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I know I can't practice or anything like that during a contest, but I'm curious if it would be legal to have a hat camera for flights or my son film me. I would find it interesting to compare flights and even try and relive the flight while looking at the scores after.
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I can see of no reason as to why this would not be legal. Whether a camera on your head (hat) or your son filming you though not as your caller (spotter). And film is great. But I do not think it would be like NFL playback and what the camera sees is not likely what the judges would be seeing, nor at the same perspective or vantage point as they see it.Doug Pilcher -
True. I don't expect to get great info, but I find if I zoom out enough I can at least see where I didn't have equal lines or screw up a snap. Most likely, I will stick to practice only, but it's good to know it can be done in competitions as well.
As an example, I find videos like below to be super helpful when reviewing flights. Now, if I could just get my son to video as well.
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I actually bought one of those camera's that is supposed to track and film a subject....but I never got it out of the box! Always thought that would be helpful, as well.Rich
Krzy4RC
#IAmIMAC
Newsletter Editor
@RC Aerobatics PodcastComment
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I have one as well. I did unbox and read the directions. Ridiculous programing of it. Then I think it was Cam Shahrdar that tried one and did not work as advertised. I boxed mine back up. I think it would be great for a kids soccer game or the like. But not Scale Aerobatics.Doug PilcherComment
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An experienced caller during practice might provide the best feedback, but if you fly alone a camera in the cockpit, in place of the pilot figure, can provide great feedback. It helped me discover a consistent wing low attitude, especially at the top of figures like a loop or Immelmann.Comment
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What's wrong with the word, "cockpit", in an aviation forum??Comment
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Doug Pilcher Hi, yes, that was called SOLOSHOT . I had version 2, and it could not keep up with the airplane. Here is a video for your enjoyment:
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Very interesting. I had done that filming back in 2015. And i was so disappointed. As you can see from the video, it was not good at focusing in on the tracking device, and it could not keep up with the movement of the airplane, even though the airplane was quite far away. Once you flew level, it could kind of keep up, but if you depart from horizontal, it could not keep tracking.
If you listen to the video, two things you will hear:
1. the sound of the motors that control the "servo" of the camera, so that it can track the object.
2. My friend, commentating on whether or not the airplane was on the screen of the recording camera!!
lol
enjoyComment
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I have also done the hat cam deal, using a GOPRO camera, but that was not good either. I have a video, if anyone is interested, I can post it.Comment
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Thanks for posting the SoloShot video, Cam.. I can see why you would be disappointed. I wanted to buy one of those, but after seeing other videos like yours decided it wasn't ready for tracking aerobatics. A while back I did find one SoloShot video of a giant scale Havoc jet that did a decent job on the focus, but not great on the tracking: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pz99nt_xgIE
Even if a tracking camera or hat cam could provide a clear picture, it would be either too far zoomed in to see over all geometry, or zoomed out too far to see attitude. Either way you are seeing what you already see just flying your plane.
The advantage of putting a camera in your plane - either above or inside the person pit (?) - is that it gives the pilot an entirely new perspective. As long as it is mounted properly, you can get an excellent view of the plane's attitude at all altitudes and throughout the figures. I found this perspective helped me catch errors that I couldn't see from the ground:
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My Solo Shot will be one of my sons. He likes to come with me and be my pit crew. He's nervous about calling, but he can run a camera. He just needs to practice getting the zoom right.
Greg, I've thought a lot about the camera in the plane, but I always hesitate at the thought of cutting up the canopy floor. Not to mention having to redo 6 bolts every time I want to turn the camera on or off. I can do things remotely with a GoPro, but that kills the battery way too fast. There is no one else at my club that flies IMAC and can call or comment on my flights, so video is my only option.
DaveComment
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Personally, I think your time/money is better spent on gas/electron. After watching Greg's video a couple of times about the only errors that I could comment on were over or under rotations.Comment
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Definitely want to get to the bottom of the gas can as much as possible. Unfortunately, I don’t get to practice as much as I like, and I know there are times when I think I had a great flight, but video or scores indicate otherwise. Line lengths bite me all the time.Comment
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Practice always helps, but it's possible to practice with the wrong sight picture in your mind. I flew for 3 years with an inside wing low at the top of loops and Immelmans until a caller spotted it and pointed it out to me. I didn't believe it, because it looked correct to me. But I had the wrong picture of what wings level looked like up high. A video I made shortly after that (an earlier one than what I posted) made it painfully clear that I consistently had a wing low up high. Anyway, just another tool. As Earl pointed out, it's not much good for spotting errors other than attitude.
Dave, be sure to ask for feedback from the judges, so you know what to work on. A review of the rules always helps, too. And verify with others (best at Judging school) that you have a correct understanding of the rules. I've heard some pretty interesting misunderstandings about line lengths.Comment
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