Just starting a thread to document my learning curve with the GoPro. I was sent a strut mount to beta test. Got to fly with it for the first time today. Any constructive criticism about camera angle or mount position?

By the way, the music for the video was done by a kid at my church.



Here's the camera as mounted.



It made for a slight yaw so that I had to keep a little right rudder the whole time.

Repositioned on the strut. I noticed the camera seemed to be swaying. I'll have to check that out.

I like the videos Scott. Was that an aqueduct that you flew through? That was cool whatever it was.

I'll trade you some wind and rain and snow for some of that clear dry California weather! You need some rain anyway, right? Ha

Actually we need snow! Most of our water comes from the snow pack and we have very little this year!

What I flew through is the New Melones Dam spillway. Protects the dam if the lake overfills. We call it the Star Wars trench.

I am surprised that the GoPro caused that much Yaw.

I am most likely going to purchase the Garmin VIRB due to its thinner profile, but was wondering how much of a learning curve there is in producing something presentable on a PC.

Looks good Scott!

Not to doubt you, but are you sure that perceived yaw wasn't psychosomatic? With the external loads I've carried, solar panels, step ladders, a large chunk of drift wood, snowboards, and more (all on one side only), I've failed to notice any difference, not enough to get my attention anyway. Maybe you have more sensitive feet.

I like that little fairing on the end of the strut, and have to wonder why RANS doesn't provide them for the S-7. I need to make my own I guess. Good vid, fly down the Big Sur Coastline sometime, my old stomping ground, not many places to land though

hey - It sounds like you central California guys will have plenty of off airport options this summer since the government will not let the farmers get anymore water. The farmers say they will hang it up.

courierguy wrote:Not to doubt you, but are you sure that perceived yaw wasn't psychosomatic? With the external loads I've carried, solar panels, step ladders, a large chunk of drift wood, snowboards, and more (all on one side only), I've failed to notice any difference, not enough to get my attention anyway. Maybe you have more sensitive feet.

I like that little fairing on the end of the strut, and have to wonder why RANS doesn't provide them for the S-7. I need to make my own I guess. Good vid, fly down the Big Sur Coastline sometime, my old stomping ground, not many places to land though

I haven't discounted that. I am somewhat of a psychoautomatic or whatever you said. Next test is to mount it on the right strut and see if there is any yaw.

It really doesn't seem to take much to move these light planes though. I remember one time my son forgot to buckle his seat belt (yeah, yeah I know, checklist). Anyway he left it hanging out the door and it was flapping in the relative breeze. I kept feeling the airplane periodically dipping and climbing in an odd way. Didn't feel quite like turbulence. Slowed the plane down, cracked the door, drug the seat belt back in and the weird motion stopped.

patrol guy wrote:hey - It sounds like you central California guys will have plenty of off airport options this summer since the government will not let the farmers get anymore water. The farmers say they will hang it up.

Very true. It's hard to land in a dried up orchard though. Actually it's forcing the farmers to pump more groundwater. That's not good either. There's a huge area (on the order of 1200 sq miles) in the central valley that is sinking at a rate of 24 inches per year subsidence due to ground water pumping. If they deplete that aquifer it's not like you can pump the water back in.

patrol guy wrote:hey - It sounds like you central California guys will have plenty of off airport options this summer since the government will not let the farmers get anymore water. The farmers say they will hang it up.

I saw a news clip today of a Central valley farmer tearing out his nut tree orchard, cause there will be no water to irrigate his land. A real tragedy for the farmers down there and for most of us in North America who depend heavily on produce from California. I wish we could send you some of ours, come spring were pretty near drowning in confounded stuff.

Marc finally got me to understand how his camera mount fits on my rear strut. Here's raw video footage of today's test. Just a quick hop around the patch to see if it was going to fall off or something. Rock solid. I kind of like the camera angle too. You can see if I'm going to cry or fall asleep or whatever.

svanarts wrote:Marc finally got me to understand how his camera mount fits on my rear strut. Here's raw video footage of today's test. Just a quick hop around the patch to see if it was going to fall off or something. Rock solid. I kind of like the camera angle too. You can see if I'm going to cry or fall asleep or whatever.

Hey that is a sweet angle, I will have to try that one... my one suggestion would be to just tilt it downward a little more so there is less of the wing in the view.

chosstronaut wrote:

svanarts wrote:Marc finally got me to understand how his camera mount fits on my rear strut. Here's raw video footage of today's test. Just a quick hop around the patch to see if it was going to fall off or something. Rock solid. I kind of like the camera angle too. You can see if I'm going to cry or fall asleep or whatever.

Hey that is a sweet angle, I will have to try that one... my one suggestion would be to just tilt it downward a little more so there is less of the wing in the view.

I thought the same thing, you just confirmed it. Will do on the next flight.

svanarts wrote:Marc finally got me to understand how his camera mount fits on my rear strut. Here's raw video footage of today's test. Just a quick hop around the patch to see if it was going to fall off or something. Rock solid. I kind of like the camera angle too. You can see if I'm going to cry or fall asleep or whatever.

Hey Scott,

Glad the alternate mounting method worked out for you and it seems the image is equally as stable as on the front strut. Now that I know it works well in this configuration I will be visiting a Waco owner and a Jungmeister owner to put it on a biplane cabane.

Thanks again,

Marc

I advise that you do not let an FAA inspector see that camera strut mount on your airplane. You might be asked to show the logbook entry which will certainly be a problem if you have a certificated or factory LSA airplane. (This is not theory - my mechanic told me this came up in my year long attempt to get the FAA to fix their records)

-Dick

rjb wrote:I advise that you do not let an FAA inspector see that camera strut mount on your airplane. You might be asked to show the logbook entry which will certainly be a problem if you have a certificated or factory LSA airplane. (This is not theory - my mechanic told me this came up in my year long attempt to get the FAA to fix their records)

-Dick

I am the builder of this aircraft (EAB). So I will be happy to show him whatever logbook entry he wants to see. I'm hoping the big EXPERIMENTAL on my door will discourage him from asking.

svanarts wrote:

rjb wrote:I advise that you do not let an FAA inspector see that camera strut mount on your airplane. You might be asked to show the logbook entry which will certainly be a problem if you have a certificated or factory LSA airplane. (This is not theory - my mechanic told me this came up in my year long attempt to get the FAA to fix their records)

-Dick

I am the builder of this aircraft (EAB). So I will be happy to show him whatever logbook entry he wants to see. I'm hoping the big EXPERIMENTAL on my door will discourage him from asking.

So wait where to I get one of these sweet mounts to make all of the certified guys jealous?!!?


edit: oh now I see... hopefully I can get one someday!

Addicted2Climbing on these forums is going to be selling them. He may have them available already, not sure. He posted early on in the thread.

Got a little more of the wing out of the way. Tried to get up to the Hangar Sixx BBQ up at Columbia this past weekend but was on call for work... and got called.

So I just flew aimlessly around the foothills this afternoon.

Hey Scott,

I never knew you had so much diverse scenery up there. I use to have family in Patterson and thought it was all just farmland. If you ever find yourself in the Los Angeles area let me know as I would love to have a look at your S6.. I have been lusting over the S20 for some time now...

Marc