Kite Aerial Photography of Slovakia

James S. Aber and Juraj Janocko

Introduction

Slovakia is the eastern portion of the former Czechoslovakia. Slovakia borders Poland to the north, the Ukraine on the east, Hungary to the south, Austria on the southwest, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia represents a transitional zone in Europe for north-south and east-west cultural and geographic conditions. The Slovak language is similar to other slavic languages of Czech and Polish, and the region bears a strong historical imprint from Austria, Germany, and Russia.

The following kite aerial photographs were taken during the month of September in 1997 and 2000 in vicinity of the Tatra Mountains of northern Slovakia. For our first session at Štrba (1997), successful KAP was accomplished under very windy conditions. Ground wind speed at a nearby airport was measured at 12 m/sec (27 mph). This wind speed is near the upper limit for equipment used by the authors. More recently (2000), we had excellent sun and wind (about 15 mph), but the atmosphere was hazy due to agricultural burning throughout the region.

High-oblique view over village of Štrba with the Tatra Mountains in the background. High peaks of the Tatras exceed 2600 m (8500 feet); they are part of the Carpathian Mountain system of central Europe. Photo date 9/97; © J.S. Aber.
Low-oblique view over the village of Štrba. Population is around 4000 inhabitants. Agriculture and a nearby chemical factory provide most employment for village residents. Photo date 9/97; © J.S. Aber.
School football (soccer) field at Štrba. We missed the students playing football by a few minutes. Soccer is the most popular team sport throughout Europe and much of the world. Photo date 9/97; © J.S. Aber.
View over the village of Mlynica with agricultural fields in the foreground. Photo date 9/00; © J.S. Aber.
View from Mlynica north toward the Tatra Mountains on the horizon. The relatively hazy atmosphere is the result of autumn burning of agricultural waste--leaves, stalks, and other litter collected from the fields. Photo date 9/00; © J.S. Aber.
Agricultural fields and forest near Slovenská Ves. Green fields have winter wheat or rye at this time of year. This view toward the north shows hills of Spišska Magura in northeastern Slovakia. Photo date 9/00; © J.S. Aber.

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Last update 10/2000.

	High-oblique view over village of Štrba with the Tatra Mountains in the background. High peaks of the Tatras exceed 2600 m (8500 feet); they are part of the Carpathian Mountain system of central Europe. Photo date 9/97; © J.S. Aber.
	Low-oblique view over the village of Štrba. Population is around 4000 inhabitants. Agriculture and a nearby chemical factory provide most employment for village residents. Photo date 9/97; © J.S. Aber.
	School football (soccer) field at Štrba. We missed the students playing football by a few minutes. Soccer is the most popular team sport throughout Europe and much of the world. Photo date 9/97; © J.S. Aber.
	View over the village of Mlynica with agricultural fields in the foreground. Photo date 9/00; © J.S. Aber.
	View from Mlynica north toward the Tatra Mountains on the horizon. The relatively hazy atmosphere is the result of autumn burning of agricultural waste--leaves, stalks, and other litter collected from the fields. Photo date 9/00; © J.S. Aber.
	Agricultural fields and forest near Slovenská Ves. Green fields have winter wheat or rye at this time of year. This view toward the north shows hills of Spišska Magura in northeastern Slovakia. Photo date 9/00; © J.S. Aber.