Advanced practitioners adapt equipment intended for radio-controlled model airplanes. These "servos" can both rotate and tilt the camera, and also trigger the shutter on command. Consult the Web site of the Society for Amateur Scientists to learn more about such options. Whatever strategy you adopt, it's a good idea to affix "landing gear" made of practice golf balls to the camera housing as shown. They make for a softer touchdown should the wind die off suddenly, delivering the instrument gondola all too quickly back to terra firma.

As a service to the amateur community, the Society for Amateur Scientists has created an extensive library of links to Web sites for kite enthusiasts. Visit http://www.sas.org and click on the "Forum" button. You can write the society at 4735 Clairemont Square PMB 179, San Diego, CA 92117, or call 619-239-8807.

This article was originally published with the title Using a Kite as an Experimental Platform.

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