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the aerial eye

LINE, TAILS & TRAINS

a quarterly publication of the aerial photography committeeof the American Kitefliers Association

volume 4/ number 1 / winter 1998

Iceboats onLake Mendota

by

Craig Wilson

US$5.00USA & CANADA

US$6.50overseas

2 the aerial eye

the aerial eyeThis newsletter is produced by the

Aerial Photography Committee of theAmerican Kitefliers Association. It isour goal to publish quarterly, in August,November, February, and May.

Single copies and subscriptions(including back issues) are available toAKA members and non-members alike,under the following fee schedule:

single 4 issuesAKA $4.00 $14.00overseas $5.50 $20.00

Non-AKA $5.00 $19.00overseas $6.50 $25.00

Domestic subscriptions will bemailed by first class mail; overseassubscriptions (i.e., outside NorthAmerica) will be mailed by air.

Advertising is available in modules of2.25 inches wide by 1.25 inches high, at$20.00 per module, payable in advance.Advertising in which aggressivelycompetitive pricing is featured will notbe accepted; call if you have questionsor need more info. Camera-ready copyis not necessary, but is acceptable if itmeets the above criteria. Copy deadlineis the first of the month of publication.Contact Brooks Leffler.

american kitefliers association aerial photography committeeSteve Eisenhauer, Chair Brooks Leffler, Editor

229 Lake Ave, Pitman, NJ 08071 PO Box 34, Pacific Grove, CA 93950(609) 589-2049 Fax (609) 785-1766 (408) 647-8363 Fax (408) 647-8483

[email protected] [email protected]

Wolfgang Bieck Craig WilsonAm Britzenberg 23 7210 Harvest Hill Road

29549 Bad Bevensen, Cermany Madison, WI 53717(+49) 5821 24 43 (608) 831-6770

[email protected] [email protected]

going upAs we warned you last issue, the costs

of better printing are substantial, andthe rates you have been paying for theaerial eye will have to increase. The newschedule is shown at left. You won't feelit until you renew, but voluntary contri-butions at any time are welcome!

We can't do it without you, so keepthe pix & prose coming, as well as $$$!

Text via Email or on 3.5" (9cm) high-density disk (Mac or IBM in ASCII text for-mat) is preferred, but typed text or hand-written letters are welcome too. Like-wise, diagrams in PICT, GIF, or TIFF for-mats are best, but pen drawings, prefera-bly on white paper, will work as well.

Photos may be sent as negatives,prints or slides, or by email attachmentsin JPEG, TIFF, or GIF formats. We can alsoread Kodak PhotoCD, or 3.5" high-densitydisks in the formats listed above. We'llkeep the prints unless you direct other-wise, but return all negatives, disks, CDs,and slides—eventually.

Send everything to Brooks Leffler atthe address below.

winter 1998 3

about the cover

•æ

memoriesby STEVE EISENHAUER

Continued on page 31

Everyone has a favorite KAP memory.The one I find myself telling people mostoften is the following:

In October, 1995, at the SmithsonianAir & Space Museum in Washington, DC,I assisted Brooks Leffler and Craig Wilsonwith a one-day KAP workshop sponsoredby the Museum. The participants eachbuilt their own Picavet suspension sys-tem in a Museum classroom, and thenwent outside to the open area in front ofthe Museum to loft a disposable cameraon a kiteline for their first kite aerial pho-tographs.

Craig Wilson sent his 18-foot (5.4m)delta kite with a 100-foot (30m) tube tailup about 500 feet with his camera at-tached on the line. Since the Museum islocated near the Washington Monument,the Capitol, and other attractions, many

tourists witnessed the KAP activities.With no overhead electric or phone linesin this area, and with the Smithsonian’ssponsorship, Craig felt brave enough towalk with his earthbound winder to thenearest crosswalk to join the touristswaiting for the stoplight change.

The sight of Craig waiting with a groupof tourists to cross six lanes of traffic at acrosswalk in downtown Washington, DC,is forever etched in my memory. Re-membering the tourists staring skywardat the huge kite in downtown Washing-ton, and imagining Craig’s hasty explana-tions of his kiteflying at the crosswalk, Istill can’t help grinning.

Seeing him then stride towards theCapitol Building, flying and taking pic-

Craig Wilson comments:

In the winter of 1996 I decided tomake photos of the local iceboat clubconducting their weekly races. I wasastonished by the patterns in the icethat the camera saw from above.

That first winter I ventured out ontofrozen Lake Mendota seven or eighttimes and never found the ice to lookthe same way twice. When I presented aslide show to the ice boaters them-selves, they too were astonished by the

ice. They spend nearly every weekendon the ice and few others would be asfamiliar with that surface as they, yetthey almost couldn’t recognize or believeit in my images.

This shows the power of the kite aerialview, which can give a new understand-ing and a new appreciation for our world.This is the reason I am so taken by thismethod of photography. I will be out onthe frozen lakes again this winter to cap-ture more fantastic backgrounds for theice boats, fisherman, skaters, skiers, andother people that are looking for a placeto play.

4 the aerial eye

stereo KAP–and the beat goes onby BROOKS LEFFLER

Recently, Montana birdman John Carl-son asked me to build him a stereo cam-era rig, so he can add 3-D pictures to hisKAP studies of penguin colonies in Ant-arctica (see æ 3.2 and 3.3). I like thesecommissions because problem-solvingalways means discovery.

I studied the stereo ideas of Carl Bigras(æ 3.2) and David Schenken (æ 3.4), andpicked Carl’s brain about his “next” ste-reo rig. As a dedicated Picavet suspen-sion advocate, I decided early that thissort of large frame lent itself admirablyto the Picavet system. John didn’t wantthe cameras to pan or tilt, happily, so Iapproached the design as nothing morethan a large Picavet X with cameras at-tached.

John selected the new Olympus Epic(Mju-2) point-&-shoot cameras (æ 3.4),which weigh just 5 oz each (152g), so wewere already on our way to a very lightsystem.

The rig that resulted is pictured here[right]. To our great delight, it weighsjust 29 oz (830 g), all-up, ready to fly. Thecameras are about 54” (137cm) apart, anarbitrary distance based on Carl’s experi-ence—and the standard length of carbonkite spars.

The main boom is made of six 30”(76cm) spars, braced by polyester tensionlines and separators of basswood ormodel-aircraft plywood. I made the topspar out of .1880 (4.7mm) carbon and the

lower ones out of .1580 (4mm). I couldhave used the lighter material for all ofthem, but my local kite shop had justfour pieces of .1580. The single cross-spar is .2400 carbon.

The shutters of both cameras are trig-gered by servo-actuated fingers, both ofwhich are driven by the signal of a singlechannel through a Y wiring harness. Thismakes any mechanical linkage unneces-sary, and synchronization is dependentonly on identical location of the micro-servos and their fingers above each cam-era.

With such a long boom up there blow-ing in the breeze, rotational stability, as

winter 1998 5

Carl Bigras had discovered, was a prob-lem to consider. Fortunately, I had had avisit from Christian Becot, one of æ’smore creative contributors, shortly be-fore tackling this assignment.

Christian brought with him a damp-ened pendulum rig [left] which used apair of small triangular sails carried onopposite sides of the rig at a 45° angle tothe wind. Working against each other,they provided self-correcting dihedralstability to his rig, just like a box kite. I’lladmit that his was among the most mo-tionless KAP cameras that I’ve ever seen.[After this grudging admission from aPicavet person, perhaps Christian willdescribe it for us fully in an article.]

Building on Becot, I made two similardihedral panels for John’s stereo cradleout of 3.8-oz Dacron™ sailcloth and lightcarbon spars [ left]. That stabilized therotation immediately, but with the addi-tional surface area made the rig tilt dra-matically from wind pressure—not good

when it’s important to lookstraight down. How I solvedthat one is the subject of an-other article on page 20.

Withal, I’m quite pleasedwith the way this stereo rigperformed in my test flights[left]. However, lacking anyability to view them, I did nottake any pictures with it.Though John Carlson will notbe going to Antarctica thisyear, perhaps he can give it agood shaking down in Mon-tana and let us know whatwe need to do differently.

•æ

6 the aerial eye

what's my line?by PETER BULTS, Holthees, The Netherlands

KAPers carry around a lot of equip-ment. Cameras, rigs, transmitters, kites,groundstakes etc. Luckily they only needone kiteline.

This might sound crazy to kitefliers.They like to select the appropriate linefor the kite they want to fly in the givenwindconditions.

So, what line does a KAPer need?

WEIGHT

For a kite aerial photographer theweight of the camera rig determines therequired strengh of the kiteline. Let meexplain.

While KAPing I always look for a moreor less constant pull on the kiteline. Nomatter what Beaufort the wind is blow-ing. I’m looking for a pull of the kite thatkeeps my rig up in a safe way. But I don’twant to be fighting the kite all the time; Idon’t like to be towed in the directionthe wind is blowing and suffer from painin my muscles the day after.

What I do want is to be able to walkaround while the camera is up in the airand concentrate on great photo opportu-nities. So by choosing the right kite I’ve amore or less constant lifting power andthat’s why I can do with only one line.

I’ve been thinking about a rule ofthumb. What about this one: line-strength = 100 x weight of the rig readyto fly. I have the feeling this is on thesafe side. So a light 600g [21oz] point-&-

shoot rig can be flown on a 60kg [132 lb]line: a 1.2 kg (SLR) rig needs a 120 kg line.[Ed note: The 100 x formula works onlyin metric because the english systemisn’t decimal-based, but the line strengthcalculated in metric seems workable af-ter conversion. —bgl]

This strategy implies you have a kitefor each windcondition: two or three atleast. Or have the possibility to trainkites: less wind, more kites.

COLOURS

Now that you have calculated the line-strengh it is time to pick out the materialit will be made of. Only the Aramid/Kev-lar™ lines really have a standard colour: apale dirty yellow-orange. All other linesare sold in white, most of time. Somekitestores can supply it in black. That isworth considering as it is slightly lessvisible in the picture.

Shades of blue or grey should haveeven better camouflage qualities. Or youmight consider to dye your white line.That works rather well with polyester asa base material.

ALTITUDE

If you plan to fly your kite really high,over say 100m (which is not always legalin some countries), other line character-istics become important.

When flying high the weight of theline will cause sag due to gravity. Thethickness of it causes sag due to wind-

winter 1998 7

drag. And the stretch in a polyester line,together with the sag, makes you losecontrol of the kite. It is as if you try to flyyour kite on a long rubber band.

In these conditions the use of a high-tech line is necessary. These lines aremade of polyethylene and are sold asDyneema or Spectra™ or other. •æ

High-tech as well are lines made ofKevlar™ (also known as Aramid). I per-sonally dislike these lines as a kite line.They cut like a knife when under ten-sion. Even your leather gloves can’t with-stand it.

We have recently been showing aerialphotographs to young children, “young”in this case being three and four yearolds, to see what they can make of theseviews of the world from an unfamiliarvantage point.

Readers of the aerial eye will probablynot be surprised to hear that suchyoungsters can not only appreciate thatthese are pictures of places seen fromabove, but can also interpret many of theconstituent elements straight off, andfrom them, infer some of the other fea-tures represented.

This capacity for interpretation, howev-er, goes splendidly against the canons ofmy home discipline, psychology, whichhas, since the writings of the Swiss psy-chologist Jean Piaget, tended to, wethink, underestimate the capacities ofyoung children. He has seen them as“egocentric”, unable to understand per-spectives other than their own.

We have found to the contrary, thatyoung children can understand the aerialperspective; and have, with colleagues in

places such as rural Mexico and SouthAfrica, shown this to occur even in placeswhere the children will have few media-given instances of such photographs, aswell as in the case of children frommedia-sated backgrounds.

So far, we haven’t been able to givechildren the chance of surveying theirown area by taking their own aerials,although we know that the home areaproves the most fascinating image of allto them, when we have shown them ourcommercially-flown images.

There must be readers of the aerialeye who have children of their own whotake their turn in flying the camera, andwho are as interested to view the result-ing photographs as they are. We wouldmuch appreciate sharing experienceswith you.

Please contact us via email:

Christopher [email protected]

or Mark [email protected] •æ

KAP through young eyesby DR. CHRISTOPHER SPENCER, Sheffield, U.K.

8 the aerial eye

easter island to albuquerqueby DON DVORAK, Santa Clara, California

After returning from our Easter Is-land KAP adventure (ae 3.3) my wifeElaine and I showed our aerial photo-graphs to Georgia Lee, Easter Islandarchaeologist and editor of the RapaNui Journal. She was very pleased withthem and requested several copies forthe Easter Island Foundation library.

She encouraged us to submit an ab-stract to present our slides at a five-day symposium about Easter Island inAlbuquerque, New Mexico. I was petri-fied at the thought of standing in frontof a bunch of archaeologists and PhDs.Even so, my intrepid wife e-mailed anabstract to the symposium director,whom we had met on Easter Island,and the very next day we received aresponse accepting it.

SEASONED ADVICE

We started reviewing our slides andselected 100 that we thought wereworth showing. We consulted a friendand seasoned lecturer for some ad-vice. We had only 20 minutes for ourpresentation so he suggested cuttingthe number of slides down to 20 or 30.With great difficulties we reduced it to50.

We wanted a presentation thatwould be entertaining as well as dem-onstrate the value of KAP in archaeolo-gy. Since most of the attendees hadvisited Easter Island, we wanted to

show them the sites from a differentperspective.

We arrived a few days early andrented a car to drive north to Santa Feand Taos, hoping to photograph someIndian ruins and the countryside, butthe winds were uncooperative.

When we got back to Albuquerque,we had about 95 percent of the scriptcompleted but had not done a com-plete rehearsal. We were scheduled togive our presentation on the third day,so we planned to spend a couple ofevenings completing our presentation.This meant we had to pack a slide pro-jector.

The first day of the symposium in-cluded an evening party with a RapaNui dance group performing their tra-ditional Polynesian dances.

We enjoyed the opportunity to re-new old acquaintances, including thegovernor of Easter Island. A specialtreat was our personal introduction toThor Heyerdahl, famous archaeologistand leader of the Kon-Tiki expedition.

MIDNIGHT CONFIDENCE

At midnight the night before our pre-sentation we did a dress rehearsal andI finally began to feel confident.

The morning of our presentationElaine assembled our 13-foot delta-Conyne and it was on display on thestage. To begin, Elaine held one of our

winter 1998 9

rigs while I operated the transmitterfrom the podium. In the darkened lec-ture hall the camera’s flash fired eachtime the shutter was released.

Right from the first slide the audi-ence showed their pleasure with “ohs,”“aahs” and whispers.

We had chosen slides that were ofarchaeological interest, low altitudeverticals ofa singlefeatureshowingdetail, andhigh alti-tudes cov-ering sev-eral sites.We alsoshowed aslide of areed boatunder con-structionto demon-strate the value of KAP in document-ing an event.

We chose to show several slides ofthe archaeologically rich area of La Per-ouse Bay where the government plansto build a container port.

We closed with the comment that“with the advances in KAP technologyand enough kite line, the sky is thelimit,” showing a space shuttle view ofEaster Island. The laughter and ap-plause was enthusiastic.

After our presentation we handedout over 70 single-page color collagesof our aerials. We received many com-

pliments during the remaining twodays of the conference

The last night of the symposiumThor Heyerdahl gave a special eveninglecture about the ocean currents ofthe north Pacific and how Polynesianscould have migrated along a northernroute. He noted similarities in thepetroglyphs of the Andes and thosefound on Easter Island.

After thelectureseveral au-thors wereavailablefor booksigning.Thor Heyer-dahl’s tablewas themost popu-lar. Manypeople hadbroughtcopies of

his books for him to sign, but weweren’t as prepared. I was desperatelylooking for something Thor could signwhen I remembered our KAP displayboard that Elaine had made. Thor gra-ciously signed it [above] and men-tioned he enjoyed our presentation. Healso said he had occasionally thoughtof using KAP but never gotten aroundto doing it.

Despite my apprehension Elaine hadreassured me several times that wewould do just fine and our presenta-tion would be a success.

She was right! •æ

10 the aerial eye

breda house–a KAP taleby SIMON HARBORD, Alford, Aberdeenshire, Scotland

A while ago in conversation withfriends, I mentioned my interest in kiteaerial photography, and they suggested Ipay a visit to their family estate. At thetime I was keen to practise my skills oncastles and houses and difficult subjects,and a large private house would allowme to practise techniques without anaudience to watch me make embarrass-ing mistakes.

Breda (pronounced Briddár) estate sitson the western outskirts of Alford, inAberdeenshire. The main house remainsempty for the moment, awaiting ten-ants. Our friends live instead in one ofthe estate farmhouses just up the road.

Deciding to make my first visit thatsame evening, I packed up the KAPequipment and drove straight down toBreda. I turned the car in past the gate-house, and got out to open the gate foraccess down the leafy drive. I drovedown through dense woodland, lowbranches swishing against the sides androof of the car, the weeds pushing upthrough the cracked road surface.

After about half a mile the drivewaytook a left hand kink, and burst out intoone of the most stunning aspects I haveseen. I pulled the car up in astonish-ment.

Before me Breda house stood in pinkgranite splendour at the end of a hugewell-cut lawn, with a background of darktrees. The way the driveway kept the

house totally hidden until the final mo-ment made the first sight all the moredramatic. Without doubt, the house wasa KAP dream subject.

I parked the car unobtrusively in thecorner of the lawn, and took out my bagof KAP gear. As I walked towards themiddle of the lawn, I knew straight awaythat I was facing one of my ultimate KAPchallenges. How could I do this housejustice, as it stood empty, brooding downthat huge lawn at me, an intruder fromthe present? This house knew only apast; it’s present was simply waiting,waiting for the life to return.

For some minutes I stood exposed onthat vast lawn in front of those blankwindows with not a soul in sight, thesilence softened only by the soughing ofthe breeze in the tops of the trees. Mymind’s eye could see it all so clearly: afine winter’s morning as the postie, hissteam-powered wagon, the CraigevarExpress, wound its way down the snowcovered driveway to the front of thehouse with sacks of Christmas parcels.

Another time, the carriages lined upoutside the house for the annual ball—the horses, harness gleaming, plumes ofsteam from their nostrils in the winterair, the lights from the house glowingout into the night, the life within, laugh-ter and shrieks of women, and the skirlof the pipes. All this Breda had surelyseen, and here I was, impertinentlycome to capture the house in its dream-

winter 1998 11

time, at its lowest point. I was to fly akite on the lawn and take photographsusing radio control? Would Breda everallow this?

Aside from this, the practicalities weresure to be a problem. The woodland sur-rounding the lawn would mask any windexcept from one direction. To the souththe lawn gave way to a long meadowlooking down to a distant vista of thehighlands. With the wind in the souththere was just a chance.

I drove away from Breda and backhome, my mind full of the excitement,the intensity of the challenge facing meand mulling over the methods I woulduse to rise to the challenge. Which kite,which rig?

I awoke one morning a few days laterknowing that I would take up the chal-lenge of Breda. The weather was set fairfrom the south, a fresh breeze and apiercing blue sky.

As soon as I stepped onto that lonelylawn I knew that conditions were asgood as they ever could be: sunshine,and a breeze with a long fetch down thefield onto the lawn. Within minutes mytrusty Jalbert 15 sq ft (1.4 m2) parafoilwas up at about a hundred feet and pull-ing sweetly, and I had the rig fastened onready to spool out.

Pre-launch tests completed, I strappedon my transmitter belt and started topay out more line. With the kite at 200feet and the rig about a hundred feetbelow it everything seemed to be fine,and I turned to the transmitter controls.

As I looked up to adjust the cameradirection, I saw to my amazement the

parafoil descending in a vertical powerdive towards the trees. This not-un-known parafoil tendency had not yetmanifested itself with this kite—untilnow.

I took a few rapid paces forward togive the kite its head, terrified of losing itto the trees, and the kite obediently re-covered, though not before the rig hadtaken a heavy landing on the lawn infront of me.

I soon recovered the rig, and inspectedit for damage. Clearly the tilt servo hadsheared gears, as it was functioning er-ratically, but nevertheless, everythingfunctioned well enough to consider car-rying on.

A second launch, and I got the rig upmuch higher, with the kite steady as arock in clearer air.

All the time on that open lawn alone, Ifelt as though I were watched, thoughthe only eyes were the windows of theempty house blankly looking down atme. The sense, though, was palpable.

Thirty odd shots later I was packingup, feeling jittery but elated to have a fullroll of film, and to have got away fromBreda with no real losses.

The following morning I stood outsidethe photo shop leafing through the freshprints. The first was a vertical shot of thelawn. So was the second. And the third.In all, twenty five of the shots showednothing other than the manicured lawn.In others, the driveway or the edge ofthe trees were evident. About four of the

Continued on page 12

12 the aerial eye

•æ

shots showed a tiny part of the house, ata crazy angle or incongrously blurred.

I sat in the car stunned. Never had Ihad such an overwhelming failure at ashoot. I leafed through and through thepictures, sure I had somehow missed allthe good pictures in my haste, but therewas nothing. The tilt servo had obviouslybeen more damaged than I had thought.I resolved then and there to repair itquickly and go straight back to Bredaand take up the gauntlet.

An hour later I was walking backacross that vast lawn, the wind was stillin the south, though the sun was hiddenby cloud. Breda stood impassive, stillwatching, seemingly defiant of my at-tempts.

Once again, after a few minutes thekite brought the rig down, but this timemore gently: there was no damage. I feltas though I was being shown that I was

still there under sufferance, not incharge of the situation.

Soon however, the kite was up higherin free air and the rig was soaring overBreda. The aiming stick showed that therig was pointing where I wanted. Afterabout 25 shots of the house, I evendared to move my attentions away fromBreda and take some shots of the sur-rounding countryside.

Two hours later I had the prints in myhands: Breda was mine. Twenty of theshots were clear, sharp and showed thehouse in all its glory. Two of them wereclassic KAP shots, and one was simplystunning.

When new people move in to Breda,one of the framed pictures in the hall-way will be of the house, a KAP phototaken from the lawn.

You have to have stood on that vastlawn in front of those empty windows tofeel what this story is about.

Continued from page 11

winter 1998 13

Flying two or more kites on one kite-line is a train. For trains I use ultralightdelta-Conynes with a center hole largeenough to pass my winder through. Theadvantages of flying trains are:

1. Better visibility to aircraft, other kite-fliers and spectators. For KAPers whosometimes fly high or near other kitefli-ers, this means safer flying. For specta-tors, a colorful kite train can be a spec-tacular sight.

2. Better flying flexibility. Putone kite up to see if the windlifts your rig. If not, add a sec-ond, a third, a fourth, etc., untilyou have enough pull.

3. More fun. I fly a 4-kite D-Ctrain whenever the wind islight, and must pay close atten-tion at lower elevations. Some-times the three kites below thetop do big circles or wanderback and forth until I tightenup the line. But I’ve never had amishap with a train; they allowme to play or perform a bit,unlike my more boring singlekites.

Many kites can be flown intrain, but my Devotion-to-Motion Ultralight D-Cs, withtheir high-cut center hole,make it easy to add more kites.If you use these D-Cs, makesure you pass the kiteline over

the top of the spreader. If you pass theline under the spreader, the train will notfly right.

No matter which kites you fly in train,practice is required in varying wind con-ditions. Trains are more complex, and flydifferently than single kites. But onceyou’re accustomed to them, and experi-ence their advantages, you’ll enter a KAPdimension like no other.

a terse treatise on trainsby STEVE EISENHAUER

Gene Lew

andowski

•æ

14 the aerial eye

it’s not just a crop shootby CRAIG WILSON

Is it luck? Is it skill? Is it just a hope anda prayer?

Quite obviously if you have done anyKAP then you know the answer is “yes”to all of the above.

There most definitely is luck involved.As in any type of photography, luck playsa role. Just try to duplicate one of yourfavorite non-KAP photographs. It cannotbe done. Conditions came together in away that was just right to make lighting,color, and composition meld into a pho-tograph which can effectively convey amood, a story and feeling that a viewerof your photograph can enjoy and relateto.

To go back to the site of a favorite pho-to and try to duplicate it is impossiblebecause conditions will not be exactlythe same. You may get an equally goodphoto, but not one that is the same.

Luck in making a great photo plays arole but takes a back seat to your exper-tise in using the equipment and yourartistic skills of composing a great im-age.

It is this confidence in the use of yourequipment that must be developed,combined with a little luck of being atthe right place at the right time. Togeth-er they will increase your chances ofmaking consistently good photos.

Photographers, generally speaking, arecontrol freaks. In KAP however we haveto give up some control because we are

not physically behind the camera. But weshould not let surrendering control meanthat we depend exclusively on luck fora good image.

We should still try to control what wecan control and that primarily is our-selves. It is so very important that wehave control of our emotions and actionsso that we don’t sabotage our own ef-forts by making stupid mistakes in theheat and excitement of doing somethingthat is a bit risky and dangerous.

Have you ever driven through an inter-section in your car as the traffic lightturned red? If you have, like me you mayhave felt your field of vision compressedas if in a tunnel, only being able to seestraight ahead. My peripheral vision goesaway as I know I am not in control andmy mind is gripped with fear.

Going through the red light I put my-self at the mercy of the odds. If a drivercoming the other way were to startwithout looking I could be in a collision.Knowing that I am in the “wrong”, all Ican think about or focus on is gettingthrough the intersection, and lookingstraight ahead.

I am not comfortable being out of con-trol, and with the mind in a state of dis-comfort and fear it closes itself down sothat it is comfortable dealing only withthe clear lane straight ahead.

This analogy is so true in KAP. Like thequarterback in a game of [U.S.] football,

winter 1998 15

•æ

they say he gets into a “zone”, whereeven under great pressure he can re-main calm and “see” the entire field andeven throw the ball to his teammatewhile both are surrounded by a confus-ing array of opposing players.

This ability comes from a tremendousamount of practice, doing something sooften that it feels familiar and even natu-ral even though it may be quite difficultor even dangerous.

In making photographs by lifting yourcamera with a kite you need to have thissame calm mind to “see” the field.

The calm comes from being comfort-able in a situation where you don’t havethe same level of control that a photog-rapher that is looking through the lenshas. You are comfortable leaving somethings to chance. Comfortable with the

potential to damage your equipment orlose your equipment in a collision withthe ground. Comfortable with your abili-ty to “see” the entire field because youare at ease, confident, and skilled at tak-ing risk and doing it with an audiencewatching your every move.

With practice and a carefully-followedprocedure, you will be liberated from theencumbrances of being nervous, scared,unsure, and confused. You can be free tothink about the photographs that youwant to make and to focus on creativity,composition, timing, angles, and equip-ment choices.

You can let your excitement, enthusi-asm, and confidence add to the photo-graphic process as opposed to havingtrepidation detract from your creativevision.

Crop Art by Stan Herd, Newberg, Wisconsin, 1995. Photo by Craig Wilson

16 the aerial eye

[left] Mariner's Landing by B

[below left] Morey's Pier, W

by Bob Pebly

[below] Cold Fun by Pete

[left] Brooxes Biplane by Steve

[below] Strbra & Tatra Mounta

by James Aber

winter 1998 17

rooks Leffler

Wildwood

er Bults

[above] Civil War Museum & Chimborazo Park, Richmond

by Wendy Martin

[below] Great Tide Pool, Monterey Bay Aquarium by Cris Benton

e Eisenhauer

ains, Slovakia aerial gallery

18 the aerial eye

advent of the digital camera ageby KATSUTAKA MUROOKA, Chairman, Japan Kite Photography Association

The historyof cameratechnology isnow in a peri-od of transi-tion from theage of film toan age of anew digitalformat. Bothcamera mak-ers and elec-tronics manu-facturers arerushing enmasse tobring theirown offeringsto market.

This newtool differsfrom filmcameras in some significant areas, andintroduces a number of new elements.To list a few of the digital devices’ fea-tures:

1. Data can be stored on memorycards. In the case of the Olympus C-820-L,a 4 MB card will hold 60 pictures at nor-mal resolution, or 8 pictures at high reso-lution.

2. The results of pictures taken can beviewed immediately on the miniaturescreen on the back of the camera.

3. The camera can be connected bycable to a number of other devices:

a. to a television set to view the pic-tures on-screen

b. to a computer to download thepicture data for viewing or processing

c. to a printer to obtain hardcopyoutput.

Of course, the computer and printercan be connected to process the imagedata first and then obtain hardcopy out-put.

winter 1998 19

In addition, the personal computercan be connected to a wireless cellulartelephone to send the data in real timeto another computer located elsewhere.All of this can be done in a very shortperiod of time.

Kite photography using such newdigital cameras should find application ina wide range of fields. It is especially ef-fective when used for on-site investiga-tions for academic purposes. Some ex-amples of cases in which this technologyhas been employed include: •æ

1. Archeological survey:excavation survey of theStone Age ruins in Cagayanin the Philippines (Archeo-logical Research Laboratory,Sophia University);

2. Architectural survey:investigation of ramparts inJaisalmer, India (ArchitectureDepartment, School of Engi-neering, Tokyo Institute ofTechnology);

3. Oceanographic survey:survey of the coral reefs offIshigaki Island, Okinawa(Physical Science Laboratory,University of Tokyo); and

4. Environmental survey:survey of the Tama Riverflood plain in Tokyo (TokyoTechnical College).

In the first three ex-amples, university researchlaboratories are now in theprocess of taking kite photo-graphs, under the guidance

of the author.

Of course, the camera system can alsobe mounted on other flying apparatuses,such as air balloons or radio-controlledhelicopters.

The need for such aerial photographsis growing at a rapid pace, and the valueof such photos has likewise increased.Use of the digital camera format in con-junction with the film format shouldmake the system even more suited toapplication in aerial survey throughout awide range of fields.

Survey of Stone Age Ruins, Cagayan, Philippines

20 the aerial eye

A

B

leveling picavet’s horizonby BROOKS LEFFLER

To most of us, a level horizon in ourphotographs is important. But as rigsget lighter, that goal becomes more elu-sive as the rig blows around more in thewind.

Some KAPers with pendulum suspen-sions have successfully used dampers tokeep the pendulum from swinging ex-cessively (æ 1.4), but with the very popu-lar Picavet (pee-ka-vay) suspension,damping is almost antithetical—we wantthe rig to move as freely as possible.

A review of Pierre Picavet's 1911 inven-ton is in order; one variant is shown be-low. The camera cradle is held beneathan X, which is suspended by a single lineconnected at two points to the flying

line. This line is threaded back andforth, like the Cat's Cradle of child-

hood, between the anchorpoints, running free through

eyes or blocks at theends of each bar of

the X. The systemprovides a very

stable plat-form for

the camera, being self-leveling as theangle of the flying line changes.

Some KAPers install a double block ateach of the anchor points A & B; sometie the ends of the line at A, and place adouble block only at point B. Still others(myself included), thinking the upperblocks unnecessary, have simply knottedthe lines at both anchor points after theinitial leveling of the cradle.

Most of us started using the Picavetsystem with a small X of 4 to 10 inches(10 - 25mm) span. With the lower blocksso close together, the fluctuations be-tween line angles and leg lengthsseemed insignificant, leading some of usto replace the upper blocks with knots.

I must apologize to all of my friends inGermany for insisting that they werewrong in using double blocks. In fact, toachieve a level horizon under all windconditions, at least with a light rig, we’reALL wrong. The lines shouldn’t run com-pletely free, nor should they be com-pletely restricted.

With a larger Picavet system such asJohn Carlson’s stereo rig [see page 4], myknots caused big problems.

Having a large, light frontal area anddihedral sails, the stereo rig has lots ofwindage, i.e., it blows away from thewind. With cameras pointing down, thehorizon isn't a problem, but the wind-age makes it impossible to keep thecameras vertical in almost any breeze.

winter 1998 21

So I experimented with how to com-pensate for this windage by pre-loadingthe rig with some tilt, similar to whatChristian Becot had done with his anti-thrust pendulum (æ 3.4).

I started with my usual Picavet ar-rangement, with knots at points A & B. Ithought I could impose some tilt by mov-ing the center of the X away from thewind, thereby lengthening the windwardarm. Wrong.

With the 30” span of this Picavet X,and the knots in place, any change in thearms of the X simply slackened six of thelines, putting all of the weight on theshortest arm and diminishing rotationalstability. And there was no effect at allon fore-aft tilt.

With the knots at A & B, the lengths ofall legs were frozen, and for any adjust-ment to take place, they needed to befree to adapt. It seems that with a big X,the line angles and leg lengths fluctuatesignificantly with even minor changes inthe relative positions of the X and thepoints A & B .

But if I simply untied the knots andallowed the lines to run free, any im-posed tilt would eventually work itselfout or transform itself into another awk-ward tilt, and vertical camera placementwould remain elusive.

My solution was to add what’s knownas a cord lock, which is oftenused on the drawstring of kitebags and the like to keep themclosed without tying a knot inthe drawstring. From now on, Ishall call this neat little devicebrooxes horizon helper™.

If the two loops in the sus-pension lines at attach-ment point A arethreaded throughthe horizonhelper before

being con-nected to B, it

is possible to lockthe tilt of the rig into

any of several positions,correcting for windage and making thehorizon level.

Not only does this work perfectly onthe stereo rig, which is pretty well bal-anced top-to-bottom due to its low pro-file, I have also used it successfully onmy ultralight Epic rig, which like mostKAP rigs is quite bottom-heavy.

I have found it easiest to lace the sus-pension system through the openableend of a fishing snap at B, adding thehorizon helper later by simply pulling theloops at B through the hole and recon-necting them to the snap.

To put your horizon helper to work,hang your rig with the helper at lowerattachment point B. Then with one handreleasing the helper, adjust the angle ofyour rig with the other hand to tilt thetop of it a few degrees away from thewind. Release the helper, and launchyour fully-compensated, otherwise-self-leveling rig.

I have experimented only with thePicavet layout most common today, withone bar of the X pointing parallel to thekite line. Whether this will work withthe so-called “Rendsburg” or other con-figurations is for others to discover. •æ

22 the aerial eye

LINE

I usually use 160 lb. or 250 lb. braidedDacron™ on a hoop spool. I am currentlyworking on two different fishing reels touse as winches to pull down my rigswith full strain going onto the reel.

My best find was a Penn 12 - 0 Sena-tor fishing reel that I got for $20.00 at agarage sale. I believe that it will make agreat kite reel for KAP close-to-the-carshoots.

These reels are made for fishing bill-fish and other large species. I loaded itwith 170 lb. braided dacron line, and ampreparing it on a plank for its first tests.The drag will be released enough to let

the line out and I will tighten it upon ar-rival at the desired altitude. Since thesereels are intended for quite heavy line, Idon't expect to experience much troublewith a failure of the spool or anythinglike that.

The other reel, an Alvey, cost me $2.00at a garage sale. It may not stand up aswell but I intend to try it anyway; it isloaded with 200 lb. braided Kevlar™.

I have wanted to try the Kevlar for KAPfor a long time because it is so thin andlight. I know Kevlar may not work wellbecause weight and line sag are, to anextent, our friends in keeping the rigmore stable.

I bought the Kevlar more than 10 yearsago (900 ft. of it) with the intent of usingit for KAP, but needed to figure out somekind of reel arrangement so I wouldn’tbe tempted to handle the line by hand (Ididn’t want to amputate anything unin-tentionally).

TAILS

[At the Long Beach festival in August]winds were pretty steady at 20+ knots. Iput up my 30 sq. ft. Flowform first with a30 ft. tube tail. It pulled like a horse, butotherwise was flying pretty well. …I alsowas flying a Brook [winged box] for quitea while with a kite bag partially filledwith sand for a tail.

[More recently] I have been flying theFlowform 16 & 30 for several brief ses-sions. When winds are a bit stronger I

on line, tails, & trainsby HENRY JEBE, Douglas, Alaska

winter 1998 23

•æ

have been using a 20 ft. tubular tail for adrogue.

For lighter winds, I use either a 10 ft.[3m] double Delta-Conyne or a 14 ft.[4.2m] D-C usually without a drogue.

The only problem with D-Cs seems tobe their tendency to thermal occasional-ly. This is not so bad as long as you havesomewhere to walk to keep it from over-flying. It is a real problem when there isonly water, a cliff (ridge soaring) or treesupwind of your location.…

I also have a Genki Variant (14 ft.) that Imade several years ago. I would like toeventually make another one using half-ounce Icarex™ and graphite spars to

make a truly light wind flyer. These areamazingly steady flyers in winds up toabout 12 to 15 knots, but not of muchuse in higher wind.

TRAINS

Another plan I have is to make a smalltrain of kites out of plastic bags to looklike a small flock of ducks or geese. Myidea is to take photos of myself amid mydecoys when I am duck hunting to showhow obvious a hunter is to the water-fowl. I am hoping to get this done thisfall; the plastic kites might even help toattract the attention of some birds.

In October, the American Society forPhotogrammetry and Remote Sensingsponsored the First North American Sym-posium on Small Format Aerial Photogra-phy in Cloquet, Minnesota. It conflictedwith the AKA convention, so Carl was theonly KAPer to attend. He delivered a pa-per on his professional KAP work in theArctic [æ 3.2], and shepherded our WKA/AKA KAP exhibit. This is his report. —bgl

More than 75% of attendees were, inone way or another, from the forestryindustry. The majority work in aircraftaerial photography in 35mm with 250-exposure magazines, or with 70mm rollfilm in normal colour and infrared false

SFAP—the symposiumby CARL BIGRAS, Carlsbad Springs, Ontario, Canada

colour film. Some are experimentingwith the Kodak DCS 420 and 460 CIR digi-tal camera.

You can imagine that during somepresentations, I felt a bit out of place butconvinced myself that it’s just anotherway of doing my job. I met others whohave similar work interests, especiallyIrene Marzolff from Germany. She hasdone AP from a hot air blimp built for her(approximately US$12,000). I gave her acopy of æ and I might have convincedher to try her rokkaku next time out.

I also gave a copy to Jim Walker fromBrigham Young University, Provo, Utah.He does his aerials with an r/c airplane.

Continued on page 24

24 the aerial eye

•æ

a self-centreing drogueby ROB GREEN, Newbury, Berkshire, England

•æ

He had three planes with him and did ademo at the airport. Nice stuff.

I saw five presentations which dealtwith stereo aerials using a boom andhelicopter. Only one was hanging fromthe grab hook; the others are fixedlengthwise or widthwise. Now my mind

is working overtime on a plan for mynext stereo rig.

My presentation went well, eventhough I was nervous. I tried to base mytalk on the facts, which are: very smallbudget, low aerial photos, small cover-age, and the need to be compact. I hadno questions, but no one left the room.

Continued from page 23

To stabilize my 11-ft span (3m)double Conyne kite I often use thismethod in stronger wind conditions,to minimise erratic flight.

The essential ingredient is theattachment's self-centreing ability.The drogue line can be quicklyclipped onto any part of thewingtip line and will immediatelybe seen to find its own centre, al-ways complimenting precise winddirection.

winter 1998 25

aerialetters

RODNEY

Every three months I feel anticipatedjoy when æ comes again. This time myjoy just collapsed and I felt very, very sadwhen the message of Rodney Thomsen’sdeath dropped into my hand. [The noticewas an insert with æ 3.4. —bgl]

As Brooks wrote, I met Rodney Thoms-en first in July 1995 in Eureka. I’ll neverforget the huge salmon steak he offeredme in his great hospitality. The next dayBrooks and I visited Rodney’s workshop.

The photo that Brooks published docu-ments Rodney in a wonderful true way.In the background you see his tools,placed very accurately and useful. Fromthe ceiling there are hanging down kitelines for KAP-suspension simulation. Theworking-platform is clean; a portfolio isopened, filled with KAPWA-information.

Rodney was very well-prepared forquestions of KAP-details. The KAPWA-magazine’s article by Michael Haugrundwas open and Rodney used a magnify-ing-glass to see all the details shown inMichael’s photos.

From this moment, the way Rodneydevoted his attention to those photos tolearn by them strongly influenced myway of writing articles and preparingphotos for publishing. Photos, takenthousands of miles away in Europe, be-came a very important source of infor-mation for Rodney. He enlightened methis way and since then I feel my respon-

sibility to give best information, not onlyin the photos, but also in written words.

…I met Rodney only for some hours,but I do know this. He was a heartfeltgentleman, doing his work with themost important ingredient someone cando—LOVE. In this way I’ll remember himand his work forever.

Wolfgang BieckBad Bevensen, Germany

…I was sorry to hear of the passing ofRodney Thomsen. Although I didn’t knowhim personally I enjoyed reading his arti-cles and using some of his tips. After allwe were both advocates of wooden rigs.…His articles will be missed.

Don DvorakSanta Clara, California

I was so saddened to hear that RodneyThomsen passed away so quickly…. Ionly wish I had known him better, butthe distance between us made that diffi-cult. The few times that we had visited Ienjoyed; he seemed such a friendlyman…a gentleman, and always full ofpraise for my KAP endeavors. No matterhow bumbling my earlier attempts were,he never made me feel ignorant. I am soglad to have known him, even thoughonly a little.

Henry JebeDouglas, Alaska

Continued on page 26

26 the aerial eye

EINEN DEUTSCHER HITCHCOCK

Since we met in Bad Bevensen, muchtime has gone by; much has happened. Iwas a beginner at FLiBB 96 without back-ground in KAPing. This time I can saythat I have been very successful. I amvery proud that I got good teachers whohave given me good basic info.

There was no week this year withoutKAPing—always I found a few hours withdry and windy (more or less) weather. Ilost two rigs and broke a few kites, but itwas a very intensive lesson.

My dream was, like Alfred Hitchcock,in my own pictures to play a hidden part(without visible kiteline). The photo [be-low] is titled “A Walk Through the Neigh-bors’ Garden.” You can see that fromtheir point of view, I wasn’t there.

Rainer BreuerEmmerich-Elten, Germany

LOOKING GOOD

I just got the most recent issue of theaerial eye and wanted to commend youon the new look. I would be happy, as Iwould guess other subscribers would, topay a little extra for this added quality.

Andy KraushaarMadison, Wisconsin

I like the new look a lot, even if itmeans an increase in subscription rates.I’m definitely renewing for another year.Thanks again for the great magazine.

Jon LaquaEagan, MN

MORE COLOR!

Printing Vol. 3 No 4—as we received it—has been the right step. Congratulations!I like the new look and (paper)-feeling. Allthose colorful pictures in 600 dpi added a

winter 1998 27

lot to æ readers delight. If æ’s picturepool is big enough and unless extraprinting problems (and costs) occur, Iwould appreciate 4 instead of 2 center-pages of the “aerial gallery” very much.

Dr. Kraft SchmidtHerscheid, Germany

In regard to the new dress [of æ] I haveonly a question. Would it be possible,technically and financially, to print pho-tos on both sides of the paper in order tohave more space for pictures?

Peter BultsHolthees, The Netherlands

We’re glad you all like the improvedcolor photos—we do too! But it wouldcost even more to print color on the backsides of the center pages, and we needto get the first big cost increase undercontrol before we start spending more.Regarding our picture pool, we have lotsof good stuff from a few contributors,but nothing from most of our readers,alas. —bgl

UNSTACKED FIREWOOD

As I came home yesterday, there wasthis envelope in the mailbox, but I hadalso received 3 cords of firewood besidethe garage that had to be stacked, and10 lb. of thawed tomatoes on the kitchencounter to be turned into salsa.

First things first, wasting no time, Iquickly ripped open the envelope andglanced through it as a kid would openhis Christmas present, then back towork. At 10:15 pm, reading in bed, well atleast I read half of it before falling asleep.

As always, excellent work and thequality is superb. I hope in the case ofextra cost that we will not lose any [sub-scribers].

Carl BigrasCarlsbad Springs, OntarioCanada

REBEL X

It is possible to do exposure compen-sation in the Portrait mode on the CanonRebel X [see æ 3.4]. First one has to tapethe DX coding on the film cassette. Thenthe ISO can be set manually to compen-sate for exposure. For Fuji Provia 100 Ioften set the IS0 at 160, especially ifthere are any dark green areas in theframe. Also, the new model Rebel hasthe auto-bracketing feature, which is onmany of the more expensive Canons.

Peter EssickAtlanta, Georgia

GAUL REVISITED

For those who didn’t understand [KAP-ing in Old Gaul. æ 3.4]: “Asterix” is the titleof a comic printed in about 30 countries.In the year 50 B.C. Asterix and his friendslived in a small village when Gaul(France) was occupied by the Romans. Itwas the only one that held out againstthe invaders.

Looking at the KAPhotograph it re-minded me of Asterix and his tiny village.The rest is my story—or a new history tobe written? You never know. Well, thismodel-village was built by pupils, theirteachers and some craftsmen guided bya museum.…

Continued on page 28

28 the aerial eye

I’m still working on my new rig. I’vepicked up Peter Bults’ idea of his superSUMIPI. It will be a COMIPI (compact min-iature Picavet suspension): ready built upand slim like the camera.

Ulrich MonseesStade, Germany

CARBON OVER PETRA

I recently decided to purchase a rigfrom Frank Louwers, after reading hisarticle in the aerial eye. We received itless than two weeks ago, and I have al-ready given it some test flying time. Itworks absolutely beautifully, and its car-bon fibre construction makes it extreme-ly light and very strong.

I am heading off to the middle east totake some kite photos of Petra, the rosered city carved into the side of a moun-tain. I will also likely go to Jerusalem andalso to see the mountain where Mosesreceived the Ten Commandments. I amvery excited and have the kite and cam-era all packed and ready to go.

Also, per your suggestion, I have elect-ed to mount a Yashica T4 Super camerawhich has produced beautiful pictures.…I just received the latest æ and alreadyam giving it a second read.

Josh HaygoodSan Francisco, California

OAHU FOR CHRISTMAS

We are leaving cold and windless Fair-banks, Alaska, November 18th to spendtwo weeks on the island of Oahu visitingour eldest son for Christmas. I see thisas my first opportunity to do Kite AerialPhotography.

I have a Sutton Flowform 16 and won-der if…you know what kind of weight itwill lift in 10 to 15 mph steady tradewinds. I will build a Picavet, use rubbermuffler line vibration snubbers and buildtwo of your brooxes hangups™, hang myRicoh FF-9 and trip its shutter with a ra-dio command unit I have that was builtto fire parachute deployment for HighPower Rockets. It puts out a voltagewhich I use to close a relay that fires theFF-9.

I wonder if I can go to the next leveland fly a Minolta SLR with a radio-con-trolled azimuth? Any feedback from youwill help me as I have never built norflown anything, although as you know Ihave all the issues of the aerial eye.

Neal B. BrownFairbanks, Alaska

I have used a FF16 behind a smallcruise ship with no ambient wind but ahull speed of about 12 kt to lift a rigweighing just under two pounds. I usethe same kite all the time to lift my 18-22oz Yashica and Olympus Epic rigs. So Ithink you’ll have no trouble at all withthe Ricoh unless you make your cradleout of strap iron.

An SLR is a whole different order ofmagnitude, however, and I’d doubt it.Why don’t you use the FF9 with r/c con-trolled pan? That’s been a very popularcamera for KAP, especially in Europe.One recommendation: make yourself a15 ft fuzzy tail for the Sutton, with a Ybridle. See æ 3.3. —bgl

winter 1998 29

500 feet up over Carleton, Michigan USA.American delta kite flying with tail.Looking west. by JoAnn and Louis J.

Deisinger, Kitefliers. June 7, 1997.

MECHANICAL AF SWITCH?

Is there anyone who has developed a2-step-switch for autofocus and the shut-ter to be managed mechanically by aspring? I’d like to use it for a very lightnon-r/c HoVer-rig lifted with an “endless”kiteline. I want to release the switch by aGrauppner Thermik or KSB timer (see æ3.3 p.12). The switch will be connectedto a Mju-2 (Olympus Stylus Epic) that Iwill convert [to electric shutter release]with an external socket.

Ulrich MonseesFalkenweg 1821684 Stade, [email protected]

EPIC OR MJU-2

I like the new printing in æ—looksgreat. That rear cover shot of the ironage village in Gaul was superb.

On the subject of the Olympus Mju-2[as the Epic is known in Europe] whichyou wrote about (æ 3.4), I just thought I’dshare some experience of the camerawith you. I have been using one forabout 10 rolls of KAP film, and havecome to the decision to stop using it.

This really pains me as it is SUCH a gor-geous camera, and on a rig with micro-servos is just superb for compactness.However, in the available light conditionshere in Scotland it is not performing halfas well as the KAPers’ favourites.

The problem is blur, simple shutterspeed blur. Whereas the Yashicas speedup the shutter in bright conditions, theOlympus with its clever brain also stopsdown to keep the shutter speed in mid-

range at around 1/250th. It is very hardto force it out to its maximum 1/1000th.It really needs a sports mode to give itshutter priority.

I’ve been putting 400 and 800 filmthrough it and in side-by-side compari-sons with the Yashica T4 on aerial shootshere in Scotland it’s turning in about 7pin-sharp and 17 slightly blurred. On thesame shoot in same conditions the Yash-ica which uses shutter priority turned inone blurred on a roll of 24.…

Simon HarbordAlford, Scotland

Continued on page 30

30 the aerial eye

Since writing the review, I’ve shot 8-10rolls through my Epic, and except for theone time I inserted the film cassettecarelessly and got a light leak, I’ve hadexcellent pictures, with none of the blurthat Simon complains about. Simon hasalso mentioned in subsequent email thathe has recently had better results too,and was continuing to use and study thecamera. We’ll keep you posted, but I stillthink it’s the point-&-shoot of choiceright now. —bgl

APOLOGIES

Dear Brooks,

I see that I’ve inadvertently ruffledsome feathers. [see æ 3.4, p. 28] Please,accept my apologies!

I honestly thought that the ™ on yourhangup™ was put there in the spirit ofjest. You know, to give dignity to some-thing that otherwise might seem ordi-nary. The only reason I added the trade-mark symbol to my effort was to keepthe humor rolling.

Believe me, I have no investment inthe word “hang-up.” As a matter of fact Ithought it was a generic word…It neveroccurred to me that you might be seri-ously trying to establish legal author-ship.…

At any rate, please accept my apolo-gies, and inform the readership that if itbe their pleasure they may refer to thething I built as a “Synergy’s Sky-Hook™”,or any other name that suits their fancy.

Richard SynergyToronto, Ontario, Canada

Hi Richard.

The feathers aren’t badly ruffled, and Iaccept your apologies.…I have no inten-tion of going through the legal rigama-role to get my creation patented or thatsort of thing, but I came up with a good,albeit derivative, device and a clevername for it, and I’d like my efforts (bothin creating the device and in naming it)to be known as MY efforts, not some-body else’s. …

I’ve observed that kite people are pret-ty casual about intellectual property.Flexifoil…Sanka and Kodak and Xeroxhave fought valiantly—and seeminglysuccessfully—to have their names notused generically.

I don’t pretend to put my whimsicalcreation in the same league as all theseworthies [although we all seem to havea “k” or an “x” involved somehow ;-) ] butbrooxes hangup is brooxes, dammit, notthe term applied to just anybody’s devicefor hanging stuff from the kite line!…

My use of the ™ was neither in jestnor simply to “to give dignity to some-thing that otherwise might seem ordi-nary.” It’s not ordinary. …

If we were talking face to face, you’dsee that this isn’t really the big deal youthink it is with me, but I am serious tothe extent that I want the name to bemine, not yours.

chin UPbrooks

Brooks, No problems from me in re-gards to your right to due credit. …I ap-plaud your effort!

winter 1998 31

However, the thing that puts my nosea bit out of joint is that, feeling as you do,you didn’t email me immediately when Isent you my design telling me that you’dprefer that I name it something else…

Why you elected to put this privatematter in print is beyond me. I feel I’vebeen centered out and made to look afool or villain in the public eye.…I certain-ly hope that an explanation will appearin the next issue of the aerial eye to re-instate my good name.

Best RegardsRichard

Hi Richard.

Your point is valid; I certainly couldhave reacted by email.…I’m sorry I wasnot more sensitive. I have no wish tosingle you out and/or to ridicule you oranybody else.…

I don’t think my small editorial com-ment will have any effect on your consid-erable reputation, but I’ll do what youwish.

brooks

AERIAL GLOBE?

I just did the one thing that, whenmarried people take those weddingvows, they promise they will never do toeach other. I opened my spouse’s mail.Believe it or not, even I look forward toeach new issue of the aerial eye, anddidn’t want to wait until Craig got hometo sneak a peek. I enjoy seeing somefamiliar names and faces and readingabout adventures in far off places. I con-fess, however that some of those more

technical articles make my eyes glazeover a bit, but all in all it’s every bit asenjoyable as is my Colonial Homes maga-zine.

Enough with the niceties already. Ijust finished reading the article by thatwindbag Craig Wilson. I’ve often ques-tioned his integrity and now I have toquestion yours too. What kind of editorwould print such inflammatory state-ments as are found in the final para-graphs of this article? Don’t you thinkyou should start checking your sources alittle more carefully? Or perhaps thismagazine should now be entitled theaerial star or the the aerial globe?

Betsy WilsonMadison, Wisconsin

Continued from page 3

tures in restricted airspace (aircraft arenot permitted to fly below 2,000 feet inthis area) is a priceless memory.

His resultant photographs, and theones I have from my own flights thatday, provide images from angles and ele-vations probably never taken before inhistory. But no matter how remarkablethe photographs, the image in my mindremains even more remarkable. •æ

•æ

in the spring issue:

HOW TO BUILD ITSend detailed instructions on your

pet KAProject—with pictures!

AD & COPY DEADLINE:February 1, 1998

32 the aerial eye

[above] Castles in the Air, Corfe Castle Village, Dorset, England, by Rob Green.[below] Saussemesnil, France, by Christian Becot.