Editing Kite aerial photography (section)

==KAP today==
[[File:Thermogram of Cairnpapple Hill.jpg|thumb|Kite aerial thermogram of [[Cairnpapple Hill]] Cairn, West Lothian, with the kite flyers shown standing at the foot of the cairn]]
With the advent of the Internet, light and affordable digital cameras, radio control and microelectronics, kite aerial photography has become increasingly popular. In latter years, kits have become available that enable a beginner to quickly assemble a functional KAP rig and start taking aerial pictures in the visible part of the spectrum and, with more experience, in the ultra-violet, near and thermal infra-red<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.armadale.org.uk/phototech.htm |title=Photographic Techniques |access-date=2012-12-02 |archive-date=2018-10-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181011094302/http://www.armadale.org.uk/phototech.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> parts of the spectrum too.

Practical and commercial use of KAP is limited by the unpredictability of the weather (notably wind, sun and rain) and the fact that not every site is suitable to flying a kite. Launching a kite near buildings or downwind of trees can be problematic, due to heavy turbulence. The main applications today are amateur photography, art and, especially, archaeology as described on the webpages of the [[West Lothian Archaeological Trust]]. Another growing application is its use for community mapping and [[environmental monitoring]] by the widespread Public Laboratory for Open Technology and Science.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://publiclab.org/wiki/balloon-mapping |title=Public Laboratory for Open Technology and Science}}</ref> Research scientists are using kite aerial photography for monitoring bird species and also for studies in the geographical and geological sciences, including [[photogrammetry]]. Increasingly, kites are being employed where the use of a small [[unmanned aerial vehicle]] (SUAV, commonly known as a drone) is either impractical, or encounters legal or other constraints. Attempts to commercialize KAP have so far been largely unsuccessful.