We are a group of Australian kite enthusiasts. We are trying to break the world altitude record for a single kite and have made 4 attempts on the world record since 2005. With the experience of a few attempts behind us we are confident of breaking the record providing we have suitable winds. We have flown our big kites over 8,000 ft four times and over 6,000 ft on 8 occasions. Our highest so far is 10,466 ft above the launch point in 2007 and all that is preventing us from capturing the record is a lack of suitable winds. We need adequate wind from ground to high altitude. Not too strong nor too gentle. These conditions have proved elusive but we will continue to try.
The absolute record, held by a train of 8 German weather kites in 1919, may come later, but our first target is the single kite record.
120 sq ft delta at 1,000 ft and rising at Cable Downs April 2005
Cable Downs October 2005. 120 sq ft kite on right has flown to 10,466 ft above ground level in April 2007.
A testament to this design's strength it withstood 55 mph winds for 2 hours at 6,500 ft with only a minor rip. Normally the wind range of most kites is 3 - 15 knots (6 - 30 kph). These big kites are designed to fly in winds from 5 - 20 knots (10 - 48 kph) although the 165 sq ft kite behind me is designed to fly in lighter winds between 5 and 15 knots (10 - 29 kph).
Article in the Dubbo Liberal a rural Newspaper in central NSW, Australia
April 2005 on Cable Downs, a 50,000 acre sheep station
Kite altitude world record
The quest to fly the highest single kite in the world
From April 2010 the high altitude flights will be made possible by flying line supplied by:
Single kite record diagram
Absolute record with multiple kites in a "train"
300 ft over Rooty Hill, a regular test site in Western Sydney
There was 2 years of learning and testing on my local suburban field in Baulkham Hills, Sydney. Here I am flying a medium delta kite on 30 lb fishing line using a cordless drill as a mini winch. I am able to get a small kite down from 400 ft in about 2 minutes. Normally this would take 30 minutes by hand. This line is not generally used by kite enthusiasts as it can fail suddenly, is difficult to see on the ground and stretches by up to 25%. The prefered line for general single line use is braided dacron. For dual and quad line "stunt" kites, Spectra or Dyneema is used. In 2002 I didn't know much about kite construction and was a relative newbie. It was a steep learning curve.
This is the actual scale field view. This 6 meter wide kite is reduced to a speck at 4,500 ft. It is 2.8 km away horizontally and 1.3 km vertical.
It is somewhat confusing to quote distances as the international standards are in ft altitude and distance. Often I quote, ft, miles, meters, km, knots, mph and kph. It's easier for me to stick to ft and knots for distance and speed. After 6,000 ft it becomes increasingly difficult to pick up with the naked eye because it is such a wide expanse of blue sky. We use theodolites to observe as well as a wide angle Bushnell spotting scope and binoculars. The theodolites have superb optics. The kites are tracked by GPS telemetry and I have developed coordinate tables to assist with the aiming of the theodolites from any established survey benchmarks. If the kite is heading for cloud then I must stop the ascent to comply with air safety rules. If cloud forms under the kite after it reaches high altitude then I need to excercise caution, informing Air Safety Authorities that a potentially hazardous condition exists. Fortunately appreciable cloud under 10,000 ft in this region is not prevalent and usually there are blue skies or thin bands of cloud above 15,000 ft.
The big 165 sq ft DT Delta, in my front garden at Baulkham Hills 2005. This kite is 3 x 7 meters (10 x 22 ft). My 2 boys are generally disinterested in my kites although James likes to fly his in the park occasionally. He enjoys letting all the 600 ft of line out then handing me the reel and asking me to wind it in!
