Suction cup mounts on the canopy

[olyolson]

Does anyone know if using a suction cup type mount for video cameras are safe for the canopy? Do they do any damage or weaken the canopy? If anyone has used these, do they provide a vibration free mount? Do they stay attached during maneuvering?

Thanks,
Oly

[Greg Arehart]

Oly,

No personal experience with video cameras, but I often attach shades to the canopy with suction cups. Requires cleaning occasionally, but I would imagine unless you have a very heavy video camera, that there would be little risk to the canopy. Now, if the suction cups fail and the camera falls on your head (or rolls under the rudders and jams the pedals), that is a potential (but probably fairly unlikely) issue.

Greg

[lockeed]

I often attach my GoPro to the interior of the canopy. Works great, but a little shaky sometimes...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Pu7G5vpJ_w&feature=plcp

[AX-O]

No issues as far as I can tell on the canopy. And that is one part of the plane that I am very cautious about.

Some small issues with vibrations depending on the engine RPM. Mostly during taxi or big power changes.

The biggest issue is finding a place that is minimally affected by the canopy reflections. I have the Drift HD. I found the best place for it has been on the side of my helmet or on the wing tie down.

Here is a video with the camera mounted on the canopy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FqCss4CJkw

[kevinh]

Tried the gopro suction mount - too much vibration for my taste. Switched to a rollbar mount - rock solid now.

[flyboy1963]

stuck a mount on the roof of my slider. I don't think the location was the problem, just the length of the apparatus which magnifies the vibrations.
...so I wasn't thrilled with the field of view either ....too much canopy in the way.

then after I landed, I slide back the canopy, and deftly knocked the whole thing, Including my iPhone, to the seat ( luckily..not the floor!)

no marks on the canopy tho....I'd recommend using a little vaseling or something instead of just spit on the suction cup, as I think mine dried out in the sun.

[panhandler1956]

Timely post. I am about to try this with my Drift170HD on my -8. We'll see. I think my mounting apparatus is going to induce too much vibration though. Seems like the headband has worked the best, but I just want a new position.

Also, my Drift shuts down half the time it's mounted externally, not sure why. Any ideas?

[Bob Kuykendall]

One thing to take care about is that suction cups work because of (duh) suction. Basically, the cup is held in place by the pressure differential across the membrane. That pressure differential varies with altitude, so a suction cup that holds a certain load on the ground might not do so at cruise altitude.

Back when we used cameras to validate turnpoints in glider contests (these days we use GPS), I built a mount with three suction cups to secure my turnpoint camera to the canopy. On one task I climbed all the way to the contest ceiling of 17,500 feet, and soon after the camera and mount fell off into my lap. It held fine when I stuck it back on, but it was kind of a wakeup call.

If I recall my altimetry correctly, at 18,000 feet the ambient pressure is half that of sea level, and half of the atmosphere is below you. I think that means that a suction cup at that altitude has half the holding power of one at sea level, but I'd have to think about that.

Thanks, Bob K.

[AX-O]

Originally Posted by Bob Kuykendall

One thing to take care about is that suction cups work because of (duh) suction.
Thanks, Bob K.

Good point on the suction. I forgot to mention that I always use parachute cord (comes inside flight suit pocket) to tie the camera/mount to the aircraft. If it falls inside the cockpit, it will not create a FOD hazard or any concerns that could potentially take time away from flying. Not a good situation when you have wingman with you.