Methods for perching

1. An airborne wind turbine system, comprising:

an aerial vehicle having a fuselage;

an electrically conductive tether having a first end secured to the aerial vehicle and a second end secured to a platform;

a rotatable drum positioned on the platform onto which the tether is wrapped when the aerial vehicle is reeled in;

a perch panel extending from the platform;

a first extension extending from a first side of the perch panel;

a second extension extending from a second side of the perch panel;

a peg positioned on the fuselage;

a first hook extending from the aerial vehicle on a first side of the peg;

a second hook extending from the aerial vehicle on a second side of the peg opposite the first side;

wherein when the aerial vehicle is perched on the perch panel, the peg is in contact with the perch panel, the first hook is positioned over the first extension, and the second hook is positioned over the second extension.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first hook is attached to a first rotor pylon and the second hook is attached to a second rotor pylon.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the perch panel has a first side adjacent a second side that form a groove having a bottom at an intersection between the first side and the second side.

4. The system of claim 3 , wherein the groove extends vertically.

5. The system of claim 3 , wherein the first side has a curved surface extending towards the bottom of the groove and the second side has a curved surface extending towards the bottom of the groove.

6. The system of claim 3 , wherein the first and second sides of the perch panel have a 5-30 degree departure angle from a circle about a pivot point of the tether.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the peg is located on a curved section of the fuselage and extends from the fuselage declined at an angle 10-40 degrees below a body x axis of a main wing of the aerial vehicle.

8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the peg is located at a center of gravity of the aerial vehicle.

9. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first extension and second extension comprise bars.

10. The system of claim 1 , wherein the tether is attached to a center bridle line that extends over the perch panel when the aerial vehicle is perched on the perch panel.

11. The system of claim 1 , wherein the rotatable drum has a horizontal axis of rotation, and the rotatable drum is coupled to the platform and rotatable with the platform about a top of a tower, and wherein the perch panel extends perpendicularly from the axis of rotation of the drum.

12. The system of claim 11 , wherein a truss is secured to the platform and extends beneath a perch support that extends between the platform and the perch panel, and wherein a shock absorbing device is positioned between the perch support and the truss.

13. The system of claim 1 , wherein the peg has a length that is between 0.5 and 2 times a radius of gyration for a pitch axis of the aerial vehicle.

14. The system of claim 1 , wherein the perch panel has a height that is between 0.5 and 2 times a length of the perch peg measured from a center of mass of the aerial vehicle.

15. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first and second hooks are located a distance from a bridle attachment point to the wing that is within ¼ of the length of the perch peg in the x body axis of the aerial vehicle.

16. An aerial vehicle for use in an airborne wind turbine system, comprising:

a main wing;

a fuselage attached to the main wing;

a peg positioned on the fuselage;

a first hook extending from the aerial vehicle on a first side of the peg;

a second hook extending from the aerial vehicle on a second side of the peg opposite the first side;

wherein the peg is adapted for contacting a perch panel extending from a platform when the aerial vehicle is a perched position;

wherein the first hook is adapted for positioning on a first extension extending from a first side of the perch panel when the aerial vehicle is in the perched position; and

wherein the second hook is adapted for positioning on a second extension extending from a second side of the perch panel when the aerial vehicle is in the perched position.

17. The aerial vehicle of claim 16 , wherein the peg is located on a curved section of the fuselage and extends from the fuselage declined at an angle 10-40 degrees below a body x axis of a main wing of the aerial vehicle.

18. The aerial vehicle of claim 16 , wherein the first hook is attached to a first rotor pylon and the second hook is attached to a second rotor pylon.

19. A perching system for use in an airborne wind turbine system, comprising:

a perch platform;

a perch panel extending from the perch platform;

a first extension extending from a first side of the perch panel;

a second extension extending from a second side of the perch panel;

wherein the perch panel is adapted to contact a peg extending from an aerial vehicle when the aerial vehicle is in a perched position;

wherein the first extension is adapted to contact a first hook extending from the aerial vehicle on a first side of the peg when the aerial vehicle is in the perched position; and

wherein the second extension is adapted to contact a second hook extending from the aerial vehicle on a second side of the peg opposite the first side, when the aerial vehicle is in the perched position.

20. The perching system of claim 19 , wherein the perch panel has a first side adjacent a second side that form a groove having a bottom at an intersection between the first side and the second side.

21. The perching system of claim 20 , wherein the first side has a curved surface extending towards the bottom of the groove and the second side has a curved surface extending towards the bottom of the groove.

22. A method of landing an aerial vehicle in an airborne wind turbine system including an aerial vehicle having a fuselage, an electrically conductive tether having a first end secured to the aerial vehicle and a second end secured to a platform, a rotatable drum positioned on the platform onto which the tether is wrapped when the aerial vehicle is reeled in, a perch panel extending from the platform, comprising the steps of:

positioning a peg on the fuselage;

extending a first panel extension from a first side of the perch panel;

extending a second panel extension from a second side of the perch panel;

positioning a first hook extending from the aerial vehicle on a first side of the peg;

positioning a second hook extending from the aerial vehicle on an second side of the peg opposite the first side;

reeling in the tether onto the rotatable drum until the peg comes into contact with the perch panel; and

descending the aerial vehicle until the first hook comes into contact with the first extension and the second hook comes into contact with the second extension.

23. The method of claim 22 , wherein the perch panel has a first side adjacent a second side that form a groove having a bottom at an intersection between the first side and the second side, and further including the step of:

causing the peg to move across a surface of the perch panel until it moves into the bottom of the groove.

24. The method of claim 23 , wherein the first side has a curved surface extending towards the bottom of the groove and the second side has a curved surface extending towards the bottom of the groove.

25. The method of claim 23 , further including the step of further reeling in the tether to a determined position after the peg contacts the perch panel.