These photographs were taken using the same camera and plane as for October 2003. The only change was that the camera was canted 10 degrees downwards. This appeared to provide better ground photos - the wing is no longer visible in the images.
This footage was taken at the IMAC (Illawarra Model Aero Club) field using 'Loiterer', but with an Aiptek DV2 solid-state digital video camera onboard. The camera was pointed out of the left fuselage, canted 10 degrees downwards. Imagesets were saved in AVI format to a 512MB Compact Flash card.
The camera was stripped of cover, LCD screen and batteries to conserve weight and ended up only weighing 50g. It was powered directly from one cell of the Li-Po pack via a 3.6V Zener diode. Imagesets were saved in AVI format to a 512MB Compact Flash card.
The CD-ROM motor, mounted using 9mm brass tubing, had more than enough thrust to lift the extra weight of the video camera (which incidentally gave the plane more penetration in the windy conditions).
The resulting footage has been compressed to conserve bandwidth. Note the interference pattern caused by the video camera looking through the spinning prop.
In order to alleviate the interference pattern caused by filming through the propeller, the video camera was repositioned to the top of the upper wing. A 4mm diameter carbon fibre rod was used to transfer the weight of the camera to the fuselage.
The following footage has been compressed to conserve bandwidth. No interference pattern is evident.
Here you will find images and footage from my experiments in R/C aerial photography in the beautiful Illawarra region of NSW, along with an assortment of my favourite R/C aerial photography and articles/videos.
Radio-controlled aerial photography and UAV development used to be the sole domain of the military and large R&D institutions. Now with the advent of cheap ARTF R/C aircraft, high energy Li-Po batteries, solid-state autopilots and micro-video cameras the playing field has been levelled. Today almost anyone can participate in this fascinating hobby!
The site is constantly evolving, and I am always adding content. If you would like to add content, or to add your site to the Links section please contact me. Don't forget to check out my store for some real bargains!
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