The Picavet is the most popular suspension system with kite aerial photographers. The Picavet system has two attachment points to the kite line about five feet apart which reduces rotation of the rig and swinging of the rig along the axis of the kite line. The Picavet lines pass freely through four eyes on the Picavet cross, and the 3 inch shaft between the cross and the rig acts as a moment arm and allows the mass of the camera to keep the rig level. The Picavet does not work as well on a balloon line when there is little wind and the line is close to vertical.
This Picavet cross has a long (21 cm) and short (10 cm) dimension. With the long dimension perpendicular to the kite line, the rig is more stable. The top of the cross has a star of slots for locking the shaft. This allows you to point the camera rig in any of sixteen different directions. The kit includes two stainless steel KAP’n Hooks to attach the Picavet line to the kite line. Weight: 75 grams.
The 12 cm shaft now comes assembled in the full Picavet Kit. So assembly involves little more than screwing in four eyebolts and threading the Picavet line. The Picavet Hardware Kit includes the unassembled parts of the shaft.