It is made in the form of two boxes, A, B, open
at the ends, which are secured together by means
of longitudinal bars, C, that extends from one to
the other, so that they are held apart a distance,
approximately, equal to the length of one of the
boxes.
_Fig. 39. Hargreave Kite._
Their fore and aft stability is so perfect that
the flying cord D is attached at one point only,
and the sides of the boxes provide lateral stability
to a marked degree.
THE VOISON BIPLANE.--This kind of kite furnished
the suggestion for the Voison biplane,
which was one of the earlier productions in flying
machines.
Fig. 40 shows a perspective of the Voison plane,
which has vertical planes A, A, at the ends, and
also intermediate curtains B, B. This was found
to be remarkably stable, but during its turning
movements, or in high winds, was not satisfactory,
and for that reason was finally abandoned.
LATERAL STABILITY IN KITES NOT CONCLUSIVE AS
TO PLANES.--This is instanced to show that while
such a form is admirably adapted for kite purposes,
where vertical curtains are always in line
with the wind movement, and the structure is held
taut by a cord, the lateral effect, when used on a
machine which does not at all times move in line
with the moving air current. A condition is thus
set up which destroys the usefulness of the box
kite formation.
_Fig. 40. Voison Biplane._
THE SPEAR KITE.--This is a novel kite, with
remarkable steadiness and is usually made with
the wings on the rear end larger than those on
the forward end (Fig. 41), as thereby the cord
A can be attached to the spear midway between
the two sets of wings.
_Fig. 41. Spear Kite._
THE CELLULAR KITE.--Following out the suggestion
of the Hargreaves kite, numerous forms
embodying the principle of the box structure were
made and put on the market before the aeroplane
became a reality.
_Fig. 42. Cellular Kite._
A structure of this form is illustrated in Fig.
42. Each box, as A, B, has therein a plurality of
vertical and horizontal partitions, so that a number
of cells are provided, the two cell-like boxes
being held apart by a bar C, axially arranged.
This type is remarkably stable, due to the small
cells, and kites of this kind are largely used for
making scientific experiments.
THE TETRAHEDRAL KITE.--Prof. Bell, inventor
of the telephone, gave a great deal of study to
kites, which resulted in the tetrahedral formation,
as shown in Fig. 43.
_Fig. 43. Tetrahedral Kite._
The structure, apparently, is somewhat complicated,
but an examination of a single pair of
blades, as shown at A, shows that it is built up of
triangularly-formed pieces, and that the openings
between the pieces are equal to the latter, thereby
providing a form of kite which possesses equilibrium
to a great degree.
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