Helium in a Kite for Light wind days?

mpitre · **Joined:** Thu Apr 15, 2010 6:55 pm **Posts:** 5

Has anyone ever tried helium in a kite? I know it's not practical or safe, but I'm curious to see a video of how it fly in light wind?

pj sofine · **Joined:** Thu Jun 16, 2011 2:21 am **Posts:** 393

Oh boy! Another kiter in a light wind /offseason funk!

joriws · **Joined:** Wed Nov 24, 2010 11:03 am **Posts:** 165

You cannot dive the kite :naughty:

Oleg · **Posted:** Thu Jun 13, 2013 2:18 pm

Please, not again! This is repeated every year ....

Starsky · **Posted:** Thu Jun 13, 2013 2:23 pm

do a search

chemosavi · **Posted:** Thu Jun 13, 2013 3:53 pm

Studies with gas filled kites conducted at the University of Mellencamp in Dearborn, Michigan showed that a high concentration of METHANE gas allowed the kites to perform in ways previously thought impossible.

New tricks, previously extremely difficult, became the norm.

Researchers connected tubes to the anuses of hundreds of cows and volunteer grad students to collect a substantial amount of a renewable gas supply which coincidentally also reduced the CO2 emissions from participants. An unexpected plus.

The study was abruptly terminated when a participant attempted to light up a big doobie and blew up the facility.

plummet · **Posted:** Thu Jun 13, 2013 7:44 pm

lets work it out.

what is the internal volume of your bladder?

Lets assume a 10m kite with 5 struts. The LE is on average 15cm x 7m long.
The struts a 8.5cm x 1.2 long.

Internal volume for the LE is 123 litres
internal volume for struts 34 litres
Total of 157 litres
What do we pressurise the bladder to? lets say 8 psi.
That's 1.55 atmospheres.
157L x 1.55 = 244L

Air weights 1.2kg/1000 litres approx.
(244/1000)*1.2 = 0.293 kg = 293gram

293grams is the weight of the air insite the kite.

Helium weighs 0.1664/1000litres approx
(244/1000)*0.1667 = 0.041 kg = 41grams

293-41 = 252 grams savings.

edt · **Posted:** Thu Jun 13, 2013 7:57 pm

good calculation but your estimate of bladder volume seems a bit off, should be less than 100 liters, and less than 200 grams weight savings about the weight of a cup of water.

Metaphor_ · **Joined:** Wed Apr 25, 2007 1:56 am **Posts:** 72

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GLrr_Xp0qc

Jump to 1:00 for the good stuff

zob · **Posted:** Fri Jun 14, 2013 6:00 am

Helium is used for testing of pressure equipment, since it leaks faster than air and trough smaller holes, so you can detect very small lekages. So the first thing that should be tested is how good valves hold the pressure at 8 psi. If there are any small leakages in the blader (lets say your kite gets soft after 2 hours), one point inflation system connection points (specially Octopus) would leak out you kite in no time. I wonder if you could even come to 8 psi.
However I do not understand what should not be safe about helium?!

Helium in a Kite for Light wind days?

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