Go Pro or similar in Eurostar EV97
 

Hi All,

im about 13 or 14 hours into my NPPL in the Eurostar out of Perth - ive done a few hours solo, but after a 4 month gap had a nice refresher lesson yesterday

Anywho, I obviously watch countless videos on youtube of both qualified pilots and people going through there training

We managed to break our old Go Pro while on holiday recently, so looking and getting a replacement

I think recording my lessons, while being nice to look back on (especially with my 5 year old whos keen to know everything im doing!), may also help with my learning in terms of what I could do better next time

Any recommendation of what I should look at? I understand if you get a go pro, then you need some kind of adaptor get the radio comms?

Thanks

Cal

I've had a problem getting the microphone adapter for the latest GoPro.
I bought it, my first GoPro, in June.

If you want to record your lesson for future reference (and not to put it on YouTube), start with asking your instructor for permission. If it's just for private use I can't see a reason for objection, but if you intend to put it on YouTube, the instructor may have reservations.

If you've got permission, then make sure you position the GoPro so that you can see yourself moving the controls, plus the most important instruments. So probably a little ways behind the instructors head, pointing diagonally forward. Don't try to capture the inside and outside simultaneously: The contrast between those is typically too high to get a decent view of both simultaneously.

In order to mount the GoPro, use the suction mount. Works fine: I have never had a properly attached suction mount fall off, even when doing aerobatics.

Depending on the noise level in the aircraft you may just be able to get half-decent audio without any adapter. If you set the comms panel to Speaker, then it may even include ATC. Try it out. If it doesn't work (too much engine noise), you'll need a Y-adapter that plugs in a headset socket, and has a socket for your headset plug, plus a lead that goes to the GoPro. Something like this: PA-80 Camcorder Adapter | 42122 - Note that the older GoPros use a 3.5mm jack for audio-in, but newer GoPros do this via the USB socket. Adapters for that are available. When routing the cable, make sure it can't foul the controls.

If you intend to put things on YouTube, it gets a lot more complicated. You need to start with the question: What story do you want to tell to the audience? You will then need to collect hours worth of video, shot from different angles, and edit that down to just a few minutes, if you don't want your audience to be bored out of their skull. This requires multiple flights, and requires you to think about the recording during the flight. Not a good idea during a flying lesson, as your attention should be elsewhere.

Which Go pro did you go for?

Did you get the adaptor in the end?

I think I would want that, as will help identify and improve my radio calls

Absolutely, ofcourse I would ask permission first. the Eurostar has a nice bubble canopy, so behind me centrally, or behind the passenger seat when solo'ing would probably get a reasonable view of most of the cockpit and the controls I am manipulating (providing its OK ofcourse)

Thanks for the link - I would need to check if the go pro actually has a 3.5mm, unless they have changed, I don't think they do

Definately dont want to be sitting for hours cutting up vids - its purely for myself and to share with my family what I do when I disappear for a hour, or how that dodgy landing actually looks from the inside

The latest GoPro uses a different plug/socket from the micro USB that is standard elsewhere. I've a Hero5 and it's now USB-C. don't try and force a micro USB in to it, you'll damage it.
Bought an 'action' camera that has a microphone built in, for £16. I took it apart and put a 3.5 mm socket in the case. I removed the microphone from the board and wired the 3.5 mm socket in its place. I then modified a headset splitter lead with a 3.5mm jack and inserted 2 suitable resistors inside one of the 1/4 inch sockets. This provides excellent audio from the aircraft audio system. Don't try and feed the audio in directly, you'll overload the input circuitry. Whilst the video quality is what you'd expect for £16, it was a good project anyone with a small soldering iron can perform at a lot less cost than the GoPro lead! I use this secondary video for another in-cockpit view and put it in a small pane in the main GoPro video, which is shot centrally from behind the 2 front seats.

One problem with suction mounts I've found is getting them to stay on curved Perspex surfaces.

Avoid any trailing leads anywhere that might interfere with an emergency evacuation (one of my hobby horses...)

TOO

I had almost 90 minutes of video after a 70-minute IFR proficiency flight last weekend. I edited this down to three minutes to keep people's interest. Three minutes is about the limit of most people's interest, particularly if shot with only one camera. All I did was delete lots of footage, and it still took several hours.

I've done glider aerobatic videos with as many as four cameras. Even though the flight is short and software (usually) synchs the footage it is time consuming.

I'll second that. Any music should be subtle and barely noticeable. Anything else is an annoyance or distraction.

The GoPro cameras have pretty decent microphones for what they are. The sound gets muffled under the plastic housing. You can get an open frame housing that doesn't block the microphone. If you're never going underwater you can simply take a large drill bit and put a nice hole through the case over the microphone.

If you record with just the built in microphone you will have a lot of ambient noise/flight sounds, but comms will not come through well. There are cables available that will allow you to connect between the airplane's headphone jack and the camera's external microphone input. This gives you excellent intercom/radio audio. However, there's no "flight sounds" in the background. These adapters are available with either USB-C or 3.5mm connections on the camera end. I often use "flight sounds" from one camera's audio and the radio track from another. Some people like to put a lavaliere microphone in the earcup of their headset. This does a decent job of both radio and ambient if you only have one option.

You can purchase filter adapters for the GoPro housing. If you get one and buy a neutral density filter you can force the camera to use a slower shutter speed that will prevent strange looking propeller artifacts. Works quite well. I don't recommend a polarizer for this as stresses in the curved plexiglass will show up as rainbows in the video.

I have one GoPro housing I've modified to be close to the plexiglass looking outwards. I drilled a hole in it so I can plug in the audio cable and I've painted it black to minimize reflections.

If you were to google "ltcterry2006 youtube aerobatics" you would end up at one of my videos and be able to explore from there. I'm not great, but I've enjoyed making a few multi cam videos. The IFR proficiency is my newest video.

The number one thing to think about when doing video in flight is to be safe. I'm not sure if someone filming their first solo is such a good idea...