My First Lesson Tomorrow
Join Date: Aug 2012
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I'd really recommend the camera as a learning tool.
i use a go pro hero 2 ( was cheaper than the 3)on a headstrap with an audio cable that goes from my headset to the camera . This records ATC, intercom etc.
I didn't start off with the cable but it really helps . otherwise all you hear is the engine noise!
Just a caution though, ask your instructor first , it is only polite and make sure your priority is always flying , not filming. If my camera causes issues i instantly take it off. Sometimes it gets in the way of foggles etc.
My instructor has no problems with the videos on Youtube but isn't so keen on me putting our conversations up there , which I think is perfectly reasonable.
my videos ( pre cable ) are on Youtube if you want to search for my username
Enjoy the flying , totally and utterly addictive
i use a go pro hero 2 ( was cheaper than the 3)on a headstrap with an audio cable that goes from my headset to the camera . This records ATC, intercom etc.
I didn't start off with the cable but it really helps . otherwise all you hear is the engine noise!
Just a caution though, ask your instructor first , it is only polite and make sure your priority is always flying , not filming. If my camera causes issues i instantly take it off. Sometimes it gets in the way of foggles etc.
My instructor has no problems with the videos on Youtube but isn't so keen on me putting our conversations up there , which I think is perfectly reasonable.
my videos ( pre cable ) are on Youtube if you want to search for my username
Enjoy the flying , totally and utterly addictive
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With that setup, do you only get radio audio or does the audio from the background come in too? I've seen cables that split the audio, one to head set and another to a device (voice recorder/cam/whatever). I'll look into it. Not a top priority yet, but certainly within a few hours.
I'll check out your videos... I didn't have any plans to put mine on YouTube, but purely to use them as a learning aid for personal use. However, I will absolutely check with the FI before I even purchase a GoPro.
Thanks, so I realise, it keeps popping into my mind at odd times...
I'll check out your videos... I didn't have any plans to put mine on YouTube, but purely to use them as a learning aid for personal use. However, I will absolutely check with the FI before I even purchase a GoPro.
Thanks, so I realise, it keeps popping into my mind at odd times...
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without the cable you just get ambient noise , the mike picks up some of what i say and some of my instructor and a LOT of engine noise.
with the cable you hear everything that goes through your headset , so instructor , me , ATC and other radio traffic but no engine noise at all.
this is the cable I have
AIRCRAFT INTERCOM RECORDING CABLE from Aircraft Spruce
obviously you might want to source something a little closer to home.
Also yuo need a "skeleton " case for the GoPro
with the cable you hear everything that goes through your headset , so instructor , me , ATC and other radio traffic but no engine noise at all.
this is the cable I have
AIRCRAFT INTERCOM RECORDING CABLE from Aircraft Spruce
obviously you might want to source something a little closer to home.
Also yuo need a "skeleton " case for the GoPro
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Originally Posted by lonkmu
Did you get your PPL in the end?
I got to a bit before Christmas and had done about 28 hours. I'd solo'd and done a dual version of my QXC but the only exam I had passed was air law.
My instructor said to me that he'd recommend I spend a couple of weeks ploughing through my exams because I couldn't do my QXC until I'd passed them all. He said that any extra flying done at that point would be more or less a waste because I was ready to do the QXC and that I was at a bit of a road block with these exams not being passed.
I knew that two weeks wouldn't be enough but resolved to pass them before flying again; even if that meant losing a few hours of experience. Fast forward to now (a whole 9 months later) and I still have three exams left to do. I've done the others at a snails pace. It's not that I'm incapable or find them particularly hard; it's merely the time sink that preparing for each exam becomes on top of an awful lot of work commitments.
Recognising that I need to sort this out before everything up to now becomes a waste (I don't want to think about how far I've now fallen back) and that clearly, work commitments are making it progressively harder to find the time to study, I've booked off a fortnight for nothing but flying and exams. Your timing with this question is impeccable; starting Monday I will have two weeks of two flights per day every week day (weather permitting) and everything in between is ground school and exams. If I can come out the other end having passed the three remaining exams and with a completed QXC that'd be awesome. At the very least, I want the exams done - anything else is a bonus.
I want to just throw everything I've got at this now until I have got my licence!
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Couple of things on this thread alarm this ancient gliding instructor.
CAMERAS AND LEARNING TO FLY DO NOT MIX!!!!! Flying requires your undivided attention. If you must go up to take pictures, take a qualified pilot in the LH seat, you can then devote your attention to being a photographer.
The only decent film I have ever seen taken by amateur pilots is that one of the dog in the back seat experiencing negative gravity.
And of course air to air requires special equipment to get anything decent, as well as two aircraft.
Forget the camera.
Another thing, some people worry about spin training. Not required in PPL these days. It is required in gliding, however. The K13 glider is a more enjoyable place to experience the spin and recovery. I find the student would get maximum benefit from the spin training if he himself put the glider into the spin deliberately; this makes it easier to recognise and to differentiate from the spiral dive. Aerobatic power planes are rather scary and dramatic in the spin; a sadistic instructor at Wycombe Air Centre tried to put me off by spinning on our first lesson in a 152 aerobatic Cessna, and it WOULD have put me off forever if I hadn't had the K13 training first! Took me a few years before I really learned to enjoy it and to teach it.
CAMERAS AND LEARNING TO FLY DO NOT MIX!!!!! Flying requires your undivided attention. If you must go up to take pictures, take a qualified pilot in the LH seat, you can then devote your attention to being a photographer.
The only decent film I have ever seen taken by amateur pilots is that one of the dog in the back seat experiencing negative gravity.
And of course air to air requires special equipment to get anything decent, as well as two aircraft.
Forget the camera.
Another thing, some people worry about spin training. Not required in PPL these days. It is required in gliding, however. The K13 glider is a more enjoyable place to experience the spin and recovery. I find the student would get maximum benefit from the spin training if he himself put the glider into the spin deliberately; this makes it easier to recognise and to differentiate from the spiral dive. Aerobatic power planes are rather scary and dramatic in the spin; a sadistic instructor at Wycombe Air Centre tried to put me off by spinning on our first lesson in a 152 aerobatic Cessna, and it WOULD have put me off forever if I hadn't had the K13 training first! Took me a few years before I really learned to enjoy it and to teach it.
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Agree with Mary about cameras. Whatever you think about how strong you are in terms of ignoring them, their presence affects what you do and the way you and the instructor interact.
It may seem like a good idea to watch a video re-run of your lesson, but it will have been a poorer lesson in the first place. I wouldn't let a student of mine do it.
And I'd also recommend any power pilot who hasn't experienced spinning to give it a try. Gliders are a good way to do that (and you'll enjoy gliding anyway, trust me).
It may seem like a good idea to watch a video re-run of your lesson, but it will have been a poorer lesson in the first place. I wouldn't let a student of mine do it.
And I'd also recommend any power pilot who hasn't experienced spinning to give it a try. Gliders are a good way to do that (and you'll enjoy gliding anyway, trust me).
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Hi Mary
Interesting input - and wow, I can't believe an instructor would spin on the first lesson! I'll ask them to take me up in a Cessna and do it at some point I think; I'm learning in a PA28 so no spinning for me in that.
I'm going to have to disagree with you about the camera though. I have a small GoPro, dictaphone and associated audio cable. It's a rig that I set up before I even do my walk around. I set it up and then forget about it; there's no playing up for the camera etc. I don't believe that safety is in any way compromised with that approach. I watch the footage back to myself afterwards (none has even gone on YouTube) and it really helps me to assess my weak spots, spot all of my (many!) mistakes and get into the right mindset between lessons. If I felt as though my behaviour was changing for the camera or if safety was compromised, I would stop doing this in a heartbeat.
As it happens, I do find other peoples footage interesting too. Sometimes I can learn from their mistakes but mostly I just enjoy watching people fly around different locales. I know - what a loser
Thanks for your insights though, I will give it some serious thought. I really do take safety very seriously and I'd hate to think that I was compromising on that even a little bit.
Cheers!
Interesting input - and wow, I can't believe an instructor would spin on the first lesson! I'll ask them to take me up in a Cessna and do it at some point I think; I'm learning in a PA28 so no spinning for me in that.
I'm going to have to disagree with you about the camera though. I have a small GoPro, dictaphone and associated audio cable. It's a rig that I set up before I even do my walk around. I set it up and then forget about it; there's no playing up for the camera etc. I don't believe that safety is in any way compromised with that approach. I watch the footage back to myself afterwards (none has even gone on YouTube) and it really helps me to assess my weak spots, spot all of my (many!) mistakes and get into the right mindset between lessons. If I felt as though my behaviour was changing for the camera or if safety was compromised, I would stop doing this in a heartbeat.
As it happens, I do find other peoples footage interesting too. Sometimes I can learn from their mistakes but mostly I just enjoy watching people fly around different locales. I know - what a loser
Thanks for your insights though, I will give it some serious thought. I really do take safety very seriously and I'd hate to think that I was compromising on that even a little bit.
Cheers!
