Playing the role of Ben Franklin

[John_Cillis 2,406]

On a change of pace and for a lighter topic...I guess it was inevitable I would end up flying trikes one day, as I had a fascination with kites when I was a boy and well into my teen years. Before I became aware of the stresses pilots deal with, I'd quite often fly my kites on the end of a 2000 foot line or longer. For some reason, some thirty years after I last flew a kite, the whim struck me to fly again. I bought an eight foot box delta kite (from a great online firm called g-kites). After flying it a couple of times, I realized it was quite capable of lifting a small digital camera. So I rigged my camera to it, and the rest you can see in the thread below:http://forums.avsim.net/dcboard.php?az=sho...2&topic_id=2017This serves as good a time as any to put in a plug for the real aviation image forum. We have plenty of pilots here...hope that forum doesn't die....Regards,John

[John_Cillis 2,406]

I can see by the thousands of replies I received how interesting this topic was ;)Seriously, I know kiting might seem like it has nothing to do with flying for some, and I respect their decision to pass on this thread. However I do both and I do appreciate the few responses my threads in the screenshots forum received. The Wright brothers were avid Kiters before taking to the air themselves.I've opened up a page on Flickr which I will try to update from time to time with my pictures:http://www.flickr.com/photos/cactus521There's quite a large community of hobbyists who enjoy KAP (Kite Aerial Photography). Many of them, like myself, are older hobbyists who are into the hobby for pure relaxation. Some spend hundreds on their rigs, I built mine on a small budget since my main goal was having the lightest rig possible for KAP. Many members of the KAP community have told me I've managed to get my rig higher than most, even though I am limited to 500 ft. AGL to keep from encroaching on Luke's flight path. Regards,John

[january 19]

John- When I was about 12, we had what was known as a French War Kite-a design used in WW1 to photograph activity in the German trenches. I believe the original was flown on wire although our version used very heavy butcher cord on a crank reel you slipped over your thigh to allow both hands for winding. The line of course broke periodically as did the main backstick, on one occasion resulting in approx 1000 feet of cord being draped over nearby houses and trees. While we didn't try photography, we may possibly have set an altitude record for sending my cousin's cat aloft in a fruit basket! If you've ever seen a scared cat- well, that was the day!In a rowboat with a good breeze it took two of us rowing to maintain station- stop rowing and it was as good as a small outboard engine. Wow, that was 65 years ago! A few years back, I built a 4 foot mini version for my granddaughter- and yes it also pulled like a stubborn mule!Alex Reid