Tetrahedral kite or it can be called as man-lifting kite since building it is Alexander Graham Bell’s attempt to build a kite that was scalable and big enough to carry both a man and motor. He works on the kite between 1895 and 1910. We know Alexander for his inventions in the first practical telephone and of course his huge contribution to the deaf and mute society. Tetrahedral kite is not his original design; it came about from his experiment with HARGRAVE’S BOX KITE.
Hargrave’s Box kite is an invention of Lawrence Hargrave and he was an engineer, explorer, astronomer, inventor and aeronautical pioneer. The box kite was invented in 1893 which greatly improved the lift to drag ratio of early gliders and provided the structural rigidity and aerodynamic stability that made aeroplane possible. The photos below show the structure of the Hargrave’s Box Kite and how Hargrave successfully lifted himself off the ground under a train of box kites.
However, Hargrave’s work, like that of many another pioneer, was not sufficiently appreciated during his lifetime but his work inspired Alexander Graham Bell to begin his own experiments with a series of tetrahedral kite designs.
The idea of building a man-lifting kite interested a group of passionate students in Pendang High school and so they worked as a group to put the idea together with all kind of traditional kites that we can see in Malaysia and all over the world. Rebuilding Hargrave’s original invention and holding the spirit of Alexander Graham Bell of not fearing to come out with creative and new ideas, they have made the Math Project 07/08-Tetrahedral Kite a tremendous success! | Alexander Graham BellSource: www.wikipedia.com
|