Kite Elevated Aerial Camera

The Paul Garber Papers at the Smithsonian contain references to some projects that never got completed. This particular project, the "Kite Elevated Aerial Camera" must have been dear to Paul Garber's heart. He had described such a device in a book he wrote for the Cub Scouts in 1931, entitled "Kites and Kite Flying". Here is the brief section of that book dealing with kite photography, nowadays known as K.A.P. (Kite Aerial Photography).

The two documents from the Garber Papers related to this subject are:

Kite-elevated Camera; Project request for
and this later un-dated follow-up:
Device 5-AQ, Kite Elevated Aerial Camera
While there is no further information on this project, today KAP is a rapidly growing sport. Visit this website to see for yourself: www.kiteaerialphotography.net. Todays KAP'ers use digital cameras and either electronic shutter timers or radio control to shoot their pictures. Some even have remote control and a video down link to point the camera in the desired direction!