The timer is a dethermaliser timer - used to bring free-flight model aeroplanes back to earth after a predetermined time. It can be set to fire from 0 to about 6 minutes.

This cradle was suspended by nylon cord from the kiteline about 60-70m below the kite. ("Below" meaning along the kiteline - not vertically below. The flowform kite flies at quite a low angle. With 170m of kiteline paid out, my Engineering Science class estimated (using trig, of course) that the kite was only about 75-80m above the ground. The camera would have been somewhere around 50m above the ground at its highest.)

The camera was aimed by tying the nylon cords differently.(!)

How each photo was taken.
The kite was tethered to a steel stake driven into the ground. It flew itself with great stability for around three hours! The kiteline was "walked down" until the camera was within reach.
The shutter was rewound, and the timer reset.
The kiteline was released and the camera shot up heavenward. After 2-6 minutes, the photo took itself.
Naturally, I had no control at all over the actual conditions when the photo was taken. Luck was most significant.

Surprisingly, about half of the first batch of photos was usable. Surprising because the camera took a horrendous battering at the mercy of the winds.

My next version will feature a Picavet stabilising platform, motordrive camera and radio control to aim (in two axes) and fire the camera. (And I tell my pupils to " get a life".)

Postscript (five weeks later - 28/7/98) The Picavet was a flop. Today I took four or five more usable shots with a two-piece pendulum mount. See them here, or click here to see how that mount is attached to the kite.

Post-postscript (a few months on - 13/10/98) I replaced the pulleys on the Picavet with small eye-rings and slippery string. View the results here or find out more about the Picavet here.

Post-post-postscript. The image at left is actually a shot of the Delta-Conyne in flight, showing the camera rig attached to the kiteline. Can you see the kite in the thumbnail?
Click here or on the picture to get a better idea of the general arrangement. (23k)