I'd like to mount my iPhone inside the cockpit to make videos of my flights showing my manipulation of controls, technique, the instrumentation, view out the window and to catch the audio. I've seen Nflight's $99 kit with audio cable and am thinking this might be a good place to start. The goal is to make videos of most flights so I can review to make improvements and enjoy some good scenery. Is this something that a iPhone 4s 32GB will work well for or am I better off buying a dedicated video camera? I'd appreciate any thoughts or advice on apps, kits and mounting hardware for the iPhone 4s.

http://www.nflightcam.com/products/nflightcam-smartphone-kit-2-0

That seems like a cool kit, but honestly I think a GoPro (or VIRB or whatever) will be a better choice. The problem is the iPhone 32GB is already loaded with so much overhead that it won't have much space available for recording. With a dedicated action cam, you can throw whatever SD card you want in there. If it's going to be a dedicated cockpit cam you can rig it up to use ship power.

SD chips are paramount for video! If, you really get into it.

IPAD has none. Do the iPhones?

Zzz wrote:That seems like a cool kit, but honestly I think a GoPro (or VIRB or whatever) will be a better choice. The problem is the iPhone 32GB is already loaded with so much overhead that it won't have much space available for recording. With a dedicated action cam, you can throw whatever SD card you want in there. If it's going to be a dedicated cockpit cam you can rig it up to use ship power.

+1

Also consider just getting a digital recorder for the audio and put the camera wherever you want (including outside the plane) without the hassle of cables.

Thanks for the advice. I did some research and an iPhone 4s recording video at 1080p eats up 10-12 GB/hour. So a 32 GB phone with all the apps removed, as a dedicated camera, should record close to 3 hours of video, which is more than enough for me, as I can download it to a computer between flights. I may upgrade to a new phone in the fall. At that point, I could turn the old iPhone 4s into a dedicated video device in the plane. Unfortunately that doesn't help me out for the next 4 months, unless I buy something now. I could go with a used 32 GB iPhone as a video camera for $190 or a dedicated camera like the Garmin VIRB Elite, which I just found on Groupon for $190... the VIRB Elite it is. Seem like a pretty good deal.

https://www.groupon.com/dispatch/us/deal/gg-garmin-virb-elite-1080p-action-camera-with-gps?deal_option=20770863-5b15-46ee-8ae1-df808baa0251&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=US_DT_SEA_GGL_TIM_TTT_PADS_CBP_CHP_NBR_g*gg-garmin-virb-elite-1080p-action-camera-with-gps_c*68277751261_k*_m*_d*Goods-Product-Ads-T1_keyword*_target*_adposition*1o3_prodtarget*51320962143_adtype*pla&ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=13422757

Apparently Garmin has released two more new and improved VIRB's the X and XE, they offer more resolution and features, but they also loose something to the Elite.. notably the battery life goes from "up to 3 hours" on the VIRB Elite to "up to 2 hours" on the VIRB X and XE.

This is a bit off the wall, but I have seen a lot of very compact HD video recorders that look as if they could mount easily in the cockpit. I actually used a digital tape model Panasonic for years and it worked well.

The compact recorders seem to have a better battery life than the GoPro which, in my opinion, sucks and they tend to have much more storage capacity. Now you cannot talk on the recorders or play games on them, but they do what they do really well. They also tend to have better optics.

Luddites unite !!

TomD wrote:This is a bit off the wall, but I have seen a lot of very compact HD video recorders that look as if they could mount easily in the cockpit. I actually used a digital tape model Panasonic for years and it worked well.

The compact recorders seem to have a better battery life than the GoPro which, in my opinion, sucks and they tend to have much more storage capacity. Now you cannot talk on the recorders or play games on them, but they do what they do really well. They also tend to have better optics.

Luddites unite !!

GoPro and the rest can go places camcorders can't, but I agree 100%. If you are shooting somewhere that a camcorder is an option it's often a better choice for all the reasons you list!

I've got a "Drift HD 1080" mini camera that snaps up to my head set -with remote on off. The newest ones have a wireless link to your IPad or smart phone. It sees what I see and when I want to record just hit the button. Records for hours on single battery or longer with external battery (lighter socket) .Has audio input for hooking into intercom and radios. Weighs only ounces and gives excellent video on little 32 gig chips.

I'm sure you could fab up a mount for this somehow.

Zzz wrote:I'm sure you could fab up a mount for this somehow.

Still smaller than the rig I've seen you shoot with!

rw2 wrote:

Zzz wrote:I'm sure you could fab up a mount for this somehow.

Still smaller than the rig I've seen you shoot with!

haha touche! My family actually had one of those Betamovie units back in the mid 80's. It was awesome.