In their fine book the Aerial Atlas of Ancient Crete, authors Wilson and Eleanor Myers describe techniques for taking photographs from a tethered balloon.  They mention briefly that they tried a kite "on days too windy for ballooning but found that a kite large enough to lift our twin cameras could drag two men across the ground as the wind rose." 

Large kites can take a toll on your hands and if the wind fills in suddenly you can find yourself with more than you can handle.  I was once flying my reasonably small Sutton Flowform 16 from a Pacific bluff when the wind built in to an estimated 35 mph. I took an extraordinary amount of work to bring the kite back down. I believe I would have lost it without provision for tying the kite off to a stationary object and the use of 250 pound test kiteline.

Bruce Baskett and David Hunt, regulars at the KAP Discussion Group, posted notes to remind me that some exposures are subtle and take time to become evident.  Damage to the eyes and skin from harmful solar radiation wavelengths and tendonitis due to repetitive stress are examples of this category.

Be careful not to let a child fly a large kite without supervision.  They often want to pull on the kiteline. I let them do this only while I hold onto the reel.

Develop a knowledge of the local winds and weather - In the San Francisco Bay Area we have wind patterns that vary with topography, season, and time of day.   Often the wind builds in toward a small craft warning in the summer afternoons.   If you have a large kite up when the wind builds in then getting it down can be unintuitively dramatic (voice of experience here.) Spend some time observing winds at your KAP site.  Ask folks who have developed experience at the site.  If you are unfamiliar with a setting then be cautious.  You might consider flying a small kite for a while just to get a feel for the winds.

In the Bay Area we have a stable atmosphere and few cumulous clouds.  Lightning is rare for us, not so elsewhere. If electrical storms occur where you fly then avoid kite flying during their presence. There is speculation about whether Ben Franklin actually conducted his kite / key experiment to demonstrate atmospheric electricity. I would wager he did and that the electricity thus manifested was a low-current leakage of atmospheric electricity - kites do this.  If the electricity had been provided by lightning then Franklin would most likely have been killed. Don't push your luck with atmospheric electricity, we know better today.

Protect yourself from the sun - One of the nicer aspects of flying kites is the time spent outdoors. Be prudent with the sun, however, as it can cause serious injury and lead to desease in the skin and eyes.   Protective clothing, sunscreen, sunglasses, and moderation are in order.

Have the means to anchor the kite -   If the wind does fill in it is useful to have a means of securing the kiteline to anchor (e.g., lamppost, tree, fence, bench, car).  I carry a climber's strap and carabiner for this purpose.  Slip the strap around the anchor and the kiteline on the carabiner with a clove hitch and the inanimate anchor is under stress not you. 

You can leave the kiteline tied off and walk the kite down if there is room available downwind or laterally. If it looks like I might need to do this then I make sure there is room when I pick my flying location.  I also carry a small climber's pulley to place over the kiteline when I walk it down.

Note that if you anchor the kiteline to a stationary object and walk the kite down you are creating a situation a situation that could "clothesline" a pedestrian or cyclist crossing between you and the anchor. Since the kiteline is not particularly visible you must be diligent in monitoring the taunt line between you and the anchor. Be prepared to release or raise the line to allow clearance if necessary. I have found myself in this situation well over a dozen times.

Practice small before flying large - I started with small kites and gained hundreds of hours of practice before flying large kites.  It is much easier to learn the vagaries of kite and wind with a 16 square foot kite and 100 pound line than with their larger brethren.

Build a small KAP rig so you can use a smaller kite - The camera rig flown by the Myers above Crete carried a Hasselblad and a older 35-mm Canon SLR with external motor drive.  The cameras alone could have weighed 10 pounds.  A payload of this size demands a hard-pulling kite.  On the other hand, if you mind the details it is easy to build a four-channel cradle for a point-and-shoot camera at around one pound including camera and film.  A rig this light can be flown without much pull on the line.  I carry a range of kites with me so that I can then select the kite that will provide just enough lift for the rig I am using.  The bonus of this approach is that it is easy to walk the kite around (less need to tie off) and the camera stays steadier with some slack in the line.

Camera cradles can weigh five pounds or more.  This amount of mass, or even a lightweight one pound rig, can cause considerable damage when dropped from a few hundred feet.  Kites too can cause distress by striking passerby or objects or causing the kiteline to become tangled in sensitive areas.

Develop experience with new components over open areas - As you develop new components or acquire new kites test them in uncrowded, open settings.  An empty area of the Berkeley Waterfront has been my testing ground for several years now and it is always the place I commission new gear.  If something fails, and sometimes it does, the only thing I can hurt (other than my equipment and pride) are dirt clods and weeds.

Take care with your mounting details - It is probably self evident that you have a lot riding on your mounting connections. Make certain that these connections are trustworthy before using them above people and property.  The connector of kap cradle to Picavet cross is a good example as is the Picavet line itself.  Failure of either will cause the dreaded "bombs away" scenario.  Some KAPers run a safety tether between camera and kiteline.

Know your kite - Develop some experience with a kite before using it to lift cameras.  My Sutton Flowforms can collapse and drop under low velocity, turbulent conditions.  When my Rokkaku  thermals, it sometimes wants to invert (to my dismay) and fly itself into the ground.  Learn the vagaries of your own kites and watch them for odd behavior.  Check your bridles periodically as well.  If a crash is inevitable it sometimes helps to let the kiteline go slack before impact.

Anne Rock offered the following good advice in her KAP FAQ: "Each time I fly, I check the kite's seams, bridle and bow lines, split rings to make sure lines aren't working their way out, spars. I check all the screws, nuts, nylon ties on the rig. I try to inspect the flying line as it's going out or as I roll it up. I don't know, yet, where the weak link is." I am not quite as rigorous as Anne but I do keep an eye on my gear for wear and tear.

My version of Brooks' Hangup™ as a cautionary example. The lefthand image shows the device in 1997 when it was quite new. The right image is from 2002, over 500 flights later. Note the elongation of the hole providing a point of attachment for the Picavet. I'm happy I caught this before, as opposed to after, failure.

Have room to back up - Select a flying site that allows you enough room to back out of trouble.  If the wind fails momentarily then running upwind can create enough "breeze" to fly the kite and lift the rig, thus carrying you through the moment.  I always want a clear area behind me when photographing people (as in the image above) and say as much to folks hanging around me. At least once a month I find myself dropping the transmitter and backing up (often while inhauling line) to keep the kap rig in the air.

Be aware of wind trends - Keep a weather eye on the wind by watching for windsign in nearby indicators (e.g., trees, flags, smoke). Learn to anticipate changes in the wind.

In my mind, aircraft-related safety is the most difficult of KAP safety issues.  In a recent issue of the Aerial Eye (4:2), Steve Eisenhauer took the bull by the horns and discussed his uneasiness about the potential for conflict between kites and occupied aircraft (e.g., airplanes, helicopters, ultralights, hang gliders, and paragliders.) While it would at first seem unlikely that an aircraft would tangle with your kite, the more hours you fly the more exposure you have. Also at issue is the size of kite and kiteline. Early in my kite flying career I generally flew small kites on 75 pound kiteline. Those seem innocuous compared to the Sutton Flowform 60 and 250 pound kiteline I often fly these days.

As I write this article I have accumulated around 600 hours flying kites. During this time I have had three anxious moments, two compliments of  low-flying helicopters.  In one case a helicopter flew over the UC Berkeley campus while I was photographing the Campanile.  I'd estimate its altitude as 400 to 500 feet -- too low for me to be comfortable -- and heading generally toward my kite.  The helicopter changed course long before nearing the kite but left with me questions about who should be doing what to prevent interaction. In the second case I was flying from an El Cerrito waterfront park when a Police helicopter arrived and loitered at 150 feet or so for 20 minutes.  The Bell Jet Ranger's pilot seemed quite aware of my kite and stayed clear (actually circling the kite) as I quickly brought the kite down from around 300 feet.   That helicopter eventually landed to participate in an arrest. 

On occasion I have had fixed wing aircraft in the vicinity of my kite. On all but one occasion they have had sufficient altitude to ease any worries.   The one that concerned me was a low-flying Bonanza hugging San Francisco's Pacific shoreline near the ruins of Sutro Baths.  I would estimate its altitude at 300 feet. Unlike the many planes that fly parallel to the coast, this Bonanza was flying over the shore not over the water. It banked seaward before reaching my flying site in what I believe was an evasive reaction to the kite.

My curiosity fueled by these incidents I searched the National Transportation Safety Board Aviation Accident/Incident Database for references to aircraft "accidents" involving kites.  There are none apparent in the 45,015 aviation accidents recorded by NTSB since 1983. I also searched the 114,817 record database of aircraft-related "incidents" reported since 1981.  Here I found 8 incidents involving kites.  None resulted in accident or injury though a person was charged with malicious mischief for deliberately flying a kite in front of a Pitts (Special?) on landing approach.  The Pitts landed without damage. Another incident in 1996   involved a Piper PA-18 towing a banner.  A kite severed the banner line and the banner "fell into the sea"  near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Of the eight incidents involving kites four were described as causing no damage while the other four caused minor damage.  Four of the aircraft involved were single-engine private aircraft, three were executive multi-engine aircraft (two jets), while the remaining case was an Agusta A109 commercial helicopter. Five of the incidents occurred during an aircraft's final runway approach and one immediately after takeoff so there appears to be a causal and intuitive relationship with proximity to airports. The remaining two incidents occurred during low level cruise (the helicopter ferrying passengers from New York to the airport and the banner towing airplane.)

Only two reports mentioned kiteline strength.  The helicopter incident had the following description "during cruise aircraft contacted 100 pound test nylon kite cord. Cord entangled in rotors. Safe landing."  The helicopter was not damaged. The other kiteline citation mentioned 20 pound fishing line. A third incident was described by the FAA as "Pilot struck a kite that was being flown by a 9 year old girl in his flight path on final approach."  Brooks Leffler provided some more details on this March 1988 incident in Mountain View, California. "A little girl was holding 170 lb line to her dad's 11 ft Cloud Pleasers Marshall Delta-Conyne when a flying ambulance came in too low on a seldom-used approach to nearby Palo Alto airport and snagged the line in the prop. Girl was lifted about ten feet and let go when she saw a grove of trees approaching. No damage or injuries, but lotsa adrenalin pumped."

Safety related to aircraft is a serious issue due to its life safety dimensions. It deserves our full attention. I am interested in learning more about kite / aircraft protocols.  If you know more about the issue, have had experiences with low-flying aircraft, or just have some thoughts then please drop me a line.

PART 101--MOORED BALLOONS, KITES, UNMANNED ROCKETS AND UNMANNED FREE BALLOONS

Sec. 101.7 Hazardous operations.

(a) No person may operate any moored balloon, kite, unmanned rocket, or unmanned free balloon in a manner that creates a hazard to other persons, or their property.

(b) No person operating any moored balloon, kite, unmanned rocket, or unmanned free balloon may allow an object to be dropped therefrom, if such action creates a hazard to other persons or their property.

Assuming that your kite is under the five pound limit then Section 101.7 states that you should not create a hazard.  I read this as meaning you should be proactively prudent in deferring to aircraft.

For their part, aircraft are generally supposed to stay at least 500 feet high except in "sparsely populated" areas..  The notable exceptions to this are flight paths related to airports and helicopters.  The FAR regulation establishing general minimum safe altitudes is reproduced below:

PART 91--GENERAL OPERATING AND FLIGHT RULES

Sec. 91.119 Minimum safe altitudes: General.

Except when necessary for takeoff or landing, no person may operate an aircraft below the following altitudes:

(a) Anywhere. An altitude allowing, if a power unit fails, an emergency landing without undue hazard to persons or property on the surface.

(b) Over congested areas. Over any congested area of a city, town, or settlement, or over any open air assembly of persons, an altitude of 1,000 feet above the highest obstacle within a horizontal radius of 2,000 feet of the aircraft.

(c) Over other than congested areas. An altitude of 500 feet above the surface, except over open water or sparsely populated areas. In those cases, the aircraft may not be operated closer than 500 feet to any person, vessel, vehicle, or structure.

(d) Helicopters. Helicopters may be operated at less than the minimums prescribed in paragraph (b) or (c) of this section if the operation is conducted without hazard to persons or property on the surface. In addition, each person operating a helicopter shall comply with any routes or altitudes specifically prescribed for helicopters by the Administrator.

If everyone followed these rules we would be in pretty good shape.  However, I've noticed aircraft sometimes fly lower than the specified limit and kite fliers sometimes exceed it.  Aircraft seem particularly prone to low altitude flight along scenic and "sparsely populated" shorelines. And then there is the issue of helicopters which are allowed by paragraph (d) of Section 91.119 to fly below 500 feet.

Be aware of airport locations - The FAA restricts kites weighing more than 5 pounds from flying within a radius of 5 miles of each airport.  While lighter kites are exempt from this requirement it is prudent to know the location of nearby airports and to avoid flying in areas that align with their runways. This information is readily available on a map, look it up before you fly. I have flown my kites at small airports before but only after receiving permission, and a 200 foot altitude limit, from the airport manager. This leads to the next suggestion.   Note that airplanes often neatly align with the runway as they approach to land but that their departures follow varied directions.

Listen for aircraft and locate the ones you hear - I now have the routine habit of listening for aircraft, even, it seems, when I am not flying a kite.  When I hear a low aircraft I immediate try to locate it, gauge its altitude, and whether there is a chance of it intersecting the kite or kiteline.

Develop a sense of aircraft scale - I find it difficult to gauge the distance of airborne objects as there is little up there to compare things to.  You kite, however, provides a known frame of reference.  I find it useful to have a sense of the relative scales of your kite and typical aircraft.  My Sutton Flowform 60 is about 7 feet wide. A Cessna 172 Skyhawk is 27 feet long and has a wingspan of 36 feet, a Bell JetRanger 6 feet wide and 39 feet long.  As a nearby aircraft approaches I try to estimate whether it will ever get close enough to appear as large as my kite in angular width.  If it looks like this will happen then the aircraft should have plenty of clearance.  If the aircraft has a chance of appearing as large or larger than your kite then pay close attention.

Fly low - The larger (greater than 5 pounds) kites are restricted from flying above 500 feet of altitude.  I have adopted that limit for all of my kite flying and do not keep more than 700 feet of line on my reels.  In fact, I try to keep the kite below 300 feet if possible. At some point in time we all want to send a camera high.  After the novelty of this wore off I found that KAP images taken above 500 feet start to look like they were taken from an airplane anyway, it is the low stuff that is the most fun.

Use a wide angle lens - One reason it is easy for me to fly low is that two years ago I started using relatively wide angle lenses.   The principal motivation for this is the advantage of keeping the KAP rig close to the earth. I also like the three-point-perspective effect of these lenses, a feature that differentiates the images from those taken with a long lens at height (e.g., airplane). My "normal" lens on the Canon rig is a 24-mm wide angle and sometimes I use an extremely wide angle 15-mm fisheye.  You do not have to achieve great altitude with these lenses to provide an impression of height. 

Design light KAP rigs to allow a smaller kite and lighter line - Another strategy is a downscaling to avoid the use of high strength kitelines.  Intuitively, 100 pound kiteline will be less problematic in an encounter than 250 pound kiteline.  This approach has the bonuses of making the kite easier to handhold, easier to launch, and easier to pack into a gear bag. 

Be prepared for an incident, however unlikely - If it appears that an aircraft will intersect your gear aloft your should try to take evasive action by moving laterally.  You might also spool out kiteline to try to lower the kite's altitude.  You should also be prepared to let go of your kite should the kiteline get caught on an aircraft.  I am speculating here but I think hanging on would be to the disadvantage of you and the aircraft.  If you tie your kite off to an anchor be prepared to cut the line.

Check out the FAR sections on Right of Way. Generally, the more maneuverable "vehicle" must give way, I.E. free balloons have the right of way over dirigibles, which have the right of way over airplanes, which have the right of way over helicopters. I suspect that a kite being legally flown in uncontrolled airspace has the Right of Way over any airplane.

I remember from 30 years of reading airplane magazines at least two fatal accidents involving kites and helicopters. In one, a five year old was yanked off the ground when his kite line caught a low-flying helicopter. In the other, the kite line wrapped so tightly around the mast of a helicopter that it bound up the control rods for the cyclic and collective. Sorry I can't provide any citations.