ans Bridle Poine GoorniryDefrtons NATIONAL AERONAUTICS f femtonly Si AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION + Contact Glenn Be ee me mee Bridle Point Geome eosareh Kite Co-ordinate ely aeaner ide Vis Co-ordinate system (X-Y) centered st i) at the bottom of the kite. Bridle Length wide rode Ky¥y] x 10,0] ‘An excellent way to gain an understanding and a feel for the interaction of forces on an object is to fy a kite. Kite fying is fun when done safely and you can study many of the fundamentals of aiplane aerodynamics because a kite works vary much like an airplane. There are, however, some important differences in the response of a kite to extemal forces that do not occur in an airplane. An airplane in fight rotates about its center of gravy which is the average location of the weight of all the parts of the airplane. A kite in fight does not rotate about its center of gravity because itis pinned by the bride to the ‘contol line. In ight, the kite rotates about the bridle point which is the place where the line is attached to the bridle. (A kite in flight is more closely related to a hinged door than to an airplane in fight. The center of gravity of a hinged door is in the center of the door, but the door rotates about the hinges.) ‘The location of the bridle point relative to the center of gravity (cg) and center of pressure (cp) determines the balance of torques on the kite and the trim angle at which the kite fies. On this page we show you how to compute the location of the bridle point. We have an installed an XY co-ordinate system on the kite with the origin at the bottom of the kite; the Y-axis is along the height H of the kite, the Xaxis is perpendicular to the Y-axis and goes through the bottom ofthe kite. The axis is used as the reference line in the computation af cg and cp. The length of the bridle is called B and is measured from the origin to the top of the kite along the bridle string. The bridle is attached to the control ine with a knot. The distance from the knot to the origin is length K. The knot (bridle point) is inclined at an angle to Y-axis which is called the knot angle ‘A. The co-ordinates of the bridle point are Xb and Yb and from trigonometry: Yb=K * cos(A) Xb = K* sin(A) wa gr.nasa. gon VMK: 1irlanel tbr Ned 18ans Bridle Poine GoorniryDefrtons where cos and sin are the trigonometric cosine and sine functions. To determine the angle A, we need to do a little algebra. Here's a sketch of the bridle geometry with some auxiliary lines draw in; Bridle Point Geometry om . . Research Kite Co-ordinate System Center Co-ordinate system (X-Y) centered at the bottom of the kite. Sree 3 Knot Angle We have split the tangle formed by the bridle into two right triangles. From the defition of cosine, we have Eq, 1: cos(A)= 4 /K We need to find the value of d, From the construction we have: Eq 20+d=H ‘And from the Pythagorean Theorem applied to both triangles: Eq. k= d'2 +b? Eq. 4: (B-Ky2= 0'2+b'2 Eliminate b*2 from these two equations by subtracting Eq. 4 from Eq, 3. Kr2- (B= KY2= a2 - 02 Now substitute for ¢ from Eq, 2: K?2- (B-KYZ=d"2-(H- aye K2-(B-KY2= d'2-(H'2-2"H* d+ d'2) kr2- (8 -KY2 Wae2rHtd wa gr.nasa. gon VMK: 1irlanel tbr Ned 2ans Bridle Poine GoorniryDefrtons Eq. 5: (K'2-(B-Ky2+ HZ] / (2*H) Now substitute the value of din Eq. § into Eq. 1 ccos(A) = [K'2 + H'2 -(B-Ky'2]/ 2" K* H) ‘The KitelModeler computer program can be used to calculate the various geometric variables described on this page and their effects on kite performance. Activities: jided Tours Navigation .. J Kite ndex || Aerodynamics Idex Baginner’s Guide Home Page Snecrematomann 7 £9081 Employment Opportunty O ast Updated: Tul 11.2008 ‘+ Budgets, Strategic Plans and Accountability ¥ Contact Glenn Reports Freedom of Information Act + The President's Management Agenda + NASA Privacy Statement, Disclaimer, nd Accessibilty Certtication wa gr.nasa. gon VMK: 1irlanel tbr Ned