Some aircraft have inspection hatches on the bottom of the wing. Replacing a blind one with a glass and hiding a camera behind it may be a good solution.
Yes indeed; this is the method authorised by the FAA for permanent installation of AoA sensors, which avoids having to apply for a Field Approval or an STC.
Not sure that replacing it with flat glass would provide a forward looking solution though. One would need something protruding. Slso you need to easily access the camera for e.g. downloading the data from it.
Available from good pilot shops everywhere 
Posts merged into an existing thread on same topic.
That looks like a good mount but while it clearly has a lot of rigidity in the direction of the flight (the direction of the main aerodynamic force) it might not be rigid enough sideways. I see there are two more holes provided there and I would definitely use them.
However, unless you can get yourself a rock solid approval paperwork package, you need something which can be quickly removed after the flight. Preferably while the tanks are being filled The installation may be 100% legal but aviation is full of “types of people” who like to stir up trouble.
The above bracket could go into four rivnuts, perhaps M5, which would be OK if the underlying surface is stiff enough.
There is a lot of stuff online about camera vibration causing “jello” effects. There is a pilot in the US who posts / used to post on Sony actioncam forums (I haven’t been there for ages due to some nasty stuff going on, plus hilarious auto deletion of any post containing phrases like “waste of time”) and he had endless problems with wing strut mounted cameras on Cessnas and other high wing aircraft, causing jello. You also see a lot of jello in many flying movies posted on youtube etc. And you can never be quite sure, if you are getting jello, how close you are to getting flutter which can be rapidly destructive.
There are other threads dealing with just the different cameras e.g. this one.
I use the mounts as sold by Peter_Mundy all the time in Africa and they perform very well. I will post a picture below where underneath the left wing (right-hand side of the picture) I have this mount mounted underneath the wing at the black letter Z from ZS-. It is only the mount. The camera was off, which was a 360 degrees camera.
I have been trying to film my flying recently but am struggling to record good quality footage. I fear it is not the equipment that is letting me down but more my videography skills. I am looking to only record internal footage (no external mounts that require permission from competent authorities) & need the mounts to be non-intrusive (i.e. nothing that is permanently fixed/glued to the aircraft).
I have been fixing cameras as follows:
My main issues are that 1) the footage is always shaky 2) despite recording in 1080p/2.7k I find the image resolution to be low, sometimes at low REVs when there isn’t as much “shake” the quality is better so maybe there is a connection between 1 & 2. Also maybe the positioning/distance from window makes a difference?
My equipment is listed below:
I would be grateful for any info from people who regularly record their flying and what equipment they use? Any tips on positioning? How to dampen the “shake”?
Thanks!
@TimR, the shake can be significantly dampened by video editing with appropriate filters. Naturally, you can also use a camera with its own stabilisation system (which can be electromechanical or digital or both).
What do you mean by “low image resolution”? Has the frame actually become small, or is that a blurry/noisy/pixelated image within a big frame?
Thanks @Ultranomad, do you have any examples of video editing software that work well? I’ve heard the new GoPro’s have some new kind of digital stabilisation system but wondering how to make best use of my older cameras.
Ye what I mean with low resolution is a full frame of noisy image. Not knowing much about cameras it feels like the camera sometimes struggles to focus on “infinity” and gets caught out by the windscreen (which I do keep clean). I thought maybe the shaking contributes to it struggling to focus.
I’d be interested in any specific set-ups that work for people.
@TimR, unfortunately, I am not up to spec on the current state of things and the best way to do it, but if I am not mistaken, even Microsoft Movie Maker has this filter.
Now, if the noise in the frame is really noise, it may be caused by insufficient light – e.g. when you film a night flight. Conversely, if the image is out of focus, you may have to disable your camera’s autofocus feature. I remember filming my first solo flights using a 640×480 video mode of a biggish digital SLR camera mounted on a C-clamp, which was in its turn clamped to something in the cockpit. The focus was set to infinity and locked, and the movie turned out reasonably good for that resolution.
Video editing software thread.
One of several camera threads. Another.
If you want reasonable quality external footage you need to mount a camera externally. If you really must mount it internally (e.g. for legal / non provocation reasons) then you need to get some dark furry rag to eliminate reflections inside the cockpit. However even for internal footage you need to avoid reflections. The mount also need to be rigid (usually that means short); most action cam mounts are horrible contraptions which are say 10cm long and these will resonate and wobble and you get the “jello” effect, usually combined with poor focus. They are ok for naff ski videos In extreme cases you need to do it properly, with antivibration mounts, like the pic in post #1 in this thread:
BTW I am happy to sell the above camcorder mount. I sold my last camcorder recently. The four silicone supports cost about £20 each.
