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Anyone doing this? I've made up a picavet mount for the GoPro which will take photos every 2,5,10,30 seconds but haven't managed to use it yet. I have had the gopro under the wing of a motor glider with some success, but of course every time I bank/turn it, I get shots of the neighbors paddock. Of which I have A LOT. But it seems a bit hit and miss. I like the idea of putting a kite up, attaching camera and then letting out the line to position the camera in the right spot. Found a good vid:

Something about the Cody box kites that has always intrigued me. I think they look awesome. Named after Samuel Cody, who is famous for his work with large kites, some used by the British military in world war one for artillery observation. He may have also been one of the very first 'kite boaters' as he successfully used one of his kites to cross the English channel pulling a boat. I have a smallish 'Spirit of Air' cody that was relatively cheap at around $80AU, but you get what you pay for and I wouldn't really recommend it. It's not the most stable flyer and I had to unpick and re-sew one of the seams that overran into another panel - not great QC. HQ make a bigger, much more complex version. If you don't mind messing around with quite a few spars, it would probably make a good lifter or kap platform. Certainly a stunning looking kite. Reviews n.a. Cody This cody, made according to the standards of Lutz Treczoks, is a friend for life. Superior workmanship and made of the finest materials, this Cody rocks. This classic kite performs best in medium to higher winds. Our 35er Cody with top-sail is especially suitable to hauling up all kinds of line laundry as a result of the strong lift it develops. rec. accessories: groundstake, windturbines. Width 260 cm / 102" Height 120 cm / 120" Sail Nylon Frame Carbon 3 + 6 + 8 mm Line rec., 90-145 kp / 200-320 lb. Wind 2-6 Bft. (6-49 km/h, 4-31 mph) Age + 14 There's also some nice video of it flying too - looks like it flys at a nice high angle and pretty stable too. Skip through the German intro/review to the last bit of assembly and flying at 3:30ish Found a bit of a review on it from issue 104 of The Kiteflyer: Priced at US $298.95.

Hi, I am involved with the Dean Recreation Reserve and as part of reinvigorating the Dean Community I thought it would be a good idea to hold a kite festival. I'm not sure where to start, but I can tell you about Dean and my ideas. Dean is halfway between Ballarat and Daylesford, and is notoriously windy. They tried to put a wind farm on the hill up the road as it seemed to be a good spot according to the wind atlas. The Dean Recreation Reserve is a pretty exposed big oval (5 acres?) and I think it is a good spot to fly kites. I have scheduled the Kite festival for Sunday 15th of September. I have also got a $500 grant from the Hepburn Shire Council. I am thinking for this first festival, as it will become an annual event, to keep it pretty small, and not really sure about what else I want to do. I want kids 7-15? to make and assemble kites. I want everyone to learn about the history of kites. I want everyone to have a fun day flying kites. I've had a look at the Rosebud kite festival website and it all looks pretty full on, guest kiters from all over the world and stuff... Hoping you can help me figure out where to go with this plan. I would be happy to come down to Geelong and have a look at some point and talk with you or someone about it all. Cheers, Liz

Gave the Fei Yutech WG wearable gimbal a run on the picavet mount for some video. Finally, some steady video from a kite! (well, at least compared to all my other attempts). The FY WG is a terrific little device - I'll get a review of it up over the next few weeks. I've used it on the gopro pole and the helmet and it does a great job of smoothing out the video...except for vertical vibrations/jumps - it can't do much about those. It can follow you movements/direction if you want it to with panning follow and tilt follow but it can also lock into 'I'm pointing this way only' mode which is what I'm using on the kite - which will also be useful on the helmet in the buggy - no more 'look at kite' 'look where I'm going' 'look at kite' 'look where I'm going' 'look at kite' - by which time I've usually erased or turned off the video...

I've decided to sell my KAP kite, GoPro rig, winder and lines, as I just don't have the time/opportunity to use it... All in excellent condition - Ultrafoil 15, with fuzzy tail, 200m of white Dacron line (110kgs) on a large winder and a KAPshop small GoPro rig - http://www.kapshop.com/Rigs-Rigs-for-Kites-KAPshop-KAP-Rigs/c46_107_111/p330/<b>KAPshop&%2339s-Small0</b>/product_info.html All you need to get you KAPing All for $250 $200 plus postage. Does not include GoPro! @jhn.holgate's review on the ultrafoil 15 - http://www.extremekites.com.au/reviews/kites/ultrafoil-15-r12/

Peter Lynn has been hard at work developing single skin, single line kites. He has a couple now which he has licensed out for other people to produce. This one looks very nice - the Boomer, a 2.5sq.m 7 cell made and sold by John and Irene Tan in Singapore, fionareen@yahoo.com.sg It evidently has 3x the pull of an equivalent ram air foil... could be a good line laundry anchor. According to Peter, they fly at a higher angle than a similar ram air foil and the Boomer's wind range is 8 km/hr to 40 km/hr.

Designed by Ray and Jeanne Merry, the Ultrafoil range has gained a bigger brother - the Ultrafoil 30. This one is designed for 5 - 30 mph wind and I imagine it would generate some pretty decent pull in the upper wind range. I have the Ultrafoil 15 which is an excellent gopro kap rig that flies at a reasonably steep angle and is quite stable. This should make an excellent alternative to a HQ Flowform 2. Recommended line is 300lb and current price is $250 US. Available at IntoTheWind and Cobra Kites as well as the KAPshop.