Vortex Videos

While flying my Parafoil kite over Sanibel Beach in Florida, I got an idea to attach my camcorder to the kite and take some aerial videos. The kite easily hauled the camera up and I got some videos. Note: If you try this yourself be sure to do it on a day with strong & steady wind, use a short tether to attach the camera, turn on image stabilization and zoom all the way out if you don’t want to get motion sickness whilst watching the resulting video.

I was thinking that a larger Parafoil could carry aloft a sphere of thick Lexan® plastic with a video camera mounted inside. When a tornado approached, the operator could launch the kite and the inflow would haul it aloft and towards the vortex.

I have flown my Parafoil 5 to 1,000 feet without difficulty on 50-pound test line. A Parafoil 15 could easily carry the weight of the capsule and still be able to carry a œ mile, or more, of 200-pound test line. The line would be reeled out from the bed of a chase truck and the operator would have a quick-release to allow separation of the kite when the vortex was reached. A GPS homing device would allow for retrieval of the instrument pack.

The kite itself would cost USD$89.99 and the line would cost USD$165.00 for 3,000 feet of line. I could not find the cost for the Totable Tornado Observatory (TOTO) experiment that was never successfully deployed, but with a Parafoil kite the cost would be minimal. The Lexan® sphere could be re-polished, and be reused with the camera.

Added: The chase vehicle would provide protection against any lightning which could travel along the kite's string. The quick-release would be operated remotely, from the safety of the vehicle, or the researcher could simply wait until the string was broken by the force of the wind.