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Kite Aerial Photography

I build kites for more than twenty years but I only began to try kite aerial photography since 1996.

Many Internet sites helped me in this project. But the most famous (and the most complete) is the one created by Charles C. Benton of the Berkeley University.

Since then, a new very well designed site ambitions to be the web's encyclopedia of KAP.

In the kite plans page of my site you will find the plan of the camera cradle described below.


The camera cradle
It is build in a 2mm thick aluminum bar.
The whole is radio controlled from the ground with standard radio model equipment. My cradle has an azimuthal angle adjustment of 90 degrees (horizon to vertical) and a horizontal adjustment of 180 degrees thanks to a gear. The third servo is used for the shutter release.
Tip : the gear was taken from a used laser printer toner cartridge.

The camera cradle
The suspension is a Picavet type.

The whole (cradle, suspension, camera and film) weights 1250 grams.

The Genki
I had no kite capable of lifting the whole equipment. I build this 3m^2 one for the purpose.

The first picture
As usual, you take yourself !

Dieppe 1996
The most difficult is the centering.
It's hard at the beginning, you have to wait for the prints. Too bad the prices of digital cameras are so high !


A click on any picture will open a 384 x 256 pixel JPEG version (approx. 30 Ko)


Christophe Gronier © 1997-2001

Last update : 2/12/2001


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