As I look through the latest Into the wind kite catalog, I see Regallo kites offered and wonder how they differ from Regallo winged airplanes I have flown? This has me wonder if other kite configurations would fly with motor, prop and control surfaces (or wing warping) replacing the kite string, would be worthwhile trying.

Have any of you AP pilots done such as this? I notice this catalog includes camera bridle kits for lofting a digital camera with kites. They claim it is easily done with a Flowform 8 or with a 9 foot delta kite. They are said to lift camera up to 14 ounces.

Bill

PS The Flowform 8 kite measures only 2'6" by 3'3" in size.

Sounds like a good idea Bill.
You might have to still use a kite-e-plane style fuselage and tail feathers for longitudinal stability. I think the pitching moment of most kites is balanced by the tension in the lines. Rogallo wings (modern ones any way) have quite advanced reflexed aerofoils to build this stability into the wing.

If you use a miniature powered paraglider however, you may get just the flying qualities you need. Imagine flying a decent size SLR under a flexfoil canopy!
This rig will still be in the (light breeze max) SS flight regime.

Cheers

Andrew

I made my first excursion into modified airplanes before I could fly. I replaced the wing of a 0.40 Duraplane treiner with a home made Regallo wing made of Tyvek house wrap. My flight intructor launched it for me then I flew it. It did well except the motor needed a lot of downthrust it didn't have so was touchy on the throttle setting. Prop was well below the wing. After a 10 minute flight one of the shroud lines went loose and the prop hit a carbon rod and killed the engine. The whole affair came apart in midair and floated down. End of plane but what a thrill while it lasted!
Bill

I can't answer your question about adding a prop, but I can tell you that a kite can haul up a lot of weight and be a wonderful platform if you have the wind.

I have a 7 foot Rok with a camera platform. Look for Brooxes and Kap on the internet and you'll find a wonderful camera platform that self levels and helps control the sway. I'm so far inland that I can't use them a lot, but I've had the Kap rig for about 2 years now and I'm not letting it go.

It is a great tool to have, but I'm sure others will disagree. You just have to have some patience and spend some time with the kite.