FAA and other aerial imagery

[odalaigh]

http://www.nps.gov/kewe/planyourvisit/u ... -Guide.pdf

2 images in this national parks guide were taken using a kite. I would think flying a kite could be just as dangerous as flying a phantom! Does the FAA have authority over kites as well?!

 

[EMCSQUAR]

You're stretching the FAA concerns & issues a little bit too far. A kite as dangerous as a Phantom - you're not serious?

A kite doesn't have 4 blades spinning at 8000 rpm, a kite weighs little to nothing and I highly doubt you could fly your kite out a mile and direct it towards a photo target.

This isn't a viable comparison.

 

[odalaigh]

I could just see the kite string getting tangled up in power lines and being a hazard.

 

[zenoshrdlu]

In the UK the CAA (the UK equivalent of the FAA) specifically excludes kites (and balloons) carrying cameras from the restrictions it places on small unmanned surveillance aircraft (such as the Phantom Vision). Kites (which are classed as aircraft) do however have a much lower altitude limit in the UK (60m or roughly 200').

While most kites aren't likely to cause injury a radio-controlled camera rig falling to the ground certainly could, so the regulations are not entirely logical.

 

[SilentAV8R]

http://www.nps.gov/kewe/planyourvisit/upload/Web-publishing-KEWE-Guide.pdf

2 images in this national parks guide were taken using a kite. I would think flying a kite could be just as dangerous as flying a phantom! Does the FAA have authority over kites as well?!

Yes, in fact they do:

http://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/14/part-101

 

[Flying Cephlopod]

One of my hobbies is Kite Aerial Photography (KAP).

There are similarities and differences between KAP and UAV photography.

In KAP, a camera hangs from the kite line on a gimbal platform. My rig has three servos to direct the platform. The servos are controlled through a radio control device very similar to what we use with UAV.

A kite doesn't attract attention nearly as much as the hanging KAP camera does, which rotates left-right, up and down, etc.

To varying degrees, those who operate KAP rigs face many of the same issues that those who operate UAV's face, including safety concerns, crashes, liabilities, safe-fly zones, the weather, interested and fascinated people, as well as negative and suspicious people. I suppose it's merely human nature to encounter both types.