First Place - High School
UN Sustainable Development Goals Addressed
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Goal 7: Affordable & Clean Energy
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Goal 13: Climate Action
2019 Youth Design Challenge
This design concept was developed by participants in the Institute’s Youth Design Challenge. The descriptions below are from the team’s competition entry materials.
School: Redwood High School
Location: Larkspur, CA, United States
Coach: Ernesto Diaz
Team members: Caleb Jordan-McDaniels, Claire Fogarty, Niharika Misal, Mackenzie Werner, Simi Kapila, Justin Langs
Video Pitch
Innovation Details
This passive control system maintains kite stability while allowing the kite to achieve high-speed spirals when flown across a current. The spiral motion is created due to a small level of asymmetry between the wings of the kite which causes one side to produce less lift than the other. Stable flight is attained through several mechanisms including swept wings which allow for pitching stability, washout in order to prevent stalling and undesired spinning, and, perhaps most importantly, dihedral wing angle which brings considerable spiral stability.
