from surfertoday.com

World's largest kite flies in Berck-sur-Mer


World's largest kite: aliens would be scared

Peter Lynn has just unveiled the world's largest lite, at Berck-sur-Mer, in France. Built for the Al Farsi Kite Team, the "M Ray" measures 1250 square metres.

"This new kite is so finely balanced on the edge of luffing (nosing over and coming down) that even when it's generating a tonne or more tension on the main line, just one person pulling on a nose line can cause it to descend", says Peter Lynn, the kite designer.

"Large kites need to be docile fliers and have as little pull as possible. Zooming all over the sky like a high performance traction kite at four times wind speed developing 16 times static pull is not desirable. Not least because no available mega-kite mobile anchor could conceivably hold", he continues.

The Al Farsi Kite Team already hold the former largest kite in the world, a Kuwait-shaped flying flag, but the newest addition is really huge.

The construction of the new kite was not easy. The original prototype was lost by the airline companies but with the help of the chinese company Kaixuan Kites, Peter Lynn was able to prepare a new piece of art.

"Ms. Wu, lead kite maker at Kaixuan, is the best sewing machine driver I have worked with in a lifetime of kite making", says Lynn. "And it flew perfectly at it's Berck public debut. It's stability and flying angle are like nothing I've ever flown before. It needs almost no wind, probably because a useful component of lift comes from heating of the entrapped air".