Although I’ve done my bit of Aerial Photography, I’ve always wanted to give Kite Aerial Photography (KAP) a go.

Back in September I started to acquire a few bits. Since the main component was a kite, I decided I’d start with this first. After a lot of research, I decided that a Delta Conyne was the best bet. This particular kite is a hybrid of a standard triangle shaped delta and a box kite. Most KAPpers report that it has the lifting power of a Delta kite with the stability and high flight angle (ie: the string is almost vertical) of a box kite.
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I’ve previously blogged about CHDK. It is the “Canon Hackers Development Kit” and is alternative firmware for Canon digital cameras. It never actually overwrites the camera firmware and can give a camera many extra features not available in the default firmware.

For radio control applications, specifically aerial photography, there is a real bonus in being able to control a camera to take photos from the radio control unit.

CHDK will allow your camera to take photos when 5volts is supplied on the +ve pin of a USB cable. I’ll be using this feature to show you a simple way of interfacing a channel from your RC gear to the camera.
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