Show me your outboard camera installation.
 

I keep seen this awesome videos and pictures of RVs flying using a camera mounted on the airframe (outside the cockpit). I am thinking about buying one of those GoPro cameras soon. Show me your installation set up. I am mostly interested on mounting the camera on the wing however, other locations may work. Thanks for any help or guidance you can provide.

Axe,

I'd look at the Contour 1080HD.

It has a wide variety of mounting options.

The newest one has 3D GPS embedded tracking.

And the newest feature...you can use your bluetooth enabled smart phone as a viewfinder. AWESOME.

Lots of options...checkit

http://contour.com/camera

Slick

Anyone out there with pics?

Axel:

I should be out at your airport soon for a DAR inspection. You can look at and actual touch my several different ContourHD mounts. Presently there is one mount on the windshield frame, a headset mount, a hat mount, an under wing mount using the right side tie down point, and a left wing tip top mount. I have a tail mount in the works but it will not be done this weekend if Paul has me come out.

BTW. I had the wingtip mount installed with camera on the aircraft for your Birthday.





Yes I run a filter on the camera to protect the lens.

Axel - timely post. I'm modifying my VS fairing to accept a Drift HD170 camera. I'll post pictures when I'm complete but the basic idea was this:

fabricated a carbon/epoxy receptacle by wrapping the camera (covered in electrical tape and waxed).

Placed the receptacle inside the VS fairing and cut an opening in the fairing

Use the camera's built in mounting screw hole to hold it firmly in the fairing.

Refinish the VS fairing and install on the plane.

The Drift HD170 has a remote control which allows the operator to turn on/off the record functions.

A few of us were guinea pig subjects for Dave "Pablo" Hirschman while he evaluated three different cameras http://www.aopa.org/aopalive/?watch=...WT.mc_sect=gan for AOPA. I have the GoPro and like that it comes with a variety of mounts including a suction cup mount that will not come off when attached to the inside of the canopy. For the outside, I use the provided mounts and drill a hole in them then use the existing screws on the wing (fuel tank screw, wing tip screw), or any other screws on the plane for locations. The nice thing about putting it out on the wing is you can face it in any direction...forward, to the fuselage, backwards, etc.

As far as picking a favorite, I am biased because I spent money on the GoPro and would refuse to ever admit I made a mistake....but I am extremely happy with it and have no complaints.

There are some pictures of the mounts on this thread http://www.vansairforce.com/communit...ighlight=gopro

That suction cup mount is incredible - I tested it out on my kitchen countertop and am pretty sure that (if I were strong enough) I could pick up the entire slab of granite before the suction cup gave up its grip. A guy at my airport used the suction cup directly on the vertical stabilizer of his light sport and flew all the way to the Bahamas without it coming off! I wouldn't try that in the RV (or a light sport for that matter) but I bet it would hold just fine.

Here is a link to images that I took today. "Chatter Box" emailed me that he was interested in seeing the others so I took photos today after I got off work.

https://picasaweb.google.com/Gary.A.Sobek/CameraMount#

The images in my earlier post are hosted at the link.

Contour Mount.
 

Gary, are you finding that the Coutour is stable with your mounts? I was looking at the same arrangement for mine.

Contour HD
 

Can you control the camera from the cockpit? If not is there a camera out there that does.