I have posted these here a few times, not because I think people on this site need educational info, but rather because they have a lot maules in them. This one even more so, since I have sold most of my planes and am down to just my trusty M7 (well and my trusty PA-18). We also got to use new camera technology that allowed us to get some shots we used to not be able too. Not much drone work on this one however. I hope you enjoy. this is the article, with the video at the bottom. I would love to know what you guys think.

https://www.backcountrypilot.org/stol-t ... d-landings

The second part of this post is to ask for some help. These videos have been a collaboration of many people over a pretty big period of time. The goal has always been to eventually get them in a sellable format and put them out to market with the proceeds going back to theRAF.org

To that end this will probably be the last of the main series and will remain public and available for those wanting to dip their feet into backcountry flying. However I want to have material that I can add into a DVD or download that is interesting enough for people to want to pay a little money for. Rich W has suggested a small book (which seems daunting). I would be very curious to get some feedback from this group on what that additional content would be. I have heard stuff like how to hydroplane, or what equipment we use, or a breakdown of certain airplanes pros or cons. These are all good for people looking to get into this type of flying, but I would love to hear from the guys already doing it!

Thanks,
PR

Thanks for another great video Patrick!!
Let's just say as a low time pilot I have spent what my wife calls an "unhealthy" amount of time watching the first 3 installments.

as far as input for content I will leave that to the guys that know what they are doing. I will say that I like the flow of your videos, the content is relevant, the naration is in plain english (not technical jiberish) and the video footage is second to none.

I think that if the same format were to follow for a DVD it would be worth the cost of admission

MY 6 cents

Good video, Patrick. Are you using a GoPro Hero 4 Black? I assume that's your camera since one of the resolutions available from YouTube is 4K. I just got a GoPro Hero 4 Silver since the battery life on the Black is too short for my needs. I'm still trying to figure out the best resolution, field of view (FOV) and frame rate but I think it'll wind up being 1080p, narrow, 60 fps. I don't much care for the curved distortion created by wide angle views, so that means narrow or medium FOV. The 2.4K resolution is intriguing but the camera won't stream video to my iPhone in the cockpit over wi-fi at this resolution. What are you using for these settings?

I'm also looking at the best way to add an audio track. It sounds like you do this in post-processing rather than during flight based on the audio quality.

I'm looking for a good quality combination microphone input/external power cable to connect to the GoPro Hero 4 but so far no success. GoPro makes one that also has A/V output but connecting it to the camera shuts off the LCD and can introduce noise in the audio. I may fabricate one myself if I get desperate enough.

Any advice on these topics?

I read the article in the sound of your voice - I kept waiting to see how many potatoes it took for the botched go-around decision, my guess would be about half a potato

Patrick, Another great video. I watch them all every month or so.

As a flatlander, I would appreciate some information on the decision making process of mountain flying. What is the process to make a trip into the mountains to be able to visit the Back Country strips.

I feel the videos would sell without any problem.

usernameguy wrote: I would be very curious to get some feedback from this group on what that additional content would be. I have heard stuff like how to hydroplane, or what equipment we use, or a breakdown of certain airplanes pros or cons.

Patrick,

Thanks for another fine article and video. Looking forward to the DVD/download including tips on any or all of the above, and perhaps also for dealing with steep sloping landing sites?

ATB, Peter,

Thanks for posting another great instructional video Patrick.
I am still amused every time you squeal the tyres on grass.

Patrick,

You'll always be "Lame User Name Guy" to me, since I first encountered your videos on line, and only later discovered you're also a member here -- but with a less lame name.



I, too, find your videos are informative and enjoyable. I believe a lot of people are surely being helped by the info and the way you have of showing and explaining your info. I'd buy your videos. In fact, let me be the FIRST to publicly COMMIT to it right here! You can count on my $27.95, or what ever it'll be. How's that for encouragement?

Thanks for the kind words everyone!

Andy, PM sent. I could talk a while on those subjects. Short answer is we used over 8 different cameras on this on and probably more if I actually knew what we were using in the older shots.

@truthinbeer. So many people don't even hear that. The fact is that we sometimes go 15 tracks deep to get the sound. There isn't much native sound from the videos that we can use since the drones make too much noise and anything connected to the airframe has a hum or wind noise that is quite annoying. I love squeezing little sounds that are funny to me, but hard to really hear. It pleases me to know that it amuses other people as well. the flap noise is my office door closing for instance.

On that note.. and just floating an idea. would anyone find a video of how we get this put together interesting? I don't realize how complex it is till people ask how we get a shot and when I start to explain people usually glaze over. To put it into prospective to get a quality drone footage we need 2 drone pilots 40 pounds of support gear, plus a ground video person to get the sound and close up. we have to have multiple cameras hung on the plane with the interior lit up with 10 led lights. all of this for maybe a 30 second segment. You can do the math that is roughly 600 pounds of stuff which usually means 2 planes if we are going out to the short stuff. Is that interesting? I'm not sure... thoughts?

What makes the whole thing more cumbersome is we are all pilots, non of us knew anything about videos when we started. You can imagine the arguments my wife and get in trying to get a shot when we are in close formation in a river valley talking about camera angles and stuff while on a short final to sandbar. Needless to say I don't put that audio into the videos

Great video Patrick, thank you. It's good to see Nate out there in the stinson!

I think that you should be compensated for your video productions, they are good quality. As far as additional content, make a tutorial video on setting up a camera and making videos for us weekend warriors out there. Lot's of people are buying cameras and wanting to get started making videos but don't know where to start or get intimidated by the technology.

How about asking for user submitted content that you could incorporate into your next series of videos?

In either case, keep them coming!

I am very grateful for nate's participation! (he has been integral for all of these videos). and would love other user submitted stuff to be honest. In fact we have tried to get stuff from other people many times. There are two major hurdles to this however. One, moving video is difficult because of size. second most people have POV stuff which is pretty cool and certainly can be used, but if you look at most of our recent stuff the shots from inside the airplane make up a very limited amount of stuff.

that being said with the RAF we have started looking into how to move video. I have offered to help them get a bigger video presence and we certainly will be using a collaborative format. This will help me figure out the sharing video puzzle.

On that note.. and just floating an idea. would anyone find a video of how we get this put together interesting?

A resounding yes...please.

Re the squealing tyres, you just shattered the illusion. lol

Got the PM Patrick. I'll give you a call tomorrow to talk about camera settings and such. Today was taken up with social events, another round of New Year's resolutions and waiting for a fire dispatch. No dispatch came because it's been so rainy around here that the ground fuel is still soggy, but it doesn't take long for it to dry out.

One of the things that concerns me a little about the GoPro is the plastic mount on the waterproof case that keeps it from flying off in the breeze. I have a 1" RAM ball mount on the bottom of the GoPro housing. The RAM composite plastic fingers look and feel stronger than the clear plastic GoPro case fingers. I would feel much better if both were metal.



My old Drift HD Stealth had a composite RAM camera mount screwed into the 1/4-20 camera mount on the body of the camera with thread locker. It was a lot tougher than the GoPro mount. I might add some glue-on tethers in case the plastic fingers on the GoPro case break but I don't really want the camera banging into the paint on my wing if that happens.

I've researched more rugged housings for the GoPro but so far I haven't found a waterproof one with a metal camera mount base. There are some non-waterproof CNC machined aluminum ones out there that look interesting but the camera is only held in the housing with a side pressure screw and plate and no back door. I might be willing to sacrifice the waterproof housing in favor of an aluminum housing with a hinged back door but I haven't found one yet. Has anyone else?

andy wrote:
I've researched more rugged housings for the GoPro but so far I haven't found a waterproof one with a metal camera mount base. There are some non-waterproof CNC machined aluminum ones out there that look interesting but the camera is only held in the housing with a side pressure screw and plate and no back door. I might be willing to sacrifice the waterproof housing in favor of an aluminum housing with a hinged back door but I haven't found one yet. Has anyone else?

I haven't seen seen anything like that yet, but I bet something is out there. We manufactured a wing mount made of wood that we hang a few cameras off of, but we use the gopro hardware to mount the actual cameras. It does get a bunch of vibration at high power settings depending on where on the strut we mount it. Ill try and get a picture this afternoon or you can just look at the strut when the tail camera is being used in this video.

As cheap as the go pro mounting hardware seems, we have only had one issue with it. My tailwheel cam got knocked off while hydroplaning. Luckily my Remote would tell me I had 8 cameras attached when near and 7 when not, We actually found it and used some of that footage on the last video.

GoPro sells a new Sportsman Mount that has a replacement back with the mounting flanges and is made for high impacts like clamping to a 12-gauge shotgun. I'm thinking of buying it along with some glue-on tethers.

In the meantime I cut a 1" oak dowel in half and glued on some foam cushion to adapt the clamp fingers to the tiedown ring. Here's a photo of the GoPro connected to a RAM ball base, short arm and RAM claw clamped to the oak dowel halves around an eyebolt that simulates the tiedown ring. It feels solid as a rock and is very adjustable.



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