A customer came in today with the GoPro camera. I had looked at these before settling on the Contour. I’ve been happy with the Contour but I have figured out how I can use this camera for more than just showing pretty pictures.
On one of my flights last year I attempted to record the airspeeds and altitudes I went through while maneuvering through a variety of figures. I was doing this so that I could start to assign hard values to my energy state at any time. What is my airspeed at the top of a loop? How much altitude have I gained? How much altitude can I gain in a vertical upline? How much altitude do I lose through 1, 2, 3 revolution spins.
These are all things I need to know. Airshow performers have an exit at every point in their routine in case things don’t go as planned. Knowing where you are in a three dimensional sense is vital. I attempted to record all this info by strapping on the old trusted kneeboard and writing with a pencil. This proved impossible quickly. The kneeboard blocked the full travel of my controls. I had a loose pencil floating around in the cockpit. It was just bad.
What I intend to do is fix the camera so that it is focused on my instruments throughout a flight. I will be able to focus on flying with the camera does all the data collection. Then, I can watch the gauges throughout the flight as opposed to the quick glances they get while in the airplane. There will have to be some structure to this. I figure the best approach would be to fly the same figure with the same entry altitude and airspeed a few times. I will move into flying the same figure with varying airspeeds and study how that affects the rest of the figure.
I would imagine that someone out there will read this and think this is total overkill. If it is then so be it. This is all stuff I want know. Imagine flying a loop from 10 feet off the runway and your engine quits at the top of the loop. How much altitude will you chew up trying to recover with no power? To get those answers I have to know exactly what I am dealing with.
An artist chooses their medium whether it be oil paints, acrylics, or clay. They choose a certain brush or a certain tool to create a tangible representation of an idea. Flying aerobatics is no different. This is an effort to better understand the medium in which I work.
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I don't think its overkill at all. This form of performance monitoring (for lack of a better phrase) is evident in many branches of sport where the individual/coach would like the opportunity to review the various parameters of motion or performance that they might miss watching the athlete/performer "live".
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