Best Camera to record my flights

[FlyingPhilA]

Will be starting pilot training soon and was just wondering what people use to record their flights.
Obviously I'm looking for a camera which is in HD and is suited to the job i.e. has a specialized mount for the aircraft.

Will be training mostly in a Piper 28.

Thanks!

[SinkRateSam]

I don't know anything better for the job than the GoPro HERO3. Great quality, compact size and superb mounting opportunities. The image is also quite wide, so it's perfect for filming in even the tightest of cockpits.

Cheers!

[cats_five]

Make sure you keep a GPS trace as well.

[Whopity]

just wondering what people use to record their flights.

I've never heard of anyone recording their flights! What do you hope to gain from it?

Fixing cameras to an aircraft may constitutes a minor modification for which approval is required.

[DavidWoodward]

I use the Nflightcam GPS. It has a wide angle lens, records altitude, speed and my position on a moving map as well as ATC and intercom transmissions. It's always interested watching it back and picking up on bad habits you may have as well as just watching for the enjoyment of it.

[Flyaways]

Originally Posted by Whopity

I've never heard of anyone recording their flights! What do you hope to gain from it?

Fixing cameras to an aircraft may constitutes a minor modification for which approval is required.

Look here

[localflighteast]

I use a go pro hero 2. I get around the need to modify the plane by wearing it on a head strap. it works pretty well.
if you want to see some examples of really basic shooting with it , I have a youtube channel under this name.

as to what i gain from it , a massive amount. It is probably the best thing I ever invested in.
it even stopped me quitting flying when I had a nasty wake turbulance incident that shook my confidence to the core. It all happened so fast that the debrief was almost meaningless because I couldn't figure out what had happened. ( that video isn't on youtube, it still makes me sick to see it)
it allows me to see exactly what I'm doing right/wrong from the comfort of my couch. you can pause the action, discuss various points. all with the luxury of time.
it is a valuable debriefing tool.

I've also used to to help with navigagtion practice. I find chart reading really tricky. Finding the landmarks doesn't come easily to me. you can pause the footage and say "show me exactly where you are on the chart". By pointing at the screen you can make sure you are both talking about the same "green field"

I just basically shove the camera on my head and start the video going, then I leave it and forget about it. The important thing is that you don't let the videoing become the focus of your lesson. Don't let it distract you from the actualy flying. Once my instructor realised that I had my priorities straight , I think he was much happier with me filming my flights.

[Echo Romeo]

Nearly all the video's I've seen filmed with Go Pro's has the propeller looking like a series of horizontal lines, which I find really annoying, can that phenomenon be eliminated ?

[localflighteast]

You can get a neutral density filter which allegedly fixes it
I'm still trying to get my act together to source and purchase one
I'll let you know if it makes any difference

[riverrock83]

Originally Posted by Whopity

I've never heard of anyone recording their flights! What do you hope to gain from it?

Fixing cameras to an aircraft may constitutes a minor modification for which approval is required.

Whopity - I presume you were being sarcastic? See the stick at the top of the forum http://www.pprune.org/private-flying...ng-videos.html

Most people either clip the camera onto a pillar somewhere in the aircraft or use a sucker onto a window.

Two main options: GoPro Hero or NFlightCam.
NFlightCam - especially the latest version is designed specially for use inside an aircraft and is best to remove the prop lines. The GoPro is probably slightly better quality generally. However to remove the prop lines, the only way is to add a MD filter (check other threads for options) which slows the shutter speed which then removes the lines.

There are multiple threads on here about which camera to use, how to mount, etc etc. Just search for "gopro". I think I count at least 10 threads which are relevant...

[Maoraigh1]

I've never heard of anyone recording their flights! What do you hope to gain from it?

The flights in the PPRUNE videos section are (all?) by qualified pilots. I think this refers to a student videoing his lessons.
When I video, I find they look very different from the view as pilot - even with a camera mounted to give the cockpit view. And this is especially true for landings.
Will the instructors agree to this?

[localflighteast]

Not an instructor but I'd agree that they don't give a pilots eye view necessarily

Traffic can be hard to spot , especially in the circuit which means it can be difficult to see in retrospect why you widened out the circuit for example

I have a classic video where I forgot about my clipboard on the dash , from my eye view it was all but invisible. From the cameras perspective it looked like I was near head butting the damn thing

As a student the videos help me review my turns ( too early /too late?), my centre line alignment and generally if I'm keeping it square etc.