Rig 1 was first built and flown in September 1999. Originally it had only one servo that was used to click the shutter of the Ricoh Shotmaster. The direction that the camera was pointed and it's tilt were set manually before being sent aloft. This configuration lasted until the Summer of 2000 when I found the time to add a direct drive tilt servo. The first three photos below show this version of Rig 1. Notice the large Picavet cross atop the rig.

By the summer of 2001 I had grown weary of not being able to pan the camera remotely so a third servo was added to the rig. This pan servo was modified to spin continuously. A small gear atop the pan servo meshed with a larger gear attached to the bolt that held the wooden suspension cross together. As the servo and small gear rotated the whole rig would move in relation to the cross beam and large gear. This setup produced a very smooth pan motion. The rest of the photos show this setup.

The Ricoh Shotmaster was purchased at the Salvation Army thrift store in Lewiston, Maine for $3.69. The price sticker on the back of the camera is visible in some of the photos. It was replaced in August 2001 with a Yashica T4 Super. Needless to say the quality of my KAP photos dramatically increased at that point. I modified Rig 1 to hold the T4 by adding a 3/16" shim under the camera and redrilling the mounting hole.

In April 2002 I mounted an xCam2 to Rig 1. This is a small video camera with a transmitter attached. For about 2 hours I flew this setup and enjoyed a live video feed from the air that I viewed through a modified camcorder viewfinder. What a thrill! 

During that flight my kite line was accidentally severed by another kite flyer and my kite, rig and camera floated away. I recovered the kite but the rig and camera are now gone. I believe they landed in the Spring Point Marina in South Portland, Maine and sunk to the bottom. These photos are all I have left of Rig 1.

Click on the thumbnail to see a larger image.