the aerial eye v1 n1 - american kitefliers association eye 1... · 2017-08-23 · custom design...

the aerial eyea quarterly publication of the aerial photography committee

of the American Kitefliers Associationvolume 1 / number 1 / fall 1994

photo byCraig Wilson

CAMERA CRADLES

the aerial eye / fall 1994 fall 1994 / the aerial eye2 3

first flightThis quarterly newsletter is pro-

duced by the Aerial Photography Com-mittee of the American Kitefliers Asso-ciation, and will be mailed tointerested AKA members in August[next year! - Ed.], November, February,and May. Although this first issue isfree, after a cost evaluation we mayhave to charge for subsequent issues.

Since publication of the KAPWANews was suspended in December,1993, a communications gap has exist-ed for kite aerial photographers. TheAerial Eye and AKA's Aerial Photogra-phy Committee should help fill thisgap.

Michel Dusariez, President of theKAPWA Foundation, and his AssociateGeoffroy de Beauffort, have alsoagreed to provide input for our news-letter, which is appreciated.

As Committee Chair, I'd like to thankall those AKA members who have con-tributed to this first issue. Specialthanks are due Brooks Leffler, whoseenthusiasm and support have madethis newsletter possible.

Steve Eisenhauer

the committeeChair

Steve Eisenhauer (609) 589-2049Newsletter Editor

Brooks Leffler (408) 647-8483Anne Rock (510) 848-7335

Craig Wilson (608) 831-6770

submissions policyAKA members are encouraged to

submit articles, letters, comments,photos and sketches that pertain tokite aerial photography.

Text via email or on 3.5” disk in ASCIItext format is easiest to convert tonewsletter print, but typed text (non-proportional type preferred) or evenhandwritten letters are just as wel-come. Likewise, diagrams in Macin-tosh PICT, TIFF, or EPS formats are best,but pen drawings, preferably on whitepaper, or just quick sketches on theback of the proverbial napkin willwork too. We're most concernedwith getting information and don'twant to discourage contributors.

Submitting photos is trickier. Wewant to reproduce your pictures as ac-curately as we can, while using desk-top techniques. We’re learning to useboth the hardware and the software,and technical quality should get betteras we gain experience.

Photos may be sent in print form, oron Kodak PhotoCD, or on Macintoshdisk in PICT, TIFF or EPS format. Slidesor negatives are OK too; we will con-vert them to PhotoCD. We'll keep theprints, but return all disks, slides andnegatives within a month.

Send everything to:

Brooks Leffler

PO Box 34

Pacific Grove, CA 93950

email: [email protected]

phone or fax: (408) 647-8483

A cradle is the suspension systemused to attach the camera to the kite-line. A good cradle is lightweight andstable in flight. Many cradles have ra-dio/control equipment attached to tripthe shutter and/or orient the camera.Other cradles avoid this additionalweight by using cameras with intervalshutter timers and by requiring manu-al orientation before each flight.

The three basic types of cradles arethe fixed-mount, pendulum-swing andPicavet-style.

Greens Kites sells a fixed-mount cra-dle (available from Into the Wind Kitesin Boulder, CO) for about $60.00. Thiscradle can be outfitted with R/C equip-ment and changed to a pendulum-swing style. For two years I used afixed-mount Greens cradle with one R/C servo attached to trip the shutter. Inow use a three-servo, pendulum-swing, pivot-dampened, double-droguecradle, but occasionally yearn for thesimplicity of my old fixed-mount cra-dle.

Many kite aerial photographers usependulum-swing cradles made of alu-minum, fiberglass, wood or a combina-tion of these and other materials. Oth-er photographers use a Picavet-stylecradle that uses tiny pulleys andlengths of kiteline. Variations of thependulum-swing and Picavet-style cra-dles are the most common suspensionsystems.

Regardless of cradle style, it's rare tosee two kite aerial photographers withcradles that look the same. Alterationand originality are the guiding rules ofcradle construction.

In this first issue of The Aerial Eyewe'll focus on cradles used by sevenAKA kite aerial photographers. Recog-nize that cradles are specific to eachphotographer: a cradle well-suited toone photographer may be ill-suited toanother. A cradle designed for usewith a high-angle Greens StratoscoopKite may not work with a low-angleSutton Flowform. Individual flyingstyles, local wind conditions, weight ofcameras used, and shutter speeds uti-lized are a few other factors that deter-mine a cradle's suitability.

Recognize also that you can learnfrom cradle designs that may be lessadvanced than your own. The simplestlightweight cradle design may be anideal emergency backup, a “take any-where” suitcase-packed version, apresent to your son or daughter, or alight-wind alternative. The simplest de-sign may utilize a single advancementyou overlooked, such as a better bat-tery pack, vibration damper, shutter re-lease or antenna. Advanced photogra-phers can learn from the fresh outlookof beginners. That's what our newslet-ter is all about!

Steve Eisenhauer

our feature this issue:

aerial camera cradles


There are three main elements tosuccessful kite aerial photography:kites, camera, and technique.

First and most important is the kiteand your kiteflying skill. The kite isthe engine that provides the energy tolift the camera equipment. It needs tobe powerful enough to lift the weightof the camera and associated control-ling equipment and it needs to bestable and reliable so that you feelcomfortable and safe. I spent six yearsbuilding and flying kites before I gotthe idea to send a camera up the line,and I credit those years of experiencewith the success I have had in aerialphotography.

Very few great photographs will betaken at a kite field — an open area isnot all that photogenic. The ability toget a kite up and then maneuver intointeresting places is key to makinggood photographs. Having kites thatyou know and trust is the pivotal ele-ment that needs to be developed.Your skill level as a kiteflier is para-mount.

Your first step, if you want to pursuethis interest, should be to teach your-self how to fly several different typesof kites, and to learn how they behavein a variety of wind, thermal, and loadconditions.

CAMERA AND RIG

The second element is the cameraequipment. You will need a light-

weight camera, a way to attach thecamera to the kite line, and a methodof control that allows you to aim thecamera and activate the shutter.Since there are many suitable came-ras and each camera is different, your“rig”, or camera holder, will need acustom design that you as a builderare comfortable with.

I suggest that you start simple, as Idid, with a timer to activate the shut-ter, and the aiming pre-set on theground. Use a lightweight point-and-shoot camera, such as a Ricoh Shot-master which has a built-in intervaltimer. As you progress you can modifyyour system to accommodate bettercameras and lenses and to affordmore control from the ground ofwhere your camera is looking andwhen the shutter will be activated.

As you improve your system you willbetter understand how each elementaffects the photographic outcome.There are so many variables — kite,amount of weight it is lifting, windspeed and direction, obstacles on theground, the camera, film, your abilityas a kiteflier and your ability as a de-signer and builder — that only you candevelop a system that you will feelcomfortable handling.

Design a system that is easy to use.If you need a helper to use your sys-tem, you will only use it one-tenth asoften as you would like. With kiteslarge enough to lift several pounds of

equipment, you must always have aconcern for safety. A change in thewindspeed or direction can cause a se-rious problem if you are not expertwith your kites.

DOING IT

The third element is technique.

My goal is to get my camera to unu-sual places, high enough for an over-view, but not so high that I lose all thedetails. I try to work in the area aboverooftopsand laddersbut belowthe realm ofairplanesand helicop-ters to ob-tain uniqueviews of theworld. Thekite is thetool I use tolift my cam-era to plac-es not ac-cessible byany othermeans. Mykiteflyingtechnique and my judgment of wherethe camera is looking are things thatcomes with practice.

I use my system at least once aweek all year round. During the lasttwelve months I have run 74 rolls of36-exposure film through my kite-lofted camera. No amount of compli-cated, high-tech, sophisticated equip-ment is as important as, or can replacethat experience. Practice — the sheer

time spend doing KAP, judging wherethe camera is in relation to the target,judging where the camera is looking,and studying the results with notestaken at the site — is the best tool toinsure great shots each time out.

Kite Aerial Photography is really be-ing able to judge from the groundwhat the camera is seeing and to ima-gine what the world looks like from upthere so that you can compose a goodimage. A picture is judged on lighting,

color, com-position,sharpness,and by theemotionsthat itevokes —not by howit was tak-en. Withthe mostprimitiveand simplecamera sys-tem, orwith themost com-plex, thekey element

is the skill of the operator. Your skillsallow you to make the correct choicesto control the system. Practice is whatperfects that control.

Luck is an important factor in anytype of photography but it is especiallypotent in KAP. By paying attention toall the details that you can control andby taking advantage of good condi-

kites…camera…action!by CRAIG WILSON • 7210 Harvest Hill Rd., Madison, WI 53717

Capitol Dome— Madison, Wisconsin by Craig Wilson

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the aerial eye / fall 1994 fall 1994 / the aerial eye

tions, you should be ready for thegood luck that follows all kitefliers andyou will surely achieve success.

ACHIEVING BALANCE

In making kite aerial photographsthere are many elements that needcontrolling or regulating. You as abuilder/designer must decide how theelements are to be controlled andwhat degree of control you really wantover the process. Through practiceand experience you will find and un-derstand where the line should bedrawn between lifting the weight ofcontrol equipment and the benefits ofhaving that control.

A balance will be found where theentire system, from the kite on theone end, to the hand and brain on theother, is in tune and working as a sin-gle extension of your creative sight.My opinion is that I want to controlonly what I am capable of having apositive impact on; the rest should beleft to chance.

I now use a Ricoh KR10m single-lensreflex camera with a 28mm or 50mmlens and a shutter speed of 1/1000sec, using 100 - 400 ASA (ISO) film. I liftmy camera with an 18-foot delta. Myrig is radio-controlled with three servomotors, so that I may control rotation,elevation angle, and the shutter re-lease from the ground.

I have the option of a miniature vid-eo camera to show me what the cam-era is seeing, but I don’t use it. It com-plicates the process. I find that I’mforced to look down at the monitorand feel like I’m not in balance with

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the system. It doesn’t really show meanything I didn’t already know. Myyears of experience turn out to be amore powerful tool than the video, sowhy duplicate parts of the system?

We all at best have only two handsand one neck to hang stuff from. Bykeeping the system simple and aseasy to use as possible you will use itoften and thereby develop the mostimportant and powerful tool involvedin controlling the process — yourbrain.

My original reason for KAP was toobtain aerial photos of hunting areasand such. My first attempts were withan Olympus XA (35 mm), with its 12second self-timer (no winder). Thecamera was hung from its strap from asnap on the kite line with no attemptto dampen camera rotation. The firstroll of film produced maybe two orthree “keeper” photos.

With only 12 seconds until the shut-ter snapped, I would send the kite upabout 300 or 400 ft. and then walk theline down to within 50 feet from thekite. I would then attach the camera,set the self-timer, wait for a stronggust of wind to insure a good lofting ofthe camera, trip the shutter releaseand let it all go.

My kite was a 8 sq. ft. Sutton FlowForm. I was able to shoot photos froma fairly good altitude, mostly becausethe camera was very light.

It didn't take long to decide to use apendulum to dampen camera rotation.The use of 2 timers, totaling about 25seconds, was the other major im-provement, and this system formedthe basis for most of my aerial photog-raphy for a long time. With all itsdrawbacks, this system was able toput quite a few good photos in my col-lection.

I have since dabbled with radio con-trol rigs for some time, but to date myradio rigs are still just one channel(shutter). The main problem seems to

be additional weight and my reluc-tance to take risks with an expensiverig.

I wasted a servo once when the rigwent down in salt water while at-tempting a photo of my canoe. Thecamera was a Canon underwater cam-era and was not damaged. The receiv-er and batteries were in balloons forsafety — lucky for me.

With assistance from Michel Dusa-riez from KAPWA and others, I made arotational rig started by a dethermaliz-ing timer tripping a microswitch. Thisrig uses a Ricoh Shotmaster with theelectric shutter tripped by another mi-croswitch at selected positions of rota-tion. A winch opens the first micro-switch which stops the rig's rotationafter about a turn. This rig can be setup for either vertical or horizontal for-mat photos, though I tend to favorvertical format because I like the hori-zon and the ability to look nearlystraight down in the same photo.

With all this fancy stuff I still use asimple and really cheap rig for a lot ofmy most risky photography. This con-sists of a simple aluminum cradle (seepic) attached to a pendulum with verti-cal and horizontal axis adjustment,and a dethermalizing timer. This setupallows me to shoot photos fromfloats, boats, the ship that I work onand other places where I can only payout or haul in line, so I have plenty of• æ

keeping it simpleby HENRY JEBE • PO Box 240221, Douglas, AK 99824-0221

Henry Jebe’s High Risk rig: garage salecamera, dethermalizing timer, aluminumframe, wood lever, and some hardware.(See story on opposite page.)

• continued on next page


The Maryland Kite Society has issuedthe Wide Range Airborne Platformchallenge to be competed at the Wild-wood convention Oct 12 - 15: Build thebest possible single kite for aerial pho-tography. Here’s a summary of thegroundrules:

• One kite (no trains) must lift aweight of 2.25 lb in a variety of winds(1 to 25 mph is suggested.)

• One person only must launch, fly,and retrieve the kite & payload, anddo so with enough care and stabilitynot to endanger the payload.

• Kite must have same configura-tion for all wind speeds; no alterationspermitted.

• Fliers may provide a payload withno dimension greater than 12 in.; judg-es may choose to supply an alternativestandard load.

• If the kitemaker is not registeredfor convention, kite may be flown byanother registered attendee. Bothmust be current members of AKA.

Winning kite will best achieve:

• at least 5 min. minimum flighttime at minimum altitude of 100 ft

• most stable flight at decent angle

• widest windspeed range

• maximum payload safety.

Questions? Contact Bevan Brown at(301) 890-1178.

time (nearly 6 minutes) before thepicture is taken.

The camera I am using on this rig isa Ricoh AF-5 which cost me $8.00 at agarage sale. (I have a couple of similarcameras also bought at garage sales ifI should lose or have one destroyed byfate’s fickle finger.)

The more risky the session themore likely I am to use 12-exposurerolls of film, which improves the likeli-hood I will have a roll to send in fordeveloping at the end of my session.(This may not be economical, but theloss of a good photo already taken is aREAL loss).

In the most recent close call, I wastaking photos of the ship I work on,

tied up at the Bellingham, WA cruiseterminal. The winds were gusting to25 knots. I was hauling in after my lastshot, when all three spars on the boxpart of my 8 ft. Delta Conyne broke.The kite was falling like a snowflake,with my camera falling more like ahailstone. With the camera still morethan 100 ft. from my hands, I startedpulling in line as fast as possible,afraid of either drowning my cameraor smashing it to pieces on the side ofthe ship.

I guess I was lucky or something, as Istopped at the right time with thecamera dangling over a mooring lineabout 25 ft. from the water. The photoon page 12 was on the roll of film inthe camera when this happened.

simple • continued from page 7

the maryland W.R.A.P. challenge

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peter’s flying rubbermaidby PETER BERRYMAN • 125 Division Street, Madison, WI 53704


My first aerial photo was taken inMarch 1994, using a Polaroid Swingeras a test mule for my recently ac-quired Futaba four-channel radio con-trol system — the R/C system workedbeautifully — the pictures were terrible,blurred almost beyond recognition.

I wrestled with how to control bothhorizontal and vertical movement, andhave developed what I believe to be aunique system. My cradle system,which includes pendulum, cradleframe, radio receiver, and Ricoh SLRweigh approximately three and onehalf pounds.

Cradle details follow:

1) CAMERA: Ricoh XR-10M 35 mmSLR. This camera is made for aerialphotography: screw mount on the bot-tom and hot-shoe directly above (ontop of thecamera) al-low two se-cure mount-ing surfaces;an electricalshutter re-lease; built-inmotor drive;automaticexposurecontrol; ex-posure com-pensation;uses Pentax

top view

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lenses; shutter speeds to 1/2000 sec-ond.

2) FRAME: 1-1/2" X 1/16" aluminumextrusion cut and bent to the shapesneeded. Bearings are machine screwsthrough drilled holes.

3) CONTROL: Horizontal movement(panning) is accomplished with a Futa-ba S-148 servo pulling a pushrod bentto form a link which engages a holesaw. Vertical movement (up anddown) is accomplished with a FutabaS-134 servo connected to the hingedcamera via two pushrods.

4) SHUTTER: Exposures are madewith a Futaba S-148 servo pulling apushrod against a momentary push-button electrical switch wired to thecamera's electrical cable release.

I have two motorized camera rigsthat are radio-controlled, both usingtwo servos. On the rig shown, oneservo trips the shutter and the otherpans the camera through 45 degreeseither side of center. The weight ofthis rig as pictured is 455 grams (16oz).

While most camera cradles used inaerial photography are constructed ofaluminum, I choose to build mine ofwood for several very good reasons.It's light in weight, easily worked andreadily available. I use knot-free pineshelving and rip it to a thickness ofabout 3/16" and to appropriate width

on my table saw. This thicknessseems to give enough strength forthe present day 35mm point-and-shoot cameras, most of which weighabout eight ounces or less.

To assemble the frame I useElmer's® carpenter's glue and 20 ga.half inch brads, forced in with pliers.Corners are reinforced with small tri-angles of 1/16" aircraft p1ywood fas-tened in the same manner.

One way that I save weight is touse AAA batteries rather than AA.Since four-cell AAA battery cases arenot commonly available, I make mine

by cementing togetherback-to-back two of RadioShack's #270-398 doublecases, and solder the wiresin series to give 6 volts.

Sticky-back Velcro® is thematerial I use to affix thebattery pack, receiver andpower switch to the frame.

If you are skeptical as tothe merits of wood as a ma-terial for a kite-lofted came-ra rig, consider that thou-sands of model airplaneshave survived countlesstakeoffs and landings usingthe same basic material andconstruction techniques.The key to survival is, DON'Tcrash your rig!

david’s ingenious hole sawby DAVID McCUISTION • 824 W. Second, El Dorado, KS 67042

rodney’s wooden wonderby RODNEY THOMSEN• 3656 Old Arcata Rd., #25, Eureka, CA 95503

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aerial galleryThese pictures were taken withthe rigs shown in this issue. Clockwise from left:

• M.V. Matanuska,Bellingham, WA,by Henry Jebe.

• Rail yards & fish docks, Eureka, CA, by Rodney Thomsen.

* Kansas Farm by David McCuistion

* Rocks & SurfAsilomar State Beach, CA, by Brooks Leffler


My new cradle has three servos andtwo drogues. One micro-servo oper-ates the shutter, one servo allows 120degrees vertical aim (look down, lookup) and one servo allows 360 degreeshorizontal aim (look around). The twodrogues stabilize the cra-dle and compensate for"blow away" (the tenden-cy for the wind to push thependulum-hung cameradownwind). My currentcamera is a Minolta 2xiSLR.

The cradle is similar toother three-servo systemsexcept the pendulum tubeused in most systems is re-placed by two aluminumstrips. These strips havetwo teflon washers at thepivot to dampen twistingmovement and allow ten-sion adjustment of pendu-lum swing. Above the piv-ot the strips have beenshaped into loops, anddrogues have been epox-ied around these loops.

These drogues are de-signed to help keep thecamera level to the hori-zon; wind resistance abovethe pivot (drogues) coun-teracts resistance belowthe pivot (camera). Ondays when the wind is

steady, this system works well: about75 percent of my pictures are levelwith the horizon. On gusty days, mykite and cradle constantly change ele-vation: gravity effects and the heavierweight of the camera overwhelm the

stabilizing effect of the drogues. Sud-den movement of the pivot pointswings the camera away from level;consequently, on gusty days a lowerpercentage of pictures are level.

This cradle is a prototype. Althoughthe 4" drogues help stabilize and keepthe cradle level, they don't createenough resistance to completelyequalize the resistance of the camera.6" drogues mounted further above thepivot point are probably necessary tomore accurately equalize resistance.I'll probably have to mount a tiny levelon the cradle and suspend the cradlein front of a powerful fan, or I'll have totake it outside on a very windy day. Ican then alter the size, shape, lengthand/or position of the drogues, or raiseand lower the position of the camera,to better equalize wind resistance.

Although I feel this new cradle is abig improvement from my last cradle(with only one servo to actuate theshutter), I have a gnawing feeling thata "Picavet" system (utilizing a line andpulley suspension) is better. I hope I'mwrong; I'm already attached to my“double-drogue” cradle and like tothink I'm only a few refinementsaway from my ultimate cradle.

1. Drogues - Made from ripstop nylonor other light material. Epoxiedaround aluminum loops. Can be of vari-ous shapes and lengths but cannot beso long they droop into the camera'sview. Both drogues must be of exactlysame size and shape, and must be po-sitioned at same height above pivotpoint; cradle will wobble if drogues arepoorly balanced.

Wind resistance of drogues shouldcounteract resistance of camera andradio control rig mounted below thepivot. If your camera is mounted onefoot below the pivot, and the droguesare centered six inches above, thenthe drogues' wind resistance must betwice that of the camera rig (estimat-ing drogue wind resistance involvescompensating for the leverage createdby different distances to the pivot). Ifyou have access to a wind tunnel justturn the wind speed up to 40 MPH andkeep adjusting the wind resistancesuntil the cradle hangs vertically at both40 and 0 MPH.

2. Pivot - Use teflon or (secondchoice) nylon washers. By adjustingthe nylon lock nut on the pivot youcan adjust the dampening action. Theteflon washers slide freely againstsmooth aluminum; just don't crankthe nut down too tightly. On gustydays this pivot swing damper canknock the peaks off any pendulumswings if the nut is adjusted properly.

3. Hangers - Use Velcro® strips be-cause they're easy to attach and dis-connect. Buy self-sticking Velcro andattach the self-sticking sides of twostrips back-to-back. One side should bethe “hook” strip, the other side the“hooked” strip. Glue a hook strip of Vel-cro at each end of the aluminum barthat is attached to the kite line. Wrapeach Velcro strip over the line, the barand back over itself: 1" square of Vel-cro supports about 2 lbs.; if you wrap itback over itself you probably increasethe strength to about 10 lbs. per strip.

steve’s double-drogue cradleby STEVE EISENHAUER, 229 Lake Avenue, Pitman, NJ 08071

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Always attach a safety line to a swiv-el or ring on the kite line, and attachthis line seperately to the camera andthe cradle.

4. Top aluminum strip - Use alumi-num 1/8" by 3/4" by 8". Drill 1/4" holein center of strip and sand and polish itsmooth so the teflon washers movefreely.

5. Vertical aluminum strips - Use alu-minum 1/16" by 1". Bend one longstrip in a vise so a 1" square is at bot-tom. Drill a 1/4" hole in bottom square,and install a 1/4" steel bolt and washerin this hole. A 12-tooth plastic sprocketis epoxied to the bolt shaft where itmates with the sling. A stop must belocated just below the pivot to preventthe kite line from wrapping around thecamera and cradle when the kite fliesdirectly overhead. Stop should be lo-cated so the line just barely touches

the camera frame when the kite is fly-ing vertically.

6. Sling - Use aluminum 1/8" by 1";drill 1/4" hole in center. Mount batterypack and R/C junction box on top orside of sling. Bolt one servo on verticalarm of sling for direct-drive “look up,look down” control. (To balance thecradle tape a miniature level underyour camera, suspend the cradle on aline and keep repositioning the batterypack until the camera is level shootingin all directions.) Bolt another servo un-der horizontal sling bar and put a 48-tooth sprocket on the servo drive.

7. Battery pack - Use 4 AAA ni-cadbatteries, 4 AAA rechargeable alkaline,or perhaps 4 new AA lithium batteries.Lithium batteries are about 40% light-er than ni-cads or alkalines, so AA lithi-ums are about the same weight asAAA ni-cads. Lithium batteries also

have more power at low tempera-tures, and last much longer than non-rechargeable alkalines. One problemwith lithium batteries is they can't berecharged, so if you leave the switchon by mistake you have to buy newbatteries.

8. Camera frame - Use aluminum 1/16" by 1". Bend in vise and use twotiny bolts to join together. Bolt to servoon one side, and use plastic 1/4" bolton other for pivoting. Use Velcro onbottom of frame, and glue matchingVelcro to bottom of camera body. Put1/4" hole in bottom of frame to screwcamera to frame. You'll probably haveto make a tiny "T" bracket so yourcamera sets far enough back on frameto be properly balanced. An improperlybalanced camera will make your "lookup, look down" servo work too hard(or it may not work at all). Use micro-

servo bolted to top frame bar to actu-ate shutter.

9. Antenna - My antenna is the wiresupplied with the R/C receiverwrapped once around the bolt con-necting the camera to the frame. Ithangs loosely in two loops. It neversgets in the way of the picture, and al-though it doesn't look very profession-al, it works well.

Lake Lenape—Mays Landing, NJ, by Steve Eisenhauer

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Aerial Photography WorkshopCOME & COMPARE NOTES!

Saturday, October 15, 19949:00 am - 11:45 am

AKA ConventionWildwood, NJ


Then I tried another 2-channel rig us-ing a motor to rotate the camera. Themotor kicked up so much servo inter-ference I gave up on this one too.

Finally I bit the bullet and sprung fora 4-channel Futaba Attack-4 radio($120 - $150 with 3 servos). My fifth rigused the same Nikon camera, but thistime I installed the pan servo with a 2-stage belt drive, using tiny timing beltsand plastic pulleys. This was a moresuccessful arrangement, weighingabout 2.5 pounds ready to fly.

Which brings us to Mark VI, the cra-dle shown here. My goal was lightnesswithout sacrificing control. The auto-everything Minolta Freedom Vista ($70on sale) weighs just 7.1 ounces (206grams) ready to go. It is limited to fakepanorama format through a masked24 mm lens; there are only two choic-es of film speed as well: ISO 100 or 400.

The frame is 1/16” hardware-storealuminum strap, 3/4” wide under thecamera and 1” elsewhere. I used achassis nibbler from Radio Shack forthe rectangular cutouts. Except forthe 8/32 brass main pivot, all hardwareis either nylon (machine screws, nuts,bushings and spacers), 1/8” pop rivets,or 2/56 brass machine screws with air-craft locknuts. I gave up on timingbelts for panning this rig, using 4:1 Del-rin® gears instead, which have beenentirely satisfactory.

This is my sixth iteration of a camerarig. The evolution may be worth re-counting; each rig has given me goodpictures.

I started in 1988 with a commercialGreens mount ($60) somewhat modi-fied by me to take a 2-channel radiocontrol (shutter, tilt) ($50 - $80). I usedthat one for several years with prettygood results. It carried a Nikon One-Touch camera (excellent optics, used$60) and weighed about 3.5 pounds.

In March 1992, for a workshop, I de-signed a plywood kit cradle around acardboard throwaway cameras ($6 -$10). The shutter was triggered by ade-thermalizing timer for a model air-plane ($22). Plans for this cradle werepublished in the July 1993 issue of Kit-ing. (Reprints available.)

My third cradle was built around aweatherproof Pentax Zoom 90WR. Itused two channels once again, butthis time for pan (horizontal) & tilt(vertical), leaving the shutter to thecamera’s built-in intervalometer. Fol-lowing uncertain directions in KAPWANews, I modified the pan servo to turn360 degrees. I found it difficult totweak the servo to keep it from creep-ing, and the camera was much tooheavy for direct drive by a fast servo.The flywheel effect would keep thecamera whipping around well pastwhere I wanted to stop, which alsostressed the rig. I abandoned this oneafter about three rolls.

brooxes better brownie box, mark VI by BROOKS LEFFLER • PO Box 34, Pacific Grove, CA 93950-0034

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randy’s stealth rigby RANDY BOLLINGER • 249 Gladys, Ferguson, MO 63135

In May of 1994 I came home to finda message on my answering machinefrom Michael Fuller, a Ph.D. professorof Anthropology.

He informed me he was in need oftwo basic kite photo rigs to take alongto the Middle East. He didn't need ra-dio control; they were not permitted touse it in Syria where it is consideredspy stuff. Also, kites with spars can'tbe used, as radar will pick them upand a communications attempt will bemade. If the kite will not answer, anti-aircraft rockets will be fired, and youwill be imprisoned.

Therefore, the professor and his Co-Director use parafoils and a Samsungcamera with an interval shutter, andkeep the rig below rocket strikes. Iasked the professor to drop Michel Du-sariez a postcard. I will later try andget copies of his works in Syria andEgypt for the newsletter.

The plans opposite are for the typemount I made for the professor. I willmake these to order for those whodon’t want to build their own.

I will also send plans next time formounting and using a micro-videocamera with a still camera.

wood knob

eye screw

use 8/32hardwarethroughout

locknut

wing nut &lockwasher

3/4" x 1/8" softaluminum strap

2" x 1.25" x 1/8"tempered aluminum

screw link option:around 1st line to pullup with 2nd kite

8"

20"

5"

5"

12"

All servos are the micro size for r/cgliders ($27 - $35 each), providing 80%of the torque of a standard servo withonly 40% of the weight. My batterypack, I believe, is an innovation forKAP: it is a 110 mAh 4-cell NiCd re-chargeable ($9), weighing just 1 ounce(30 g), compared to 3.38 oz. (96 g) forstandard 500 mAh NiCd AAs. Thesmaller capacity has not proven to bea limitation. A 10 mAh low-flow charg-er is necessary, though — the 500 mAhone that comes with most radio pack-ages will fry these batteries in a hurry.

The cradle is suspended by the un-canny self-leveling 1912-vintage Pica-vet design, consisting of a horizontalX hanging by a long continuous linefrom two points A-B on the flying line .[NOTE: The diagram originally used toillustrate the Picavet suspension didn’treproduce in Acrobat. See Picavet inlater issues. —bgl 2001] After frettingabout what hi-tech material to use forthe X, I ended up with basswood: lightand stiff. But I made it too slender forrough use, got careless, and had tojury-rig an inelegant replacement ofaluminum. Nonetheless, the wholesystem weighs in at just over a pound— 460 grams!

brooxes • from page 19

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Steve Rock, spouse, occasionalground crew, etc., makes the equip-ment. He has been working with com-posites for over 20 years, first as a ca-noe and kayak builder and now as anaircraft mechanic specializing in com-posite repair.

We both are amused by the homagemany people pay to high-tech materi-als such as graphite or “even” fiber-glass, as high-tech isn't necessarily bet-ter for every application. My equip-ment is made with high-tech materialsbecause that's what Steve is mostcomfortable working with, and itamuses him. So the point I makeabout what material to use for a cradleis: use what you are most comfortableworking with.

The composites do not make a sig-nificantly lighter or more rigid rig — nordo they magically make me a betteraerial photographer — doing counts formore than equipment.

I currently have two rigs, one r/c andone very simple cradle. The simple set-up is my second rig (the first, r/c, hasbeen sold) and I have come to enjoykite aerial photography much morewith it (the first system weighed 3.5 -4 pounds, and flying it was stressful).

The camera is a Rollei Prego AFwhich has an intervalometer that canbe set to take a picture every minuteor 10 minutes or 30 minutes. 35mmlens, 1/500th sec shutter speed.There's a Samsung camera with identi-

cal specs, the one difference being ahigher-quality lens on the Rollei.

The rig is always flown with a Pica-vet suspension. The cradle is madewith a graphite skin on either side of astructural foam core, epoxy resin, vac-uum-bagged. There are reinforce-ments where the tilt adjust and sus-pension fasteners go through thelaminate. The camera attaches to thecradle with adhesive-backed Velcro®on the bottom and on one side. Foradditional security, I usually put ashort length of line through the neckstrap slot on the camera and tie itaround the cradle.

Total weight of camera, film, cradle,Picavet is around 11 ounces.

When the rig is on the ground, I setthe direction the camera points andthe tilt. The light weight is a joy, butthere are times when I really miss theflexibility of r/c! I compensate by slow-ly letting line out/pulling camera inand by walking around with the kiteand camera whenever possible to getas varied a set of pictures as possible.

A number of people have looked atthis system and been encouraged totry kite aerial photography ... mostlyit's the intervalometer which attractsthem, as it provides a method for tak-ing multiple pictures without gettinginto r/c or having to haul the cameradown repeatedly.

The other rig is a typical r/c (rotation,tilt, shutter release). The upper part of-

22 23

high-tech and light as a … rockby ANNE ROCK • 2420 Ninth Street, Berkeley, CA 94710

THE RIGS OF ROCK. Above is Anne’s super ultralight, weighing a mere 11 ounces.Below is Steve’s later design, made of honeycomb composite used for aircraftfloorboards. With Canon Rebel ready to go, it tips the scale at just over 2 lbs.

24

BELOW: Farms near Taastrup,Denmark, by Anne Rock. RolleiPrego, Fuji 400.

that. The rig has 3 micro servos (Futa-ba S-133) and a slightly lighter batterypack. The power switch has beeneliminated: the battery cable isplugged directly into the receiver. Cut-outs were made in the bottom half forcamera battery and film replacement.A cotter pin secures the rotation shaft;the tilt bolts go into crimped nutplates.

The camera was purchased just be-fore I heard about the new Canon,which has an 11 oz body, compared tothe 14 oz on the Rebel II ... oh well. To-tal weight of this rig (camera with lens,UV filter, lens shade, film, Picavet) is33 oz. I've only flown this rig a coupleof times, but so far am enjoying thereduction in weight from the previousr/c system (mostly due to new came-ra and lens).

the aerial eye / fall 1994

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the cradle is made from a honeycombmaterial used for floorboards in air-planes. The inner skin and some hon-eycomb were removed to make thebends; there are little graphite cornerpieces reinforcing the bends. Thedepth of the material allows some ofthe equipment to be partially re-cessed. The bottom half is graphite.

The camera is attached in 3 places:tripod screw, and through the twoneck strap attachment points (as youlook at the camera front, on the backright side there's a tallish gizmo stick-ing up, and that's one of the attach-ments; the other is back left, a metalhook).

The servo for the shutter release ismounted to a bracket on the bottomhalf — you can see the arm/button butnot the servo. Steve would have pre-ferred mounting the servo directly tothe camera, but the only place availa-ble was the LCD on top and I vetoed

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