SoutherlyBuster Posted May 26, 2015 Report Share Posted May 26, 2015 I am still marvelled at the gadgets you come up with in your workshop John ... and the brilliant results you come up with. still reckon Gum-Nuts, one of those kaps for you would be great for alternative stills or movies of you kite buggying to supplement your head cams and your soloshots. Looking forward to the next movie. Regards, Norman. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhn.holgate Posted May 26, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 26, 2015 So After a bit of reading and some advice from John, I think I might get a Ultrafoil 15... Mine's good to around 20knots then it's starts to head off to the side. It won't lift a heavy rig though so gopro only. I'd probably stick with the Flowform 2 - I use it the most and it has a bit more power. The Kapshop rig looks pretty good. My picovet was put together with bits I had in the shed so didn't cost anything. But you have to walk the line down to rotate or move the camera angle. You'll need a good ground anchor. I use some big pegs... And a pulley attached to your harness so you can walk the kite down, stand there and take the camera off or adjust it with your hands free - cos there's usually too much pull just to wind it in. You'll also need 100m or so of room to walk the kite down too. I made a nice reel which can wind up the line really quick once the kite is off the line. I secured my 5m Kapfoil at Dean and left it there for the whole day while I did other stuff. Or a sturdy bag which you can fill with sand for a sand anchor if your down the beach. I also find a cleat attached to a bit of wood/alloy and a carabiner really handy for tying off the line to a fence or my harness.... Edit: the handle for my winder is a John Deer rotating handle that is suppose to go on a tractor steering wheel And the Peter Lynn single skin single line kite might be well worth a look for this also...Check the 'Boomer' thread from a few weeks ago - could be a good'un. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gum-nuts Posted May 26, 2015 Report Share Posted May 26, 2015 what do you think about the Kapfoils? trying to get everything in one place to save on postage? I was looking at the kapfoil 1.6 - wind range 11-49kph, I see you have the kapfoil 5? would the 1.6 be big and stable enough? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhn.holgate Posted May 27, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 27, 2015 would the 1.6 be big and stable enough? I honestly don't know. The 5 is really stable. I've had a brief look at some reports of the 1.6 - seems like a long fuzzy tail is mandatory... Check out this thread here: http://arch.ced.berkeley.edu/kap/discuss/index.php?p=/discussion/4996/kap-foil-user-manual Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssayre Posted May 27, 2015 Report Share Posted May 27, 2015 John, have you attached a camera to the nasa stars and if so, how? Sorry for the quick detour. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhn.holgate Posted May 27, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 27, 2015 ohn, have you attached a camera to the nasa stars and if so, how? Sorry for the quick detour. I have - I used a camera mount that Steffen made for the NS2's. The results were only fair as I didn't have the mount pulled tight enough between the power lines. I haven't tried it out much apart from that - I need to do some more experimenting with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhn.holgate Posted May 27, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 27, 2015 (edited) Here's a simple 'how to' guide for kap with the gopro and Ultrafoil 15... Edited June 10, 2015 by jhn.holgate Video gone missing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gum-nuts Posted May 27, 2015 Report Share Posted May 27, 2015 Awesome John, thanks that's really helpful, still not quite decided if I should go ultrafoil or flowform but the postage thing may sway me to the ultrafoil, did look nice and stable once it got up there. How do they compare in gusts? Sorry for all the questions! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhn.holgate Posted May 27, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 27, 2015 How do they compare in gusts? Sorry for all the questions! Both foils have a tendency to get knocked from side to side in gusty conditions. The ultrafoil flies at a steeper angle than the Flow form 2. The Flow form has more pull. If you're thinking of a light rig in say 10 - 23 knots, the UF would be all you'd need. Slightly lighter wind or heavier camera rig, go the Flow form. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soliver Posted May 28, 2015 Report Share Posted May 28, 2015 Awesome John, I loved that simple set up you have and after watching the video at the very beginning of this thread, I was envisioning something very similar.... I just need a kite suitable for carrying the load which I think I do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gum-nuts Posted May 28, 2015 Report Share Posted May 28, 2015 I think I will be ordering somethiNg tonight! Using a hero 3 and the GoPro app the published range is supposed to be approx 180m in optimal conditions - anybody any experience with this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhn.holgate Posted May 28, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 28, 2015 Using a hero 3 and the GoPro app the published range is supposed to be approx 180m in optimal conditions Triggering with wifi?? That could be cool. My gopro is pre wifi so I end up with 100 - 200 shots of which 80% get binned. Something else I find really handy is a pair of binos so you can actually figure out which way the camera is pointing...particularly if you're using an remote controlled mount. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soliver Posted May 28, 2015 Report Share Posted May 28, 2015 I think I will be ordering somethiNg tonight! Using a hero 3 and the GoPro app the published range is supposed to be approx 180m in optimal conditions - anybody any experience with this? Seriously?!?!? For some reason I only thought it was something like 50 feet.... thats good news, mine is a Hero 3 and I have the app... ... If only I had a suitable kite Looking at making a rokkaku but wifi would likely strangle me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gum-nuts Posted May 28, 2015 Report Share Posted May 28, 2015 Ordered! A ultrafoil 15, 200m's of line, a simple GoPro rig and a big winder! From Kapshop in the Netherlands! Can't wait to have a play! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soliver Posted May 29, 2015 Report Share Posted May 29, 2015 Ok... So Fridays are always slow at work so I goofed off and made a simple Picavet out of stuff I had around the store rooms. Working in Facilities Maintenance means there's alway little bits of things left over. So I've made this completely free of any cost... I used some scrap 5mm Plywood and 4 pieces of 18 gauge solid copper wire (left from changing out ballasts on fluorescent lights) in place of eye-bolts ... I want whatever I use to be lightweight because the wind around my metropolitan area really is pretty awful. Plus I couldn't find any eye-bolts. I weighed it and it is only 3 oz without the camera attached. I plan on using different line and carabiners like John did for the final Picavet, I just wanted to try out the concept.... I'm kinda excited. The only single line kite I have that I think will work is a big cellular star kite: this model: It is super stable and I'm certain it will hold the weight, I just have never gotten it to fly here at home. I've only flown it at the beach.... So I plan to make myself a reel, wait for a good windy day and give it a try. By the way Gum-nuts, I looked a little further into useable distance of the wifi on the GoPro, and what I found is that the distance listed on the GoPro website is only for their wifi remote device. Using it with the smartphone app is limited by the smartphone's capabilities. I saw a youtube test with an Iphone and it turned out to be only about 160 ft I think. John, what roughly was the overall length of line you used to rig your Picket? I used about 5 or 6 meters and it seems a little short. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gum-nuts Posted May 29, 2015 Report Share Posted May 29, 2015 By the way Gum-nuts, I looked a little further into useable distance of the wifi on the GoPro, and what I found is that the distance listed on the GoPro website is only for their wifi remote device. Using it with the smartphone app is limited by the smartphone's capabilities. I saw a youtube test with an Iphone and it turned out to be only about 160 feet I tried the GoPro, and my phone yesterday arvo and managed about 40-50 m before the signal dropped out! Lucky I have a huge memory card and can do thousands of photos or a couple of hours HD video. Picture taken using the app... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhn.holgate Posted May 29, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 29, 2015 John, what roughly was the overall length of line you used to rig your Picket? I used about 5 or 6 meters and it seems a little short. My picavet mount hangs 76cm below the 'biners, so I think that must be about 6m of line plus a little extra for the knot. Seems to work pretty well. I like your cellular star kite. I have a slightly similar one but it flies at a very shallow angle. Let us know how yours goes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soliver Posted May 30, 2015 Report Share Posted May 30, 2015 @ gum-nuts, that sounds about like what the range of the test I saw... I believe they got somewhere around 160 feet @ John, thanks, that sounds like what I was thinking. I hadn't considered the angle of the kite in the wind and how that would effect the KAP rig. I'd really like to build a Rokakku, but I don't think wifey would tolerate the spending on materials. A guy named Andrew Newton has a bunch of great Youtube videos on his methods and his website is pretty cool to http://users.ncable.net.au/~anewton/ ... he has a link to his flicker page where he has great pics of all his KAP gear... very inspiring https://www.flickr.com/photos/pandasima ... 655748045/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhn.holgate Posted May 30, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 30, 2015 A guy named Andrew Newton has a bunch of great Youtube videos on his methods and his website is pretty cool to Yes, I occasionally see Andrew down at 13th Beach when we're buggying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gum-nuts Posted May 30, 2015 Report Share Posted May 30, 2015 A guy named Andrew Newton has a bunch of great Youtube videos on his methods and his website is pretty cool to http://users.ncable.net.au/~anewton/ ... he has a link to his flicker page where he has great pics of all his KAP gear... very inspiring https://www.flickr.com/photos/pandasima ... 655748045/ Just been looking at his pictures on Flickr, some great pictures, a few KAP selfies (beats those bloody sticks) and the kite line in the shot doesn't detract from the picture - probably because I like kites! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soliver Posted June 2, 2015 Report Share Posted June 2, 2015 I re-rigged the Picavet I made today with some better lines and the carabiners and then mounted my GoPro to it... It weighed in at 12 oz total with the camera.... I think it will do nicely. Still working on a reel little bits at a time. I'm trying not to spend any money so I plan to load the reel with some kite line I already have that I've used with the kite plan to use. I'll share some pics when I get it all finished up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gum-nuts Posted June 3, 2015 Report Share Posted June 3, 2015 A quick question, still haven't got my kite etc. yet but this is the sort of thing I lie in bed at night thinking about... How close/far should the camera rig be to the kite? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhn.holgate Posted June 3, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 3, 2015 I don't know if there's a 'best' distance. I like to get the kite high enough so it's in stable air, then I can relax and rig the camera to the line. On my farm, probably about 30m gets the kite well clear of the trees. On the beach you may only have to let out 10 - 15m between kite and camera. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soliver Posted June 8, 2015 Report Share Posted June 8, 2015 I may be headed out to try some KAP today. If I can get my kite up and get some pics, I'll post any worth a look as soon as I can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soliver Posted June 9, 2015 Report Share Posted June 9, 2015 (edited) Gave it a try today, but the wind was not quite consistently strong enough... cruddy inland gusty shifty stuff. My buddy Kevin who's into photography joined me and I was able to get the camera about 15 or 20 feet off the ground at best. I'm certain this is not the ideal kite but it will have to do for now.... the worst enemy of the day was the lack of consistency in the wind. Kevin took this with his phone and I thought it was a good shot of the Picavet: Here is the quintessential GoPro shot: One of Kevin from about 10 feet or so... Obviously letting wifey know what he was up to... : and here are the best of the shots we got from our highest vantage point (which wasn't that high up). and this is one I just thought was cool from the ground: While it wasn't a very successful outing as far as good Aerial Photography, I feel like I learned quite a lot from the experience. I am going to make some modifications to the gear that I built (Picavet and Reel) to make it function a little better and hopefully give it another go once the wind picks up again. BTW .Joel... LOVE the upgrade for sure!!! Edited June 9, 2015 by soliver gum-nuts 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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