Best Mounting position for Gopro in Cockpit

Hi all

I have Gopro Hero 4 Camera with Prop Filter and the NflightCam Cable to record intercom and Radio chatter.

Just wanting to see what others have done sucessfully regarding mounting the camera without obstructing forward view and keep audio cables out of sight.

Ive tried suction cup mounts on side windows and front windscreen in the upper corner, and found that the suction cups tend to dislodge in flight over time.

What's a prop filter Roscoe? I've never heard of such a thing... it sounds a bit like the interruptor they invented in WW1 so you could shoot through the prop.

But I'm sure its not that in this case.

What's a prop filter Roscoe? I've never heard of such a thing... it sounds a bit like the interruptor they invented in WW1 so you could shoot through the prop.

But I'm sure its not that in this case.

Its a round plastic lens that fits over the camera lens and filters out that annoying prop slow motion movement that gets picked up in flying videos.

Its a common filter called an ND8. Camera shops have them.

I stuck mine on the bulkhead behind me in the centre & it gives a good 170 deg view plus I wanted the panel in the video as well so I could check things later. I posted a couple of videos on you tube. You can see them

The only problem I guess is that Jabirus don't have a bulkhead like my aircraft.

Its a round plastic lens that fits over the camera lens and filters out that annoying prop slow motion movement that gets picked up in flying videos.

Its a common filter called an ND8. Camera shops have them.

I stuck mine on the bulkhead behind me in the centre & it gives a good 170 deg view plus I wanted the panel in the video as well so I could check things later. I posted a couple of videos on you tube. You can see them

and

 

The only problem I guess is that Jabirus don't have a bulkhead like my aircraft.

Great videos thanks Kevin.

Yes the Jab cabin roof is difficult to get a compromise between outside view and my ugly head in the shot!!

Any place you mount a camera is a compromise. If you want to record the scenery, a helmet-mount is ideal, except for the annoying movement caused by constantly scanning for traffic.

In my tiny cockpit there's little room and I've tried several locations.

On the rear bulkhead gives a reasonable overall view of the panel and where we're going, but too much of my big head.

On the side of the cabin allows me to operate the camera and change where it's pointing, but it in the way when getting in or out.

On the canopy in front of my head seems to be the best compromise, with a close-up of the panel, but the canopy stucture gets in the way of the view out the front.

I'm not impressed with my Hero 3 GoPro; expensive, no screen, hard on sore fingers and crappy battery life, especially when you turn on WiFi, which is necessary to control the camera from the iPad. I run a power cable to mine from a portable battery pack.

Anywhere in the cockpit is fine as long as it is well away from your skull- so do not use your head as a mount. If you must- mount to the side facing into the centre of the cockpit. For a single seater if enclosed, find a place well away from your skull.

Why?

That camera is a hard object and rough air can mean banging your head into structure and a potential nasty incident can occur. Do we know of any incidents?

Yes, some have been anecdotally reported and survived to get it down. But if a head hit to the side caused a problem it would be difficult to prove in a crash after the fact.

Most of our craft have limited space and flail area even if we don't stop suddenly, keep that in mind if you add a camera and wear a helmet if you must place one of your head.

For those that are sceptical- get in your aircraft, place a camera strapped to your skull on cabin door side and now flail around in the seat with belt in normal position. If at a real stretch you can contact the camera on any structure- it fails the flail test and is a potential killer, just from rough air. Now add in a real rough landing or worse.

IF you absolutely must, wear a helmet- a very good one. The same issue follows on cabin mounted ones- if you can flail into it- move it somewhere safe.

Lots of sporty types have received head injuries wearing hard cams on their heads - a variation of "hold my beer".

I will get of my high horse now......

Photo above works well at the top of the Windscreen with Audio Cable velcro d around top of the door. Camera can be moved around.

The Suction cup setup is lighter than the big heavy RAM Suction cup.

Time will tell how it goes

I use a Gopro hero3 set on wide angle and mount just above where the peak of my cap is. Works ok. for forward vision and the panel being in the field of view.

So the ND8 is makes everything darker, so the exposure is longer, so the prob blades are more blurred? Good idea.

So the ND8 is makes everything darker, so the exposure is longer, so the prob blades are more blurred? Good idea.

I have not noticed any darkening of the image when played back.

The Nflightcam Website gives a full rundown of tnis and other products they have for in flight photography

I have not noticed any darkening of the image when played back.

The Nflightcam Website gives a full rundown of tnis and other products they have for in flight photography

A lens or two from broken sunnies does the same job.

The ND8 looks to me to be just a neutral density filter, designed to reduce the amount of light transmitted, allowing a bigger aperture to be used with fast films and therefore less depth of field, or even allowing fast film to be used with a slow camera in high light situations.