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.
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.
Rapid Bay jetty on the Fleurieu Peninsula South Australia is the best dive spot to find Leafy Seadragons. These bizarre fish are related to seahorses and are only found in South Australia, nowhere else in the world.
We planned a 4 day trip to dive flat out and photograph seadragons but the weather had other ideas. The trip became a KAP trip due to strong winds ruining the diving.
A new jetty has been built to allow access to the crumbling old jetty where the seadragons live. Depth up to 10m but 6m mostly.
Second Valley jetty 10min up the road from Rapid Bay. We stayed in a holiday rental house here with a very short steep driveway. Had to be pulled out by 4WD after getting bogged in deep dust. Very embarrassing but the neighbour said it happens regularly.
Cape Jervis where the Kangaroo Island ferry docks.
Leafy Seadragon - we did get in for one dive and found 3 leafies making the trip worthwhile.
After recording line-pull with 4 KAP kites in Bft 1 to 5 (2 to 18kn) I have worked out a rough estimate of line-pull ratios. The ratios are expressed as line-pull (lb) to wind strength (kn)
Line-pull Ratios (lb:kn) 7ft Pirate Rok 1:1 ITW Levitation Delta 1:2 Peter Lynn 2m2 Pilot 2:5 PFK Nighthawk 1:3
Which means the line-pull (in pounds) of the Rok roughly equals the wind strength (in knots). The Levi delta pulls half as much as the Rok and the PFK one third as much. For example: In 12kn the Rok pulls at 12lb, the Levi pulls at 6lb, the PL pilot pulls at 5lb and the PFK pulls at 4lb.
Rok and PFK in Bft 1-2. Insufficient wind for the Levi delta and PL 2m2 Pilot.
The amount of pull on the line dictates which KAP rig can be used. I have started recording line-pull using an electronic luggage scale ($9 on ebay) to help with kite selection.
I have found that line-pull of about 3 times the rig weight is enough to safely lift the rig. So I need 7lb pull to lift my 1.1kg SLR rig. (Apologies for the mixed units, must start measuring pull in kg!)
Of course line angle also matters. Deltas can fly almost directly overhead. At times the delta and rig can be in perfect balance leaving next to no tension on the line in your hand and zero movement of the rig. Perfect for sharp KAP shots. It's a magical moment, hard to believe it's possible.
My intention is to build up data for each kite in a range of wind strengths.
It's early days but it seems with the 7ft Rokkaku line-pull in pounds is pretty close to wind strength in knots. For example I would expect line-pull of 7lb in a 7kn breeze.
Here are two video compilations of kites compared in Bft 4 and Bft 2.
I'll do Bft 3 and Bft 5 when the conditions permit. I have tried Bft 1-2 but the Rok was the only kite capable of staying up.
Three kites compared in Bft 2
Four kites compared in Bft 4
Eventually I'll put together videos and publish a line-pull table for each kite separately in the full range of wind strengths.
Beaufort Wind Scale
Bft 1 1-2kn Calm - Not enough to fly. Go diving
Bft 2 3-6kn Light breeze - Rok will fly, others maybe.
Bft 3 7-10kn Nice breeze - All kites will fly. Need to match kite to rig.
Bft 4 11-15kn Decent breeze - All kites will lift rigs easily. Upper range for the Rok.
Bft 5 16-20kn Strong wind - Too much for the Rok and Levi
Bft 6 21-26kn Howling - Only the PFK will survive.
To lift a camera you need a big kite with lots of pull. It also needs to be a steady flier and there are a few designs renowned for their KAP-ability.
PFK Nighthawk
The Paul's Fishing Kite (PFK) Nighthawk delta is designed to fly in winds as strong as 30kn. Most other kites would be looping and crashing by then. It has large trailing edge flaps, strong flexible fibreglass spars and a hardwood spreader. The KAP community has adopted the PFK as the strong wind specialist, but it will also lift lighter rigs in normal wind strengths.
This is my favourite kite, it just wants to fly and keep on flying no matter how strong. Tail usually not required but may calm it down a bit in strong winds and reduce overflying.
Lifting range
480g RC rig in 12kn - 30kn+
270g GoPro rig in 6kn+
NZ$140 from Paul's Fishing Kites - New Zealand
ITW 9ft Levitation Delta
For lighter winds 5kn -17kn, this big delta from In-to-the-Wind is my choice and a favourite of many KAPers world wide. It has more pull than the PFK but also starts to fly to the side and do power loops in wind speeds above it's range.
Flies at a very high angle and even over-flies in light puffy wind and hot days. Adding a tail reduces overflying and gives steadier flight. I use a 3m long tube tail.
Lifting range
480g RC rig in 8kn - 17kn
270g GoPro rig in 5kn+
US$75 from Into the Wind - Boulder Colarado
PL Pilot 2m2
This 2.0 square metre parafoil is made in New Zealand by Peter Lynn Kites. Peter Lynn is famous for making some of the world's largest kites.
Parafoils have no spars and pack up into a small stuff bag. They have strong pull but fly at a lower line angle like 50ยบ
Flies well without a tail but everyone else says they use one. May calm down side to side swaying.
Lifting range
480g RC rig in 10kn+
270g GoPro rig in 6kn+
NZ$96 from Peter Lynn Kites - New Zealand
Cody Box Kite This was the first kite I bought for KAP and it was not all that suitable. Above about 16kn it flies out to one side and power loops. It has a narrower wind range than the above kites and take more assembly time but does have good pull. KAP range 8kn - 15kn
However it is an interesting kite in the sky and attracts attention. It flies well enough within its wind range.
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.
