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.
-- Klaatu, Apr 23 2004

Catch The Wind Kites http://www.catchthe...es/parafoils_2.html
Parafoil 15 [Klaatu, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 21 2004]

Gomberg Kites http://www.gombergkites.com/line.html
Braided kite string [Klaatu, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 21 2004]

Kites for science http://whyfiles.org/shorties/kite.html
Using kites for science since 1749 [Klaatu, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 21 2004]

Panasonic SD video camera (SV-AV100) http://snipurl.com/5wyv
They make smaller and lighter ones, too, but with lesser video quality. [bristolz, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 21 2004]

Raising obelisks using kites http://news.nationa...caltechobelisk.html
"On June 23, Mory Gharib and his team raised a 6,900-pound (3132.6 kg), 15-foot (3.0 m) obelisk into vertical position in the desert near Palmdale by using only a kite, a pulley system, and a support frame." [Klaatu, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 21 2004]

I always think that loads of + votes and no annos has to be a good sign.
-- po, Apr 23 2004


Can we then get America's Funniest Vortex Videos+ :)
-- theircompetitor, Apr 23 2004


go for it tc... on your head be it - as ever!
-- po, Apr 23 2004


The camera should transmit the video immediately so you don't loose all the pictures if the tornado tears it apart.
-- kbecker, Apr 23 2004


If you could use a camera that uses solid state memory rather than a tape transport (or anything that is rotary) you can avoid the gyroscopic precession problems that happen when a video camera is accelerated with force (for example, they don't work in flight with aerobatics very well as the precession during high-G loads causes the rotary video head to change speed and the recording fails for a few seconds recovering only after the g-load subsides and the head speed and tracking is re-established).

I think Panasonic makes just such a camera. <sometime later: (linky)>
-- bristolz, Apr 23 2004


Thanks for the link [bz]. I was thinking bigger and heavier, but lighter allows for heavier armoring. This also solves the problem that [kbecker] pointed out. I would hope that Lexan® would allow multiple flights and truly make this a "poor man's research project".

Now, if I can just get past my deathly fear of tornadoes*, I might try this someday.

*Blame my parents for taking me to see The Wizard of Oz in the theatre when I was a wee lad.

Added: I happened to watch a show tonight about raising stones for the pyramids and raising obelisks using ancient kites. Proves the lifting power of kites. <link>
-- Klaatu, Apr 23 2004



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