AS a kid ( 35 years ago ), I built a very small one out of tin. It was about 14" tip to tip. As each wing slamed down when the wind hit it, it tiled the other one to have the least wind resistance. I think there might be a shock assorber or something needed to reduce the slaming.
If you were to view it from the end of one sail when it was stationary and no wind, each sail hung at half mask and it looked like an inverted V when observed from the end of one sail.
Envision this.... One of these with say a tip to tip wing spread of say 30 feet on the top of a grassy hill top covered with snow. It would have a large pulley about 3 feet up from the ground at the base, and the vanes themselves would be high enough so it would not hit anyone. Now picture an old fashioned rope tow for skiers that would wrap around the pulley then go down the hill and loop down another pulley down there. With a nice breeze, grap ahold of the rope and let it tote you to the top of the hill so you can ski down again... I think that would be a near perfect application of such a high torque low rpm machine : )
John II
