My GoPro Hero setup

[Captain Bubba]

I like to mount the Hero out on the strut as it just provides better video than mounting it inside. The disadvantage to doing this is you can't change the battery mid-flight, so it limits your recording time as typically you only get about 90 minutes of recording time depending on how you have the Hero configured. This is fine for short local flights, but limits how much video you can get on a cross country. I found a way around this limitation by adding an external battery. With a 256g card I'm now getting about 5 hours of recording time at 2.7K, 60fps, and the highest bit rate. Here's how I did it.

I'm using a Hero 9 camera. I'm sure it's possible to do this with other versions of the Hero, but you'll need different parts to pull it off and I don't know that you'd get the same recording length I'm quoting due to the smaller internal battery.

I'm using the Rock Steady strut mount for this application. I really like this mount and as the name implies, it definitely provides for a rock steady camera mount.

I found a power bank which provides 6800 mAh which is just enough when added to the internal Hero 9 battery to provide for about 5 hours of recording. The power bank I'm using has a 1/4" stud on one end that I will utilize for my mount.

I also used a replacement battery door for the Hero 9 which allows for a feed through of the power connector. It should be noted this almost certainly compromises the water resistance of the GoPro, so it's probably not a good idea to fly through rain.

In order to mount the power bank to the strut mount, I used a pretty thick metal ruler bent to a 90° angle on one end, three holes drilled, and cut to fit. Two of the holes were drilled for the studs in the Rock Steady and a 3rd hole is used for the stud on the power bank with a 1/4" nut. Additionally a hardware store hose clamp was used to secure the other end of the power bank to the ruler. The cord that came with the Hero 9 was just long enough to connect the camera to the power bank with a few wraps around the mount itself.

A problem I ran into is the included rubber strap wasn't long enough to go around my strut and secure the loose end back to the stud as is intended. So I just used a short round head bolt to secure the loose end with the included nut.

Another thing I'm using which you can see in the pictures is a ND16 filter. This is optional, but improves the quality of the video in bright sunlight.

I've flown about 10 hours with this setup and it works perfectly. Looking outside there is no movement to the camera or mount whatsoever in flight.

This is a video created with this setup. The flight was from KCOS to KLUD and this was the tail end of the flight several hours after departure.

 

[AggieMike88]

Decatur Texas??!! And you didn’t stop by Denton to say howdy to me, @JCranford and @SixPapaCharlie ??? Well then!

But thanks for the info about your camera set up. I have been toying with obtaining the. Sirius bits and bobs to record my flying. This is a big help!

 

[GMascelli]

Who makes the battery charger? Nice set up.

 

[AggieMike88]

Who makes the battery charger? Nice set up.

The words “power bank” link to a listing on Amazon

 

[Captain Bubba]

Who makes the battery charger? Nice set up.

Just click on the blue text and it takes you to the Amazon link.

 

[midlifeflyer]

Any chance of going into more detail on the battery mounting? I like external mounting too (tie down ring clamp) and would like to look into the possibility of adapting this to my setup.

 

[Captain Bubba]

Any chance of going into more detail on the battery mounting? I like external mounting too (tie down ring clamp) and would like to look into the possibility of adapting this to my setup.

The battery mounting is pretty simple. I took a thick metal ruler and drilled two holes on one end where the studs are for the Rock steady mount. On the other end I made a 90° bend where the end of the battery goes and cut the excess off. A hole was drilled in this end for the stud on the end of the battery. A 1/4" nut holds the right side of the battery and the hose clamp holds the left side. The whole thing is very secure.

 

[midlifeflyer]

@Captain Bubba, thank you again.

My setup is a bit different. A tie-down ring camp similar to the MyPilotPro so I can use it on multiple airplanes, both high wing and low. I think a cheap camera outside produces far better images than an expensive camera inside (this is an "el cheapo" example.

I've been stymied on longer flights since my favorite Chinese GoPro imitator - with the 3 hour battery! - finally crapped out. I have to do a little bit of adaptation but I am down to the final cut, bend, and drill on the end and it looks it will do the trick even without a strut wrap for additional support. Not quite there but leaf peeping season is not that far away!!!

 

[rhkennerly]

I was thinking about one camera on the strut & one under the tail, maybe one in the Cockpit. However, with all the fancy & expensive equipment out there, why isn’t there an integrated system that turns multiple cameras on & off with one signal?

I really don’t need 2 hrs of straight & level flight. I’d like to just capture the base to final leg as I practice landings.

 

[Captain Bubba]

I was thinking about one camera on the strut & one under the tail, maybe one in the Cockpit. However, with all the fancy & expensive equipment out there, why isn’t there an integrated system that turns multiple cameras on & off with one signal?

I really don’t need 2 hrs of straight & level flight. I’d like to just capture the base to final leg as I practice landings.

The problem I have found is when you turn on wireless the battery drain isn’t that much different than having the camera on without wireless. YMMV.

 

[Shepherd]

And when you are off the ground the GoPro app disconnects from the camera, and NOTHING will make it reconnect except turning off the device on which the app is running, AND taking the battery out of the GoPro because the buttons no longer work, then restarting everything again.
This is my experience 98% of the time. Multiple app platforms.
I don't have this problem on my 360 camera, just GoPro.
Your experience may differ.

 

[rhkennerly]

The problem I have found is when you turn on wireless the battery drain isn’t that much different than having the camera on without wireless. YMMV.

good to know. But what about triggering multi-cam on & off? It’s not like your wasting film, but certainly having to edit out long stretches of nothing on multiple cameras does waste a lot of time.

 

[midlifeflyer]

The problem I have found is when you turn on wireless the battery drain isn’t that much different than having the camera on without wireless. YMMV.

Pretty standard as far as I know. The camera is still on to maintain the wireless connection. Since there aren't any "moving parts" the sayings from not recording are small.

 

[SixPapaCharlie]

I put one camera that I know is going to die just to get the take off and mid flight B roll.
Then I have this thing which is fantastic.

I've also switched to all metal mounts at this point because this is a heavy sucker.

 

[TXFlyyer]

I just picked up the Hero 7 and was thinking about returning it for the "Horizon leveling" feature of the Hero 8+. Do you have that enabled in your video? Anyone try it on an airplane yet?

 

[Brad W]

I'm curious....do any of you CFI's routinely use cameras like this in your teaching? I can imagine an external view + and over the shoulder look would be valuable as a debrief tool....but wading through all the minutes in between events could take so much effort to counter the benefit

 

[midlifeflyer]

I'm curious....do any of you CFI's routinely use cameras like this in your teaching? I can imagine an external view + and over the shoulder look would be valuable as a debrief tool....but wading through all the minutes in between events could take so much effort to counter the benefit

I've done it a few times. And most of the solo videos I do are self-evaluation. Rarely something worth posting.

You don't have to watch it all. It's not a problem so long as no one expects editing There's usually a few things you really want to see and know about when it was, so go to it. Want to focus on the landings? Fast forward through the takeoffs. If you really want integrate cameras into your teaching or learning, you can always use the camera in conjunction with an app like Cloud Ahoy which recognizes maneuvers. Or even something as simple as the ground track from your EFB app. Find the time of the maneuver in then go to it in the video.

 

[Captain Bubba]

I just picked up the Hero 7 and was thinking about returning it for the "Horizon leveling" feature of the Hero 8+. Do you have that enabled in your video? Anyone try it on an airplane yet?

I haven’t tried it on the plane yet, but I don’t think the results will be something I’m interested in. I have tried it just on the camera with the Max lens and it works as advertised. The horizon stays level even if you rotate the camera to extreme angles. I just had little interest in trying it while flying because when I bank I want to video to portray the sense of turning. I think using the feature would make the video less immersive.

 

[Captain Bubba]

I put one camera that I know is going to die just to get the take off and mid flight B roll.
Then I have this thing which is fantastic.

I've also switched to all metal mounts at this point because this is a heavy sucker.

View attachment 100160

I have one of those for my Hero 7. AFAIK they don’t make them for anything past 7. The added wind resistance makes metal mounts a must have. It’s been a while since I’ve used it, but I don’t think I got anywhere near the battery life claimed, but it could have been due to the setup I was using. Turning off some of the features can have a significant effect.

 

[eman1200]

The battery mounting is pretty simple. I took a thick metal ruler and drilled two holes on one end where the studs are for the Rock steady mount. On the other end I made a 90° bend where the end of the battery goes and cut the excess off. A hole was drilled in this end for the stud on the end of the battery. A 1/4" nut holds the right side of the battery and the hose clamp holds the left side. The whole thing is very secure.

Do you think you need a lock washer on the end nut? Would suck for that thing to wiggle loose.

 

[Captain Bubba]

Do you think you need a lock washer on the end nut? Would suck for that thing to wiggle loose.

The stud on the battery isn’t long enough so I just put some loctite on it. Even if the nut came off the battery would still be held by the hose clamp. It holds it so tight the nut isn’t even necessary.

 

[Dana]

And when you are off the ground the GoPro app disconnects from the camera, and NOTHING will make it reconnect except turning off the device on which the app is running, AND taking the battery out of the GoPro because the buttons no longer work, then restarting everything again.
This is my experience 98% of the time.

Yeah, gopros are great cameras but their software truly sucks.

good to know. But what about triggering multi-cam on & off? It’s not like your wasting film, but certainly having to edit out long stretches of nothing on multiple cameras does waste a lot of time.

I gave up on gopros and got a couple of Akaso cameras. They don't have all of the bells and whistles of the gopro brand, but they're far cheaper (<$100) and the software is much more reliable. They also come with a simple remote that will operate all cameras within range, but I don't use it as when the camera is pointing toward me I can't see the indicator light on the camera to tell if it's on or off. But the smartphone software works well enough that it's easy to turn on one camera, then connect to the next one, etc.

I just gotta drill holes in the cases to run a power wire through and buy another battery. I can run the fuselage camera off ship power but I'll need a battery on the wing, that round battery looks like a nice form factor.

 

[Shepherd]

Akaso cameras.
I've made a note.

 

[midlifeflyer]

I just gotta drill holes in the cases to run a power wire through and buy another battery. I can run the fuselage camera off ship power but I'll need a battery on the wing, that round battery looks like a nice form factor.

Some thoughts. I finally built mine. I will report once I know it works but here's one concern. I modeled it after @Captain Bubba's but it's in a tiedown ring clamp (similar to MyPilotPro). In his, there is extra support from being strapped to the strut, but I'm concerned with the lever effect of the heavy battery in the right with the tiedown ring to the left. I'll probably mount it without flying to see what I think, but may end up trying a more vertical setup.

 

[midlifeflyer]

Akaso cameras.
I've made a note.

A number of the GoPro imitators are excellent. I have had the original SJCam, a Dazzne P2, and a number of Apeman cameras. But there is a downside. They are cheap with the weak point being the cable connector. In every one so far, within 1-3 years, that connection has failed, making external batteries a bit problematic. OTOH, last year I bought a used Hero 3 on eBay for $40 (mostly for the synced cockpit audio) and the connection is still rock solid,