External Drift Mount

I had been looking for a way to mount a camera (Drift HD 170) outside the airplane. The RV-12 made for pretty decent video shooting through the canopy, but the RV-4 just has too much glare. I've seen what some other people had done, but didn't really like any of them. Then I got an email from Nflightcam, pushing their new camera of course, but they also had a pretty good mount idea.

They call it a "spud", I don't know why. It can be screwed just about anywhere there is enough structure to support it. I was a little skeptical, but they show some video of one on the tail of an L-39 at 250 kts, so I figured it should work on my wing. The link to their web site is below:

http://www.nflightcam.com/products/...ay_after_Christmas12_26_2012&utm_medium=email

I have some pictures of it on my airplane here (at the bottom):

http://www.hangara13.com/RV-4Videos.html

And what I was able to get from it yesterday is here (this video is very long by some people's estimate, not long enough for others):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9M6WNTf49Ec

It seems to work pretty well, but I still get a little bit of vibration.

Camera Mount

That looks like a good idea for mounting a camera externally. Simple... I like it. Nice video of the mountains as well. Thanks for sharing.

Chuck

Steve - which screw point did you use for your video? Was it out at the wing tip or closer in?

In my recordings, I think most of my "jelly roll" problem comes when I throttle back. My mount is out at the wing tip. I'm thinking there would be less vibration if I found a solid point closer in along the wing.

Glen,

I have it mounted using one of the screws that holds the outboard edge of the fuel tank on, so it is just inboard of mid-span.

Here's what I worked up, Steve. It just screws into the tie down. Not sure that it is better or worse than others, but seems pretty good.



Here's a quick trip around the pattern in a YouTube clip to get an idea. Be sure to click the box for Hi Def in the lower right part of the screen and then notice that it gets quite a bit better when no longer at takeoff power (just after I turn crosswind). http://youtu.be/PwCzi0mp84o

Thanks Steve. I kind of like that, I think I might have to give it a try.