Evolution of the Kite Flight Principle: From the Earliest Aircraft to Planetary Atmospheric Probes
Authors: Vorontsov V.A., Lyubeznyy B.V., Ukrainskaya V.P.
Published in issue: #9(177)/2026
Category: Aviation and Rocket-Space Engineering | Chapter: Aircraft Dynamics, Ballistics, Motion Control
The evolution of the principle of using wind force for flight is considered — from ancient kites to advanced planetary atmospheric probes. It is shown how the fundamental aerodynamic principle of flight, based on interaction with the oncoming flow, has been successively developed and adapted to solve new problems. Conceptually similar glider flights, which use ascending thermal or dynamic currents to gain altitude and subsequent gliding, are outlined. Alternative development paths are considered — aeronautics using such aircraft as balloons and airships, including controlled balloon probes for Venus. Special attention is paid to the application of the principle of using wind force for flight in planetary research. Based on the successful experience of balloon probes of the Vega project and the development of a drifting probe of the Vesta project for studying the atmosphere of Venus, the current task of creating a long-lived, energy-independent aircraft “Vetrolyot” for the exploration of planets with an atmosphere is considered. The main structural elements, operating conditions and the possibility of controlling the atmospheric probe are described. Mathematical formulas for calculating the design characteristics and motion parameters of the probe in the atmosphere are presented. A comparative analysis of the “Vetrolyot” concept with modern international projects for studying the atmosphere of Venus is presented.
EDN FPPPRC
References
[1] Broude B.G. Vozdukhoplavatelnye letatel’nye apparaty [Aircraft for aeronautics]. Moscow, Mashinostroenie Publ., 1976, 140 p.
[2] Popov V.A., ed. Entsiklopediya vozdukhoplavaniya i aviatsii [Encyclopedia of aeronautics and aviation]. Moscow, Bolshaya Rossiyskaya entsiklopediya Publ., 2005, 720 p.
[3] Korolev S.P., ed. Aerodinamika letatelnykh apparatov [Aerodynamics of aircraft]. Moscow, Mashinostroenie Publ., 2019, 564 p.
[4] Popov V.A. Istoriya aviatsii i vozdukhoplavaniya [History of aviation and aeronautics]. Moscow, Voenizdat Publ., 1986, 480 p.
[5] Krylov A.N. Istoriya meteorologicheskikh nablyudeniy [History of meteorological observations]. Moscow, Nauka Publ., 2012, 296 p.
[6] Popov V.A. Voennoe vozdukhoplavanie [Military aeronautics]. St. Petersburg, Politekhnika Publ., 2007, 328 p.
[7] Duz’ P.D. Istoriya vozdukhoplavaniya i aviatsii v Rossii [History of aeronautics and aviation in Russia]. Moscow, Mashinostroenie Publ., 1989, 336 p.
[8] Morozov I.V. Alternativnye istochniki energii [Alternative energy sources]. St. Petersburg, Sudostroenie Publ., 2020, 412 p.
[9] Sobolev D.A. Istoriya vozdukhoplavaniya i aviatsii v SSSR [History of aeronautics and aviation in the USSR]. Moscow, Mashinostroenie Publ., 1985, 400 p.
[10] Mikheev V.R. Extremalnye vidy transporta [Extreme transport]. Moscow, Transport Publ., 2019.
[11] Jones J.A. Innovative balloon buoyancy techniques for atmospheric exploration. IEEE Aerospace Conference Proceedings, 2000, vol. 7, pp. 397–402.
[12] Petrov G.A. Osnovy aerostatiki [Fundamentals of aerostatics]. Moscow, Mashinostroenie Publ., 2015, 320 p.
[13] Shavrov V.B. Istoriya konstruktsiy samoletov v SSSR do 1938 goda [History of aircraft designs in the USSR until 1938]. Moscow, Mashinostroenie Publ., 2002, 703 p.
[14] Goroshko V.A., Danilov Yu.I. Vozdukhoplavanie v XXI veke: novye tekhnicheskie resheniya i zadachi [Aeronautics in the 21st century: new technical solutions and challenges]. Obscherossiyskiy nauchno-tekhnicheskiy zhurnal “Polyot” — All-Russian Scientific-Technical Journal “Polyot” (“Flight”), 2021, no. 12, pp. 35–45.
[15] Grumondz V.T. Zolotoy vek dirizhabley [The golden age of airships]. Moscow, Veche Publ., 2015, 384 p.
[16] Grumondz V.T. Perspektivnye letatelnye apparaty [Advanced aircraft]. Moscow, Nauka Publ., 2020, 416 p.
[17] Moskalenko G.M. Mekhanika poleta v atmosfere Venery [Flight mechanics in the atmosphere of Venus]. Moscow, Mashinostroenie Publ., 1978, 232 p.
[18] Vorontsov V.A., Malyshev V.V., Pichkhadze K.M. Sistemnoe proektirovanie kosmicheskikh desantnykh apparatov [System design of space landing vehicles]. Moscow, MAI Publ., 2021, 255 p.
[19] Vorontsov V.A., Deryugin V.A., Karyagin V.P., Kremnev R.S., Kuznetsov V.V., Pichkhadze K.M., et al. Metod issledovaniya planety Venera s pomoschyu plavayuschikh aerostatnykh stantsiy. Matematicheskaya model [Research method for the planet Venus using floating balloon stations. Mathematical model]. Kosmicheskie issledovaniya — Cosmic Research, 1988, vol. 26, iss. 3, pp. 430–433.
[20] Linkin V.M., et al. The VEGA Venus Balloon Experiment. Science, 1986, vol. 231, pp. 1407–1408.
[21] Berzhanovich V.V., Aleksandrov Yu.N., Andreev R.A., Armand N.A., Bakit’ko R.V., Blamon Zh., et al. Aerostatnyy eksperiment proekta “Vega”: melkomashtabnaya turbulentnost’ v srednem oblachnom sloe Venery [The Vega balloon experiment: small-scale turbulence in the middle cloud layer of Venus]. Pisma v Astronomicheskiy zhurnal — Astronomy Letters, 1986, vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 46–52.
[22] Andreev R.A., Altunin V.I., Armand N.A., Akim E.L., Bakitko R.V., Blamon Zh., et al. Aerostatnyy eksperiment proekta “Vega”. Srednyaya skorost vetra v atmosfere Venery po doplerovskim izmereniyam aerostatnykh stantsiy [The Vega balloon experiment. Average wind speed in the atmosphere of Venus from Doppler measurements of balloon stations]. Pisma v Astronomicheskiy zhurnal — Astronomy Letters, 1986, vol. 12, no. 1, p. 41.
[23] Mikrin E.A., Lopota V.A., Filatov V.V., eds. Avtomaticheskie kosmicheskie apparaty i kompleksy [Automatic spacecraft and systems]. Moscow, Bauman Press, 2018, 576 p.
[24] Vorontsov V.A., Lyubeznyy B.V., Khmel D.S., Kispe Mendoza M.V., Sheremet A.A., Yatsenko M.Yu. Atmosfernye zondy dlya issledovaniya Venery [Atmospheric probes for the exploration of Venus]. Vestnik NPO im. S.A. Lavochkina, 2024, no. 4, pp. 144–150.
[25] Vorontsov V.A., Polischuk G.M., Pichkhadze K.M. Sposob upravleniya poletom issledovatelskogo apparata v atmosfere planety [Method of controlling research spacecraft in planet atmosphere]. Patent RU 2402467 C1 Russian Federation, applicant Lavochkin Association, JSC, appl. September 1, 2009, publ. October 27, 2010.
[26] Sobolev I.A. Analiz proektnykh kharakteristik atmosfernykh zondov zmeykovogo tipa (vetrolyotov) dlya izucheniya atmosfery Venery [Analysis of design characteristics of kite-type atmospheric probes (vetrolyots) for studying the atmosphere of Venus]. Vestnik NPO im. S.A. Lavochkina, 2017, no. 4, pp. 108–115.
[27] Lyubeznyy B.V., Vorontsov V.A. Analiz vozmozhnosti upravleniya dvizheniem planiruyushchego zonda v atmosfere Venery [Analysis of the possibility of controlling the motion of a gliding probe in the atmosphere of Venus]. In: 23-ya Mezhdunarodnaya konferentsiya “Aviatsiya i kosmonavtika” [23rd International Conference “Aviation and Cosmonautics”]. Moscow, November 18–22, 2024. Moscow, MAI Publ., 2024, pp. 204–205.
[28] Vorontsov V.A., Kraynov A.M., Martynov M.B., Pichkhadze K.M., Khartov V.V. Predlozheniya po rasshireniyu programmy issledovaniy Venery s uchetom opyta proektnykh razrabotok NPO im. S.A. Lavochkina [Proposals for expanding the Venus exploration program based on the experience of design developments at Lavochkin Association]. Trudy MAI, 2012, no. 52. Available at: https://trudymai.ru/eng/published.php?ID=29449&eng=Y.