Ready for your closeup

These rugged little cameras are available in a range of prices and capabilities, so if you’re just starting out, there’s one to suit your needs—and plenty of models to move up to. But a savvy buyer needs to do some research. For example: Which action cam is for you? How will you mount it inside and outside the airplane? (Can you mount it outside the airplane? Yes—but with caveats that we’ll explore.)

Four pilots who regularly use action cams in flying (and scuba diving, and riding motorcycles) share their best practices and offer tips on making a wise buying choice.

Bird’s-eye aerobatics

Susan Bell, a competition aerobatics pilot with the International Aerobatic Club, mounted a camera above the instrument panel of her Extra 300. She likes to record the aircraft’s three axes of movement as viewed through the canopy and reference those images in her preparation for a competition.

Bell mounted her camera above the instrument panel via a custom bracket attached to her aerobatics sequence card holder, using a small RAM ball and arm mount on top. “The camera screws down onto a tripod mount and holds well up to the 8 Gs I typically pull,” she said.

Like Bell, you can install a camera or two inside the cockpit using temporary mounts. An inexpensive cable that connects the camera to your airplane’s audio panel will ensure you get clear radio communications along with exciting footage. You’ll want to make sure the camera doesn’t block any views, interfere with flight controls, or become a distraction. Use a secure mount to prevent the camera from coming loose. As always, fly the airplane first.

Although an avowed fan of 360-degree cameras, Bell warned that they work best when mounted with lots of space and interesting things around them—which is why the Extra makes an excellent platform. Its canopy puts the viewer in the virtual pilot seat. Other caveats for this type of camera: The files are large, extra processing is required to produce a video, and only a few platforms support 360-degree videos.

Just the basics

If you’re not ready to plunge into 3D photography, that’s fine. Plenty of pilots are content with a more basic setup.

Gene Mohr of Trenton, South Carolina, likes to shoot day trips to local public-use airports in his home state. He enjoys documenting his entries for the South Carolina Aviation Association Ambassadors Passport Program.

Mohr uses two cameras on a Van’s RV–6A. His longtime favorite is a GoPro Hero 3 Black—an older GoPro that still functions well in the cockpit, he said. He added a Drift Ghost 4K for exterior shots, which he attaches under the wing with a FlightFix Aviation mount.

The first-time buyer needs to do a lot of research, Mohr said. Each of the well-known brands—Drift Ghost, Garmin Virb, GoPro—has pros and cons. Things to check are battery life, size of the memory cards, and the software used. Mohr recommends purchasing a beefy computer to process all that footage.

Mounting cameras on the airplane

Surely the FAA has an opinion about mounting anything on an airplane—including Experimental aircraft.

A 2014 FAA memo said the agency regarded “temporary” camera attachments as beyond the regulatory purview of FAR Part 43. That doesn’t let you off the hook, however. The FAA continued that “the use of these type of attachments…are not supported by the FAA, and may (in the case of an in-flight detachment) lead to ‘careless operations.’” FARs 91.13 and 91.15 prohibit pilots from operating aircraft in a careless or reckless manner.

In a 2016 issue of its Safety Briefing publication, the FAA said type-certificated aircraft owners and pilots need “FAA approval on a case-by-case basis” to attach external cameras. The agency specifically referred to mounts that strap on or secure with a common screw, which would require a minor alteration and an entry in the aircraft logbook by a qualified maintainer. (See “Ownership: The Ups and Downs of Aerial Videos,” April 2017 Pilot.)

FlightFix, which manufactures mounts used by pilots interviewed for this article, recommends that you take the entire scope of the alteration into account, just as the FAA would. If, for example, you need to rivet a mount into place, that would not be considered a minor alteration. And the FAA says it doesn’t support the use of temporary attachments—which means you, as the pilot in command, are solely responsible should the camera detach in flight. You shouldn’t use suction cups or sticky mounts, and be aware that plastic parts sold with sports cameras frequently fail.

Additionally, don’t mount your camera on top of a wing lifting surface, a control surface, or a pitot tube. FlightFix also recommends that you don’t place your trust in a single-fastener mount.

Moving seamlessly among airplanes

Rod Rakic, the founder of OpenAirplane and Fly Otto, often finds himself climbing in and out of different airplanes as he gives lessons, flies for the Civil Air Patrol, and rents airplanes for personal use. But that hasn’t stopped him from stepping up his action-cam game. A longtime GoPro user, he recently purchased the Hero 6 Black.

“It’s not unusual to find GoPro mounts already adhered to rental aircraft these days, so I will use what’s on the airplane typically to mount the camera,” he said. Rakic primarily shoots from the pilot’s point of view through the window, and he synchronizes it online with the CloudAhoy app so that his students can review the footage. “I’ve gotten plenty of feedback about how useful video is in debriefing training flights, or simply to review how we did on that last couple of landings,” he said.

Rakic uses a dedicated camera case that holds all the gear, including the back-up batteries, cables, and mounting hardware, and fits easily in his flight bag.

New buyers should “think of the camera you buy as the first component of a modular system,” Rakic said. “Eventually, you might find yourself adding more cameras to get more angles. You’ll be building a kit that will quickly grow to include the camera, mounts, the connections, plus the storage and editing of the footage you capture.”

Double (or triple) duty

Joe Goodin impulsively bought a GoPro at a dive shop just before leaving on a scuba diving trip. He still uses it in the cockpit of his Piper Arrow, as well as for dive trips and the occasional jaunt on his motorcycle.

“I primarily use it on longer exotic trips, like to the Bahamas or the Turks and Caicos, recording flying over the islands, approaches, and landings at island airstrips,” he said. For diving, he puts the camera in a simple waterproof housing on a floating hand grip that cost under $100. He’ll occasionally use the camera on his motorcycle, fastening it to a RAM mount bolted to the windshield. He has never used a helmet cam.

Although he didn’t research his purchase, Goodin noted that GoPro “had the market pretty much cornered” when he bought his camera, so going with a known entity worked well for him. (See “Buyer’s Remorse,” below.)

Before you hit ‘Post’

We all want to share the fun we experience on every flight, and video footage brings flat, static images to life. Share away—but be judicious in what you record and post. Don’t scud run, do low-level aerobatics, buzz your friend’s house, or otherwise violate the federal aviation regulations. And don’t post photographic evidence on social media that would give the FAA reason to believe you’re not a safe pilot. AOPA

Email [email protected]

Editor at Large Dave Hirschman’s everyday action cam is a Garmin VIRB Ultra. He likes the camera’s internal stabilizer that smooths out turbulence and keeps the horizon steady, even when the airplane is being knocked around.
www.garmin.com $399.99

Buyer’s remorse:

Don’t do what I did

I got action-cam envy when Editor at Large Dave Hirschman started posting 3D videos shot from his RV–8. I had a gift certificate from an iPhone purchase and thought, Why not?

At first I migrated toward the Garmin VIRB 360, which is what Hirschman had used. The $799 price tag was a little steep for something that wouldn’t get much use outside the airplane, since I am not a hiker or a skier. Instead I chose a Samsung Gear 360, manufactured by a company that also makes phones, TVs, computers, home appliances, and vacuum cleaners. It was $199 on sale. That’s what-the-heck money when you’re talking about something for an airplane, right?

I set up the camera in my car for a test run. Then I took it for a flight, affixing it to the passenger side window of my Cherokee 140 with a suction cup mount. I hit the record button before performing a lap around the pattern at Frederick Municipal Airport. The camera got too warm and shut down in the middle of filming, then somehow switched back on. That left a long taxiing sequence and a landing sequence, with nothing in between.

The camera must work for somebody, but it doesn’t work for me. Its editing app isn’t compatible with smartphones running iOS, so I can’t post to social media or even edit any video on my phone. Nor does it play well with Vegas Movie Studio, which is a pretty slick editing program.

Somehow I managed to transfer the video off the camera and onto my Windows computer at work (I’ve only done this successfully one time). I downloaded the manufacturer’s proprietary software to edit the footage, but the program is clunky and laborious. “Stitching” the footage is supposed to give you that 3D effect, but after rendering the footage five times I am still no closer to producing even one 3D segment.

Reading the manual(s) and perusing message boards hasn’t answered my main questions, which are, “Why can’t I operate this thing?” and “Why did I buy this thing?” —JWT