The Kite Aerial Photography rig I built ages ago, finally got its first flight today. I sent it up under my 15 square foot sutton flowform single line kite (above), with an old minolta 35mm film camera onboard the radio controled rig. I choose the Wakapuaka sand flats as a test area, where there was a stiff SW wind blowing this afternoon. With the help of Devon, who took photos and held the kite when I needed an extra pair of hands, I clicked through two 24 exposure films. There was nowhere I could get them developed today so I probably won't see the results until Monday. I was really pleased with the stability and lift of this kite, even with the camera rig on it. Next time I think I'll be confident enough to put a digital camera up there. The old minolta compact was a good 'saftey' camera to use first time up, in case things went wrong... but nothing did! Because I can't see through the viewfinder when shooting there's a lot of guess work going on. Being able to review the shots (between short flights) on a digital will really be a help in finding good pictures form this new viewpoint. 
Here I am bringing the rig in. It is attached about 30 down the line from the kite.
10:06:04 PM 
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