KAP FPV

What do you do when you're busting to try some FPV gear and it's too windy for the RC plane?

Lift it with a kite. 

For ages I have been jealous of KAP buddies Ramon Pallares and Tom Benedict with their video downlinked KAP rigs. Finally I have the equipment to try it myself.

The trigger for this was Hobby King's release of the $30 Quanam FPV goggles. They include an LCD  that doesn't go to blue screen when the signal drops out.

The video link uses a Boscam 5.8GHz 200mW video transmitter and receiver, also from Hobby King.

Pan servo operates via one of the pots on a 2.4GHz Turnigy 9X.

The day was cold, wet and blustery but the PFK Nighthawk delta handled it easily and let me capture this jiggly footage. With FPV you can actually see what the camera is pointing at, very satisfying.

World Wide KAP Week 2014

I have been distracted by other forms of AP lately, namely RC flight Aerial Photography, video, building and flying, so WWKW2014 is a great opportunity to rekindle my love of KAP.

Unfortunately Mother Nature had a different idea. WWKW 2014 for me has been 7 days of frustration waiting for the rain to stop, the clouds to disperse and the wind to show up at all.

I could only manage 2 sessions but I'm reasonably happy with the results.

First session was with the PFK Nighthawk in not much wind. I returned to a favourite site, Point Henry,  hoping to capture some shots of approaching rain clouds. Lack of practice meant all I got was water and some beach. Still, that's why KAP is interesting, you never know what you've got.

The second session was again at Point Henry in a late afternoon dash when the clouds dispersed and wind came up.

But even with my largest kite, 2m Rokkaku, it was barely enough. The Rok would fly OK but struggle to lift my lightest manual rig for the Canon S100.

For this shot I tilted the camera up hoping to catch the kite in the frame with the setting sun. Altitude is only 10m or so but it is still a KAP shot.

WWKW discussion on KAP Forum

WWKW Flickr group