The Penguin Flies
David Hunt October 7, 2001
[To The Original Penguin Article]
The Penguin has finally flown and here are some pictures from two sessions. I have included all the pictures that I have from each session. This will give the beginner an idea of what to expect from a manual KAP rig. The results are a little deceptive because some of the really bad pictures were erased in the field. Manual one-shot rigs greatly benefit from the use of a digital camera.
This was my first experience with a completely manual KAP rig. The technique I used was as follows: The kite was flown up into good strong winds then staked off, the KAP rig was attached (make sure the camera is turned on, make sure the timer is wound, make sure the timer is set, make sure the timer is started). The first time up the rig is flown to the desired altitude and the line is tied off again to the stake. For each subsequent picture the line was walked down to the KAP rig and the timer and camera were reset. The rig was then returned to altitude. Having to walk the rig down for each picture kept me from wandering too far from my anchor point. It's a lot of work.
SESSION ONE - Ditto Landing, Huntsville, Alabama
This is a public park and marina along the Tennessee River. The winds were varied between 1Bft and 2Bft. If the winds stayed on the light side too long, the rig would not reach a good altitude before the shutter released.
Ditto Landing from 4 feet
A little more altitude this time but not quite enough.
About the same altitude as before, plus the timer caught the cradle while it was swinging.
A keeper, better altitude plus a good view of the small bridge into the park area.
About 4 or 5 pictures were erased in the field during this hour and a half KAP session.
SESSION TWO - Appalachian Fair and Gray School, Gray, TN
I paid three dollars to park in a field that was adjacent to both the fair grounds and the school. The winds were 2Bft and getting the kite to altitude before the shutter tripped was not a problem. I chose to keep the kite anchored to my car and did not move around to get the cradle into different positions.
An accidental shutter release
A Short Timer setting. The fair grounds are behind those trees.
A good picture of the fair grounds. It could have been better if I had moved in for a closer shot.
I had more time so I re-aimed the camera to take pictures of a near by school. The kite is still flying from the same location.
Flat roofed buildings don't make for very interesting KAP subjects. This is from the left side of the building. For the next shots I tried to position the rig to catch more of the front of the building.
How about more of the back of the building?
It was a good idea, but things are not looking any better. Let's go home.