Kites & kiting

[Turtle]

___'Sup Gub!? Are sugar gliders birds & yer pullin' my leg? Even since their pour spella's, how they at countin?
___I have had birds chase & attack kites before.

[gubba]

G'day Turtle,

Don't you need a sense of humour to be pulling someone's leg? According to the kids there's not a funny bone in my body, but, what would they know?

Do you have o'possums in the States, or they only found further south? Gliders are close cousins to our marsupial possums, some of whom hold an ecological niche similar to your little masked bandits rac-hoons, where-as the gliders are mainly nectar and/or pollen/blossum feeders. Now, these omniverous possums brushies, short for brush-tail possums,they sure can count! When her kids come back from raiding MY FRUIT TREES, mama brushie will send them straight back to get my last bXXXXy PLUM!!! if they're even just one measly piece of fruit short! cheers gub.

[Turtle]

G'day back at ya Gubba! Roight yoou ahr mate!
___We have opposums, but I live in the city & they mostly get in garbage that I know; we have racoons too here. (Pacific Northwest US) We have plenty of orchards round about though; hazel nuts (filberts), apples, cherrys, & plums, but I don't know any growers or if opossums are a problem for 'em.
___I have experience in using remote control to drop teddys from a kite, but never dropped a bushie mate! Good luck.

[Turtle]

___I have put into the Gallery an aerial photo I took from my big box kite back in the 80's. I ended up buying a used Nikon SLR because the 1/200 limit of my twin lens reflex often gave blurry results, as this photo exhibits. In this case, the blurring actually adds some dynamic to an otherwise potentially ststic scene. If you look carfully you can see the hard blowing sand streaking along the beach.
Aerial Kite Photo
___Where are all you closet kiters hiding?

[Turtle]

___As we don't have a history forum yet & in the interest of keeping this topic alive, here is a combination post.
___Not only did Alexander Grahm Bell have a hand in inventing the telephone & the first practical hydro-plane, he did extensive experimenting with kites. Remembering he was active before the Wright brothers flew, he like many others were seeking military contracts for kites to lift observers.
___Large kites are necessary & Bell favored designs based on clusters of relatively small tetrahedral cells. If no one beats me to it, I'll look for some photo links.
___What kind of kite do you have?

PS Here is link:
http://www.design-technology.org/bell.htm

[Turtle]

___The topic of how long a kite's line is in relation to the kite's altitude came up here at Hypography:
http://hypography.com/forums/physics-and-mathematics/3005-for-those-who-love-mathemactics.html

___A quick search of "world kite altitude record" turned up this interesting article:
http://hypography.com/forums/physics-and-mathematics/3005-for-those-who-love-mathemactics.html

___The reported 10,000+ feet is much lower than I recall reading; more research!

PS Because of the many parameters affecting a kite line, no expression extant describes the relation of string length to kite altitude.

[Turtle]

___While scavenging files from old 3 1/4 floppies, I found an aerial shot I took in the Vancouver Lake area near Vancouver Washington. I estimate the altitude at 250 feet. Note that is the camera altitude, not the kite. In practice, I put the kite up first & when it stabalized, I hauled the camera up the flying line.

[orbsycli]

whoa, that is pretty awesome.

[Turtle]

___Thank you kindly Orby! As well as the photo I found on the floppy, I found a text file of a technical description I wrote years ago for a group of kite enthusiasts. The exposition follows:


TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION: AERIAL CAMERA CARRIAGE
The aerial camera carriage is a device for
lofting a camera beneath a kite and operating the
camera shutter remotely using radio control. Its
purpose is to provide a means of producing aerial
photographs without the expense, noise, or danger
involved in using powered aircraft. A carriage
also has the advantage of portability; it can
easily be carried--along with the other necessary
equipment--to remote or otherwise hard-to-reach
locations.

The carriage has two main segments: the trapeze,
which guides the carriage up the kite line
and supports, stabilizes, and aims the camera;
and the platform, which is the mounting structure
for the camera and radio equipment. The carriage
has overall dimensions--without the camera--of
20" long x 20" high x 10" wide.

The trapeze has four components: the support
tube, the spar assembly, the support wires, and
the angle adjustment guides. The platform also
has four major components: the radio equipment,
the cable release, the cable release support
block and the camera. An illustration of the
entire apparatus is shown in Science Gallery
/Memeber's Categories/Turtle. Diagram #1

TRAPEZE COMPONENTS:
The support tube slides over the kite's flying
line; it serves to distribute the weight of the
carriage while it moves up and down. It is made
of aluminum tubing and measures 5/8" x 10". A
slight flaring of the tube ends allows smooth
movement along the flying line.

The spar assembly is suspended from the support
tube; it keeps the platform aligned with the
flying line while allowing the platform to hang
free like a pendulum. Because the platform is
free hanging from the spar, the camera angle is
not affected by changes in the angle of the
flying line. The spar assembly is constructed of
two pieces of 7/16" maple dowel--one 20" long,
the other 10" long. A fastener holds the spars
together at their centers, and tensioning strings
joining their ends holds them at right angles.
Spaced 2" to either side of the long spar, the
short spar has two shallow grooves cut around its
circumference; they provide pivot points for the
support wires.

The support wires--made of two 13" lengths of
1/8" soft steel--connect the spar assembly to the
adjustment guides and the platform. A one-and-a-
quarter twist secures the supports to the spar at
the pivot points. About 8" below the spar, loops
in the wires provide holes for the camera angle
adjusting screws which fasten the support wires
to the adjustment guides. At their bottom ends,
screws secure the support wires to the platform.

The adjustment guides work with the support
wires to carry the platform and to set the camera
angle. Loosening the adjusting screws and sliding
them up toward the spars brings the axis of the
lens skyward; moving the screws down along the
slots in the guides causes the camera to point
toward the ground. The oak adjustment guides
measure 1/4" thick, 10" long, and 3/4" wide;
screws secure their bottom ends to the platform.
Diagram #1 illustrates the adjustment guides'
locations and connections.

PLATFORM COMPONENTS:

The platform holds the cable release and its
support block, the radio components, and the
camera; it is constructed of a 4 1/2" x 5" piece
of 1/8" Masonite. Two 1/2" maple dowels attach to
opposite sides of the platform top to provide
connection points for the adjustment guides and
support wires; they appear in Diagram #1.

The cable release is a standard photographic
accessory having a spring-loaded flexible cable
enclosed in an outer sheath. It is 18'' long with
a screw thread at one end--for attachment to the
camera--and a plunger at the other end. The
support block is a wooden block 1/2" x 1" x 1";
it has a recess in which the cable release is
secured.

The radio is the type used by hobbyists for
remote-controlled vehicles. Four separate radio
components mount on the platform: the servo, the
batteries, the switch, and the receiver.
The servo is the drive mechanism used to acti-
vate the cable release. The support block is
mounted so that the plunger extends alongside the
servo. When the servo is activated by the trans-
mitter on the ground, the servo arm depresses the
plunger and releases the camera shutter.

The batteries, switch, and radio receiver mount
on the platform as space allows; the antenna is
positioned to hang down for optimum reception as
is shown in Diagram #1.

The camera can be any of several kinds; however,
some minimum specifications apply. It must
accept a standard cable release and have a tripod
mounting hole. A camera mounting screw passing
through the platform and into the tripod mounting
hole secures the camera to the carriage. In
addition, the camera should have a shutter speed
of at least 1/200 second to avoid blurring caused
by the carriage motion. Optional--but
desirable--camera features include automatic
exposure meter, a motor drive, and interchange-
able lenses.

USING THE CARRIAGE:
Even though each flight may require a different
approach, using the aerial camera carriage is a
challenging and enjoyable undertaking. In general
however, the procedure is fairly straightforward.
Preliminary preparations include: loading the
film, setting the focus and aperture, setting the
camera angle and direction, checking the batteries
and radio, and having a suitable wind.

Before launching the kite, its flying line is
threaded through the support tube. The kite is
then let out a short distance and a small pulley
is attached to the flying line. The hauling line
is threaded through the pulley and its free end
secured to the ground; both appear in Diagram #1.
The kite is then let out to the desired altitude,
which also draws up pulley with the hauling line.
(At this point, there will be twice as much
hauling line out as flying line.)

The carriage is now attached to the support
tube and the free end of the hauling line is
connected to the end of the long spar. The motor
drive and radio are switched on, and the hauling
line is wound in on its reel pulling the carriage
up the kite line. If no motor drive is available,
the carriage is lowered after each exposure to
advance the film. Likewise, the carriage is
lowered to change the camera angle and/or direc-
tion.

The kite must be large enough to lift the
entire apparatus, which may weigh nearly ten
pounds. I have successfully flown the carriage
using three different kite systems: a 15 ft.
Conyne (this type of kite was used in the early
1900s for lifting military observers), a pair of
4 ft. box kites, and a single 6 1/2 ft. box kite.
A note of CAUTION. Large kites require strong
flying lines, sturdy reels, and careful attention
to safety!

The choice of film varies with the lighting
conditions, the type of camera used, and the
photographer's personal judgment. I have used
print film in a Mamiyaflex 75mm twin-lens reflex
camera with fair results, but the most striking
photographs I obtained using slide film
in a motor-driven Nikon EM with a 28mm wide-angle
lens. Just as with the choices made for the other
system components, personal experience is the
best guide.

[Turtle]

___The topic of kites came up in another thread today & large kites at that. In post #7 of this thread I mentioned an article & photo I have of the bona fide World's Largest Kite Ever Flown. It is copyright by The Chinook Observer newspaper in Long Beach, WA & I E-mailed them today asking if they knew the date of the article (its clipped off my copy) & if I may have permission to scan & post it as an historical gem here at Hypgography. I hope they respond in the affirmative!