Hey everyone,

last summer we met a guy from CO that had a camera mount for a small, slim digital video camera that he mounted on his wing strut. It took some really good vids. I tried searching this site, but only found pictures/comments on mounting a camera inside. So, anyone out there have a good system that they have found. I'm looking for a removable mount for a wing strut that I can either buy or make. It would be great if you can add some pics of the setup. If "some assembly" is required, please add detailed instructions. I'd like to have something put together for this summer's flying season.

Thanks,
GSP

I don't have a wing mounted camera. I would be interested also, but I would have to get a new smaller camera. I have mine mounted on the dash on the inside. Bob

Get ahold of some coyote hunters, they always have an old strut layin around, cut out a piece about 4" long, then split it in half lengthwise, it will clamp on your strut very well. You can weld up any type of mount you want to one half. I had an old one laying around someplace from years ago, but in those days, the cameras were just too heavy, and the screw mount inside the camera itself just wasn't strong enough, and it vibrated a bit too much. Might work great tho with the new lighter cameras. I probably have a strut or two laying around someplace too...

This is sort of ghetto, but it works well and is very temporary. Get one of those tiny articulating tripods and lash it to the strut.



These straps are worth their weight in gold. Made by Voile, they're rubbery and stretchy, and super tough:

Savannah Tom has this picture "Wing Mounted Camera"



Some sort of rubber (old closed cell foam pad?) would protect the paint that most of us have on our airplanes.

Craig

The Husky on the April 2009 edition of AOPA Pilot has what appears to be a pretty slick mount.....Might be kinda spendy though. The photo credit is Chris Rose, the author is Dave Hirschman. No N-Number visible, but maybe an email to either could get you in touch with the owner. Per the article, Dave's email is

[email protected]

Couldn't find one for Chris.

AOPA's website has a embedded video within the online article at the following link:

http://www.aopa.org/members/files/pilot ... y0904.html

Flynengr

Hey guys I am working on a new system that will work very well for wing mount or anywhere mount for that matter, I too have been searching for thr "Don't break the bank" but "Better than the $100.00 POS " set up and think I have found it . Now I am tweaking it to be the best!

Here is some of the features

Up to 16 GB storage (that is like 24+ hrs recording)
MP3 Player
Motion Activated
Multiple record modes
Viberate alert (power on /off/record/batt low)

Stay tuned

I have mounted a small bullet camera on my strut. I run the power and video cables inside the leading edge of the wing into the cabin. My camcorder accepts external video and records it onto mini DV tape. The setup works very well. If I can get this to work, here are a couple of photos of the mounting.





If you would like to see a low res version of a video, go here: http://www.utahbackcountrypilots.org/album_frame.asp?menuID=31~31

Select "Top Utah Back Country Airstrips", the "Spiral Jetty", then "Spiral Jetty flyby and low pass over the Jetty airstrip."

Brent

Great set-up, Brent. Would you consider posting, Make, Model, Cost, Source, etc. for those of us who would like to shamelessly copy your rig?

The mounting is (obviously) home brew. The camera is similar to a Speco CVC-637EX. They can be purchased for around $200.00 from a place like Spytown. It has been several years since I did this so I can't remember where I bought the camera. Google it and you'll find it readily available. I run the bullet camera from ship's power - it's a 12V unit.

My camcorder is a Canon ZR70. Again, this is a way discontinued model. Just look for one that has an external video input for recording.

There is no audio on my videos. I have wanted to patch the ship's IC into the camera, but its one of those "I'll get to it soon" projects.

Copy away! It is always fun to watch the video of your last adventure.

Recently on SC.Org we had a fellow who produced a pivoting and panning wing mount controlled remotely from the cockpit by one of the wireless transmitters used in RC. The camera could be mounted out on this device with a remote feed to a flat screen monitor in the cockpit. The cost varied on his site with the top of the line at $800 for all the above options. One of the best things I have seen is the Helmet Cam lens for not much money. A few of the cubbers are using them and they give a great feed to a video camera in the cockpit that acts as your monitor. These are small lenses that are meant to be lightweight and will take abuse.
Good Luck
John

Hi all here is the shortcut it is pretty cool
http://vimeo.com/2947891

^^^ That guy has some awesome videos. That gimbal mount is the ticket.

Aircraft spruce has a Avionics - Camera Systems starting at around 700.00 not cheep. But it is a two camera system. Also try www.datatoys.com they have cameras and recorders that you can buy each component. They have systems to then we are talking big dollars