jamesgyore

Very cool post thanks I greatly enjoyed the vid, thanks for the post. James.

Expensive... Hell yeah... to do properly! Actually I really need to thank Sue, I took a trip down memory lane and pulled out the plans I made up for the optical image stabiliser some years back. I ended up selling the system to a crazy German, but retained the design rights... Thank god! James.

Hi there Sue, The devil is in the detail. I've been approached many times about this type of assignment. The kind of project you've described requires the exact opposite of "keeping it simple"... Time triggered single frame photography based on airspeed and altitude mapped to GPS data for every frame. Not easy to do... Unless you know the math, and are VERY good with software. Attributes, I happen to have. Still photography has a much higher resolution than HD TV. Video cameras for the most part do not work well in low light and in this particular application. Several cameras with different types of film used in combination (high ISO, IR, B/W Low ISO), solves the cloud shadow problem. Post production editing combines the different results and tidies things up. The equipment needed, the technology involved, and the time required to carry out the type of task you've described "professionally", costs out at about about $193,000.00, including post production costs for a shire (statistically average in size for an urban shire), it is likely to require 90 or more days to collect the basic digital data and a further 7 months to present the final desired product. I'm not surprised that the people you referred to have failed. Its like asking a cousin to shoot your wedding video and then showing him/her where the record button is... Never a good idea, and will always fail. You can understand why these people have failed and why many more will. I might seem like easy money... buts its hard work and the money offered is never enough to cover what it really costs to do a truly professional job. Some day, a prospective client will approach me and ask, "what will it cost" rather than "would you do it for X".

Hey there, I don't think I'll have an issue as I will not be "hiring myself" for the purpose of this documentary. James.

Yes please Scotty, I'd love to have a contact for spruce... I've been investigating the use of hoop pine as a substitute, but would rather have spuce. James.

Hi there, You might consider an obscure Polish design called the J-1b, this aircraft has the pilot in a reclined position, much like the arrangement of a glider, I'm tall myself, which is why I have chosen this aircraft. I'm building two of these in fact, one for me, the other for my partner who is a great deal shorter than me. Regards, James.

Given your proposition some thought Ian, I think it is very do-able. Lets chat, James.

Hi Sue, Thanks for you advice. I have a secret weapon. 3 in fact, I've pimped a set of NV GS180's for this particular programme. Optical as well as digitally processed image stabilisation. Bumpy ride? bring it on, my cameras will cop it and dish a little back too! James.

Hey there, Suburban Melbourne here. James.

Thanks for these well considered points. I'm located in the northern suburbs of Melbourne, and would welcome those interested in contributing. James.

Thank you all for your notes of welcome.

Hi there Ian, This sounds most interesting. We'll have to talk to you some more about this, but I see no reason why the Recreational aviation television station can't be populated with content that I produce in addition to the documentary project I described. James.

Good morning everyone, I'm new to the site. I'm rather the odd one out, as I'm a television content producer, not a pilot... Yet. I have an insane idea. To document my flight instruction and first solo, while I construct an ultralight aircraft in my garage. It might make a great TV show, and promote recreational aviation in Australia. In fact, I'll be constructing two aircraft. The second is for the purpose of recording air-to-air and air-to-ground video footage. I've spent the last few weeks humming and harring over aircraft designs and have found it difficult to find suppliers of materials, particularly wood. My desk is littered with printed plans for the aluminium affordaplane and the wooden Jonowski J-1b. I've lost track of how many plastic kit planes I've looked at from former communist countries. These in particular are awesome planes, but the cost of them is just ridiculous. Who would have figured that these former commies would become such greedy capitalists! A high winged pusher would be the ideal airborne video camera platform, so I'm more inclined to build the J-1b. Mind you, the mini imp has not escaped my attention. I have been using the subtle approach with my partner, slowly introducing the idea that a new O-200 engine at about 25K US dollars is not unreasonable and that the mini imp model C would be the ideal "other car". Like most guys, I want the ferrari, but will ultimately have to settle for the "practical" and "affordable" wagon. Gee, I hope I can at least get the optional sports trim package. I look forward to reading past posts of members and learning a thing or two from you all. For those interested, I'd be delighted in sharing my progress with this documentary project. Regards, James.