Hello folks, have you missed me? Bet not. I've not been entirely inactive, but changes at work have meant I've got more travelling to do which is eating into my time.
Anyway, Saturday 31st saw KKF doing its bit for light up the sky. We were in Margate and battling with little wind and sea mist, so ended up with two soaked kites again, but did manage to raise over £60 for Children in Need, which is great.
Sunday 8th November saw KKF in Canterbury for our regular fly in. Again it looked like low wind was going to spoil the day, but ultimately the wind picked up enough and it turned into a good flying day. Low level turbulence was a bit of a problem, but I got a conyne up to about 600 feet and it was quite stable up there. Not entirely sure it was legal though as I doubt I was 1000 feet below the cloud base. There was a big sag in the line, but tremendous pull, it would have been great to get a camera up there, but I hadn't come equipped! Silly boy.
Next weekend we've got a sports kite workshop in Tonbridge, so we'll have to see how that goes.
Sunday, November 08, 2009
Sunday, October 11, 2009
OSOW 2009
After some sunshine on Saturday and the promise of more sun next week, Sunday 11th October was met with cloudy skies. But never mind, its OSOW time to go out flying! So around about lunchtime I headed off to Singleton Environment in Ashford where Kent Kite Flyers had scheduled their OSOW meet.
When I got there, the clouds were fairly high and there was a good stiff breeze. Lots of flotail deltas in the sky, so I decided to join in and soon had one of my own flying high amongst the rest.
Time to set up for some KAP. As the breeze was brisk, I chose to use a 56 inch rokkaku. This is a nice kite when the wind is up a bit. I launched the kite and pegged it down and went back to the car to get the camera rig. With the rig set up and attached to the line, time to try to KAP the visitor centre. Now I know I'm a bit dumb at times, but I had a funny feeling that the camera was not shooting. Of course it helps if you enable CHDK and start the USB script! So having been clicking away for a while, I recovered the camera, and enabled the script. Slightly more confident, I let out line, but we now seemed to be in a lull in the breeze, Still I managed to get high enough to get some photos.
As the wind had dropped a bit, I brought the camera and kite down and decided to have another go with a flowform 30. It was a bit troublesome to launch but soon gathered wind and climbed. By the time I was ready to attach the kite again, the wind had picked up a bit again, and the kite was pulling a bit. This time, I made abso9lutely sure that the camera was working before letting it climb!
So I launched with some confidence. But the kite was not flying with any stability and it really wasn't a very pleasant experience. I did manage to get a couple of photos that weren't too blurred, but the rest were rubbish.
Recovery became the next issue, as the wind was up, the kite was dancing a bit and the line was tight. But with the kite firmly anchored, it was a case of walk down, pull in and tie off until the camera was low enough to take off. The first spots of damp started to drizzle down.So I concentrated on geting the camera put away, and a couple of bits back to the car, leaving the flowform lifting a pig and the flotail flying. While at the car, the wind suddenly dropped, and two flotails suddenly appeared above. One (mine) landed in the trees, and the other (Gerties) settled over the fence in the school playing fields. Both being soaking wet, I retreived Gert's flowtail, and moved the line out of the road, then retrieved my own. Both were sopping wet.
So walking back to the field, I found my flowform had also landed in the hedge and the pig was also resting in the bushes. Bill volunteered to reover the kite, while I recovered the pig. Again, both were saturated! With the kites and laundry recovered, it was time to wind in line and help others recover their kites and line beofre heading for home. So tonight, there is lots of material hinging up to dry in various parts of the house much to my wife's annoyance.
When I got there, the clouds were fairly high and there was a good stiff breeze. Lots of flotail deltas in the sky, so I decided to join in and soon had one of my own flying high amongst the rest.
Time to set up for some KAP. As the breeze was brisk, I chose to use a 56 inch rokkaku. This is a nice kite when the wind is up a bit. I launched the kite and pegged it down and went back to the car to get the camera rig. With the rig set up and attached to the line, time to try to KAP the visitor centre. Now I know I'm a bit dumb at times, but I had a funny feeling that the camera was not shooting. Of course it helps if you enable CHDK and start the USB script! So having been clicking away for a while, I recovered the camera, and enabled the script. Slightly more confident, I let out line, but we now seemed to be in a lull in the breeze, Still I managed to get high enough to get some photos.
As the wind had dropped a bit, I brought the camera and kite down and decided to have another go with a flowform 30. It was a bit troublesome to launch but soon gathered wind and climbed. By the time I was ready to attach the kite again, the wind had picked up a bit again, and the kite was pulling a bit. This time, I made abso9lutely sure that the camera was working before letting it climb!
So I launched with some confidence. But the kite was not flying with any stability and it really wasn't a very pleasant experience. I did manage to get a couple of photos that weren't too blurred, but the rest were rubbish.
Recovery became the next issue, as the wind was up, the kite was dancing a bit and the line was tight. But with the kite firmly anchored, it was a case of walk down, pull in and tie off until the camera was low enough to take off. The first spots of damp started to drizzle down.So I concentrated on geting the camera put away, and a couple of bits back to the car, leaving the flowform lifting a pig and the flotail flying. While at the car, the wind suddenly dropped, and two flotails suddenly appeared above. One (mine) landed in the trees, and the other (Gerties) settled over the fence in the school playing fields. Both being soaking wet, I retreived Gert's flowtail, and moved the line out of the road, then retrieved my own. Both were sopping wet.
So walking back to the field, I found my flowform had also landed in the hedge and the pig was also resting in the bushes. Bill volunteered to reover the kite, while I recovered the pig. Again, both were saturated! With the kites and laundry recovered, it was time to wind in line and help others recover their kites and line beofre heading for home. So tonight, there is lots of material hinging up to dry in various parts of the house much to my wife's annoyance.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Fun in the sun at Hardelot
Well I didn't get to KAP, but it was great fun anyway.
Saturday 26th September saw KKF on their annual outing to celebrate Christmas, this year it was 2005. Its a long story, so you'll need to ask me for an explanation. Anyway as Hardelot festival had been put back from its normal May slot to late September, we decided to combine the two and have som efun on the beach.
Most of us took a leisurely journey, whilst the advanced party of 1 took the train and was asking where we were, whilst we were just leaving Dover! Gloriously smoooth crossingand arrived in Calais in good sunshine for the steady drive down to Hardelot. We managed to find somewhere to park on the beach, and spotted the advance party flying already.
She had already set up the Christmas theme, much to the surprise of those around us. So we got our act together and were soon playing in the sun and the sand. There were lots of interesting kites to see and with the tide out, plenty of space (please note Margate organisers!) We had a couple of hours flying and making friends. There were a lot of Kapers there, so I decided not to bother getting anything out of the car. Anyway, I was enjoying myself too much.
About 3pm UK time, we decided to go to find something to eat, but unfortuinately most of the restaurants were closed! However there was one that was willing to serve us, so we settled down on the terrace for our Christmas dinner.
We seemed to get a few strange looks from the locals as crackers were pulled and we generally caused disruption! Fed and watered it was time to head back to the beach. Where had everyone gone? Well the tide was coming in and most of the display kites had come down and the beach was almost deserted. Being muilt of stronger stuff at KKF, we decided to have a rok fight, and spent another hour in the sun before deciding that it was time to head off to catch the ferry home.
A quick drive up to Calais and straight onto the ferry, to settled down to crisps and Christmas cake for supper. Great day out and thanks to eveeryone who came along and made it such fun.
Saturday 26th September saw KKF on their annual outing to celebrate Christmas, this year it was 2005. Its a long story, so you'll need to ask me for an explanation. Anyway as Hardelot festival had been put back from its normal May slot to late September, we decided to combine the two and have som efun on the beach.
Most of us took a leisurely journey, whilst the advanced party of 1 took the train and was asking where we were, whilst we were just leaving Dover! Gloriously smoooth crossingand arrived in Calais in good sunshine for the steady drive down to Hardelot. We managed to find somewhere to park on the beach, and spotted the advance party flying already.
She had already set up the Christmas theme, much to the surprise of those around us. So we got our act together and were soon playing in the sun and the sand. There were lots of interesting kites to see and with the tide out, plenty of space (please note Margate organisers!) We had a couple of hours flying and making friends. There were a lot of Kapers there, so I decided not to bother getting anything out of the car. Anyway, I was enjoying myself too much.
About 3pm UK time, we decided to go to find something to eat, but unfortuinately most of the restaurants were closed! However there was one that was willing to serve us, so we settled down on the terrace for our Christmas dinner.
We seemed to get a few strange looks from the locals as crackers were pulled and we generally caused disruption! Fed and watered it was time to head back to the beach. Where had everyone gone? Well the tide was coming in and most of the display kites had come down and the beach was almost deserted. Being muilt of stronger stuff at KKF, we decided to have a rok fight, and spent another hour in the sun before deciding that it was time to head off to catch the ferry home.
A quick drive up to Calais and straight onto the ferry, to settled down to crisps and Christmas cake for supper. Great day out and thanks to eveeryone who came along and made it such fun.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Margate - better late than never
A bit late, but finally I've got some time to post a quick item on Margate festival. Wasn't it fun? Saturday was sunny and warm with a very gentle breeze. Everyone seemed to be moaning about the lack of wind. What was the problem? I managed to get a premier rok up to about 800 feet and later in the day, got my maxi dopero flying serenely above the crowds, stable like it was nailed to the sky!
Sunday was much cooler, much windier and much duller. In the morning, it was a case of flying a ribbon box, which again I let climb to about 800 feet. In the afternoon, I decided to do some KAP from a 56 inch rok. Now interesting, this is the same kite I used in Gillingham the week before, in less wind, but today it as providing less lift. The only difference was the amount of bow put into the spreaders. Anyway, it was a bit of a struggle. I had Matt flying while I operated the remote. We wandered around as best we could, but more of that later.
Lunch was provided at a local cafe and was excellent, enjoyed by all. Meanwhile others carried on flying.
OK that's the fun bit. Now here comes the criticism. Not enough space guys. If you are going to have a kite festival for the public, you need some space for public flying, but the only usable space was a walkway between the two arenas. More space next year please.
Sunday was much cooler, much windier and much duller. In the morning, it was a case of flying a ribbon box, which again I let climb to about 800 feet. In the afternoon, I decided to do some KAP from a 56 inch rok. Now interesting, this is the same kite I used in Gillingham the week before, in less wind, but today it as providing less lift. The only difference was the amount of bow put into the spreaders. Anyway, it was a bit of a struggle. I had Matt flying while I operated the remote. We wandered around as best we could, but more of that later.
Lunch was provided at a local cafe and was excellent, enjoyed by all. Meanwhile others carried on flying.
OK that's the fun bit. Now here comes the criticism. Not enough space guys. If you are going to have a kite festival for the public, you need some space for public flying, but the only usable space was a walkway between the two arenas. More space next year please.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Tests seem OK
Following on from the Will Adams festival, I spent an hour last night testing the USB release of my camera without a problem. I noticed that when the LCD went into power save mode, it took about 3 - 4 seconds from operating the remote to the camera waking and taking the picture, but other than that it went without a hitch. Ah well, we'll try again and this time I'll try to count how many times I think I operate the shutter.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Will Adams Festival - a busy day
What started out looking like it may be a struggle, turned into a really successful day. When we arrived in the morning, we had been allocated an arena that stretched along one side of the field. Unfortunately, the wind direction meant that we were in the lea of some rather large horse chestnut trees and was blowing diagonally across the arena. Never mind, we'll just bomb the inoccent passers buy. We got the club gazebo up, then concentrated on getting teddy dropping set up. With the wind direction as it was, a long launch of a pair of stacked rokkakus was needed to get into the clearer air. But once up, the kites stayed there for the rest of the day. Whilst Bill tested gear, everyone else concentrated on getting out a display of kites.
With a bit of help from my friends, I managed to get a flotail delta and a 56 inch rokkaku up into the airstream where they were quite stable. But by now, with the crowds begining to gather it was becomeing difficult to launch from outside the arena. But the sun came out, and we spent the afternoon under clear blue skies.
After a while, I decided to try some KAP, so used the rokkaku that was already flying to carry the rig. This was going to be at relatively low level. Whilst wandering around, I was asked to move by the guy who was about to do a birds of prey demonstration. Interesting that birds of prey with very keen eyesight can't spot a kite line. Anyway, happy to oblige I moved away and got a couple of pics from the other side of the arena.
Meanwhile, the guys back at base were doing a roaring trade keeping the public interested in kites and handing out fliers and cards. A lot of genuine interest was shown, which makes a refreshing change. Bill was also doing a roaring tade with bear dropping. After a delicious lunch of noodles with ginger, I decided to go out and have another go from higher up. I must have speant a good hour wandering around, though I wasn't really taking a lot of photos as I speant a huge amount of time chatting to people who were interested in what I was doing - and surprised that I would trust a camera to a kite. See if you can spot the people in this photo who have spotted the camera.
A day not without incident. And I have to spend some time this week checking the trigger mechanism, as I am not sure it is firing every time. But a good day all the same.
With a bit of help from my friends, I managed to get a flotail delta and a 56 inch rokkaku up into the airstream where they were quite stable. But by now, with the crowds begining to gather it was becomeing difficult to launch from outside the arena. But the sun came out, and we spent the afternoon under clear blue skies.
After a while, I decided to try some KAP, so used the rokkaku that was already flying to carry the rig. This was going to be at relatively low level. Whilst wandering around, I was asked to move by the guy who was about to do a birds of prey demonstration. Interesting that birds of prey with very keen eyesight can't spot a kite line. Anyway, happy to oblige I moved away and got a couple of pics from the other side of the arena.
Meanwhile, the guys back at base were doing a roaring trade keeping the public interested in kites and handing out fliers and cards. A lot of genuine interest was shown, which makes a refreshing change. Bill was also doing a roaring tade with bear dropping. After a delicious lunch of noodles with ginger, I decided to go out and have another go from higher up. I must have speant a good hour wandering around, though I wasn't really taking a lot of photos as I speant a huge amount of time chatting to people who were interested in what I was doing - and surprised that I would trust a camera to a kite. See if you can spot the people in this photo who have spotted the camera.
A day not without incident. And I have to spend some time this week checking the trigger mechanism, as I am not sure it is firing every time. But a good day all the same.
Monday, September 07, 2009
Kites over Capstone 2009
Phew, that was hard work! Not the kite festival, uploading some photos to Flickr. It took three attempts to get them uploaded, and it was only 15 images!
Anyway, enough of a rant. Sunday was Kites over Capstone, a fun day at an event that, until 3 weeks ago was cancelled. Then it was suddenly resurrected. I have to say, the council did a sterling job in getting everything laid on in 3 weeks, and are committed to having the event agian next year, but with a bit more time for planning this time!
So what was it like. Well, as I drove over boxley hill, I could see the kites in the distance. By the time I drove into the park, they were all back on the ground! It was to be like that for a couple of hours until we finally gots some decent wind as it shifted around a bit. Eventually there was enough for me to stick a camera onto a rokaku and try to get some photos. But I wasn't allowed to fly where I wanted to be! "You can't fly that there." "Why not?" "Because it is a designated walking area" What utter nonsense. Eventually the council relented and let people fly and enjoy themselves. In the meantime I took a few photos of the ground and some kites.
Then a little later on, I decided to give my new pole an outing. I was quite surprised at how heavy the camera was on the end of the pole, how much the pole flexed, and how much the camera caught the breeze and tried to pull everything out of my hands. But I had a good wander round and managed to capture some of the goings on at the event.
Anyway, enough of a rant. Sunday was Kites over Capstone, a fun day at an event that, until 3 weeks ago was cancelled. Then it was suddenly resurrected. I have to say, the council did a sterling job in getting everything laid on in 3 weeks, and are committed to having the event agian next year, but with a bit more time for planning this time!
So what was it like. Well, as I drove over boxley hill, I could see the kites in the distance. By the time I drove into the park, they were all back on the ground! It was to be like that for a couple of hours until we finally gots some decent wind as it shifted around a bit. Eventually there was enough for me to stick a camera onto a rokaku and try to get some photos. But I wasn't allowed to fly where I wanted to be! "You can't fly that there." "Why not?" "Because it is a designated walking area" What utter nonsense. Eventually the council relented and let people fly and enjoy themselves. In the meantime I took a few photos of the ground and some kites.
Then a little later on, I decided to give my new pole an outing. I was quite surprised at how heavy the camera was on the end of the pole, how much the pole flexed, and how much the camera caught the breeze and tried to pull everything out of my hands. But I had a good wander round and managed to capture some of the goings on at the event.
Thursday, September 03, 2009
Completed and tested pole kit
Well I promised I would add more as I completed the PAP mount. Today, I finished it off by opening up the holes that go over the poles so that it would fit on the bottom 6 sections. The mount now fits at the very top of the top section, which I've wrapped with insulating tape just to stop the mount wearing the pole. After all, insulating tape is relatively cheap and easy to replace compared to a £100 carp pole.
This is what the mount looks like
As you can see it is very simple.
Next was time for a test drive. On a very windy day, I decided not to use the bottom two sections of the pole, taking off about 3 metres of height. But it was plenty difficult to control the pole as the wind blew across from the garage roof. Here is one view of part of our back garden, the lower deck with swing seat and water feature. You can see the table made out of an old morello cherry tree stump behind the swing seat, and the area on the right where the washing pole stands is ready to be paved.
Not bad for a first attempt.
This is what the mount looks like
As you can see it is very simple.
Next was time for a test drive. On a very windy day, I decided not to use the bottom two sections of the pole, taking off about 3 metres of height. But it was plenty difficult to control the pole as the wind blew across from the garage roof. Here is one view of part of our back garden, the lower deck with swing seat and water feature. You can see the table made out of an old morello cherry tree stump behind the swing seat, and the area on the right where the washing pole stands is ready to be paved.
Not bad for a first attempt.
Wednesday, September 02, 2009
Moving to wards PAP
I'v ebeen thinking about it for some time now, and finally decided to take the plunge and set up for Pole Aerial Photography (PAP). My Canon G9 is ideally suited to PAP as it is CHDK compatible and so I can run an intervalometer script on it quite easily.
The first step is to acquire a suitable pole. Typically poles come in at 5, 6 and 7 metres in fibreglass, then start moving towards carbon for the longer poles. The two different types are the telecsopic style, and the fit over style, which doesn't have the tendency to collapse unexpectidely, so is a better choice for this application. Looking on Cris Benton's site shows that 11 metres seems to be the length of choice, and typically the top two sections need to be discarded as too flexible. Some research on the internet shows the cheapest poles to be available from Decathlon. But further research shows they don't seem to be stock items and have to be ordered in, which is inconvenient. A search on ebay shows that 11 metre poles are available at just under £100 including postage. So taking the plunge a Shakespear pole is ordered, which arrived a day or so later via courier.
The first surprise is just how long the pole is in its collapsed state. It is as tall as me at qbout 1.8 metres. Having errected the pole, I decided to try using all but the very top section. This is partly because I don't have drill bit large enough to fit the third section. So I set about making a simple mount for the camera. This is fabricated using left over aluminium from the cradle for my KAP rig. The mount only took a couple of hours to create - I did say it was simple - and the rig is mounted onto the pole. The test shows that there is a bit too much flexibility to be comfortable, so I will need to pop out and get some larger drill bits to open up the holes in the rig so I can mount it onto the pole slightly lower down. So tomorrow I'll go out and buy a slightly larger drill bit and modify the rig to how I want.
The first step is to acquire a suitable pole. Typically poles come in at 5, 6 and 7 metres in fibreglass, then start moving towards carbon for the longer poles. The two different types are the telecsopic style, and the fit over style, which doesn't have the tendency to collapse unexpectidely, so is a better choice for this application. Looking on Cris Benton's site shows that 11 metres seems to be the length of choice, and typically the top two sections need to be discarded as too flexible. Some research on the internet shows the cheapest poles to be available from Decathlon. But further research shows they don't seem to be stock items and have to be ordered in, which is inconvenient. A search on ebay shows that 11 metre poles are available at just under £100 including postage. So taking the plunge a Shakespear pole is ordered, which arrived a day or so later via courier.
The first surprise is just how long the pole is in its collapsed state. It is as tall as me at qbout 1.8 metres. Having errected the pole, I decided to try using all but the very top section. This is partly because I don't have drill bit large enough to fit the third section. So I set about making a simple mount for the camera. This is fabricated using left over aluminium from the cradle for my KAP rig. The mount only took a couple of hours to create - I did say it was simple - and the rig is mounted onto the pole. The test shows that there is a bit too much flexibility to be comfortable, so I will need to pop out and get some larger drill bits to open up the holes in the rig so I can mount it onto the pole slightly lower down. So tomorrow I'll go out and buy a slightly larger drill bit and modify the rig to how I want.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Playing with radio transmitters
Late last year I bought a new transmitter, basically because the old one is pretty old, heavy and dented. It seemed a shame to throw the old one out, and knowing many have "customized" their transmitters I thought I would have a go.
So the case was opened and investigations began. There are two circuit boards. presumably one that provides power and the aerial connection, and the other does all the encoding. Having taken the pots out of the joysticks and removed all the trimmers from the casing, I checked that it all still worked, and labelled up each pot with the channel number.
Then it was time to go at it with some cutters and try replacing the pots. The idea is this:
The pan controlled doesn't really need any fine control, it just needs to be capable of being swithed clickwise, anti-clockwise or stopped. This should be achievable with a switch provided I can find the sweet spot on the pot where the servo changes direction.
The tilt servo I'd like to contorl with a slider rather than a rotating pot.
The shutter should be controllable with a simple push switch.
I've checked the pots and they are all marked as 5K. Time is fairly short, but I'll let you know how I progress.
So the case was opened and investigations began. There are two circuit boards. presumably one that provides power and the aerial connection, and the other does all the encoding. Having taken the pots out of the joysticks and removed all the trimmers from the casing, I checked that it all still worked, and labelled up each pot with the channel number.
Then it was time to go at it with some cutters and try replacing the pots. The idea is this:
The pan controlled doesn't really need any fine control, it just needs to be capable of being swithed clickwise, anti-clockwise or stopped. This should be achievable with a switch provided I can find the sweet spot on the pot where the servo changes direction.
The tilt servo I'd like to contorl with a slider rather than a rotating pot.
The shutter should be controllable with a simple push switch.
I've checked the pots and they are all marked as 5K. Time is fairly short, but I'll let you know how I progress.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Teston Mini Festival 2009
Tradition has it that Teston has almost no wind. June 2009 was to keep up this fine tradition. Actually that's unfair as Saturday was quite a good day for wind. Unfortunately my rig was at home.
Sunday was typical Teston, very little wind, lots of thermals and glorious sunshine. But for a little while in the afternoon, there was enough wind to launch the maxi Dopero and get a camera aloft. I needed to fly the kite as it had been lying on the ground for most of the day, and was therefore soaked. A launch and a couple of shakes made sure that Janet and Gerty got a shower before we headed up into the sky. Having confirmed there was sufficient lift to carry the rig, I brought the kite down and set up the rig. Ready to fly again, I put the camera on the line and off we went. But soon I had tangled with a Flying Empress squid. The dopero did a big loop in the sky. Looking closely I saw that the kites weren't tangled, but I had got under his line so walked the kite down a bit. Although the squid was being flown by quite a young lad, he was experienced and we soon separated lines and went our own way.
So time to get aloft. With 500ft clearance, it was easy to get plenty high enough to get some decent general shots of the area. This one shows the campers and overflow carparks, and lots of kites, most of them on the ground!
From this height, I also managed to get a good shot of the bridge, and guess what, It was perfectly framed - no cropping required!
Sunday was typical Teston, very little wind, lots of thermals and glorious sunshine. But for a little while in the afternoon, there was enough wind to launch the maxi Dopero and get a camera aloft. I needed to fly the kite as it had been lying on the ground for most of the day, and was therefore soaked. A launch and a couple of shakes made sure that Janet and Gerty got a shower before we headed up into the sky. Having confirmed there was sufficient lift to carry the rig, I brought the kite down and set up the rig. Ready to fly again, I put the camera on the line and off we went. But soon I had tangled with a Flying Empress squid. The dopero did a big loop in the sky. Looking closely I saw that the kites weren't tangled, but I had got under his line so walked the kite down a bit. Although the squid was being flown by quite a young lad, he was experienced and we soon separated lines and went our own way.
So time to get aloft. With 500ft clearance, it was easy to get plenty high enough to get some decent general shots of the area. This one shows the campers and overflow carparks, and lots of kites, most of them on the ground!
From this height, I also managed to get a good shot of the bridge, and guess what, It was perfectly framed - no cropping required!
Monday, June 01, 2009
Singleton Environmental
Hey, long time no speak and all my fault. Yes I've been a bit quiet with other things going on in my life. But on Sunday I met up with Friends from Kent Kite Flyers for some flying at a community country park called Singleton Environmental in Ashford. It was a warm sunny day and a stiff breeze, but th eprofile of the site meant that there was a very turbulent airstream.
Never mind. Time to do some KAP with my new rig. Because it was a stiff breeze, I decided to try a 56 inch rokkaku. The wind at ground level, and up to about 50 feet was very turbulent and getting a launch wasn't easy, but eventually I got into the air. The kite certainly needed trimming, but I decided to go with it anyway. So attached the camera and off we went. Well it was a struggle to keep the camera in the air as the kite was pulling hard but not really lifting and certainly not climbing. The kite was flying at totally the wrong angle and so wasn't getting out of the turbulent air at all. I did manage to get a couple of photographs though.
Enough of this! too much like hard work. So I brought the camera and kite down and decided to re-trim. The kite doesn't have an easily adjustable bridle, but a little tweak and we had a much better flying angle. This meant I could get higher out of the turbulent airflow and hopefully into the clear airstream. So with the camera re-attached, off we went again. This second flight was much better. But we were still in very turbulent air. I tried walking towards the interesting sculputure at the bottom of the park, but as this was down in the valley, as I walked towards it, the kite started swinging dramatically, and the camera was penduluming alarmingly. Some drastic action slowed the swing and I got a couple of shots, then headed back towards the high ground.
Whilst from the KAP purist point of view it wasn't the most successful outing, it is a lovely site with a good cafe and facilities. Lets hope we go back soon,
Never mind. Time to do some KAP with my new rig. Because it was a stiff breeze, I decided to try a 56 inch rokkaku. The wind at ground level, and up to about 50 feet was very turbulent and getting a launch wasn't easy, but eventually I got into the air. The kite certainly needed trimming, but I decided to go with it anyway. So attached the camera and off we went. Well it was a struggle to keep the camera in the air as the kite was pulling hard but not really lifting and certainly not climbing. The kite was flying at totally the wrong angle and so wasn't getting out of the turbulent air at all. I did manage to get a couple of photographs though.
Enough of this! too much like hard work. So I brought the camera and kite down and decided to re-trim. The kite doesn't have an easily adjustable bridle, but a little tweak and we had a much better flying angle. This meant I could get higher out of the turbulent airflow and hopefully into the clear airstream. So with the camera re-attached, off we went again. This second flight was much better. But we were still in very turbulent air. I tried walking towards the interesting sculputure at the bottom of the park, but as this was down in the valley, as I walked towards it, the kite started swinging dramatically, and the camera was penduluming alarmingly. Some drastic action slowed the swing and I got a couple of shots, then headed back towards the high ground.
Whilst from the KAP purist point of view it wasn't the most successful outing, it is a lovely site with a good cafe and facilities. Lets hope we go back soon,
Monday, May 04, 2009
Bear Bunging in Tankerton
Well today saw a long hard day's teddy parachuting on tankerton Slopes in aid of the Whitstable and Herne Bay Lions. During the early part of the day it was a constant battle to keep the kite aloft and therefore create enough lift to get even the smallest bear off the ground. The result was we used a total of 4 different kites during the day trying to find the one best suited to the conditions. However in the afternoon the wind moved around a little bit and picked up and we were droping bears consistently down the slopes. In total we must have done something in the order of 200 jumps to keep the children (and adults) amused.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
And so to Berck
So off to Berck we head, and the weather forecast looks good, at least for the first couple of days. This year, I decided to try the new LD Lines service from Dover to Boulogne. Despite the early start on Thursday morning, I've got to say that I was impressed, and I think Bill was too. So following a safe arrival in Boulogne and a short drive down to Berck, we arrived at about 10 am in bruight sun, if somewhat chilly conditions.
The weather was to prove good throughout the weekend, though on one morning the wind was blowing extremely powerfully. So much so, that Bill persuaded me to play with a mini-gem. ME FLYING A BENSON?! Well I enjoyed it soooo much, I bought it. Unfortunately, the wind was to prove extemely fickle throughout the weekend. On the Friday, it was extremely difficult to get anything to stay airborne. I met up with some fellow KAPpers, who were bemoaning the wind, but enjoying the fact that there had been no rain (so far).
I don't know whether it was the wind conditions, or economic climate or what, but the number of kite flying attendees seemed very down on previous years. So throughout the weekend the sky seemed bare. In fact, two of the single line arenas seemed positively deserted and one of the German teams went home on Sunday morning. Also the wind garden was a mere shadow of its former self. It did mean that Bill and I probably spent more time flying than at any other Berck, but unfortunately, conditions were not really good for KAP, and whilst I managed to get aloft for a brief flight, getting where I wanted to be was impossible, so I had to make do with some shots of people on the beach. However, my KKF rok and Janet's KKF roller both got an airing.
Despite the glorious sun most of the time, there was a distinct chill in the air, which forced us to keep well wrapped up. And so the weekend was spent flying, sitting in the bar(s) looking around the shops and various displays and generally chilling out! Come Monday morning, and the day of departure. There had been some overnight rain, and the wind was blowing very strong at the beach. So a wander up to the museum (like the rest of France - closed Mondays) an eventually time to take our leave and head back to Blighty. Certainly a relaxing time, and I think Baz and Janet enjoyed the trip too.
The weather was to prove good throughout the weekend, though on one morning the wind was blowing extremely powerfully. So much so, that Bill persuaded me to play with a mini-gem. ME FLYING A BENSON?! Well I enjoyed it soooo much, I bought it. Unfortunately, the wind was to prove extemely fickle throughout the weekend. On the Friday, it was extremely difficult to get anything to stay airborne. I met up with some fellow KAPpers, who were bemoaning the wind, but enjoying the fact that there had been no rain (so far).
I don't know whether it was the wind conditions, or economic climate or what, but the number of kite flying attendees seemed very down on previous years. So throughout the weekend the sky seemed bare. In fact, two of the single line arenas seemed positively deserted and one of the German teams went home on Sunday morning. Also the wind garden was a mere shadow of its former self. It did mean that Bill and I probably spent more time flying than at any other Berck, but unfortunately, conditions were not really good for KAP, and whilst I managed to get aloft for a brief flight, getting where I wanted to be was impossible, so I had to make do with some shots of people on the beach. However, my KKF rok and Janet's KKF roller both got an airing.
Despite the glorious sun most of the time, there was a distinct chill in the air, which forced us to keep well wrapped up. And so the weekend was spent flying, sitting in the bar(s) looking around the shops and various displays and generally chilling out! Come Monday morning, and the day of departure. There had been some overnight rain, and the wind was blowing very strong at the beach. So a wander up to the museum (like the rest of France - closed Mondays) an eventually time to take our leave and head back to Blighty. Certainly a relaxing time, and I think Baz and Janet enjoyed the trip too.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Long awaited photo
Well it seems like along time ago that I promised a phot of the new rig, so here it is nestling in its carry case. Top left is a handheld viewer for the wireless video camera. Just next to that is a small 35MHz frequency scanner, to check that no-one is on the channel that I plan to use. At the bottom, between the rig and the receiver is the Swan nighthaw wireless video camera.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Successful first flight
Its been a long time coming and weather conditions have not been favourable. However today I was determined to get a successful launch no matter what the conditions. This was largely because of the upcoming Worldwide KAP Week (WWKW). The rig, camera transmitter, etc are all new so were badly in need of a test flight.
As usual for Capstone Park, the wind was tricky, swirling on the ground, turbulent at low level and pulling like a train once you get above tree level. Not to be put off, I decided to go with my favourite KAP kite, a Premier Rok. After a bit of a struggle launching we eventually got the kite into the steady wind.
So the rig was attached, powered up and tested - PAN fine, TILT fine, Shutter fine, vide downlink fine. Time to get some height. Another problem with Capstone is its proximity to Rochester Airport, so we are limited to 100 feet, just enough to get out of the worst turbulence. The final problem is that it is just fields, there is nothing there to photograph - or so I thought.
Up above the hedgerow that separates the event field from the barbecue field and with the camera pointing towards the barbecue field there were a group of cars in the far corner.
You can see the full size picture by clicking on it. So after a successful first flight, time to pack everything away and prepare for the trip to Berck festival and the WWKW.
As usual for Capstone Park, the wind was tricky, swirling on the ground, turbulent at low level and pulling like a train once you get above tree level. Not to be put off, I decided to go with my favourite KAP kite, a Premier Rok. After a bit of a struggle launching we eventually got the kite into the steady wind.
So the rig was attached, powered up and tested - PAN fine, TILT fine, Shutter fine, vide downlink fine. Time to get some height. Another problem with Capstone is its proximity to Rochester Airport, so we are limited to 100 feet, just enough to get out of the worst turbulence. The final problem is that it is just fields, there is nothing there to photograph - or so I thought.
Up above the hedgerow that separates the event field from the barbecue field and with the camera pointing towards the barbecue field there were a group of cars in the far corner.
You can see the full size picture by clicking on it. So after a successful first flight, time to pack everything away and prepare for the trip to Berck festival and the WWKW.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Not a good weekend for testing
What a glorious day it was on Saturday. Unfortunately I was busy, so planned to go out flying at Hythe on Sunday. Sunday arrived and the weather was distinctly dull, but a gentle breeze at home gave promise. So with the car loaded I made the trip down to a site beside the Royal Military Canal When I arrived, things looked pretty good with what seemed like a strong breeze blowing. But as time drew on, it became clear that the breeze was very playful, with sudden lulls down to nothing at all. After playing with a couple of kites, I had a 4m delta hoisted aloft and reasonably steady in the breeze. So I decided to try attaching the camera rig to it. To do so, I needed to bring the kite down a bit due to height ceiling regulations. Brought the kite down and was back into the playful air again. Well I attached the rig for about 5 minutes, but the wind was so difficult that I decided I didn't want to cause any damage so took it off and put it away. Maybe another day?
Monday, February 16, 2009
Finished
It is finished and tested, well indoors anyway. The rig is complete all connected up and working, and I've even managed to take a couple of photos triggered by CHDK. With a bit of luck we'll get a real flight test next weekend!.
I'll try and post some photos of the rig when I get a chance.
I'll try and post some photos of the rig when I get a chance.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Almost a disaster
I spent most of today working on the new KAP rig and would have finished but for a minor disaster, which led me to spend the last hour of the day reworking. Let me explain...
As I've already mentioned, the camera is a Canon G9 with CHDK loaded, and the shutter will be released by USB, which becomes available under CHDK. I had ordered a GentCHDK connector this week so that I could release the shutter via radio control, which arrived on Friday.
I spent today working on the rig finishing off various parts, like mounting the camera cradle into the upper U and forming the cutout for the USB connector. Having almost finished, I decided to "dry mount" the camera one final time. Up to now, I had mounted the camera into the cradle, and checked that the cradle would comforably fit into the upper U. So now, with the cradle firmly mounted, the camera cushioning fitted, etc. I mounted the camera. Then Tried to fit the USB cable. With the camera oriented straight down, the USB cable fitted snuggly into the connector on the camera, but as I moved the cradle towards horizontal, disaster, as the strain relief on the cable fouled the upper U. How was I going to overcome this one then?
Well after much umming and arring, the solution appeared. If I changed the bends in the upper U from 90 degree to 45 degree, and added another bend about a centimetre down then I would gain some additional width. My biggest concern was that doing this would move the camera to one side, which would significantly alter the balance. But I figured I could overcome this by swapping the battery pack with the receiver. So it was time to strip down the rig and make the necessary bends. Well it is no longer pretty, but it does work, so the upper U now has shoulders!
Time to refit everything. However, having signinficantly increased the gap on one side of the rig, I no longer had a 4mm bolt long enough. this isn't a problem as I have lots of 4mm studso just cut off a legth of that and fit a self locking nut on the end. This done, I remounted the cradle into the upper U. time to check that the clearance was sufficient - it certainly looked plenty. At this point disaster number 2 struck.
Because the locknut is significantly larger than the panhead screw, the camera would no longer fir into the cradle. Now when I say that, the camera actually still has plenty of room, but the hole for the tripod mount no longer lined up with the hole in the cradle. So out came the rats tail and the hole in the frame was widened in one direction until the holes lined up again. With the camer fitted I fitted the USB cable and it now just fits snuggly. So finally, time to refit the pan servo and axle box.
Well that was time up for today, so next weekend, I need to modify the electronics and mount the battery. Unfortunately the battery connector won't now reach the switch, so I'll have to figure out a way of extending the cable run, which will probably involve robbing a cable from somewhere else!
Hopefully we'll finish next weekend and be ready for testing. Not often I ask for bad weather, but on this occasion I'm willing to make an exception.
As I've already mentioned, the camera is a Canon G9 with CHDK loaded, and the shutter will be released by USB, which becomes available under CHDK. I had ordered a GentCHDK connector this week so that I could release the shutter via radio control, which arrived on Friday.
I spent today working on the rig finishing off various parts, like mounting the camera cradle into the upper U and forming the cutout for the USB connector. Having almost finished, I decided to "dry mount" the camera one final time. Up to now, I had mounted the camera into the cradle, and checked that the cradle would comforably fit into the upper U. So now, with the cradle firmly mounted, the camera cushioning fitted, etc. I mounted the camera. Then Tried to fit the USB cable. With the camera oriented straight down, the USB cable fitted snuggly into the connector on the camera, but as I moved the cradle towards horizontal, disaster, as the strain relief on the cable fouled the upper U. How was I going to overcome this one then?
Well after much umming and arring, the solution appeared. If I changed the bends in the upper U from 90 degree to 45 degree, and added another bend about a centimetre down then I would gain some additional width. My biggest concern was that doing this would move the camera to one side, which would significantly alter the balance. But I figured I could overcome this by swapping the battery pack with the receiver. So it was time to strip down the rig and make the necessary bends. Well it is no longer pretty, but it does work, so the upper U now has shoulders!
Time to refit everything. However, having signinficantly increased the gap on one side of the rig, I no longer had a 4mm bolt long enough. this isn't a problem as I have lots of 4mm studso just cut off a legth of that and fit a self locking nut on the end. This done, I remounted the cradle into the upper U. time to check that the clearance was sufficient - it certainly looked plenty. At this point disaster number 2 struck.
Because the locknut is significantly larger than the panhead screw, the camera would no longer fir into the cradle. Now when I say that, the camera actually still has plenty of room, but the hole for the tripod mount no longer lined up with the hole in the cradle. So out came the rats tail and the hole in the frame was widened in one direction until the holes lined up again. With the camer fitted I fitted the USB cable and it now just fits snuggly. So finally, time to refit the pan servo and axle box.
Well that was time up for today, so next weekend, I need to modify the electronics and mount the battery. Unfortunately the battery connector won't now reach the switch, so I'll have to figure out a way of extending the cable run, which will probably involve robbing a cable from somewhere else!
Hopefully we'll finish next weekend and be ready for testing. Not often I ask for bad weather, but on this occasion I'm willing to make an exception.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
More progress on the new rig
Another hour or so work this afternoon on the new KAP rig. Today, work centred on forming the lower U.
For those not familiar with the terms, the upper U is an inverted U made out of aluminium strip in this case. The upper U is suspended by an axle at the center of gravity from the kite line. Gears and a modified servo are used to allow the rig to rotate continuously around the axle, giving the rig a pan capability. The lower U is again made from aluminium strip in this case, and sits within the upper U. It is not inverted and incorporated a hole through which a tripod bolt can be screwed into the camera's tripod mount holding the camer in place. The lower U is fixed via an axle to the upper U. At one end the axle is formed by a servo, giving tilt capability. At the other the axle is allowed to rotate freely within the upper U.
Well today the strip for the lower U was cut out of the aluminium stock. All was going well until my nibbler gave up the ghost!, so rather than spend time tryuing to fix the problem, and as its work was largely done, I resorted to a junior hacksaw to finish the job.. With the strip cut and cleaned, holes were drilled to take the axle and camera fittings, and cuts made to allow a lip to be formed to add rigidity. Then the strip was bent to shape and the lips formed. Finally a trial fitting of the camera took place, just to be sure that it would all fit together nicely. Fortunately it worked!
So there is now lots of finishing to do, cleaning up rough edges, knocking off sharp corners, adding all of the electronics, fitting everything together, finishing off the picavet cross, etc., etc. But with a bit of luck, if I get some good time next weekend, I think I should have the servos fitted, the rig parts assembled and tested. I just need to source a Lipo battery, a battery saver, some boxes and make a voltage regulator and sort out some switches and I'll be done!
For those not familiar with the terms, the upper U is an inverted U made out of aluminium strip in this case. The upper U is suspended by an axle at the center of gravity from the kite line. Gears and a modified servo are used to allow the rig to rotate continuously around the axle, giving the rig a pan capability. The lower U is again made from aluminium strip in this case, and sits within the upper U. It is not inverted and incorporated a hole through which a tripod bolt can be screwed into the camera's tripod mount holding the camer in place. The lower U is fixed via an axle to the upper U. At one end the axle is formed by a servo, giving tilt capability. At the other the axle is allowed to rotate freely within the upper U.
Well today the strip for the lower U was cut out of the aluminium stock. All was going well until my nibbler gave up the ghost!, so rather than spend time tryuing to fix the problem, and as its work was largely done, I resorted to a junior hacksaw to finish the job.. With the strip cut and cleaned, holes were drilled to take the axle and camera fittings, and cuts made to allow a lip to be formed to add rigidity. Then the strip was bent to shape and the lips formed. Finally a trial fitting of the camera took place, just to be sure that it would all fit together nicely. Fortunately it worked!
So there is now lots of finishing to do, cleaning up rough edges, knocking off sharp corners, adding all of the electronics, fitting everything together, finishing off the picavet cross, etc., etc. But with a bit of luck, if I get some good time next weekend, I think I should have the servos fitted, the rig parts assembled and tested. I just need to source a Lipo battery, a battery saver, some boxes and make a voltage regulator and sort out some switches and I'll be done!
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Progress on new rig
Well I finally got the chance today to do some work on my new KAP rig. So far I have cut out and shaped the top U and cut out the holes for the pan and tilt servos, drilled various holes for fixing the servos and for the axle for the lower U. Looking good. It will be interesting to see the all-up weight once everything has been fitted.
Wednesday, January 07, 2009
Little progress
Christmas and new year saw me battling against the combined armies of my wife and manflu, so I've made precious little progress to date. About the only thing I have achieved is to successfully download and instal CHDK onto my G9 camera. Being a complete CHDK virgin, I will probably spend a little time palying with the settings.
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