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Some history...
There is a long list of adventurers exploring the potential of wing-sails, from Marco Polo (in 1282) to Benjamin Franklin (in 1752) not forgetting Guglielmo Marconi and Colonel Samuel Cody in the 1900s, the Legaignoux brothers, inventers of the floating wing Wipika in 1985, Peter Lynn ...In 1995 Nicole Van de Kerchove and then Anne Quéméré in 2006 crossed the Atlantic in boats pulled by kites.
And as Manu Bertin's recent achievements show, kite-surfing is on its way to being the world's fastest way of moving on the water.
A 10,000 tonnes cargo boat tests the complementary propulsion delivered by a 600 m² kite flown up to 500 m altitude and controlled by a computer. This solution could save up to 50 % of fuel. |
