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Video Tips


CT4ME

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  • 1 month later...

BTW, the "video tips" series (above) now has 3 parts... good stuff

Here's a quick test, done using the GoPro's "time-lapse" feature... still photos strung together to create a movie. In this case, it was every 2 seconds. I'm going to experiment around with timing and size. The photos transformed into a movie by the "cineform studio" application that comes with the GoPro. PowerDirector also has the ability to do something similar... oh well, another time.

Tim

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Yup, 'looking forward to the videos from the fly-in...

Did anybody catch the "surprise" in the video at about 1:12???

eloyland.jpg

Someone with an inop radio took off as I was landing... :mad: :blush: :blink: :wacko:

'All turned out OK...

Tim

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Tim, how do you mount the outside camera? I am using an N-Flight Plus in my cockpit, have a Go-Pro I want to mount outside but I'm hesitant to just slap it anywhere (disruption to airfoil, fear of camera falling off etc!).

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This particular GoPro2 is mounted near the top of the front of the rudder, with their "motorsports" suction mount.

mountsm.jpg

I didn't believe the suction mount would take it, but after countless testimonies to its robustness, I gave it a try. First, I put it on without a camera and flew high/low & fast/slow. No problems. Then I put the camera on and flew hours high/low fast/slow over the desert. No problems.

I always clean the surfaces, and re-attach the suction before each flight. I also put bowlus tape across the front edge of the suction mount, hoping to stop air getting under the mount. I haven't tried it in freezing conditions, but it sure has held up in the heat.

As far as disruption to airflow goes... I haven't seen any that I can put my finger on. Certainly not anything significant or noticeable. I've always had a tiny problem with the rudder, especially when using AP. It seems I have to apply slight pressure... but it's not consistently one pedal or the other. It seems to depend on the angle of crosswinds.

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The problems I have had with suction mounts in the past in other applications is temperature changes. If it's cool and then gets hot, the low-pressure air underneath the mount can expand and make the mount pop off. Of course, the better the mount design, the less susceptible it will be to this, since you'll get better suction and thus have less air under the mount to expand. If it's hot when you attach the mount and then cools off, it's in your favor since the air under the mount will contract and suck the mount on tighter.

 

This all makes me wonder if it might help to warm up the mount (maybe with a hair dryer) before installing, especially if you;ll be flying in hot conditions...?

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I have the suction cup mount, I guess I'll take it on faith, add the bowlus tape and go for broke! There was an alternate place I was considering... Under the airplane, just behind the cowl using the adhesive mount. The cowling hangs down about 3 inches so the camera would mostly not be exposed to direct air flow. Look at this pic where I was showing off the connector I added to the battery charging pigtail and you can see the little gap. I was going to try the adhesive mount beside the pigtail and then have the Go Pro facing rearward angled down. 2 cameras, one from inside cockpit and one outside to give alternate views would be a great improvement in my little aviation videos (example also attached).

 

post-124-0-59210600-1346092043_thumb.jpg

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I have the suction cup mount, I guess I'll take it on faith, add the bowlus tape and go for broke! There was an alternate place I was considering... Under the airplane, just behind the cowl using the adhesive mount. The cowling hangs down about 3 inches so the camera would mostly not be exposed to direct air flow. Look at this pic where I was showing off the connector I added to the battery charging pigtail and you can see the little gap. I was going to try the adhesive mount beside the pigtail and then have the Go Pro facing rearward angled down. 2 cameras, one from inside cockpit and one outside to give alternate views would be a great improvement in my little aviation videos (example also attached).

 

 

I'd guess the most important consideration is to mount it somewhere where if it *does* let go, it won't fly back and hit something important, like the tail. I would think anywhere under the airplane would be safe, as would somewhere on the outer portion of the wing.

 

Is anybody adding a safety wire or anything else to secure it if it lets go? It would have to be done carefully, since a camera banging against your airplane at 120mph+ might do more harm...

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Hi. Andy,

Do not leash that camera to your plane. If it breaks loose it will beat the holy something out of your plane. You want it away from the plane. Replacing the camera will be 5 times cheaper than fixing the plane. That camera leashed would just sit there and whip a hole.

 

Hi Adam,

Just a thought.There are a lot of exhaust and oil fumes that get on the bottom of the plane. It wouldn't be a very clean video platform for the camera lens if it was facing forward.

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Hi. Andy,

Do not leash that camera to your plane. If it breaks loose it will beat the holy something out of your plane. You want it away from the plane. Replacing the camera will be 5 times cheaper than fixing the plane. That camera leashed would just sit there and whip a hole.

 

 

Interesting that when I was at Oshkosh talking to the Lockwood people, they were in a booth right beside the AirCam guy. They suggested he was very knowledgeable about aerial photography and I asked him that same question - should I tether the camera to the plane. He said yes, he does it all the time. If the camera ends up dangling from the lanyard, slow the airplane down and go land, was his nonchalant comment.

 

 

http://www.aircam.com/

 

He probably flies a lot slower than most CTs. One would think that if one were to tether the camera, one would want to be certain the lanyard could not possibly get caught in or anything strike any control surfaces, hinges, cracks, etc.

 

I used to tow gliders and pulled tow ropes all over the sky, course, they connect to the very end of the aircraft so typically you are not going to get entangled in a tow rope.

 

Roger, are you personally aware of how the camera would act, do you have knowledge of a third party incident you could show us, or are you giving us a theoretical opinion?

 

 

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The AirCam is built by Lockwood that is why it had a booth next door. It's just falls under a different licensed business. The AirCam was built as a photography platform originally and was designed to fly high if need be, , slow and on one engine over bad terrain if it lost an engine. It can still climb on one engine. It doesn't fly as fast as we do.

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It would be nice if there was a definitive answer to this old question... but I guess rules/regs are the result of occurances, which seem to be extremely rare. I assume this section covers it:

"No pilot in command of a civil aircraft may allow any object to be dropped from that aircraft in flight that creates a hazard to persons or property. However, this section does not prohibit the dropping of any object if reasonable precautions are taken to avoid injury or damage to persons or property."

I'd argue that using proven technology, testing the mounts, taking care when you apply the mount, and trying to limit your flying to unpopulated areas would constitute "reasonable precautions". I never forget that they'll have some nice video evidence if something does happen. :blush:

A screw holds the strobe lights on the wings, and another holds the antennas on... and I guess we're all just one screw/bolt away from becoming "falling matter" at any given time... I guess that's "reasonable".

tim

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Yeah, this is a tough call...tether and risk damage to the airplane, or don't tether and risk a ground injury. If you did tether, seems you'd want the tether wire/line to be either a) super short, an inch or less to keep the camera from having enough movement to do a lot of damage, or B) really long, ten feet or more so the camera will just hang out behind the airplane until it gets dragged to death on landing. But with option b you could still have that long tether abrading your airplane (maybe use something soft like 550 paracord?), or even getting caught on a control surface and causing other problems.

 

I like the tie-down ring idea, that seems very secure. I'm just not sure if I'd really want to trust just a suction mount alone, but then I have no experience with the Go Pro or similar mounts, they might be much better than other similar setups. I'd certainly be more willing to trust the mount alone if I was out over Monument Valley rather than cruising near downtown Atlanta...

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I think from the FAA perspective, it is not the likelihood of someone being hurt so much as it is that you modified an airplane without approval. And, are you going to do a new W&B when you add your external camera mount? :) I know you do if you take an seat out or the wheel pants off, don't you?

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I think from the FAA perspective, it is not the likelihood of someone being hurt so much as it is that you modified an airplane without approval. And, are you going to do a new W&B when you add your external camera mount? :) I know you do if you take an seat out or the wheel pants off, don't you?

 

Hmm...removable avionics do not constitute a "modification" in the FAA's eyes. Is removable external equipment considered differently?

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Hmm...removable avionics do not constitute a "modification" in the FAA's eyes. Is removable external equipment considered differently?

 

I think Tom will be more current on these regs. I understand that your 496 in your AirGizmo is not a permanent installation. Bolting a camera to your airplane would seem to me to be permanent. Using a suction cup would not. But, let's see if Tom has the work on this.

 

 

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  • 1 month later...

Discovered an improvement to the video quality from my GoPro Hero1 cam.

 

Use the R3 resolution setting for 60 frames per second.

this seems to get rid of the prop effects of 30fps,

less video capacity, unless youhave the remote for taking shots only when you want.

 

also, when uploaded to Youtube, there is a stabilization software icon which will remove the shakiness of the image. take a bit of time on youtube's part, but it seems to be effective.

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