Camera systems and mounting points for flight recording

[r0ckst4r]

I am thinking of getting a camera or two to start recording some flights.   Just wanted to see what experience people had,  what camera you used and where you mounted them in the plane.

[Oscar Avalle]

Mounting, I use the tie down rings to anchor my cameras under the wing. For those points I use gopros 8 and 9 or Garmin Virbs.

They work well. My only point is go pro’s battery life... after one hour they are dead... on the other hand the Garmin virb’s battery life is superb. More than 2 hours, but video quality is only 1080. Go pro’s video quality is 4K really nice.

Above the wings and on the tail I use the sticking pads that come with the cameras. I like to use for the tail a contour and for the fuselage go pros 8 or 9.

For the interior I use Garmin Virb and Go pro. I also started to use a Sony handycam 4K.

Hope it gives you an idea. Not perfect, but at least it is a starting point.

Óscar




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[r0ckst4r]

Any worries of worse aerodynamics and lower cruise speeds with outside mounted cameras?

[Yetti]

I like the Sony action camera.  Easier form factor to work with.  better features for price point.  I machined a mount for the centerpost.   It is removable with really expensive stainless thumb screws. no tools required.  

[gsxrpilot]

48 minutes ago, r0ckst4r said:

Any worries of worse aerodynamics and lower cruise speeds with outside mounted cameras?

Not that you'll notice.

One note on battery life... turn off everything you're not using on the camera. Most notably turn off wifi and bluetooth. Those two things suck the battery down faster than anything. It also removes your control of the cameras in flight which is good in that it keeps you from trying to edit video while flying the airplane :-)

[Oscar Avalle]

Any worries of worse aerodynamics and lower cruise speeds with outside mounted cameras?

Not really. Ok battery life, yes I tried turn off the features, but gained only marginally more battery time


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[Lance Link]

 

I made a simple mount out of plastic for the tie-down and used it for a cheap camera.  Shows all of the landing gear perfectly so I can see how bad my landings are.  Pointed down a bit, I'm sure it'd just be an eagle eye's view.  And no, I never ground it off upon landing, but there's still time.....  

[Blue on Top]

7 hours ago, gsxrpilot said:

Most notably turn off wifi and bluetooth. Those two things suck the battery down faster than anything. It also removes your control of the cameras in flight which is good in that it keeps you from trying to edit video while flying the airplane :-)

Awesome thread @r0ckst4r!

I'm thinking of purchasing a GoPro4 (refurbed) and mount it to the horizontal stabilizer.  Is double-stick and aluminum tape okay to hold it on?  Will the aluminum tape stop the Wi-Fi?  Can I switch from stills to video in flight?  Note: I won't be the one flying at the time   Thanks, Ron

[jonhop]

My favorite camera... Hero session 5 at the top of the vertical stabilizer with a sticky mount... check my last flight in the year 2020 and profile pics for how amazing this camera is!!! I also have an underwing mount that screws into either hoist points / tie down ring for any action cam for fairly cheap with RAM mounts. Had to modify the RAM mount with a screw but it is a very advantageous mount point.

For inside the cockpit, here is my setup...

A Samsung S105G--or other cellphone--mounted to a DJI osmo mount clamped to the passenger seat headrest captures the cockpit very well with ultra stabilized video.

I have not experienced any adverse flight effects at high--200+mph--or low speed for any exterior cameras. Of course YMMV.... Happy filming!

Edited January 3, 2021 by jonhop

[Oscar Avalle]

8 hours ago, jonhop said:

My favorite camera... Hero session 5 at the top of the vertical stabilizer with a sticky mount... check my last flight in the year 2020 and profile pics for how amazing this camera is!!! I also have an underwing mount that screws into either hoist points / tie down ring for any action cam for fairly cheap with RAM mounts. Had to modify the RAM mount with a screw but it is a very advantageous mount point.

For inside the cockpit, here is my setup...

A Samsung S105G--or other cellphone--mounted to a DJI osmo mount clamped to the passenger seat headrest captures the cockpit very well with ultra stabilized video.

I have not experienced any adverse flight effects at high--200+kts--or low speed for any exterior cameras. Of course YMMV.... Happy filming!

Really great pictures. So you have put the camera on top on the horizontal stabilizer? Also do you have any videos of the a flight with the DJI osmo? How do you clamp it on the headrest? I am asking because I got one for myself from Santa but I am having a hard time figuring out how to use it and where to put it on. Thank you for sharing!

Oscar

[gsxrpilot]

12 hours ago, Blue on Top said:

I'm thinking of purchasing a GoPro4 (refurbed) and mount it to the horizontal stabilizer.  Is double-stick and aluminum tape okay to hold it on?  Will the aluminum tape stop the Wi-Fi?  Can I switch from stills to video in flight?  Note: I won't be the one flying at the time   Thanks, Ron

It's better to mount the camera with the standard GoPro sticky mount. They are sometimes called Helmet mounts. They come in two shapes. One is flat and the other has a very slight curve to it. Chose the one that fits the surface best. They are easy to remove with a piece of string, fishing line, dental floss, etc. or anything you can use to cut through the sticky pad without touching the paint. Once attached, they will not come off until you take it off.

You'll be able to use the wifi during flight and can start/stop video as well as shoot stills. 

Though not made anymore, the GoPro Hero4 or 5 Session is the one I like for mounting on the tail. It's super small and light.

[Blue on Top]

9 minutes ago, gsxrpilot said:

It's better to mount the camera with the standard GoPro sticky mount. They are sometimes called Helmet mounts. They come in two shapes. One is flat and the other has a very slight curve to it. Chose the one that fits the surface best. They are easy to remove with a piece of string, fishing line, dental floss, etc. or anything you can use to cut through the sticky pad without touching the paint. Once attached, they will not come off until you take it off.

You'll be able to use the wifi during flight and can start/stop video as well as shoot stills. 

Though not made anymore, the GoPro Hero4 or 5 Session is the one I like for mounting on the tail. It's super small and light.

Do you have a picture to share from this installation?  Is it pointing forward or toward the vertical?   Or can it do either in this installation? Thanks!

PS. Also landscape or portrait from the same mount orientation?

Edited January 3, 2021 by Blue on Top
Added the PS

[gsxrpilot]

8 minutes ago, Blue on Top said:

Do you have a picture to share from this installation?  Is it pointing forward or toward the vertical?   Or can it do either in this installation? Thanks!

PS. Also landscape or portrait from the same mount orientation?

All of that is up to you in post processing. The nice thing about the GoPro Session cameras is that they are cube shaped and can therefore be positioned upright regardless of the mount orientation.

[Skates97]

Battery life has always been the downfall. I have a GoPro that I use inside for two reasons. One, I can have it plugged in so I have unlimited battery life. Two, because I have it hooked into the audio to pick up the radios and intercom chatter. I have used a few other GoPro knock offs at a much lower price than the GoPro and can't honestly tell the difference in the video quality. I have used the Apeman cameras and also the Dragon Touch 4K. The battery life on those was around an hour.

Searching for longer battery life led me recently to the Drift Ghost X Action camera. The camera is between $80-100 depending on current Amazon discounts which beats spending 3-4 times that on a GoPro. They claim 5 hours of battery life. On a flight to UT I started it up and got almost 4 hours before it died but that was with the WiFi on, with the WiFi off I am fairly sure I could get to the 5 hours. On a recent flight I started the camera up with WiFi to check the aiming on my phone. There is no screen on the camera. Then I turned off the WiFi and started it recording. It recorded the almost 1 hour flight to San Diego (over an hour if you count the taxi, run-up, etc...) We landed and had lunch, then did some walking around with friends. We got back to the plane only to realize that I had never stopped it and turned it off, it was recording the whole time. I expected it to be dead before getting back to Fullerton but although we took the longer inland route home it recorded the whole thing and still had battery life to spare, well over 4 hours of recording time.

It also has a rotating lens so no matter what angle it is mounted at just put the little white triangle at the top.

For mounting under the wing I made a mount using some old GoPro pieces, a stud, a couple fender washers and neoprene washers, a split lock washer and a wing nut. There is JB weld holding the stud in the GoPro mount side and the washer to the mount. It is easy to put on and take off the tie-down and has been rock solid even on descents at 185+ IAS.

Inside is a simple handlebar mount for a GoPro on the center tube. This pic also has a Apeman camera mounted forward with a handlebar mount.

I think I need to add another DIY article on my site with better pictures of the underwing mount, but this should give you an idea.

[carusoam]

@201er may be interested in this thread...

-a-

[Blue on Top]

Thanks, @Skates97!  I had a Christmas Amazon gift card from my nephew burning a hole in my pocket.  A Dragon Touch 4K camera will now be arriving on my front porch on Friday .    I'll let you know how it goes!

Now to get @KSMooniacon board for a short tuft flight  

Thanks!  -Ron

PS.  I'm hoping these emojis inserted within text won't be counted against my total ... or I'll soon be out of emotion. :] 

[xcrmckenna]

I enjoyed this video. But on the other side about 6 months after this video he lost a camera in flight....


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[jonhop]

Thanks @Oscar Avalle, 

 

On 1/3/2021 at 6:15 AM, Oscar Avalle said:

So you have put the camera on top on the horizontal stabilizer?

Not all the way at the top but similar to Paul's @gsxrpilot location, just higher and closer to the leading edge. At 6'5" I can reach all the way to the top.

On 1/3/2021 at 9:12 AM, gsxrpilot said:

It's better to mount the camera with the standard GoPro sticky mount. They are sometimes called Helmet mounts. They come in two shapes. One is flat and the other has a very slight curve to it. Chose the one that fits the surface best. They are easy to remove with a piece of string, fishing line, dental floss, etc. or anything you can use to cut through the sticky pad without touching the paint. Once attached, they will not come off until you take it off.

You'll be able to use the wifi during flight and can start/stop video as well as shoot stills. 

Though not made anymore, the GoPro Hero4 or 5 Session is the one I like for mounting on the tail. It's super small and light.

 

 

On 1/3/2021 at 6:15 AM, Oscar Avalle said:

Also do you have any videos of the a flight with the DJI osmo?

At the 10 minute mark, here is a video that includes osmo/cellphone capture:  I'll have to take a picture of the osmo's clamp location the next time I go for a flight. The clamp itself is attached to the bottom of the osmo via a standard camera mounting screw. 

 

Edited January 5, 2021 by jonhop

[Oscar Avalle]

Really nice! I love the music... who are the performers?

Oscar

 

[WaynePierce]

I'm not intending to steal this thread but I've thought about this numerous times. My main goal was to mount on the rear tie down to help me better understand my flare and landing. But, I have a rear tie-down unlike any I've seen it's like a 3/8 rebar almost. Do any of you have this type and what do you you use on it if anything?

[Blue on Top]

24 minutes ago, WaynePierce said:

I'm not intending to steal this thread but I've thought about this numerous times. My main goal was to mount on the rear tie down to help me better understand my flare and landing. But, I have a rear tie-down unlike any I've seen it's like a 3/8 rebar almost. Do any of you have this type and what do you you use on it if anything?

@WaynePierce  If you want to shoot from that location, I would recommend just removing the skid and tie the camera mount into those mounting bolts.   I would make sure that there are no scrape marks on the skid currently, though.  Your camera will perform the same task as the skid is doing now.  The first wood wing I bought had that part shoved well up inside the empennage ... and made it difficult to remove the tail.

The Flight Test rule used to be that the installation had to include at least one screw/fastener.  Tapes are much better now than they used to be, and cameras are much smaller and lighter.

PS. If you move forward of the skid (tiedown), the skid will protect your camera.

[gsxrpilot]

36 minutes ago, WaynePierce said:

I'm not intending to steal this thread but I've thought about this numerous times. My main goal was to mount on the rear tie down to help me better understand my flare and landing. But, I have a rear tie-down unlike any I've seen it's like a 3/8 rebar almost. Do any of you have this type and what do you you use on it if anything?

Yeah that's actually a pretty easy place to mount. I don't have a picture but GoPro makes a tripod mount that has a threaded base. Use a bolt, and a couple of large fender washers to sandwich that tie-down. Attach the "tripod" mount to the end of the bolt.  Throw some rubber gaskets cut out of an old inner tube to keep it from rattling around.

 

Another good option is to just clean the sheet metal just forward of that tie-down and then use a sticky mount.

 

[jonhop]

 

Thanks Oscar....

3 hours ago, Oscar Avalle said:

Really nice! I love the music... who are the performers?

Oscar

 

The first song is Sweet Disposition (The Temper Trap Cover) by SEAWAVES

The rest of the mix is from a producer called Ideal Noise on Sound Cloud. This mix title is "From Russia with Love - Vol. 4."

[jonhop]

2 hours ago, gsxrpilot said:

Another good option is to just clean the sheet metal just forward of that tie-down and then use a sticky mount.

 

3 hours ago, WaynePierce said:

I'm not intending to steal this thread but I've thought about this numerous times.

Or use the gopro mount in @gsxrpilotPaul's post on this clamp https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XWTL7LC/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A31OEVIVG7GW82&psc=1 . Might be more secure than a sticky mount due to the curvature of the airframe that far back.

Edited January 9, 2021 by jonhop

[carusoam]

If catching video for short landings....

expect the AOA needed to support flight is going to be pretty high...

The slower you approach the runway... the closer to dragging the tail you will be...

Often the tie-down ring back there has scrape marks on it...

If your camera is a couple of inches tall and the mount adds another inch... expect a real possibility of scraping the camera...

On the centerline is not really a good place anyways... the exhaust stream brings a quart of oil every 10 hours or so... cleaning the lens will be annoying... as you will miss a fair amount of video...

PP thoughts about things I read around here...

Best regards,

-a-