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Structural Inflatables
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A real UFO picture of our UFO which appeared over an English Dorset village causing a flurry of excitement and many column inches in local and national newspapers of UFO sightings. In the center an example of our radio controlled planes, a Pull and push-prop semi-rigid Inflat-A-Plane™ and on the right another example of our remote control planes, a 30ft Inflat-A-Plane™ with a Predator type unmanned drone hung below it Stewkie elevated Sensor System (SESS) about to have surveillance System added

Some aerial Photos                       More aerial Photos

 

Aerial Photos - The Inflat-A-Sails™, Semi-Sails™ and other Specialized Inflatable tethered Aerostat projects

For static aerial photos, filming and observation generally, as well as as a bird scarer we developed a range of aerostats that were aerodynamic balloons or kites, in that they didn’t just have add on wings and tails, they were designed as a flying wing from the outset. Our Inflat-A-Sails™ and Semi-Sails™ have been tried and tested over many years, not only as a static tethered balloon for aerial photographs, but as power kites to pull vehicles and vessels, so they are controllable in Yaw and Pitch. This is achieved by using a method of warping their wings, either by radio remote control, or by power applied to lines from the ground, depending apon their size and the use to which they will be put.

However, all systems used kite photography remote sensing systems to take the aerial photos, as we used to fly the systems some distance from the handlers.

They have been used to loft some large packages with gyroscopically stabilised cameras, as well as small video cameras where, in the latter case, the aerodynamic balloon’s own stability was sufficient for the definition required. We have monitored areas of considerable size from them at heights up to 5km (over 3miles) and taken many aerial photos in many parts the world.A 25m² Inflat-A-Sail with a video package slung underneath attached to a winch which has to be well-anchored

Inflat-A-Sails™ and Semi-Sails™ have flown in winds as high as 50knots and have been used for crop spraying from the back of a tractor, as well as on foot and they are probably the most effective bird scaring system available, as well as being the most environmentally friendly method to keep birds from a particular crop.

On the right an image of a 25m² Inflat-A-Sail™ which is fully controllable by remote control to yaw either side of downwind by 50° is about to be lofted with a video camera slung underneath. Even at these low heights it The Semi-Sail™ in the bottom left of the image was lofted separately and shot the image to the right of another Semi-Sail over an airfieldis perfectly stable.

This can only be called a double whammy! The Semi-Sail™ in the bottom left of the image was lofted separately and one of the aerial photos it shot was the image to the right of another Semi-Sail™ over an airfield.

This version is not only used for carrying cameras, video cameras and other sensors, but is flown in multiple versions and is used as a stable, efficient and powerful traction kite for yachts, board sailing and land buggies. It is also used for ‘kite swimming’ and Skiting™, our version of skiing on grass and snow.To Top You can see more images of it in the AmphiKiting™ section.

Aerial photos UK showing a village in Dorset, England using a remote control kite, or aerodynamic balloon, the Inflat-A-Sail™The aerial photo on the left was taken from a remotely controlled kite, or aerodynamic balloon, the Inflat-A-Sail™ of a village in Dorset, England and includes an aerial photo of my home. Aerial Photos UK with a gyro-stabilized video camera system, lofted by an Inflat-A-Sail™ of 20m²We also took a number of stereo photos of this village and others, using a twin camera system and have special 3D viewers to see the startling effect that this gives.

On the right is a very sophisticated gyro-stabilized video camera system, with its designer Dr Adrian Marsh, during trials in the UK. These took place over some months as we progressed in kite design and camera design.Monitoring the aerial photos and video footage from the ground during trials in the UK

The monitoring equipment on the ground during trials which included aerial photos as well as video footage. The system was simple to operate and control and, with a remotely controlled zoom facility, it was possible to monitor in depth from some distance. The Inflat-A-Sail™ was lofted some distance from the gyro-stabilized package to take advantage of the extra wind at height, but as we progressed with new kite designs, such as the Semi-Sail™, which were almost stunt kites despite their size (up to 320ft²), we were able to hang the eqipment on the kites themselves.The Semi-Sail coming down in a controlled manner, but designed to land on its back in the event of any emergency, so that camera equipment on the front is not damaged. These proving trials were successful and we then used the system in earnest for aerial photos

We also began to fly multiple arrays of Semi-Sails™ together, which meant that the first Semi-Sail™ went up to seek the wind and the following kites carried the photographic and video cameras on board, which helped their stability.

A further development we made with this sytem was to enable all the vulnerable equipment to be attached to the front of the Semi-Sails™ and to have a safety release system that, in the event of a problem or just to bring everything down as fast as possible, released one of the three tether lines. This  ensured that the Semi-Sail™ came back down in a controlled manner, but extremely fast to land on its back, as shown in the photo to the right.

If you’d like to see some other photos of systems we developed, go to the next pages, where Aerial Photos 1 shows some other civilian and military systems.

Aerial Photos 2 is a sequence for your amusement and, hopefully interest, of a camera system attached to our Semi-Sail™, which is itself attached to our pedalled inflatable catamaran. The object of the excercise was to photograph the catamaran from above as the kite helped to pull the catamaran in a river in Cambridge, England. See what happens!To Top

For one of the most spectacular aerial photos that has ever been taken, have a look at the real UFO pictures of our own personal flying saucers over a village in Dorset, England at night time.