Ignoring the questionable lift strategy for now, the rotors are too wide for the single spar that connects them to the rest of the airframe the spars would bend and warp in all but the gentlest of manouevres, rendering the Kayak unusable. General layout first - it would be very unstable. I've jumped the gun a bit, but let's do some analysis. At the extreme rear, along another spar, is the tail rudder. To counterract this, the two winglets seen on the edges of the main fueselage may provide some degree of lift, or, at least, some stability due to positive inclination and a basic aerofoil shape. The rotors are longer than they are wide, which would, theoretically, enable excellent lateral and roll responsiveness for an experienced pilot at the expense of lift and stability. The spar, despite being extremely thin, can transfer extremely powerful oscillations to the rotors without showing wear over a good length of time - in the film, Sophie is depicted as flying a Kayak from noon until sundown with no breaks. The wings themselves are made of two distinct parts each a spar and a 'rotor'. Let's start with what we can see, shall we? The control and power surfaces appear to be integrated together into the "wings". The sizes seem to change in subtle ways in each scene, however, so these are estimates - in general, however, it seems to have a ration of 1:3 width to length ratio. It appears to be of approximately 3.8 to 4 metres in length, considerably less - perhaps 2.3 - 3 metres - in wingspan. The Flying Kayak appears to be an ornithoptic vertical takeoff and landing capable airframe capable of carrying at least three passengers with power left to spare. Let's start with the first flying machine in the film - the Flying Kayak. So, without further delay, I present to you: Howl's Moving Castle, and all the wonderful flying machines included within. It's fitting that this year be the centeniary of that awful Great War, undoubtedly the model for a striking pastiche that the Ghibli studio and Diana Wynne Jones ran with in such a resonating fashion.
![howls moving castle film howls moving castle film](https://img.thriftbooks.com/api/images/i/m/77B9F02533D85B5A8D586110CE513E91A0A24508.jpg)
I'd also like to add that, just the same as a few years ago, my aeronautical knowledge isn't, by any stretch of the imagination, certified - if you have thoughts, I beg you add your opinion as a comment or two to fill out any gaps in any part of anything around here. The nature of this blog means it's more for 'reference', realistically speaking, since it's not exactly the sort of subject one can write quick Twitter-style periodicles about, so I've thought of two more blogs to create for your perusal - Howl's Moving Castle, and The Wind Rises. The last few years have seen little occur on my end on this blog, but I thought, in the face of continued (and thank you!) interest, no matter how light, I should produce a few more posts on here. Ha ha, not really, folks, but we've got the next best things - images, guesswork, and a belated return from yours truly. Ladies and Gentlemen, the Great Wizard Pendragon has seen fit to supply us with technical knowledge of the esteemed King's Airframes for our humble analysis straight from the Grand Library of Kingsbury!