Camera Pods/Attachments

Thought I'd post some photos of my camera pod installations for those of you feeling a need to put your cherished aircraft at risk with extra gadgetry!

This first one is the set-up I use with the rotating Key Fob camera and it's lightweight aluminum arrow shaft. You can greatly simplify this by omitting the servo, manually adjusting the camera in a fixed position, and then making multiple flights to get different angles.

This thing is really boiled down from some of the Rube Goldberg designs I tried early on. "Less is More"! You can reverse it's strap-down direction for shots from behind the wing, and depending on the planform of your plane, strap it to the fuselage or eppenage. To save time and frustration, you should shoot your first movies in the safety of your shop, to see what your taping ahead of time, since the camera has no viewfinder.

Above and beyond all else !!!! : Make SURE that your plane is re-ballasted to get the C.G. back home!!!! I use small ziplock packets and lead bird shot lead, scotch-taped to the opposite wing, tail, or wherever it's needed.

I think the photos pretty much explain the whole deal, but I'd be glad to try to answer any questions if you want to try this.









You can run a "Safety Thread" through the Key Fob hole and attach it to the arrow shaft, just in case the servo neck or rubber bands break, but I haven't had this happen...yet.







Lastly...KEEP IN MIND....that you're adding another layer of required attention to your flying, and distractions can lead you to sitting in the front yard, hoping someone found the sailplane that you launched with it's radio still turned off! ALWAYS do a final control check before launch to make sure your creation is listening to you!

The author shall not be held responsible for flyaways, power outages, vice-squad arrests, or gunfire resulting from use/abuse of this information!!!