Mounting camera on wing of glider

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQqq_SDCwnA&sns=em

GoPro, Suction Mount, lots of Tape. Worked Great at high speeds and through the rain.

On Tuesday, August 26, 2014 8:09:27 PM UTC-7, Sierra Whiskey wrote:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQqq_SDCwnA&sns=em



GoPro, Suction Mount, lots of Tape. Worked Great at high speeds and through the rain.

I second the vote for tape.

For a suction cup mount to work you have to use a really good one that still "sucks" at the maximum altitude you ultimately reach. Judicious use of gaffers tape helps just in case you guess wrong, but with an unsprung suction cup the mount can get wobbly. you can also make a small metal plate with a felt on the bottom and a 1/4-20 bolt sticking out the top for a standard camera screw mount (or affix a GoPro mount if that's what you are using). You can tape this down to practically any reasonably flat surface.

Get a GoPro Hero 3. Great suction cup mounts. Remote control for video or stills using your cell phone or their remote button.

+1.

I also use the GoPro suction cup and duct tape. This method has not failed me yet. I used to simply not bother with tape and had no problems for roughly 2 years (dozens of flights). Then, I had an unfortunate event where the suction cut let go after a bump on the runway. Fortunately the GoPro was completely fine. Fortunately the GoPro did not fall onto anyone from altitude. After that, I realized that the suction cup alone was irresponsible.. From that point forward I always use plenty of white duct tape in a square pattern making sure do it very tightly with no gaps. Seal tape (or electrical tape) is probably not strong enough nor would it survive rain. The tape needs to be as strong as possible. Duct tape and Gorilla tape seems best and I have never had any issues with it damaging the wing surface (gelcoat or poly).

The duct taped mount method is so strong in fact that I suspect it would survive a decent size bird strike. It is extremely secure. Just make sure that the surface you are taping the mount to is clean and that you are (important) NOT trying to suction onto to an area of the wing (or tail or especially fuselage) that has a lot of curvature. I try to use the flattest possible part of the airfoil, usually 65-85% aft of the leading edge.

Happy filming!

Sean

I'd still recommend Gaffer tape over duct tape. It's not expensive and comes in white. Gaffer tape is a tough, cotton cloth pressure-sensitive tape with strong adhesive properties. It is used in theater, film and television productions as well as any kind of stage work. While related to duct tape, it differs in that it can be removed cleanly because it uses a synthetic petroleum-based adhesive rather than a natural rubber adhesive.

Where can we find "gaffer tape"?

Boggs

On 8/28/2014 10:24 AM, Waveguru wrote:
Where can we find "gaffer tape"?

You find it where you find everything else, Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/JVCC-GAFF30YD-...s=gaffers+tape

A good place to get gaffer tape or AA/AAA/9V batteries is TMB.
http://www.tmb.com/
If your order doesn't fill the box, they use white socks for filler. Always a hit.
Gaffer tape is to duct tape what Bowlus tape is to cheap electrical tape.
Far superior, but more expensive.
Jim

On Thursday, August 28, 2014 7:24:39 AM UTC-7, Waveguru wrote:
Where can we find "gaffer tape"?



Boggs

On Thursday, August 28, 2014 1:21:28 AM UTC-4, wrote:
I'd still recommend Gaffer tape over duct tape. It's not expensive and comes in white. Gaffer tape is a tough, cotton cloth pressure-sensitive tape with strong adhesive properties. It is used in theater, film and television productions as well as any kind of stage work. While related to duct tape, it differs in that it can be removed cleanly because it uses a synthetic petroleum-based adhesive rather than a natural rubber adhesive.

Interesting. Ordered some and will try.

Thanks,

Sean

Vaughn wrote, On 8/28/2014 7:38 AM:
On 8/28/2014 10:24 AM, Waveguru wrote:
Where can we find "gaffer tape"?

You find it where you find everything else, Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/JVCC-GAFF30YD-...s=gaffers+tape

The info for the referenced tape uses natural rubber adhesive, but it
also says it " Will not leave adhesive residue behind when removed"

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (change ".netto" to ".us" to
email me)
- "A Guide to Self-Launching Sailplane Operation"
https://sites.google.com/site/motorg...ad-the-guide-1
- "Transponders in Sailplanes - Feb/2010" also ADS-B, PCAS, Flarm
http://tinyurl.com/yb3xywl