Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02713257 2010-08-23
Description
At present, soaring enthusiasts use Cliffs , Building Roofs, Mountain Tops,
Bridges, Planes
etc. to pursue their sport. For years I thought of many ways people could
attain loft for the sport
of hang gliding, that would not require being near a convenient high enough
launch spot, or
require a long, expensive trip to a dangerous place to a takeoff from. These
obstacles make it
prohibitive to most who do not have funding or aren't dare devils.
Then one day I though of the right combination of technologies that could
achieve a better way
for this sport and others. This is to combine the use of an Airship or Blimp
which is
manoeuvrable, equipped with a specially adapted high speed winch, and a very
long filament
made of space age light weight high strength polymer and hooking mechanism to
provide a lift
mechanism. A few thousand feet is not out of the question. These components,
combined,
with the sport of hang gliding, parasailing, or even gliding, will make these
sports cheaper and
more accessible to people as well as being safer for the aficionados at
present.
Weather permitting, the equipped Airship is flown to a designated spot that is
flat and safe for
the gliders who will coordinate and meet for the activity. There are a few
manufacturers of
specialty airships as my drawing depicts, spherical with multidirectional
propellers, that have a
capacity well suited for this application. Propellers can be directed to
offset the extra weight of
the glider and equipment during the lift cycle. For safety purposes I
recommend no tethering of
the airship for this sport, and only one at a time cycle for the gliders to
avoid collisions.
The higher the balloon platform is, the more exhilarating I suppose. The
weighted line is
lowered to the flyers gathered on the ground who hook up, communicating with
the pilot at all
times visually and verbally during the cycle. The Aircraft as well as the
gliders are equipped
with GPS(Global Positioning System) and cameras. Cameras and microphones on
the latching
end of the cable. There is several safety backup release systems that would be
required.
This is a safer mode to do these sports. No obstacles to hit, like trees on
the mountain or getting
blown into a cliff or a building. The Balloon can also be refuelled from the
ground by winching
up supplies, even change a crew one at a time. There can be a chain of
balloons so people can
travel from one place to another by relaying, or they can all fly to a
designated spot and have the
balloon meet them there for the next leg.
Apart from the sporting aspect, the apparatus can be used for nature or mining
research in hard
to reach rouged places that need many hands on readings, or in search an
rescue. In many cases
it would be easier, safer and cheaper than helicopters. There are so many
possibilities.
CA 02713257 2010-08-23
Field of search.
I searched Canadian and US files but came up with practically nothing close to
my
configuration.
US Patent # 4,248,394 Remote Controlled Hang Glider Towing Apparatus
US Class - 244/3 244/16 244/903 - Int. B64D 3/00 B64D 003/00
Both below are some numbers but have no resemblance to my idea.
US Patent #'s 5,967,459
4,238,295
CA 02713257 2010-08-23
Drawing
1) A Piloted, Spherical Helium Filled Airship, that is manoeuvrable by swivel
propellers on
either side for omnidirectional thrust. (Round shape depicted is actual
configuration)
2) Winch that is highspeed and equipped with high strength light weight
filament.
3) Hang Glider, or Parasailor, or Glider
4) Weighted end of the line, equipped with camera, altimeter, microphone,
remote release and
manual release mechanism for latch.
5) Cockpit, with pilot and winch operator.
6) Omnidirectional Swivel Propeller(2).
7) Insert: Closeup side view cutaway of Airship Cockpit, illustrating an
Operator and the Winch.
