Ok a different kinda drone launch to the way we were (certainly I was) thinking
Has it got uses in AWES
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It has lots of applications if it can be automated. I mean automated beyond knowing when and how to pull then release an already attached tow line.
An obvious application for AWES would be launching the kite (regardless whether it is a lifter kite for your rotary system or a parafoil power kite, or a rigid wing kite).
Unlike self-lifting kites where the lifting capability is ballast most of the time, the kite itself would be much lighter, hence able to harness lower winds.
A slightly less obvious advantage - since the lifter drone isn’t permanently tied to the kite, it is capable to service dozens of production systems within a few miles area. The costs and complexity required for the capability to lift a single kite can be shared by many “working” kites making the whole concept more economical. You don’t compare price of one self-lifting kite vs one drone + one normal kite, you compare 20 self lifting kites vs 1 drone + 20 simple kites with similar specifications.
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