
Makani’s airborne wind power system takes flight offshore - jpm_sd
https://medium.com/makani-blog/makanis-airborne-wind-power-system-takes-flight-offshore-907fd4c9af86
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jpm_sd
"Takes flight" and crashes:

To demonstrate our offshore flight capability, we completed two flights from
the floating platform. The first quick flight included launch, hover away from
the perch, and an autonomous landing. The second, longer-duration test,
demonstrated robust crosswind flight. The kite flew beautifully, accurately
following commands from the flight controller, and affirming that its motion
and that of the floating platform matched our pre-test simulations. In
preparation for landing, the kite smoothly transitioned out of crosswind into
a stable hover. However, it did not successfully land on the platform, and the
flight ended with the loss of the energy kite. Both offshore flights gave us a
wealth of new information that the team is now busy analyzing and applying to
making system improvements.

