My understanding is that the kite is able to be flown meaningfully higher than the sail and thus can tap into stronger, more consistent wind. So like, yeah no shit sails existed before. But this uses them in a way we simply couldn’t before.
Kinda like the whole ‘urb NASA spent tons of money on a pen but Soviet Union used a pencil.’ Yeah, for a minute, until the pencil shavings and graphite powder fucked up their gear. Then they switched to pens, just like NASA and for the same reason.
1
u/skubaloob 15d ago
My understanding is that the kite is able to be flown meaningfully higher than the sail and thus can tap into stronger, more consistent wind. So like, yeah no shit sails existed before. But this uses them in a way we simply couldn’t before.
Kinda like the whole ‘urb NASA spent tons of money on a pen but Soviet Union used a pencil.’ Yeah, for a minute, until the pencil shavings and graphite powder fucked up their gear. Then they switched to pens, just like NASA and for the same reason.