Patent ID: 8109727

Claim:
A wind turbine comprising: an upwardly extending support, a turbine wheel rotatably mounted on said support about a laterally extending central axis, a plurality of sailwing assemblies carried by said turbine wheel, said sailwing assemblies each including: a sail cloth having opposed inner end and outer end, opposed side edges, and a longitudinal axis extending between said inner end and said outer end and extending radially from said central axis, support cables extending substantially parallel to said longitudinal axis of said sail cloth and positioned adjacent and supporting said opposed side edges of said sail cloth, shape control means for adjusting the attitude and shape of the sail cloth, said shape control means including sail end supports attached to said opposed inner and outer ends of said sail cloth for rotating said opposed ends of sail cloth independently of each other and imparting a longitudinal twist to the sail cloth, sail spreader bars positioned at intervals between said opposed ends of said sail cloth and attached at intervals along said support cables for adjusting the distance between said support cables and adjusting the loft of the sail cloth, and trim cables extending from said sail end supports to said support cables for adjusting the configuration of said sail cloth.