Kites

Sutton Flowform 30, 16 and 8. Thirty, sixteen, and eight square feet respectively. These are the kites that I use for Kite Aerial Photography (KAP).
		Left: The Flowform 30 fits neatly into this little bag . . . Right: . . . and quickly unfolds ready to fly.
		Left: "Can you believe I used to wear these before I lost all that weight?!!" Only kidding! I'm holding the Flowform 30, not a giant pair of clown pants. Right: No sticks to insert, the Flowform only requires the cells to be filled with wind in order to fly.
		The hardest part about flying the Flowform is the launch. Some days it'll take 15 to 20 minutes before a breeze comes along to carry the kite to cleaner air above.
		But not on this blustery November day in Portland, Maine overlooking the Casco Bay. Were I preparing to attach kite line and let the kite out I would fold up the 30, and pull out the Flowform 16.
		A kite the size of the Flowform 30 can be very dangerous in a high wind. One situation you want to avoid is getting the kite airborne, and then not being able to easily bring her down.
		I take the cautious approach when flying. I will launch my Flowform 16 first to see if it can do the job of lifting my camera rig in the wind conditions that are present. If not, only then will I fly with the 30.
		Left: The Flowform 16 stowed in its bag. Right: The 16 unfurled.
		The Flowform 16 is about half the size of the 30 and pulls about half as hard. Otherwise they are the same. In fact, when a Flowform is in the sky it's difficult to tell what size it is unless it is very close to the ground.
		The Flowform 8 is half the size of the 16, and one fourth as big as the 30. I bought this kite to use on very windy days but have never used it for KAP.
		I like to daisy chain the bridles before folding up the kites. When the wind is a whippin' that can be hard to do but it makes flying next time a breeze since you don't have to deal with tangled line.