So the idea is quite old. Towing launch of a larger kite using a plane, drone or a smaller kite. Im also thinking about a stack of kites in increasing size order. But not a lot had been said about the topic.
The big advantage over VTOL is of course not having thrusters and power onboard the production unit.
I think a «taxi drone» would also fall into this category.
I’d like to hear any thoughts and experiences about this topic.
Controlling a free hanging kite until it flies itself is a big control problem in itself, is it even feasible?
I’ll start out sharing my own failed attempt: I ties a «Wainman Hawaii 12m» kite on the pump leash to a pilot kite and hoisted it. The immediate problems was (1) the kite drifted a lot downwind rather than upwards. (2) The kite did not want to find an orientation to make it possible to take control with the four line bar, rather causing line tangles. The tips of the kite were facing mostly upwards, and the jerking motions was dangerous.
This just shows that while simple in theory, Mamushka doll launches are far from trivial