GoPro on VS?

[claycookiemonster]

Not too long ago it seemed everyone was embedding bullet cams in their VS and wiring them to recorders in the cockpit. Now, GoPro's are sprouting all over RV's faster than zits on a 13 yr old, but I haven't seen any installations back up on the VS. Has anyone tacked this? It seems that the tie-down attachment might work up there if the receiving threads could be installed beneath the tip, or would simply attaching the GoPro to the fibreglass tip be sufficient? I haven't installed the VS tip yet, thinking about putting in some plate nuts instead of riveting it so I can have an optional modified VS tip that is camera friendly if the screws holding the VS tip on would suffice to hold the camera too.

[bullojm1]

Clay,

I have experimented extensively with mounting the GoPro on the vertical stabilizer. At first I made a simple mount which attached to the vertical stabilizer tip using screws:



Unfortunately, the camera footage had a lot of vibration in it. After about 6 iterations of different mounts, this is the only one that gave great results with no vibration being detected in the recorded footage





The camera perspective from the vertical stabilizer tip is great!

[Snowflake]

I should take some pictures of my install. I used the screws holding the fibreglass tip on as Mike did, and have some issues with vibration but it's not too bad. I'm using a Drift Stealth HD camera, however, which is more "bullet shaped" than the GoPro.

I like the idea of the modified tip to recess the camera and make the mount more stable. It wouldn't be too hard to make a removable piece that allowed mounting the camera temporarily, and closed the opening off when the camera wasn't needed.

[N941WR]

I'm not a fan of GoPro's because the battery life on my new Black edition is horrible!

I have two Replay XD's that I can't say enough about. If I was going to mount a camera in a removable VS cap, I would buy one of these Replays.

Here is how I mounted mine:


And here is a video I made with them.

[N546RV]

Personally, I'd be a little skeptical of doing anything that would tie me to a specific camera manufacturer. The thought I just had was to work out a hardpoint of sorts for a RAM ball mount. From there, you could mount just about anything you wanted up there. Could be as simple as a threaded socket for a ball with a matching post.

Main downside that comes to mind is that once you installed a mounting arm and the camera itself it'd likely be a good bit more draggy than a simple GoPro mount. And going along with that, the torque on the mount point would be higher since you're putting the camera on a longer moment arm. Probably be a good idea to test the setup on the ground to ensure it's good and strong - and that might be a strike against using the single threaded post I linked to.

Anyway, just shooting from the hip here. I do want to have some kind of provision for camera mounting up on the VS whenever my plane comes together.

[claycookiemonster]

That VS tip with the cut-away is sort of what I was thinking. The first step would be nut-plating the VS so the tip were easily removable, but the actual mounting is still a challenge. Since tie-down's will obviously be used as mounting spots going ahead for all types of cameras, it would keep my options open if I could permanently install a threaded receiver beneath the fiberglass tip. Once this is installed, a modified VS tip with a cut-away could be put in place allowing the camera mount to reach the threads. On the other hand, clearly vibration is a problem, another metal bit up there with a camera on the end of it might not be stable.
It appears that people are simply using the fiberglass tip as the structure receiving the stresses of carrying the camera. Perhaps a mount simply installed and glassed into the VS tip would be more resistant to vibration?

[RFazio]

It requires nothing special on the HS. Easily mounts and is removable. The videos come out rock steady.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/374778...7647049417773/

I made it out of fiberglass, then coated the inside that meets the stab with silicon rubber. It stays on by itself as you can see in the photos. I use a little masking tape just to hold it on.

See some videos here: http://m.youtube.com/channel/UCFW5e_KYHcQEhquWfX9OpPw

[claycookiemonster]

That's an interesting way to go! Nice that you don't have to do any mods to the airframe.
Are you finding the you need to tilt or elevate the camera above or below the horizontal center line of the fuse?

[RFazio]

I have it pointing straight out. In line with the fuse. It also depends on the settings you use in the camera. If you look at the videos you'll see how they come out. I like the wide view, though it does distort the plane a little. I think it gives the best overall view.

[claycookiemonster]

It's wonderful how technology keeps on marching; the VS cam photos from embedded bullet cams were all I could imagine - until Go Pros began showing up under the tail and out on the wingtips.

Thanks