Welcome to Airborne Wind Energy [Discussion Topic] [AI]

Windy_Skies · September 26, 2025, 12:29pm

Here is a revised history of airborne wind energy (AWE) with sources for the statements. Some early history is less well-documented, so some claims are more speculative or based on conference / journal‐review sources.

History of Airborne Wind Energy (with Sources)

Early Concepts and Theory (pre‑2000)

The idea of using tethered wings or kites to harness wind energy at altitude has roots in early experiments and theoretical proposals. One of the foundational theoretical works is “Crosswind Kite Power” by Miles L. Loyd (1980), which analysed how a kite or tethered wing flying transverse to the wind could generate power (via tether tension or onboard turbines). (ADS)
Studies of high‐altitude wind energy (beyond typical tower heights) emerged in later decades. E.g. Alexander Bolonkin’s 2004 paper “Utilization of Wind Energy at High Altitude” proposed large free‑flying air rotors at high altitude (1‑14 km) transmitting power via tethers. (arXiv)
The concept of crosswind operation, where the kite moves perpendicular (or roughly so) to wind direction in loops or figure‑8s to increase apparent airspeed and thereby power, is central. Loyd’s theory quantifies how lift vs drag ratios, wing area, wind speed etc. determine potential power from such systems. (Wikipedia)
TU Delft professor (astronaut) Wubbo Ockels proposed the “Laddermill” concept (a loop of kites or tethered wings) around early 2000s; this became an inspirational idea in Europe and among early AWE researchers and startups. (Wikipedia)

Rise of Prototypes and Early Startups (2000–2010)

Makani Power was founded in 2006 by Saul Griffith, Don Montague, and Corwin Hardham. Its goal was to develop tethered aircraft (kites) that generate electricity. (Wikipedia)
Makani got early funding via Google.org’s RE<C initiative, and later became part of Google X (Alphabet). (Wikipedia)
Another important early company is Ampyx Power (Netherlands), founded in 2008, which grew out of research at Delft University of Technology. Ampyx initially worked with flexible membrane kites, and then moved to rigid wing designs. (Wikipedia)
During this period, early prototypes were built: for example, Ampyx’s AP0‑AP2 series (2009‑2013) demonstrated feasibility, including autonomous flights. (Wikipedia)
Also, SkySails (Germany) developed AWE prototypes (e.g. pump‑mode kites) during this period; for instance, a 55 kW prototype. (ResearchGate)

Growth, Scaling, and Challenges (2010‑2020)

Makani developed larger scale prototypes. One important model was the M600 — a 600 kW energy kite with about 28‑meter wingspan. It was tested offshore / in more realistic conditions. (Wikipedia)
In 2018‑2019, Makani tested offshore energy kite systems (e.g. off Big Island Hawaii, etc.), and also did work with Shell to explore commercial possibilities. (Wind Power Monthly)
Ampyx Power likewise attempted scaling. They designed the AP3 prototype and had plans, and did work to validate aerodynamic tools, consider offshore deployment. (Wikipedia)
Kitepower (Netherlands) is another more recent startup (mid‑2010s) focusing on membrane kites for power generation, often using figure‑8 flight patterns. (IO)
Research advances in control systems, modeling of pumping kite cycles, and the dynamics of tethered aircraft have improved. e.g. the paper “Quasi‑Steady Model of a Pumping Kite Power System” (2017) presents a model validated by experimental measurements for a 20 kW system with tether up to ~720 m. (arXiv)

Setbacks, Closures, and Open Sourcing (2020‑present)

In February 2020, Alphabet (parent of Google) officially shut down Makani. Makani acknowledged that despite technical progress, commercialization was more difficult and riskier than hoped. (Wikipedia)
When Makani shut down, it made much of its technology, patents, flight logs, software, etc., open source (or in a “non‑assertion pledge”) to allow others to build upon it without legal risk. (IEEE Spectrum)
Ampyx Power declared bankruptcy in 2022 after failing to secure sufficient investment to continue. (Wikipedia)
The sector continues to iterate, with smaller players or startups carrying forward parts of the vision, focusing on robustness, material durability, regulatory issues, launching/landing, reliability, etc. (engineering.org.cn)

Key Technical / Conceptual Milestones

Loyd’s 1980 paper Crosswind Kite Power introduced basic quantitative analyses: potential power output, influence of wing lift/drag ratio, tether drag, etc. This work is foundational. (ADS)
Development of pump‑mode kite systems (traction systems) where the kite pulls on the tether to turn a ground generator, then is reeled in, etc. SkySails and others have experimented with those modes. (ResearchGate)
Autonomous flight control of tethered aircraft / kites has been a key challenge. For example, the 2016 paper Autonomous Take‑Off and Flight of a Tethered Aircraft for AWE demonstrates fully autonomous take‑off, flights in figure‑8 patterns, and control of tether reeling. (arXiv)

If you like, I can assemble a fully referenced timeline (with dates, names, sources) you could embed in a paper or presentation.

Windy_Skies · September 26, 2025, 12:29pm

Here is a deeper look into the history of wind and kite‑based / airborne wind‑energy‑adjacent concepts in the 17th‑20th centuries, including the development of windmills, early kite experiments, and atmospheric/meteorological uses of kites. Each point has sources. Note: this period features mostly ground‑based wind power; true airborne wind energy (as in modern AWE) is rare in these centuries, but we can see antecedents.

More In Depth History: 17th to 20th Century (with Sources)

17th–18th Centuries: Windmills & Industrial Wind Power

Dutch Golden Age, Zaan district
In the 17th century, the Zaanse Schans / Zaan district (near Amsterdam) became one of the world’s earliest industrial powerhouses by virtue of its many windmills. These mills weren’t just for grinding grain: they processed oil, ground pigments, sawed wood, crushed spices, etc. (Littlegate Publishing)At its height, there were about 600 windmills in the Zaan district operating simultaneously in the 18th and into the 19th centuries. (De Zaanse Schans)
Invention of the crankshaft (for sawing mills)
In 1594, Cornelis Corneliszoon van Uitgeest (Dutch) invented a crankshaft mechanism which permitted converting rotational motion from windmill sails into linear sawing motion, which allowed large‑scale saw mills using wind power. (De Zaanse Schans)
Windmills in the Netherlands’ water management and agriculture
Windmills were also central to drainage of polders (low‑lying land below sea level), milling grain, processing other goods, etc. By the 17th century there were thousands of windmills in the Netherlands. For example, in the 19th century there were around 9,000 windmills in the Netherlands, many of which had been developed and expanded in earlier centuries. (IamExpat in the Netherlands)
Art, culture, symbol
Windmills became iconic in Dutch art and symbolism in the 17th and 18th centuries. They appear in landscape paintings (e.g. Jacob van Ruisdael’s work) and came to symbolize human control over nature (especially water), national identity, and technological ingenuity. (Wikipedia)

Late 18th–19th Centuries: Spread of Wind Power, Regional Innovation & Early Kite Experiments

Windmills beyond Europe
In the United States, windmills became prominent for water pumping and grinding in rural and frontier areas in the 19th century. For example, the “American‑type” windmill (smaller, easier to build and transport) gained popularity in the mid‑19th century on the Great Plains. (National Park Service)Also the Dempster Windmill Manufacturing Company (Nebraska) from ~1878 onward produced windmills adapted for local use: for pumping water, with different wheel designs (solid wheels, vaneless sectional wheels, metal wheels) etc. (National Park Service)
Examples of specific mills / smock mills
- The Old Mill on Nantucket, built 1746, a smock‑mill, is one of the oldest functioning mills of U.S. origin. (Wikipedia)
- The Fabyan Windmill in Illinois (~mid‑19th century), a Dutch style smock mill, built by German craftsmen, showing how Old World designs were carried over. (Wikipedia)
Kite experiments / atmospheric science
While windmills harness wind for mechanical work, another thread is using kites to access higher air (for measurement, not yet energy power generation):
- From circa 1894–1904, there were atmospheric sounding experiments using kites: lifting instruments (e.g. thermometers, barometers, anemometers) aloft to measure temperature, wind speed, etc. E.g. at Blue Hill (Massachusetts) and elsewhere. (SpringerLink)
Franklin’s Kite Experiment (1752) – electrical rather than mechanical, but shows use of a kite to reach into atmosphere, though for a different purpose (to investigate electrical nature of lightning). Not directly power generation but relevant as early airborne use of wind / atmosphere. (The Franklin Institute)

Significance & Limitations in this Period

These windmills and kite experiments show the growing human understanding of wind and the atmosphere, mechanical use of wind, and ways to harness wind for practical tasks (milling, pumping, drainage).
However, limitations included:
1. Technology materials & efficiency: Sails, gearing, rotor sizes, and materials limited how much power could be harnessed.
2. Intermittency: Wind varies; mills cannot work when wind is too low or too strong.
3. Altitude limits: Windmills are fixed, ground‑based; kites could reach only modest heights; no robust continuous airborne energy generation yet.
4. Regulation / knowledge: Aerodynamics was not yet well understood; also safety, structural limits were major constraints.

If you want, I can try to trace earliest documented proposals for airborne wind energy (i.e. using tethered flying devices explicitly for continuous power generation) from that era, or show what technical ideas existed before 1900 for doing what modern AWE does. Do you prefer that?

Windy_Skies · September 26, 2025, 12:30pm

Here’s what I found on earlier documented proposals for airborne (or kite‑based) power generation before about 1900‑to‑mid‑20th century, along with reliable sources. There are only a few solid examples; many ideas were speculative or in patents that didn’t lead to large‑scale systems.

Early Proposals and Ideas (Prior to Mid‑20th Century)

George Pocock – “Char‑volant” / Kite‑drawn vehicle

Around 1820s, George Pocock in England made a kite‑drawn carriage (called a charvolant) powered by wind. The idea was using large kites to pull a wheeled vehicle. While not electricity generation, this shows interest in harnessing wind force from airborne surfaces. (Guinness World Records)
He also published a book The Aeroplustic Art or Navigation in the Air by the Use of Kites or Buoyant Sails in 1827, which describes using kites for traction, transport etc. (Guinness World Records)

Walter Van Wie – Revolving kite patent (1909‑1910)

Patent US 966,143, titled “Revolving kite”, filed April 22, 1909, granted August 2, 1910. It is a design for a kite with multiple vanes which rotates when elevated in high wind; includes aspects for stability. While not clearly a full airborne generator, it demonstrates early thinking about making the kite do mechanical work (rotation) aloft. (econterms.net)

Samuel Franklin Cody – “Improvement in Kites and Apparatus for the Same” (1901‑1902)

Patent GB 1901‑23566, applied November 1901, granted 1902. Cody’s work was more in developing stronger/more controllable kites, possibly for military/messaging or signaling, but does show thinking about kite design and control at altitude. Not exactly power generation but part of the technological basis. (econterms.net)

Rogallo Wing (Gertrude & Francis Rogallo, 1940s‑1950s)

Gertrude and Francis Rogallo patented flexible wing (often called Rogallo wings) around 1948 and 1952. The wings are used in kites, hang gliders, etc. While again not directly about power generation, the invention of efficient, flexible wings is a building block for many later kite‑based wind and airborne energy ideas. (Wikipedia)

Early atmospheric / airborne generator patent ideas (20th century, but early)

There are patents in the mid‑20th century for kites with onboard generators, or wind‑driven devices carried aloft. For example, a patent “Kite with Electric Generator” (UK patent by Kirby, priority 1989) describes carrying a wind rotor aloft on a kite to harvest higher wind speeds. Though this is late, it shows the evolution of airborne generator ideas. (OSTI)
Another is “Wind Generator Kite System” (US patent # 4,486,669, filed 1981, issued 1984) which describes multiple small wind generators suspended aloft like a kite, with tethering etc. (Justia Patents)

Gaps and Limitations in Early Proposals

No known widely documented system prior to ~1900 that explicitly and successfully generated continuous electrical power from a tethered flying device. Many ideas were mechanical (traction, signaling, meteorological) rather than for power generation.
Materials, control, and tether technology limited what could be done: early kites lacked strong lightweight tethers, control systems, lightweight generation systems, etc.
Patents and designs often stayed as speculative designs without prototypes or successful field deployment (especially for power generation).

If you like, I can try to dig up very old (pre‑19th century) manuscripts or proposals (e.g. from natural philosophers) that explicitly contemplate airborne power generation — often in obscure languages or archives. Would you prefer that level of deep historical detail?

Windy_Skies · September 26, 2025, 12:30pm

I searched for pre‑19th‑century manuscripts or proposals that clearly contemplate using kites, flying mechanisms, or the wind aloft explicitly for continuous mechanical or electrical power generation (i.e. closer to what we think of as airborne wind energy), and found very little in the surviving literature. Most of the materials are more about wind measurement, meteorology, or using wind in sails, not using a tethered aerial device to generate power continuously. Below is a summary of what is known, what is speculative, and why there is a gap.

What we do know from Ancient to Early Modern Times (pre‑19th c.)

Sails and Windmills

From antiquity, people used sails to harness wind for marine propulsion (ships) and transport. This is perhaps the earliest large‑scale harnessing of wind power, but ground‑ or water‑based, not airborne (in the sense of flight or tethered airborne devices). SpringerLink+1
Windmills appear in various cultures (e.g. Persian windmills by 9th century, later European windmills) used for grinding grain, pumping water, etc. Those are fixed structures, not airborne. (This is background more than direct AWE precursor.) SpringerLink

Kites and Meteorological / Scientific Use of Kites

Kites existed in China, India, and elsewhere for many centuries (medieval and pre‑modern period). They were used for entertainment, signaling, lifting light objects, or scientific/meteorological purposes (e.g. lifting thermometers, barometers). National Weather Service+2The Times of India+2
In the mid‑18th century, using kites for upper‑air measurements (thermometers, etc.) started, e.g. in Europe. Benjamin Franklin’s famous kite experiment (1752) was to investigate electricity / lightning, not to harness wind in a continuous mechanical power sense. National Weather Service+1

Aesthetic, Mythological, and Observational Interest in Wind

Many ancient and early modern texts deal with wind in mythological, religious, meteorological, and poetic terms (e.g. Greek gods of wind, Pliny’s observations) rather than technical proposals to convert wind aloft into usable mechanical or electrical energy. SpringerLink+1
Manuals and reports on devices such as wind vanes, early devices to measure or indicate wind direction (“anemoscopes” etc.) go back centuries. These show interest in measuring and understanding wind, but not generating power from airborne mechanisms. Wikipedia+1

Aeronautics & Balloons

Late 18th century: hot‑air balloons (France, 1783 etc.), which perform true flight, but not tethered work for power generation. They sometimes carried instruments, but were mostly for experimentation, public spectacle. National Weather Service+1
A handful of inventors speculated about dirigibles, powered flight, etc., in the early 19th century (just after the period you asked, but bridging toward 19th). For example, in A History of Aeronautics by E. Charles Vivian (19th‑century retrospective) there is discussion of mechanically powered balloons or flying machines. However, I found no documented, realized device from pre‑19th century that used a tethered flying device to drive a generator on the ground. Project Gutenberg

What isn’t found (or what is speculative)

No credible evidence of continuous airborne tethered devices used to generate power in the pre‑19th century (electrical or mechanical) has been located in my searches.
Many patent or design proposals for kite power or airborne wind energy (in the more modern sense) occur in the late 19th / early 20th century and beyond. Before that, the technical and materials constraints (lightweight tethers, reliable flight control, instrumentation, power conversion) were probably too severe.
Many early documents are lost or fragmentary, so we cannot be certain that no one thought of such an idea — but if they did, these ideas did not seem to be widespread or practically implemented.

Why the Gap Exists

Some plausible reasons why we don’t see earlier airborne wind energy proposals:

Materials & Technology
Lightweight strong materials (tether lines, aerodynamic wings) were not available. Power conversion (gears, electrical generators) were still rudimentary.
Understanding of Aerodynamics / Flight
Systematic understanding of lift, drag, wind profiles, control of flying objects developed relatively late (18th‑19th centuries). Before that, flight was largely experimental or mythological.
Power Needs & Incentives
Societies likely found ground‑based windmills and manually operated machines sufficient. The need for airborne generation (especially continuous) only became significant with industrialization and the spread of electricity.
Documentation & Survival of Sources
Even if someone proposed it, documents may have been lost, or existing manuscripts not yet translated or widely known.

If you want, I could try to dig through specialized historical archives (e.g. translations of Arabic / Persian scientific manuscripts, Chinese manuscripts, etc.) to see whether there are proposals in less‑known sources. Would you like me to do that?

Windy_Skies · September 26, 2025, 12:31pm

Here’s a deeper, sourced look at developments in the 19th and 20th centuries relating to ideas, experiments, and proposals that are relevant to what later became airborne wind energy (AWE). Some are close precursors (kites, atmospheric electricity, patents), though often the goal wasn’t continuous airborne wind power as in modern AWE.

19th Century

Date	Person / Event	What Was Done / Proposed	How It Relates to AWE	Source(s)
~1820s	George Pocock (England)	Experimented with kites to pull loads and even vehicles (the Charvolant)—using large kites for traction.	Shows early use of tethered aerial surfaces for mechanical work (pulling), not electricity generation.	Pocock page in Wikipedia with experiments & inventions. (Wikipedia)
1871‑1872	William Henry Ward & Mahlon Loomis (USA)	Patents issued for systems to use atmospheric electricity (“aerial current”) for telegraphing, lighting, motive power. Loomis envisioned towers on mountain tops to “penetrate or establish electrical connection with the atmospheric stratum … for other purposes … such as light, heat, & motive power.”	Not the same as harnessing wind via kites, but indicates ideas of using atmospheric / airborne phenomena for power.	Loomis entry on Wikipedia. (Wikipedia)
Late 19th century (1890s)	Electrical atmospheric experiments (Blue Hill Observatory, etc.)	Kites flown to carry wires; measurements of electrical potential of air at different heights; generating static electricity / using electrometers. Example: kite flown to ~500 ft showing higher potential, sparks, etc. (Today In Science History)	These experiments deal with electricity in the air (charged atmospheric layers) rather than kinetic energy of wind, but they show technology of lifting conductors and wires aloft.	Same as above. (Today In Science History)
1887‑1891	James Blyth (Scotland) & Poul la Cour (Denmark)	Blyth built one of the first wind turbines (cloth‑sailed) to generate electricity for his cottage. Poul la Cour later installed electrical wind generators, used for electrolysis, lighting; by early 1900s Denmark had many small wind generators (5‑25 kW each) in rural areas.	These are conventional wind turbines, at low altitude and fixed; not airborne, but part of evolution of harnessing wind energy.	From Eco Energy Consultants & wind energy history pages. (Eco Energy Consultants)

Early 20th Century

Date	Person / Event	What Was Done / Proposed	Relation to AWE	Source(s)
Early 1900s	Man‑lifting kites for military / observation	E.g. Baden‑Powell’s “Levitor” kite in 1894 used to lift people; also Lawrence Hargrave’s box kite rigs. Used more for observation than energy harvesting.	Demonstrates progress in kite design, control, tethered flight; skills and craft that would later be useful for AWE.	Man‑lifting kite Wikipedia, Hargrave, etc. (Wikipedia)
~1910‑1920s	Atmospheric electricity / cosmic electricity patents (e.g. Ewald Rasch, Hermann Plauson)	Proposals to collect electricity from atmospheric charge, via kites, balloons, etc., for lighting or motive power. Example: Rasch’s patent “Process and apparatus for the utilisation of cosmic electricity”, 1920; Plauson 1921.	Though these do not harness wind energy via motion or tethered wing, they anticipate using airborne systems in energy systems. Not wind energy per se, but overlapping in concept of extracting energy from altitude.	Discussed in some patent histories / summaries (though exact patent texts needed). Indicated in secondary sources. (Less strong sourcing in mainstream historical overviews; found in patent archives / patent‑history forums)
Mid 20th century (~1948‑1952)	Gertrude & Francis Rogallo	Filed patents for “Flexible Kite” (para‑wing) designs — a flexible wing that inflates and can be used in kites, gliders, etc. The flexible kite wing has relevance to designs in airborne kite systems later.	Influential in kite / wing design; contributes to later AWE because many AWE systems use flexible or semi‑flexible wings, or need efficient lifting surfaces.	Wikipedia entry on Rogallo wing. (Wikipedia)

Observations & Key Insights from 19th / 20th Centuries

Many early proposals and experiments focused on atmospheric electricity (charged air) rather than on harnessing kinetic energy of the wind via moving surfaces or kites.
Real airborne mechanized extraction of wind power (i.e. using a kite or tethered flying object to do work such as turning a generator) was very rare or speculative through most of the early 20th century.
Patents began to emerge later in the 20th century that more concretely proposed airborne wind power systems (e.g. “Wind Generator Kite System”, etc.), but those are post‑mid/late 20th century. (OSTI)
Advances in kite / wing design (e.g. man‑lifting kites, Rogallo wings) contributed knowledge of aerodynamics, tether management, flight control, materials — all critical for AWE later.

If you want, I can try to collect all known patents before 1950 that propose something very close to modern AWE (i.e. generating electricity via tethered airborne devices), with their claims, diagrams, and technical feasibility. Do you want me to assemble that list?

Windy_Skies · September 26, 2025, 12:31pm

I searched for pre‑1950 patents / proposals that are quite close to the idea of airborne wind energy (i.e. a tethered flying device, kite or balloon with generation or mechanical work in the air). I found no strong examples before ~1909–1920 that clearly describe continuous electric power generation via a tethered flying wind device as in modern AWE. Here’s what is found, with what they propose, their limitations, and approximate relevance to AWE.

Key Pre‑1950 Patents / Proposals Related to AWE

Date / Patent	Inventor(s)	What It Proposes / Describes	How Close to Modern AWE	Limitations
US Patent 966,143 (filed 1909, granted 1910) — Revolving kite by Walter Van Wie	Walter Van Wie	A kite with multiple vanes which rotates when elevated in high wind; includes gyroscopic stability. (econterms.net)	Some mechanical work aloft (rotation), akin to using wind motion with tethered device. Close in spirit to harnessing wind upward.	Not about power generation (electric or mechanical transmitted to ground), just rotation for stability / effect. No generator in the design.
GB‑1901‑23566 (filed 1901, granted 1902) — Improvement in Kites and Apparatus For the Same, by Samuel Franklin Cody	Samuel F. Cody	Proposes improvements in kite structure and control. (econterms.net)	Helps with kite control and design, which are supporting technologies for AWE.	Does not include generation of electricity or mechanical power via tethered aerial powerplant. More about kite improvements, possibly for military or lifting/load uses.
Hermann Plauson’s patents (~1921) — Conversion of atmospheric electric energy etc.	Hermann Plauson	Involved ideas to harness atmospheric / “cosmic” electricity. Use of balloons / aerostats / long wires, etc., for harvesting static / atmospheric charge rather than kinetic wind power. (Wikipedia)	Overlaps conceptually with airborne energy systems (using altitude, airborne device) though different energy source (static electricity vs kinetic wind).	Not a wind‑driven mechanical generation; very speculative, with limited technical execution. Also more about atmospheric electricity rather than harnessing movement of air (wind) via flight.
Kite / Kite‑Balloon patents (e.g. US‑1921‑1385972, Goodyear kite‑balloon)	Ralph Hazlett Upson etc.	Designs for kite‑balloons, suspension, kite‑balloon shape control. (econterms.net)	Related to tethered aerostats / lifting devices; useful background for tethered flight, altitude control, lifting loads.	No indication of generating continuous mechanical or electrical power via airflow or tethered motion. These are for observation / lift / balloon drifting etc.

Why No Strong Pre‑1950 AWE Patents Found

Technical & material constraints: Lightweight, strong tethers, lightweight generators, efficient wings/kites, reliable flight control were still rudimentary in the early 20th century. Generators were heavy; relating that to airborne loads was difficult.
Energy / incentive: Electrification was progressing, but deploying complex airborne systems for power generation would have seemed overly complex or risky compared to ground turbines, windmills, hydro, etc.
Focus on other airborne uses: Much patenting was around observation, signaling, meteorological instrumentation, atmospheric electricity, kite‑balloons, man‑lifting kites. Extracting power (especially electric) via a moving airborne device was not yet a mainstream idea.
Documentation gap: Even ideas that might have existed may not have been patented, or patents did not survive or are hard to find in current accessible databases.

If you like, I can try going through the patent archives (e.g. national patent offices: US, UK, Germany, France) for all patents up to 1950 with terms like kite + generator + electric power, and assemble a more exhaustive table (even speculative ones) with images or claims. Do you want me to do that?

Windy_Skies · September 26, 2025, 12:32pm

I searched through patent archives and academic/secondary sources to try to find all known pre‑1950 (or around then) patents/proposals that closely resemble modern Airborne Wind Energy (i.e. a tethered flying device or kite which produces power, or designs for such). I found very few good ones; many are more tangential (kite designs, atmospheric electricity, observation). Here’s what I found, with what they propose, how close to AWE they are, and gaps/limitations.

Pre‑1950 / Early 20th Century Patent / Proposal Findings Related to AWE

Patent / Proposal	Date (filed / granted)	What It Proposes / Key Features	How It Approaches AWE	Limitations / Gaps
“Revolving kite” (US Patent 966,143) by Walter Van Wie	Filed April 22, 1909, granted August 2, 1910 (econterms.net)	A kite with multiple vanes that rotate when elevated in high wind. Adds gyroscopic stability. It’s a kind of airborne rotating structure. (econterms.net)	It uses a tethered device in high wind, airborne, doing mechanical rotation in the air. That is somewhat reminiscent of airborne work extraction.	It doesn’t include a system to transmit useful mechanical or electrical power to the ground. The design is more about rotation aloft (perhaps for stability or wind indication), not continuous power generation.
Goodyear “Kite‑Balloon” patents (US 1920‑1341248 & US 1921‑1385972) by Ralph Hazlett Upson et al.	Filed around 1916, granted 1920 & 1921 respectively (econterms.net)	These are designs for kite‑balloons: lighter‑than‑air envelopes (balloon + kite), with suspension, shape and tail control (rudders, fins), etc. They are for lift, stability, possibly observation or transport. (econterms.net)	They involve tethered flying devices, control of airborne lift, and aerostatic/aerodynamic hybrid forms. That’s adjacent to AWE in terms of flight control and tethered altitude.	They are not designed (in the patent) to generate electricity or extract mechanical work via wind motion; their function is observational, stability, transport-related, not continuous power generation. Also, weight of envelope, power conversion, material limitations make them not directly power plants.
Gertrude & Francis Rogallo – “Flexible Kite” / Rogallo Wings	Patents filed in 1948 (US 2,546,078) and 1952 (US 2,751,172) for “Flexible Kite” designs etc. (Wikipedia)	These flexible wing (flexible kite) designs provide lift, control, are light, have foldable or flexible surfaces. Good aerodynamic behavior. (Wikipedia)	Very relevant to AWE in that many modern AWE systems use flexible wings or kite‐type wings, and need efficient lifting surfaces that are light, durable, controllable.	These patents are still more about kites & wing shape / flight control than about generating power (electric or mechanical) via wind‐driven motion and transmitting that power via tether or onboard system.
Aloys van Gries – “Wind‑Driven Power Apparatus” (GB489139)	Filed around 1938 (according to a secondary source) (Wisdom Library)	The design is “improvements in or relating to wind‑driven power apparatuses” using captive kites (i.e. kites held by tether) possibly interconnected. Described is a wind wheel perhaps, possibly the use of the tether (guy‐rope) to transmit some mechanical energy to ground. (Wisdom Library)	This seems one of the earliest patents that explicitly describe a tethered kite system to drive a wind wheel and transmit energy/mechanical power to ground via tether, i.e. closer to modern AWE than earlier kite designs.	The details are less well documented in easily accessible sources; how much power, how feasible was materials, control, durability is uncertain. Also likely the technology of the time would have made implementation difficult. I could not locate the full patent text via what I searched that shows clear, working prototype or performance data.

Summary & Gaps

From what I found:

The van Gries 1938 patent (GB489139) is likely the best candidate among pre‑1950 designs that most explicitly approximate modern airborne wind energy: tethered kites, wind wheel, mechanical energy transmission via tether. (Wisdom Library)
However the vast majority of earlier patents are either:
1. about kite/balloon design, control, shape, flight/lift, etc.,
2. about atmospheric electricity (static charge, cosmic electricity),
3. about observation, signalling, or lift rather than continuous power generation.
A key limitation is lack of lightweight, strong, affordable tethers, power conversion equipment, and reliable control of flying devices in variable winds — those technological constraints probably made many prior designs impractical or merely theoretical.
Also, documentation of many of these patents (especially older ones) is sparse; diagrams, performance claims are often vague or missing, so assessing their feasibility is hard.

If you want, I can attempt to retrieve the full van Gries patent text (GB489139) and other similar pre‑1950 ones, and extract diagrams / claims to show how close they were in mechanical detail to modern AWE systems. Do you want me to gather those?

Windy_Skies · September 26, 2025, 12:32pm

Here’s a more detailed look at Aloys van Gries’s patents (esp. GB489139) and related early 20th‑century documents, with what I was able to find in searchable patent databases and secondary sources. Unfortunately the full text/diagrams of GB489139 weren’t fully available in public sources I could access, but many details can be reconstructed (or inferred) from summaries, related patents (e.g. DE656194) and academic reviews.

Van Gries and GB489139 / Related Patents

Aloys van Gries (Dr.-Ing.) is a key early inventor in airborne wind energy. His work in the 1930s includes:

“Flugzeugstatik” (book published 1921) — deals with aircraft statics; provides theoretical and structural foundations that van Gries later leveraged for airborne wind power. (MDPI)
DE656194C: German patent filed April 26, 1935, titled Wind power machine carried by kites to make use of altitude winds, granted January 31, 1938. Inventor: Aloys van Gries. (Google Patents)
GB489139: the British patent “Improvements in or relating to Wind‑driven Power” (Wind‑driven power apparatuses). Filed 1937 (or around mid‑1930s), associated with van Gries. (awesco.tudelft.nl)
FR825476A: French patent by van Gries, likely filed in the same timeframe (mid‑late 1930s). (awesco.tudelft.nl)

What the Patents (especially GB489139 and DE656194) Describe

From the summaries / academic literature:

The apparatus is a wind‑driven power machine held by captive kites, intended to utilize high altitude (or at least higher than ground level) winds. (Google Patents)
The design involves possibly interconnected kites (“kite‑trains”) — i.e. more than one kite connected in series or system, so that the lifting force is distributed, and the topmost parts carry lighter tether segments. Specifically: “any desired number of kites can be coupled together … Each kite must carry only that part of the guy‑rope that connects it to the next lower kite.” This reduces tether weight and strength requirements high up. (Wisdom Library)
The generated energy is mechanical, via a wind wheel (“wind wheel / wind‑driven machine”) held aloft by the kite(s), or alternatively, the energy may be transmitted via the tether (“guy rope”) mechanically down to ground. In some versions, if generation is done onboard, the tether may also serve as electrical conductor. (Wisdom Library)
The apparatus is claimed useful for utilizing high winds (winds at altitude more constant / stronger) than near‑ground winds. (Wisdom Library)

Diagrams / Technical Details (What is Known / What is Missing)

What I could piece together, and what remains uncertain:

Aspect	What Is Known / Specified	What Is Not Publicly Available / Unclear
Kite / Kite‑train configuration	Multiple captive kites connected by tether, lifting a wind wheel; arrangement to reduce load on upper segments of tether. (Wisdom Library)	Exact geometry of kites (size, shape, wing profile), how they are connected, how far apart, how stabilized (e.g. tail, control surfaces) — diagrams not located in accessible sources.
Tether or guy‑rope details	Tether used for mechanical support; possibly for power transmission if generator is onboard; strength reduced by distributing over multiple kites. (Wisdom Library)	Material specifications, how the mechanical transmission is done (gearing, speed reduction, torque transmission, etc.), how losses are handled.
Wind wheel / generator	A “wind wheel” (i.e. some rotor) is held aloft or connected via tether. Mechanical transmission is envisaged. (Wisdom Library)	Precise design of the wind wheel: number of blades, rotor diameter, rotational speed, efficiency, how to cope with changing wind speed, stability of rotor in flight.
Control & Flight Path	The invention assumes captive kites; so kites are tethered; probably some control to maintain position or orientation; using more than one kite improves lift and reduces requirement on tether strength. (Wisdom Library)	Details such as active control: how to launch, land; how to deal with wind variations; tether sag; path dynamics; safety; how to manage shocks.
Energy output / viability	The intention is to tap stronger, more uniform winds aloft and reduce material costs (lighter tethers) and ground infrastructure. This would allow potentially much larger lifting power and hence more energy, at least in theory. (Wisdom Library)	No documented performance data that I found: no prototype size, no empirical energy outputs, no testing records in public sources. Also no cost estimates in sources I reviewed.

Assessment: How Close to Modern AWE

Van Gries’s GB489139 (and related DE656194C) are among the earliest patents that are pretty close to modern airborne wind energy in conceptual scope:

They explicitly propose tethered airborne devices (kites) carrying or supporting wind machines (rotors / wind wheels) aloft.
They include the idea of transmitting power or mechanical energy via tether to ground.
They attempt to address key challenges: tether weight, strength, distributed lift via multiple kites.

What they lack (or what is not documented in sources I accessed):

Detailed schematics or implemented prototypes (or if they exist, they are not in the public domain / accessible).
Performance metrics (power output, efficiency, weight, drag, material specs).
Control systems: flight stabilization, wind direction tracking, dynamic response, safety.

If you like, I can try to source scanned PDF images of GB489139 / DE656194 (patent drawings) from patent office archives (UK‑IPO, German DPMA) or academic/technical libraries, so you can see the diagrams. Do you want me to locate those?

Windy_Skies · September 26, 2025, 12:33pm

https://www.energykitesystems.net/AloysVanGries/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

I have located the full German patent DE656194C, titled “Wind power machine carried by kites to make use of altitude winds,” filed by Aloys van Gries on April 26, 1935, and granted on January 31, 1938. This patent is available through Google Patents: (Google Patents).

Additionally, the corresponding British patent GB489139, titled “Improvements in or relating to Wind-driven Power,” is also accessible online. This patent was filed in 1937 and is available via the AWESCO project at TU Delft: (awesco.tudelft.nl).

While the full French patent FR825476A is not readily available online, it is referenced in the same AWESCO publication and likely contains similar content to the German and British patents.

These patents describe an airborne wind energy system utilizing multiple interconnected kites to lift a wind-driven power machine, such as a wind wheel, to harness high-altitude winds. The energy generated can be transmitted mechanically via the guy-rope to the ground, reducing the strength requirements for the tether. (Wisdom Library)

If you require assistance in extracting specific diagrams or technical details from these patents, please let me know.

Kites have a rich history of being used to pull or support various loads, dating back centuries. While comprehensive records are scarce, several instances before 1700 illustrate their practical applications.

Ancient and Medieval Applications

Ancient China: Kites were utilized for military purposes, including lifting observers into the air for reconnaissance. The earliest documented use of kites in China dates back to the 5th century BCE, as recorded in historical texts.
Japan: In feudal Japan, kites were employed in agricultural rituals and festivals. Some traditions involved attaching symbolic items to kites, which were then flown to carry messages or blessings.

Limitations and Considerations

Despite these applications, the use of kites for pulling loads before 1700 was limited by several factors:

Technological Constraints: The materials and construction techniques available at the time limited the size and strength of kites, restricting their ability to pull heavy loads.
Wind Conditions: Reliable wind patterns were necessary for consistent kite performance, which may not have been available in all regions or seasons.
Safety Concerns: The risks associated with using kites to lift or pull loads, especially humans, posed significant safety challenges.

Conclusion

While kites were used in various cultures before 1700 to pull or support loads, their applications were limited by the available technology and understanding of aerodynamics. The evolution of kite design and materials in subsequent centuries expanded their potential uses, leading to more sophisticated applications in the modern era.

Windy_Skies · September 26, 2025, 12:34pm

Kites have a rich history of being used to pull or support various loads, dating back centuries. While comprehensive records are scarce, several instances before 1700 illustrate their practical applications.

Ancient and Medieval Applications

Ancient China: Kites were utilized for military purposes, including lifting observers into the air for reconnaissance. The earliest documented use of kites in China dates back to the 5th century BCE, as recorded in historical texts.
Japan: In feudal Japan, kites were employed in agricultural rituals and festivals. Some traditions involved attaching symbolic items to kites, which were then flown to carry messages or blessings.

Limitations and Considerations

Despite these applications, the use of kites for pulling loads before 1700 was limited by several factors:

Technological Constraints: The materials and construction techniques available at the time limited the size and strength of kites, restricting their ability to pull heavy loads.
Wind Conditions: Reliable wind patterns were necessary for consistent kite performance, which may not have been available in all regions or seasons.
Safety Concerns: The risks associated with using kites to lift or pull loads, especially humans, posed significant safety challenges.

Conclusion

While kites were used in various cultures before 1700 to pull or support loads, their applications were limited by the available technology and understanding of aerodynamics. The evolution of kite design and materials in subsequent centuries expanded their potential uses, leading to more sophisticated applications in the modern era.

I searched in detail for pre‑1700 instances of kites pulling things (loads, vehicles, or doing mechanical work). I found almost no solid, well‑documented examples of kites being used explicitly for pulling loads before 1700. Most of what exists are references to man‑lifting, signaling, or ceremonial uses of kites; these imply lift or force, but not controlled pulling of cargo or vehicles in a mechanical sense. Below is a thorough summary of what the sources show, the gaps, and some early instances that come close.

What the Sources Tell Us (Pre‑1700)

Origins of kites in China (Warring States / early periods, ca. 5th‑century BC onward)

Kites are attributed in Chinese tradition to figures like Mozi (墨子, 5th century BC) and Lu Ban. (Wikipedia)
Early kites were made of wood or bamboo (framework) and paper when paper became available. (Wikipedia)
Uses described include signaling, message carrying, reconnaissance, testing the wind, and measuring distance. (Wikipedia)
There are also mentions in historical texts of lifting men using kites (“man‑lifting kites”) in China and in some accounts in Japan. (Wikipedia)

Man‑lifting kites before 1000 AD

For example, the Book of Sui (636 AD) records that Emperor Wenxuan of Northern Qi (r. 550‑559) ordered condemned prisoners to be harnessed with large bamboo mats (or wings/kite‑like devices) from a tower to “fly down” (i.e. fall with some kind of device). (encyclopedia.pub)
In 559, the Zizhi Tongjian records that “all the condemned kite test pilots died except for Eastern Wei prince Yuan Huangtou” when they were made to “fly” via paper owls or similar kite devices from the Phoenix Tower. (Wikipedia)

Use of kites for military/signaling, rather than pulling loads

Kites were used in China for signaling, communication in warfare: sending messages, making sounds, and for reconnaissance. (Wikipedia)
There is no clear, credible documentation in the sources I found of kites being used to pull carts, boats, or other loads before 1700.

Near‑Candidates and Why They Don’t Quite Qualify

These are examples that might seem close, but upon detailed reading, they do not clearly show kites being used as pulling devices before 1700.

Man‑lifting kites (China, Japan) show lift (human weight being held aloft or made to float/fall with devices), but not pulling of a vehicle or load over ground/water as a traction device. (Wikipedia)
Signaling / message cables / airborne lines: carrying messages or fabric or lightweight devices via kite, not pulling weighty loads. (np.china-embassy.gov.cn)

Why There’s a Lack of Evidence for “Kites Pulling Things” Before 1700

Based on what I found:

Technical constraints: Strong, lightweight materials (for line / framework) were limited. Effective control over kite angle, tether strength, and maintaining stable pull would be challenging.
Purpose and tradition: Kites often served ceremonial, military, or signaling roles, not for transport or hauling loads. Pulling heavy loads would require more engineering than was typical for kite usage historically.
Lack of documentation: Even if small experiments occurred, they may not have been recorded well, or records didn’t survive, or are not translated into languages accessible in modern scholarship.

Conclusion

To sum up:

Before 1700, there is no solid, well‑documented case of kites being used to pull heavy loads (carts, wagons, boats) in the way later inventions (19th‑century) would do.
There are uses of kites to lift humans, to signal, and for reconnaissance or ceremonial purposes in ancient China and Japan, which imply lift/power in the air but not pulling an external load.
The earliest clearly documented case of “kites pulling things” (a carriage or load on ground) comes much later (19th‑century, e.g. George Pocock’s Charvolant).

If you want, I can try to track down rare manuscripts (in Chinese or other ancient sources) to see if there is any uncatalogued evidence of kites being used as traction or hauling devices pre‑1700.

Windy_Skies · September 26, 2025, 12:37pm

I searched in various academic and popular sources, and here are what I found on pre‑1700 kite use specifically for pulling or hauling loads (versus lifting humans or symbolic / ceremonial uses). I found no confirmed instances before 1700 where kites are documented to pull carts, vehicles, or heavy loads. Below are items that come close, along with what they do, what they don’t, and citations.

Near Examples & What the Evidence Shows

Instance	Date / Source	What is described
Man‑lifting / “flying” as execution or punishment – Northern Qi China, Emperor Gao Yang (r. 550‑559)	Book of Sui (636 CE) records prisoners harnessed with bamboo mats (or “wings”) to “fly down” from the Phoenix Tower. (Wikipedia)	This is about lifting humans (or simulating flight) and then a descent; not pulling a load over the ground or water.
Same context: Zizhi Tongjian (1044) record	~ 1044 / describing events of 559 CE: “paper owls” or similar devices used, only one survived the fall. (Wikipedia)	Again, human lifting / falling; no indication of tethered pull of a vehicle or load.
The story of Ishikawa Goemon, Japan (1558‑1594)	Folklore: thief allegedly using a man‑lifting kite to access a castle roof, etc. (Wikipedia)	More myth / legend; even if true, describes lifting or transport of a person, not pulling of cargo or vehicles.

What Is Not Found (After Search)

No credible historical record before 1700 of kites being used to pull wheeled vehicles, boats, sledges, or other loads over ground or water.
No reliable source that shows kite traction (i.e. kite pulling a load) in that period, beyond human lift, ornament/ritual, or military signaling.

Conclusion

My investigation indicates:

Many early uses of kites involved lift (lifting humans or light objects) or symbolic / ceremonial functions.
The idea of using kites for traction (pulling loads) appears to emerge later—definitely by the early 19th century with George Pocock’s Charvolant and related experiments. (Pocock is well documented in the 19th century; see Charvolant entries.) (Wikipedia)
So, as far as historical documentation goes, there is no well‑sourced example of load‑pulling by kites before 1700.

If you like, I could try checking non‑English sources (e.g. Chinese primary archives, Japanese historical records, perhaps Sanskrit or Arabic texts) to see if there are any less well‑known mentions. Would you prefer that?

Windy_Skies · September 26, 2025, 12:37pm

I searched through a variety of English‑language and translated sources for non‑English / less well known records about kites being used to pull things, or transport/hauling loads, in pre‑1700 Chinese, Japanese, or other Asian (or non‑Western) historical documents. I found no credible evidence that kites were used for pulling loads (vehicles, boats, sledges) before 1700 in these sources. What is found tends instead to be about lifting (humans or light objects), signaling, messages, or mythology/legend. Here are the findings, what they show, and the basis (cited).

Findings from Non‑English / Asian Sources

China – lifting / transport of humans, not pulling loads

The Book of Sui records that in 559 AD, Emperor Gao Yang, Northern Qi, ordered condemned prisoners to be harnessed with large bamboo mats (“wings” or kite‑like devices) from the Tower of the Golden Phoenix to “fly down.” One, Prince Yuan Huangtou, is said to have survived. This is a man‑lifting incident, not pulling of a load or vehicle. (Encyclopedia.pub)
Other Chinese sources speak of using kites for signaling, distance measurement, communication, or even gliding movement of people, but no source in those I found mentions kites pulling wheeled carts, boats, or heavy loads before 1700. (GlobalSecurity)

Japan – legends and folklore, not reliable historical documentation of hauling

Some Japanese folklore (e.g. stories of Minamoto no Tametomo) assert that a large kite was used to transport his son from an island to the mainland. However, these appear in much later retellings (legends), and no primary historical document directly supports this as a factual, verified case. Such stories are often symbolic or metaphorical. (miraclekite.pp.ua)
There are records of kite‑flying being introduced to Japan from China / Korea in the 8th century, used for religious, decorative, and ceremonial purposes, and also possibly for small lifting or signaling. But again, no clear documented case of kites pulling loads (like dragging something). (Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens)

Other Asian / general non‑Western sources

There is mention in Chinese sources of kites used to send messages across distances, but not to drag/haul loads. For example, in Legend of Kites texts, kites used for rescue missions (sending word), measuring distance, communication in military operations. (taiwantoday.tw)
There is also a story that General Han Hsin used a kite with a flute to demoralize enemy troops during the Battle of Gaixia; but that is about psychological warfare / signaling, not pulling loads. (cits.net)

Summary & Conclusion

After reviewing sources in Chinese, Japanese, and English (translated) archives, no reliable pre‑1700 source was found that describes kites being used to pull loads (vehicles, carts, boats, etc.).
The types of uses that are documented before 1700 include:
• Lifting / human transport / gliding (often ritualistic or punitive), e.g. the 559 AD case. (Encyclopedia.pub)
• Signaling / messages / communication using kites. (taiwantoday.tw)
• Ceremonial, entertainment, decoration uses (festivals, symbolic lifting, sending messages, spiritual purposes). (The World of Chinese)
Because of the absence of evidence, the first well‑documented case of using kites for pulling loads appears later (19th century, e.g. George Pocock’s Charvolant in England) rather than in ancient/medieval China or Japan.

If you want, I could try to locate and examine original non‑translated texts (in Classical Chinese, Japanese, Sanskrit, Arabic etc.) to see if there are any uncatalogued references to kite traction that have been overlooked.

Windy_Skies · September 26, 2025, 12:38pm

I searched non‑English / Classical Chinese / Japanese sources for evidence of kites pulling things (i.e. kite traction) before 1700. I found no convincing primary evidence in those sources. Below is a summary of what is known from those sources (lift, signaling, human lift, etc.), what the claims are, and why none of it satisfactorily shows kites pulling loads.

What the Non‑English / Asian Sources Show

These sources often are folklore, cultural history, or summaries; most do not provide verified technical or historical documentation that kites were used to pull loads (like carts, boats, sledges) before 1700.

Source	What It Reports / Claims	What That Implies (Lift / Force / Haul?)	Why It Doesn’t Prove Kite‑Traction Pre‑1700
中国古代的飞行器械 by Li Yanning & Dai Nianzu (《中国古代的飞行器械》)	Describes that ancient Chinese had flying devices, including “kites” (风筝), “wooden kites” (木鸢), used for gliding flight attempts; flying‑type apparatus, etc. (pubs.cstam.org.cn)	Suggests lift / airborne devices; people attempted gliding or using airborne surfaces.	No record in that paper of kites used to pull external loads, haul objects over ground/water, or perform continuous traction. It’s about flight, gliding, gliding attempts.
古代传统文化中的13个“奇技淫巧” (Sohu)	Tells the origin legends of kites, that Mozi (墨子) made “wooden birds,” etc., and that kite flights were used for recreation, design, etc. (Sohu)	Implies early kite development and perhaps trials of lift/flight.	No claims in that source of kite pulling loads; all are about flight, entertainment, or possibly lifting or gliding, but not pulling a load or vehicle.
古代的风筝 - 民俗文化 (folk culture / memory)	Mentions that kites were used in ancient China for reconnaissance, measuring distances, carrying people (载人), communication (通讯), etc. (Sohu)	The “carrying people” implies lift of human mass, which is close to pulling something heavy, but it is vertical or descent lift rather than pulling across ground.	The “载人” is about lifting people aloft (or lowering), not dragging or towing something over terrain. It’s not evidence of traction in the sense of pulling loads. Also folklore or memoir style, often not with technical or geographic precision.
中国古代飞行器械 & related	Mentions “滑翔飞行的尝试，或乘风筝飞行” (attempts at gliding flight, or using kites to fly). (pubs.cstam.org.cn)	Shows that airborne lift / gliding was being experimented with, which requires an understanding of force from wind.	Again, no description of pulling a load via kite, or using the kite to drag or haul things.
Japanese sources (e.g. “日本各地で縁起物として扱われた凧”)	Talk about kite (凧) as a traditional toy, used in festivals, for symbolic, religious, decorative purposes. (kokugakuin.ac.jp)	Shows widespread use of kites, cultural meaning, knowledge of kite construction, etc.	No suggestion in those sources of kites being used for traction or pulling loads in pre‑1700 Japan. They focus on floating, symbolism, flying, not hauling.

Why These Don’t Qualify as Kite Traction

From the sources:

Lift vs Traction: What is often described is lifting (people, objects) or gliding, or signal use — not pulling a load over ground or water. Lift is vertical; traction is horizontal pulling; the two are different mechanically and in terms of requirements (tether strength, drag, control).
Lack of documented mechanical work: None of the sources provide credible, dated accounts of using a kite to do continuous mechanical work in the sense of hauling or towing.
Legend and folklore vs verified record: Many claims come from legend or embellishment rather than technical or historical records. For example, “载人” (“carrying people”) is sometimes given in ancient sources, but often with ambiguous context: is it lift, glide, descent, or was it symbolic?
No technical detail: To claim kite‑pulling (traction), you would expect more detail: how many people/power, type of tether, point of anchor, distance, load, etc. These sources do not give that.

Conclusion

After reviewing non‑English / Asian sources (Classical Chinese, Japanese, folklore, technical cultural history):

There is no credible documented case before 1700 that shows a kite that pulls loads (trajects an object over ground or water) in a verifiable historical record.
There are many references to kites used for lifting, gliding, military signaling, carrying messages, “载人” (carrying people), but always vertical lift, or perhaps gliding flight, not pulling/towing loads.

If you like, I could try to check classical manuscripts in Chinese (e.g. 汉书, 三国志, 唐史, 宋史) or Japanese historical chronicles in original Classical Japanese (e.g. 日本書紀, 続日本紀) for terms like “牵风筝者以牵物” or “风筝引物” etc., to see if there are obscure records. Would you prefer me to try that?

Windy_Skies · September 26, 2025, 12:38pm

I searched through Classical Chinese and Japanese sources (and modern translations / summaries thereof) to try to find any credible pre‑1700 record of kites pulling loads or doing traction. I found some references that suggest lifting or hoisting, and “traction power” in the sense of pull in air, but no clear documented case of kite pulling a load (cart, boat, etc.) across ground or water in those sources. Here are what I found, what the sources say, and why they don’t show full load‑pulling.

What I Found in Non‑English Sources

Centipede kites in Chinese kite craft tradition

Chinese sources about traditional kite types describe “centipede kites,” which are kite‑trains (a dragon‑head plus a train of equally dimensioned kite disks) connected by one or more lines, sometimes three lines. (China Daily)
These “centipede kites” are said to have “enormous air traction power.” (China Culture)
However, the context is visual / festive / aesthetic rather than mechanical load‑pulling across land or water: the “traction power” refers to how strongly they pull in air, how forceful they are when held by the flyer, not documented to pull cargo. (China Culture)

Japanese kites lifting materials during construction, Nara period (710‑794 CE)

A BBC article from the Oriental Museum in Durham says: “It is thought that kites were first introduced to Japan by Buddhist monks … Kites were used for practical purposes, such as lifting materials to workers during the construction of tall buildings, …” in the Nara period. (BBC)
This is a case of hoisting / lifting (tiles or materials up to roof tops or scaffolding), not of pulling a load over ground. (BBC)

Legends / folklore re‐translated or summarized

Some Japanese folklore sources (less formal, sometimes modern retellings) say that large kites were used in shrine / temple construction to lift tiles and other materials. (oldtokyo.com)
These are interesting but do not constitute historical technical documentation of traction (dragging or towing loads over ground/water).

Mozi, Lu Ban and ancient Chinese kite origin stories

Ancient Chinese sources (via modern retelling) attribute the invention of wooden / bird‑shaped kites to philosophers Mozi and craftsman Lu Ban. Some stories mention experimentations with flight or staying aloft for long durations (e.g. flying for “three days”). (The World of Chinese)
But again, these stories are about flight / airborne status, not pulling external loads across ground. No mention of traction in those ancient texts in the versions accessible.

“Centipede kites” again in modern summaries

Modern summaries (Cultural websites) mention that centipede kites have “air traction power,” but that seems to mean strong pull felt by the flyer, rather than documented towing of external load. (China Daily)

Why None of These Show Full Kite Traction Pre‑1700

From these findings, the reasons why we do not, from these sources, see kite pulling loads (in the sense of pulling carts, boats, or dragging something across ground):

Hoisting / lifting vs towing / traction: Many sources show lifting materials vertically (to roof, scaffolding) rather than horizontal pulling. The mechanics for horizontal traction are different, requiring different tether geometry, anchor points, drag, etc.
“Traction power” in air does not necessarily mean usable traction on ground. It appears in descriptions more as “how strong a pull in the wind” (for show, strength, visual spectacle) rather than moving a load.
Lack of technical detail in sources: The sources that say “lifting materials” do not provide weight, distance moved, methods for controlling direction, nor do they describe sledges, carts, or boats being pulled by kites.
Legend vs primary document: Many of the accounts are in folklore, cultural history, or modern summary, not directly in original works that clearly describe traction use. Some details are possibly mistranslated or exaggerated. We do not find in classical texts clear terms meaning “kite pulling load over land” (牵风筝以牵物, etc.).

Conclusion

After a careful search in Classical Chinese, Japanese, folklore, and cultural history sources:

There is no reliably documented case before 1700 in those sources of kites being used to pull loads in the sense of towing or traction over land or water.
There are records of lifting via kite or kite‐like device, lifting materials in construction, and decorative/festival uses, plus strong kite‑trains (“centipede kites”) described as having “traction power” in air. These are related phenomena but do not amount to load pulling in a traction sense.

If you want, I could try to get access to original Classical Chinese / Japanese texts (in archives or university libraries) to see if there are lesser disclosed terms or passages (especially ones with technical or engineering contexts) that mention load dragging / towing via kite.

Windy_Skies · September 26, 2025, 12:39pm

I searched various classical Chinese and Japanese sources and databases for terms that might indicate kite traction (e.g. “牵物 / 引物 / 拉物 / 牵风筝”) in pre‑1700 texts. I found no primary classical or early source that clearly describes kites being used to pull external loads (as in towing carts, sledges, boats) before 1700. Below is a summary of what I did find, what was searched, and evidence that the idea does not seem to appear.

What I Searched

Chinese classical text databases and digitized ancient books (including terms like 牵, 拉, 引 combined with 风筝 (kite))
Japanese classical text corpora (e.g. old dictionaries, poetic / official histories) for 凧 (tako / kite) + 引 / 引く / 引物 etc.
Folklore / cultural‑history compilations in Chinese/Japanese for descriptions of “kite pulling / kite dragging / kite towing”

What I Found – but Not Kite‑Traction

Finding	What It Mentions / Implies	Why It Doesn’t Confirm Kite Pulling / Traction
*Kotona Zō “风筝部杂录” in 钦定古今图书集成 / 博物汇编 / 艺术典* (卷804)**	Mentions “今之纸鸢，引丝而上” — “today’s paper‑kite (纸鸢), using string to rise upward” etc.; descriptions like making paper kites, string, colors, appearance in wind. (Wikisource)	“引丝而上” = “pull the string to make it ascend” — i.e. the flyer holds and lets the kite rise. That is lift, not towing something else. No mention of pulling load or object by kite via ground or via other tethered object.
民间来源 about “风筝源流 / 风筝起源 / 寒信 / 公输班 / 墨子木鸢”	Describes ancient invention of wooden kite (“木鸢”) by Mozi, “three years to complete, one day to fail” etc.; mentions of making kite, flying, possibly using kite for reconnaissance (in stories) or observation. (jssdfz.jiangsu.gov.cn)	These accounts are about flight, reconnaissance, or display. They do not describe a kite being used to pull an external object (e.g. a cart, boat, or cargo over land/water).
Centipede kites / Kite‑train descriptions in Chinese folk / craft sources	Descriptions of multiple connected kites (“串式风筝 / 风筝串”) and their strong pull in air, sometimes referred to as “空气拉力强” (“air pull strong”) etc. (gdwsw.gov.cn)	The “pull” referred to is that the kite exerts force on the line/flyer, i.e. you feel the pull when holding or flying the kite. There is no indication in these sources of using that pull to move something external along ground or water (i.e. traction).

Negative Evidence & Absence

No search result turned up pre‑1700 Chinese or Japanese text that uses phrases like “风筝拉车 / 牵风筝拉物 / 凧引荷 / 牵引物体／船” etc., which would more clearly indicate load pulling by a kite.
No technical treatise in classical Chinese/Japanese found which describes a system, method, or design for kite‑pulled load.
Many of the sources that do record kite‑flying are in poetic, folklore, or anecdotal tradition, rather than detailed technological or engineering record.

Tentative Conclusion

Based on the searches in non‑English classical sources:

As of now, there is no confirmed classical (pre‑1700) source in Chinese or Japanese that shows kites being used to pull external loads (in the sense of towing or traction over ground/water).
All the evidence confirms kite lifting, flight, display, reconnaissance, signal, decorations, etc., but not mechanical load‑pulling.

If you like, I can try to look up very specialized archival or manuscript sources (for example unpublished temple building logs, maritime records, or technical treatises) in classical Chinese / Japanese to see whether there might be obscure, yet‑untranslated references that scholars haven’t widely catalogued.

Windy_Skies · September 26, 2025, 12:39pm

I searched available non‑English / Classical Chinese / Japanese sources (online digitized classical texts, folklore, cultural history sites) for evidence of kites pulling loads (traction) before 1700. I did not find any credible primary text confirming that. Below are details of what I found, with inline citations, and where the gaps remain.

What I found

Source	What it says that comes close	Why it’s not confirmation of load‑pulling / traction
“风筝部杂录” in 钦定古今图书集成/博物汇编/艺术典/第804卷	Describes: “今之纸鸢，引丝而上” — “today’s paper kite, pull the string to make it ascend” etc. Also: “令儿张口望视，以泄内热.” etc. This is talking about holding a kite via a string and letting it fly upward. (Wikisource)	This is about lift ( pulling string to ascend), not pulling an external load. The string is held by a person; nothing is being hauled across terrain or water by the kite.
“最早的飞行器—风筝” (China News article)	Mentions that in the Han dynasty, Han Xin made paper‑kite (“纸鸢”) with bamboo skeleton and used string (“以线牵引，放飞高空”) — literally “use a line to pull and fly high into sky.” (China News)	Again, using a string to tether kite and fly it aloft. No reference to using the kite to pull something else (boat, cart, etc.).
“阳江风筝”考 — local Guangdong folkloric / cultural history	Gives historical legend: “墨子为木鸢，三年而成，一日而败。” (“Mozi made a wooden kite, took 3 years, flew one day then fell”) and mention of “纸鸢引线乘风升空” (paper kite tethered line ascends by wind) etc. (GDWSW)	All these are about a kite being flown or being tethered and ascending; no evidence of pulling or towing an external object.
“古代传统文化中的13个‘奇技淫巧’” (Sohu article)	Mentions early kite origin stories: Mozi, Lu Ban, making wooden kites, etc. Flying, using string, etc. (Sohu)	Origin stories / myth / early technology. No technical description or claim of using kites for traction.

What I did not find (gaps / negative evidence)

No classical Chinese text (available in the digitized sources I checked) uses terms such as “风筝拉车”（kite pulls cart）, “风筝牵物” (kite leads/pulls object), “牵引物体” in a clear mechanical or engineering context before 1700.
No Japanese classical texts in the surveyed databases or summaries show a kite being used to tow something (boat, cart, etc.).
No construction records, military or logistic texts, or ship and boat logs from pre‑1700 appear to mention using kites for hauling.

Tentative Conclusion

Based on these searches:

There is currently no evidence in Classical Chinese or Japanese sources that confirms kite‑traction (i.e. pulling loads over ground or water) before 1700.
All the close cases are about tethered kite flight (lift), decorations, signaling, myth/legend, etc.
The absence doesn’t strictly prove it never happened, but no surviving documented case was found in the accessible classical sources.

If you like, I could try to check more specialized archives (for example, universities in China or Japan with large manuscript collections), or examine texts not yet digitized, to see if there are any hidden references.

Windy_Skies · September 26, 2025, 12:40pm

I have conducted a thorough search of available non-English and classical Chinese and Japanese sources, including digitized classical texts, folklore, and cultural history sites, to find evidence of kites being used to pull loads (traction) before 1700. Based on the information gathered, I have found no credible primary sources confirming such use. Below is a summary of the findings:

Findings from Non-English / Classical Chinese / Japanese Sources

Chinese Sources:

“风筝部杂录” in 钦定古今图书集成/博物汇编/艺术典/第804卷: Describes the construction and flight of paper kites, emphasizing their ability to ascend when the string is pulled. However, there is no mention of kites being used to pull external loads. (Source)
“最早的飞行器—风筝” (China News article): Mentions the use of kites for flight and reconnaissance, but does not provide evidence of kites being used to pull loads. (Source)
"阳江风筝"考 — local Guangdong folkloric / cultural history: Discusses the history and cultural significance of kites in Guangdong, but does not mention their use in load pulling. (Source)
“古代传统文化中的13个‘奇技淫巧’” (Sohu article): Provides origin stories of kites, but lacks technical descriptions of their use in traction. (Source)

Japanese Sources:

“浜松まつり” (Hamamatsu Kite Festival): Describes the tradition of kite flying in Hamamatsu, including kite battles and the celebration of a child’s birth. However, there is no mention of kites being used to pull loads. (Source)
“Kites History” (Kitesoar.com): Mentions the use of kites for military purposes, such as sending messages and measuring distances, but does not provide evidence of kites being used to pull loads. (Source)

Conclusion

Based on the available non-English and classical Chinese and Japanese sources, there is no credible evidence to confirm that kites were used to pull loads (traction) before 1700. The sources primarily describe kites being used for flight, reconnaissance, signaling, and cultural or recreational purposes, but do not provide documentation of their use in load pulling.

If you have access to specialized archives or manuscripts not included in the digitized sources I have reviewed, it may be worth consulting them for further information.

Windy_Skies · September 26, 2025, 12:40pm

Here’s a revised version of the history of airborne wind energy between about 1940‑1970, with inline references for each claim; I’ve corrected or removed claims for which good evidence was not found, and included what is documented.

Early Patents and Pre‑1940 Work (background relevant to 1940+)

In 1935‑1938, Aloys van Gries filed a patent in Germany (DE656194, priority 26 April 1935; published 31 January 1938), titled “wind power machine carried by kites to make use of altitude winds”, describing a wind‑driven power apparatus held by captive kites to utilize high winds aloft. (Google Patents)
Also van Gries filed related patents in Great Britain (GB489139, 1937) and France (FR825476A, 1937) for wind‑driven power apparatus, some involving tethered kites or wind wheels carried aloft by kites. (awesco.eu)

These establish that as of the late 1930s there was already formal intellectual property in airborne wind energy (AWE) type ideas.

The 1940s: Some experiments, but mostly tower‑based work, little in AWE

Hermann Honnef (b. 1878 – d. 1961) was active in designing wind power plants in Germany. In 1939 he described “Höhenwindkraftwerke” (high‑altitude wind power plants) involving turbines atop tall towers (~300 m) to exploit stronger winds at height. (MDPI)
In summer 1941, Honnef began construction of a test field in Bötzow (Mathiasberg) in Brandenburg, where five wind turbines were erected; the tallest tower was about 36 m high, the largest rotor diameter was ~9 m; the largest output of a system with two contra‑rotating rotors was about 15‑17 kW. (Wikipedia)
These experimental installations by Honnef were towered turbines, not airborne systems (kites or tethered wings). No well documented experiments of kite‑borne turbines producing electricity are found in that decade with strong evidence in the sources surveyed. (I found no reliable report of a working airborne turbine from the 1940s using kite lift etc.)
At the end of WWII in 1945, Honnef’s installations were dismantled; metal was melted down. (new.millsarchive.org)

The 1950s: Growth of conventional wind turbine work, limited AWE activity

Throughout the 1950s, conventional wind turbine R&D advanced, especially in Europe (Denmark, Germany etc.), with larger fixed tower, horizontal axis turbines being improved (blades, control, etc.). However, in the sources reviewed, there is little evidence of active AWE (kite‑borne) experimental systems in this decade.
There was conceptual or patent interest: some AWE patent activity relates to kites etc., but specific systems seem not to have been built (or if built, documentation is sparse).

The 1960s: Conceptual interest rises, but no well‑documented operational AWE systems

In this period, energy began to become a more policy concern; ideas about high‑altitude wind and possibly airborne harvesting show up in scientific literature and patent filings. For example, comparative studies of patent vs scientific literature on AWE note that after van Gries, interest in high altitude wind energy resurged in the 1970s, implying that the 1960s had some growing conceptual work but few if any full‑scale implementations. (MDPI)
One patent from 1965 (US3335984A) is titled simply “Kites”, filed in 1965 and published August 15, 1967, describing specific kite design features (lifting surface, stabilizer, sail etc.). Not explicitly a full electrical generation airborne wind power system, but shows engineering attention on kite control and stability in the 1960s. (Google Patents)
No clear documented examples of large airborne wind energy conversion systems (kite plus generator) delivering appreciable power during the 1960s in the sources I found.

Summary of Barriers in 1940‑1970 (documented or strongly supported)

From what can be reliably established, the following factors constrained progress of airborne wind energy in this period:

Technical limits

Materials for strong, lightweight tethered systems and control mechanisms were less advanced.
Control of kites, flight stability, or multi‑rotor high towers had engineering challenges.

Economic and policy environment

Fossil fuel energy was cheap; renewables were not prioritized.
Post‑war reconstruction meant focus on basic energy needs and stable infrastructure.

Lack of demonstrated prototypes

Although patents existed, few physical airborne systems (using kites etc.) seem to have been built or tested deeply enough to be documented.

Risk, regulatory, safety, and reliability concerns

Large structures (towers) or airborne systems raise safety and maintenance challenges.

If you like, I can try to assemble a very detailed chronological timeline of all known AWE patent or concept publications between 1940 and 1970 (with dates, inventors, claims) — that might bring out more obscure examples. Do you want me to produce that?

Windy_Skies · September 26, 2025, 12:41pm

Here is a revised version with every factual claim tied to a specific source. Note: the sources are limited, so gaps remain where claims are not supported.

Early Patent Work

Aloys van Gries filed the German patent DE 656194C on 26 April 1935 for “Wind power machine carried by kites to make use of altitude winds”, in which kites (“Drachen”) are tethered and used to lift a wind turbine (Windrad) plus dynamo to greater heights to access stronger winds. The design also envisions using the tether as the cable to carry generated electricity to the ground. (Google Patents)
Van Gries also filed related patents in the UK (GB 489139, 1937) and France (FR 825476A, 1937) concerning improvements in “wind‑driven power apparatuses” involving tethered kites and possibly wind wheels at altitude. These relate to the same conceptual class of airborne wind energy via captive kites. (Wisdom Library)

Hermann Honnef’s Towered / High‑Altitude Wind Proposals (Not Strictly Airborne)

Hermann Honnef, German engineer, proposed Höhenwindkraftwerke (“high‑altitude wind power plants”) as early as 1930‑1932, with large rotor diameters (e.g. ~160 m) mounted on very tall towers (~250 m), including designs for towers of 400‑500 m height, multiple giant rotors, contra‑rotating arrangements, ring generators etc. These designs were not airborne (no kites), but aimed to reach higher altitude winds via tall fixed towers. (buch-der-synergie.de)
Honnef’s plan included large power yields envisioned: for example, groups of five rotor units each of large diameter (~160 m), aiming for ~50 MW for a group, though cost and structural challenges made them never built. (buch-der-synergie.de)

The “Mathiasberg / Bötzow” Experimental Field (1941–1945)

In 1941, Honnef established a wind energy test field at Mathiasberg (between Bötzow and Marwitz, Brandenburg). (DeWiki)
At this site, five different wind turbines (with seven different generators) were erected. The tallest tower among them was about 36 m high, with the largest rotor diameter ~9 m. (DeWiki)
The experiments were ended in March 1945 due to advancing Soviet forces; after the war the turbines at Mathiasberg were destroyed (“gesprengt”) and their materials melted. (DeWiki)

Patents in the 1960s Relating to Kites / Kite Design

In 1965, Raymond Prunty Holland Jr. filed US Patent US3335984A, published 15 August 1967, for “Kites”. The patent is not explicitly for airborne electric power generation but relates to improved kite designs (stability, structure, etc.), including features like stable flight without bridle or trailing tail, control of flight in varying wind conditions. (Google Patents)

Observations on Airborne Wind Energy (AWE) in 1940‑1970

Although there was early patent work (van Gries) and tower‑based experiments (Honnef) before and during the 1940s, there is no well documented, verified case of a kite‑borne or airborne tethered wing generating significant electricity operating in the period 1940‑1970 in the sources I surveyed. (The Mathiasberg experiments are towered turbines, not airborne systems.) (DeWiki)
The Honnef proposals, while visionary (tall towers, large rotors), remained largely unbuilt for their largest scales; technical, financial, structural, and material challenges prevented them from being realized as envisioned. (buch-der-synergie.de)

If you like, I can try to find additional archival or patent sources from the 1950s‑60s that might indicate any small airborne wind energy experiments (even if unpublished or obscure), to fill in possible missing cases.

Windy_Skies · September 26, 2025, 12:41pm

I searched but did not find credible documented examples of airborne wind energy (kites or tethered wings generating electricity) from 1950‑1970, beyond the earlier patents (van Gries) and the tower‑based work (Honnef). I’ll summarize what I did find, and point out where gaps remain. Every claim below has an inline reference.

What is documented

Van Gries’s patents:

Aloys van Gries filed the patent DE 656194 in 1935 (“Durch Drachen getragene Windkraftmaschine zur Nutzbarmachung von Höhenwinden”), which describes a wind‑power machine carried by kites to use winds at altitude; the design includes leading the generated power down via the tether. (awesco.eu)
He also filed GB 489139 in 1937 (“Improvements in or relating to Wind‑driven Power”) and FR 825476A in 1937. These also involve captive kites / wind‑driven apparatuses for high‑altitude winds. (awesco.eu)

Comparative analyses of patent vs scientific literature:

A recent paper “Comparing Patent and Scientific Literature in Airborne Wind Energy” confirms van Gries’s work (1930s) as among the earliest, and notes that patent activity for AWE is sparse in later decades until more recent times. (Wisdom Library)

What isn’t found or remains unverified (1950‑1970)

I did not find reliable sources that document an operational airborne wind energy system (kite/tethered aircraft + generator) from the 1950s or 1960s.
No peer‑reviewed work or patent that clearly describes building and operating such a system delivering electricity in that period was located in the searches I performed.
The literature in sources such as “Comparing Patent and Scientific Literature in AWE” suggests that after van Gries’s early patents, there was relatively little until more modern interest post‑1970. (Wisdom Library)

Tentative conclusion & gaps

Because of the lack of documented evidence, one must conclude that:

Either such systems were not built, or
If they were, they were very small, informal, or unpublished (hence not appearing in patent or scientific literature retrievable in standard sources).

If you like, I can try going through archival sources (old technical journals, engineering society bulletins, German patents, etc.) to see if there are obscure project reports from the 1950‑1960s. Do you want me to do that?