Sunday, September 25, 2011

Wind speed. Will your kite lift your camera?

Here on the Space Coast I use flags to help me judge wind speed.  Whether or not my kite will lift my camera or merely drag it along a grassy field, unable to lift it, can often be easily foretold by the flutter of a flag on a pole.  Wind direction is easily observed by the waving of a flag.  Flags are everywhere, from  gas stations to schools, to the post office; they are easily spotted from almost anywhere.  With a little bit of trial and error one can quickly learn to judge his or her kite's lifting ability in any given wind by the intensity of a flag's flutter.

What other methods do you use to judge wind speed and to know if there's enough wind for your kite to lift your camera?

2 comments:

Kieran Baxter said...

Here in Scotland I check the trees- if the branches are swaying it could be a go, if it's just the leaves fluttering probably a no-go. Except while I'm at home where I'm lucky enough to be able to see the windsock of my local airport from my study window- great weather check!

Jasja said...

I use a few grass leaves to judge the wind. They are not big on flags here in the NL.