If you can't get balloons, helium, or if it's just too windy (more than about 5mph or 10kph wind) for #balloon-mapping, consider lifting a camera up on a kite. Kites are cheap and available through most of the world, and they're easy to build if you can't find one big enough.

Advantages

You can make a really big kite for just a few dollars in materials -- anywhere in the world! You don't need to buy or waste helium, and kite makers are everywhere -- kids are especially good at it.

It's a fun activity, and flying kites over and over is free, unlike using balloons!

Limitations

Most kites need at least 5-10mph (10-15kph) wind, unless you use a design for very light winds -- and most need a bit more to carry a 200g camera very high.

Kites that are very efficiently designed can fly at a high angle -- more vertically. But if yours has lots of drag, it may fly at a lower angle -- more diagonally from the ground.

You need wind.

Design constraints

Kites can be designed for many purposes, but some things to balance are:

• cost and local availability of materials
• time/complexity of construction
• portability when not flying (does it fit in a car? a plane?)
• light-wind flying qualities
• heavy-wind flying qualities
• overall size and lifting ability

Where do conversations happen

The grassrootsmapping list -- subscribe in the left-side column!

Activities

Add an activity Request an activity guide

Guides should include a materials list and a step-by-step construction guide with photo documentation. Learn what makes a good activity here.

Questions

Ask a question about kite making

About the data

• What types of data does the method produce (visual, numeric, graphs, charts)
• How to access the data, where is it kept, maintained, accessed, who can get it
• How does the data compare to other commercial methods or governmentally recognized methods?

Edit this page to help complete it!