KITE AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY - RIGS

John Maxworthy, Long Island, NY.
Updated: Dec. 28, 96

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HOW NOT TO BUILD A RIG....

I initially built a camera rig, got it as far as lofting it on a kite line 300 ft. and decided, This is not good.. Took it down and disassembled it, without taking a photo. The experience decided for me some of the important features to have and those not to have in a camera rig.

• Have confidence in your line connections and use safety lines between connections. Originally I wrapped the kite tow line around 2 eyelets and this probably would have worked, but didn't like the thought of the line going slack, the line unwrapping from the eyelets and $400-500 worth of camera falling 300 ft.
• Have on-site adjustments easily accessible and no tools required to adjust. Somehow I managed to have every nut/ bolt positioned behind something or needing a screw driver/ wrench to tighten. Especially difficult when trying to do on a wobbly kite line.
• Have the camera settings also easily accessible. I also had the camera inside an enclosure,used to aim the rig, without finger room to get at any of the camera controls.
• Design the rig to be in a balanced position from the kite line throughout the range of adjustments. This first rig used a universal ball joint for aiming the camera and when not directly below the tow line, alot of strain was put on the rig and it leaned off center, changing the aimed position of the camera.

The information provided on these pages is my perspective and should only serve as a starting point for what you want to do.

The images in this section are mostly diagrams. See the KAP GALLERY for additional photos.

Line Connectors

Can range from tied knots in the line (reduces line strength and becomes a nuisance), wrapping the line around machined connectors or eyelets, to pressure clamps.
The wrap-around shown below can be made with any hard plastic on a table saw. I have used the " Hangup " (TM), designed by Brooks Leffler, in pairs and singly as a line connector. Its configured to allow different line windings; try and use what you feel is the most secure.

Rig Connectors

Describes the type connection between the line and the cradle which holds the camera. The idea of allowing the camera to float in a horizontal attitude is important as the kite tow line angle changes. ie. If you are going to change the camera's pan or tilt position while in the air, you need a mental reference of horizontal.
The main 3 types of connections would include, a direct rigid mounting, a pendulum or a picavet system. Described below is a pendulum connection.

My pendulum is made of 2 pieces of 1/8"x 3/4" aluminum bar stock. Two Hangups (TM) are screwed to one piece of the aluminum for the line connection and the second piece is the pendulum.
The only significant details is that the top connection is made with nylon washers and jam nuts so it can be tightened to dampen the pendulum motion from swinging too freely. (The pendulum length is probably important, but I haven't gone crazy trying different lengths. Have used pieces 1 1/2 -3 feet long.) Also important is to use a safety line between different components, ie. camera to tow line. It consists of a light line with fishing swivel snaps on both ends; It probably is an illusion of saving the camera, if something becomes disconnected, but offers a little peace of mind.

Pan Control

Describes the means of turning the camera left/ right. This can range from fixed or radio controlled. Both are detailed below.

Fixed Pan - The pan direction is adjusted in a fixed position on the ground prior to launch. Using the jam nut arrangement shown allows for hand tightening without needing tools.

RC Adjustable Pan - I use a 2 channel remote control set intended for model airplanes costing about $50 complete, transmitter, receiver, on/off switch, 2 servos, and battery case.
The batteries used are RAYOVAC alkaline, rechargeable, size AA. Four are used for the receiver and eight for the transmitter. Needless to say, carry extras...
To keep out the sand and dirt, the receiver, batteries and off/on switch are mounted in a small plastic box available from Radio Shack.
The flexible wire antenna is wound around the pendulum or pointer.
The materials for the plastic gears, bushings, small nuts/ bolts were from a broken VCR. (New VCRs were on sale for $99 and the cost to repair the broken unit was more than a new one.)

Tilt Control

Describes the means of turning camera up/down. This can range from fixed position to radio controlled movement. Only fixed is described below.

No revelations here. The hardware combination shown allows for hand tightening a preset angle on the ground without tools.

Cradle

Describes the means of how the camera is held. Materials used range from being wood, plastic, aluminum, etc., etc.

My materials include 1/8"x 3/4" aluminum bar stock, 1/8" dia. elastic cord, 1/8" thick plastic sheet and nuts/ bolts. The idea is to keep the weight low, to have the camera controls accessible, and be able to easily install or remove the camera. Use a safety line on the camera from the hole provided for a strap.

Shutter Release

Describes the control for tripping the camera shutter. This actually is interesting when considering the range of things tried... remote control servo trip, camera internal timers, hobby spring timers, pulling a string, infrared light beams, sonar, melting ice. The remote control servo trip is shown/ described below.

Mount a RC servo in position as not to interfere with the camera installation but in a planned position where it can trip the camera shutter. Cut and screw an additional small plastic extension on the servo horn to trip the camera shutter, if needed. Use the holes that are already on the RC servo horn for mounting.
The materials source for any pieces of plastic, screws, nuts, bolts, sheet metal for myself has been a junk VCR.

Camera

Cameras can be everything imaginable, from throw-aways to glass plate monsters. I have used 35mm fixed focus, auto focus and SLR.
The fixed focus camera is a Minolta F10 weighs 8 1/2 ozs. with film and batteries. It can use 100, 200 & 400 ISO film with a 1/125 sec. shutter speed, is self winding and cost $28 in 1995.
The auto focus is a Cannon Sure Shot, weighing about 8 1/2 ozs. Can't find the spec. sheet for it.
The SLR is a Minotla Maxxum 5000, weighing at 26ozs with a 50mm lens, batteries and film. It can use 25 through 6400 ISO film with a 1/2000 sec. minimum shutter speed and self winding. The 10 sec. delay timer is useless for KAP. The advantage/ disadvantage of this camera is that it can use different lens, but the weight is high. I'm not that sophisticated with KAP to really use it intelligently yet.
All three seem to give the same quality KAP photos. (Don't judge from the gallery. The scans aren't that great to start with, plus I convert the images from JPG to GIF to reduce the byte size of the files.) The major consideration for myself is probably to use the least amount of weight and the camera be self winding.

Line Dampener
Picture the kite moving in the wind, the tow line being blown by the wind and the end result is the line is vibrating; probably something to do with harmonics. I quickly got in the habit of using rubber rings to dampen the vibration both on above and below the camera rig. This was a great idea by someone.
I use 1 1/2" rubber o-rings and a piece of wood dowel. Could use any piece of flexible rubber; might trying the wheels of your son's toy truck or car.

Pointer
The intent is to have a long, visible pointer mounted, to indicate the direction the camera is pointing. Especially useful, If the pan/ tilt control is adjustable when aloft or you can't mentally visualize how you preset the fixed settings.
Two things to keep in mind; one keep the weight light and two, mount the pointer out of line of the camera sight. Of course, this all assumes the camera isn't so high that it can't be seen even with a pair of binoculars.

Walkdown
If the line pull is heavy and a friend is with you, a walkdown makes winding in a kite alot easier plus there is less tension put on the winder. (Had a winder collapse once because of too much tension and spent hours untangling the line.)
Mine consists of a spring action, 1 1/2" chain connector and a cat collar. The technique is to loop the chain link connector on the tow line, loop the cat collar around your wrist, walk out 100 ft. or so and hold the line while the second person winds in the slack, 100 ft. of line.

Binoculars
The reasoning is to be able to see where your camera might be pointing and to check if the rig is stable.

Miscellaneous
Always handy to have a notebook to jot down what you might have done right/ wrong, planning photo shots or noting possible changes/ maintenance in the equipment, etc.
A multi purpose tool worth carrying is the Leatherman. It has all the usual knife blades, screwdrivers, etc. plus a built-in pair of pliers.

You can reach me by e-mail at: jmaxworthy@sprynet .com

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