvest high altitude winds, in contrast to wind turbines, which use a rotor mounted on a tower. The term high-altitude wind power (HAWP) has been used to refer to AWE systems. However, semantically HAWP might also include wind energy conversion systems that are somehow positioned at a large height from the ground or sea surface. Various mechanisms are proposed for capturing the kinetic energy of winds such as kites, kytoons, aerostats, gliders, gliders with turbines for regenerative soaring, sailplanes with turbines, or other airfoils, including multiple-point building- or terrain-enabled holdings. Once the mechanical energy is derived from the wind's kinetic energy, then many options are available for using that mechanical energy: direct traction, conversion to electricity aloft or at ground station, conversion to laser or mi ...
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Marine Propulsion
Marine propulsion is the mechanism or system used to generate thrust to move a watercraft through water. While paddles and sails are still used on some smaller boats, most modern ships are propelled by mechanical systems consisting of an electric motor or internal combustion engine driving a propeller, or less frequently, in pump-jets, an impeller. Marine engineering is the discipline concerned with the engineering design process of marine propulsion systems. Human-powered paddles and oars, and later, sails were the first forms of marine propulsion. Rowed galleys, some equipped with sail, played an important early role in early human seafaring and warfares. The first advanced mechanical means of marine propulsion was the marine steam engine, introduced in the early 19th century. During the 20th century it was replaced by two-stroke or four-stroke diesel engines, outboard motors, and gas turbine engines on faster ships. Marine nuclear reactors, which appeared in the 195 ...
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International Maritime Organization
The International Maritime Organization (IMO, French: ''Organisation maritime internationale'') is a specialised agency of the United Nations responsible for regulating shipping. The IMO was established following agreement at a UN conference held in Geneva in 1948 and the IMO came into existence ten years later, meeting for the first time in 1959. Headquartered in London, United Kingdom, IMO currently has 175 Member States and three Associate Members. The IMO's primary purpose is to develop and maintain a comprehensive regulatory framework for shipping and its remit today includes maritime safety, environmental concerns, legal matters, technical co-operation, maritime security and the efficiency of shipping. IMO is governed by an assembly of members which meets every two years. Its finance and organization is administered by a council of 40 members elected from the assembly. The work of IMO is conducted through five committees and these are supported by technical subcommi ...
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