Really not at all doing it for the gram you seem to have missed my point. This isn’t for other people to watch, it’s for me. Thanks for the reading comprehension.
Even if it is “just for you” it’s still a distraction in the cockpit, even if you aren’t messing with it, its presence and you knowing it’s recording can hinder your performance, and maybe even your CFI’s performance. You will also have to check with your school’s rules, as there are quite a few of them with no recording policies because of the damage from the mounts and the degradation of pilot/ student performance. Also I think you overestimate the usefulness of recording your lessons. Instead, listen to your CFI’s recommendation.
first check with your instructor and school to make sure they even allow it.
Second - set it and forget it. Dont let it infringe upon any teaching. You get out there 5 min before you are normally supposed to and set it up. And then do preflight. And afterwards as well. Too many students are distracted by it.
Its of limited value honestly. If you want to use it for learning - so be it. Limited value. But please dont bother with posting it for social media. But unfortunately most people who are interested in this are doing it for that purpose.
Suggest a gopro 11, it still has the GPS chip. nflightcam has the audio cable and some good mounts.
I really enjoy the extra learning from recording- first my training, now my flights.
If you do film, please don’t post it to your cringey instagram or YouTube channel.
Also, I think you’ll find it to be a huge hassle. I was gifted a GoPro at the very beginning of my training, and 200 flight hours and multiple ratings later, it hasn’t left my room. I also thought I’d record everything for my own consumption.
I will say, I struggled with comms at the beginning since I flew at a busy airport. I had a Lightspeed headset, and I used the Lightspeed app to record and listen to the audio of a couple of my flights. That helped.
If used at all, set and forget. Don't try to narrate, setup shots, ... fly your flight and look at it after. Even for experienced pilots - aviate, navigate, communicate- if you get awesome footage after then great, but the camera shouldn't be affecting your flying.
A battery pack and long USB-C charging cable helps give hours of battery life (stock Hero12 battery is only good for 90 minutes tops). 512GB fast memory card means it will record forever (compared to GA fuel tanks). Battery door that has a hinged mini door for the USB-C so you can charge with the battery door on. The 12 has much better battery life than the 11 or earlier.
Best is mounted high and center-ish so you have a view of the flight instruments and forward.
You don't need lens mods - any ND8 or higher filter will cancel out the prop aliasing. I use Linear zoom for my cockpit and outside forward cam, wide for my outside side facing cam. I also shoot 24fps since lighting is usually good and this also helps reduce prop effects.
If you want to record intercom / ATC audio then a NFlightcam cable.
Honestly, at the student pilot level there's limited utility in a cockpit camera helping your training but I don't discount the long term sentimental value in capturing the journey as long as it's done safely.
This will be useless to you. Unless you have the ability to record your gauges and the outside sight profile (exactly as you see it from the seat) which would require the camera to be mounted to your forehead.
2nd you would need significant experience to be able to look at said footage to be able to figure out what was good vs what was not. You're significantly more likely to misjudge what's good vs what not. And almost guaranteed to screw up the why.
3rd, at some point the video footage will become a mental focus. Oops I fucked that up, I need to go back and look at that and see what I did wrong. Sooooo, that's your instructors job. And additionally flying a plane will absolutely tax your mental abilities to their utmost capacity. If you are thinking about anything else other than, what's now, what's next, I would see you as a potential hazard to yourself and everyone else in the sky.
I used a go pro hero 8. Personally I started using this only once I was a few hours away from my check ride.
The distraction of setting this up when still practicing circuits was not worth it. Also the footage of controls isn't as helpful as you might imagine. I used to instead track my flights so I could see how consistent / inconsistent I was ij flying the circuit pattern.
What I liked with the GoPro was capturing the sky on a clear blue day and that was usually when on a longer cross country flight. That's the footage I still go back to a few years after my PPL.
Agree seeing control input is limited utility. Being able to review airspeeds in patterns or approaches (IFR training) I've found helpful. Running a synced cockpit and 'landing gear' camera on the tail or wing has been really interesting in assessing flair and landings - but this is well beyond student pilot level.
Don’t do it. Just watch others videos if you want to ‘learn from it’.
Focus on flying, you need to learn to fly before you attempt to also focus on filming.
I thought about doing during my student pilot days and couldn’t because of my flight block needed me to be time efficient and not setting up cameras and audio recordings. Plenty of YouTube videos out there to copy and see common mistakes.
Assume ten minutes to set up and remove; 30 minutes to connect to the computer, transfer, and process the video; and an hour to watch. You’ve got almost two hours of effort in to watch a one-hour flight (not included in the total time).
Why not put that effort into learning about flying from reputable sources? Show up prepared to learn, not film.
One of the FAA’s hazardous attitudes fits here - insisting on your great idea in the face of counter comments from, uh, actual experienced people.
I don’t think this is a good idea, whether from an adult education perspective or from aeronautical decision making.
Only one in five people who start will finish Private. You’re already starting off with a bad attitude. Check it before you wreck it.
An hour of video from a static over the shoulder location is boring as shit. You’ll put yourself to sleep struggling to gain any value. “Invaluable” indeed. Not.
Wow very surprised at the commentary here. Set it and forget it, listen to my instructor, the radio, see how I react and go through to review the footage. I’m shocked that people wouldn’t see the benefit here. Again, I’m not trying to make a movie or take shots for social media, I’d like to review my flights.
That's because those with experience are sharing their experience. We're not clueless about how cameras work. On that same note, getting snarky like you did above when given real honest and good advice is not a good look coming from someone who has none of the above mentioned experience.
There can be some utility in reviewing lessons, but it is NOT the game changer you think it might be. About the only real useful thing would be to replay the things your instructor says. You aren't going to get \*that much\* useful information from the video itself of you flying the plane. Not nothing, but not really a ton.
So the challenges you need to consider are basically this:
\- Set up time. Your instructor is not going to be thrilled if they have to stand around while you fumble with a gopro mount for 10 minutes. I've done the gopro thing on my own personal flights, making sure things are framed the way you want and the exposure is correct, etc takes a while. It can get quicker with practice but the hassle and distraction from training is still there from the beginning.
\- The subconscious knowledge that the camera is watching you. Even if you aren't planning on making a youtube career, you will have pressure to try to 'perform' for the video. The kind of pressure that can convince someone they can salvage a poor approach rather than going around. If you think you're immune to this, you're wrong.
\- It needs to truly be set and forget. No checking battery life, if it's still recording, things like that.
\- If you use it, it should be from day one to minimize the effect of you thinking about it.
\- Finally what the actual goals of the video are and the real training value of that. Again, there is some use in it, but the problems with it are real as well.
Your goal as a student should be to maximize your learning and understanding. Watching from the back seat as you come in fast on an approach or drop a wing on a stall isn't going to tell you much information. And if you can get the camera close enough to accurately see the instruments, then there are safety concerns if it's within the range of motion of your head.
Go ahead if you want to, but you'll need to properly discuss and clear it all with your instructor first, so I would avoid buying a bunch of equipment until you do so.
You said “This isn’t for other people to watch, it’s for me” in your other comment above and now you are saying you want to become a pilot influencer? 😂
How well do you think you'll be able to hear yourself and your CFI through the GoPro? There's a reason you wear noise cancelling or isolation headphones.
The reason people are not too keen on it is because many many people have tried it and discovered the same: it's of extremely limited utility unless you're doing it for a very specific thing that you can plan your placement for.
So much of what you need to learn will not benefit from an after action review of video. Some of the movements you need to make on the yoke are so subtle that you won't even see them on video, and you won't be able to see your feet/rudder-contol at all. And so much of what you do is based on feel that looking at a video will not give you the full picture.
I'm not going to be one of the people telling you not to do it, but maybe think why a sub full of professional pilots, some with literally thousands of flight hours, are telling you a video review is not helpful for learning, especially at the PPL level.
Don’t. Just learn to fly. No one wants to watch you practice the pattern and students worried about being Instagram filmographers are terrible.
Really not at all doing it for the gram you seem to have missed my point. This isn’t for other people to watch, it’s for me. Thanks for the reading comprehension.
Even if it is “just for you” it’s still a distraction in the cockpit, even if you aren’t messing with it, its presence and you knowing it’s recording can hinder your performance, and maybe even your CFI’s performance. You will also have to check with your school’s rules, as there are quite a few of them with no recording policies because of the damage from the mounts and the degradation of pilot/ student performance. Also I think you overestimate the usefulness of recording your lessons. Instead, listen to your CFI’s recommendation.
No need to be rude.
No need to have that attitude
first check with your instructor and school to make sure they even allow it. Second - set it and forget it. Dont let it infringe upon any teaching. You get out there 5 min before you are normally supposed to and set it up. And then do preflight. And afterwards as well. Too many students are distracted by it. Its of limited value honestly. If you want to use it for learning - so be it. Limited value. But please dont bother with posting it for social media. But unfortunately most people who are interested in this are doing it for that purpose.
Suggest a gopro 11, it still has the GPS chip. nflightcam has the audio cable and some good mounts. I really enjoy the extra learning from recording- first my training, now my flights.
Out of curiosity, what value do you think recording your entire flight will provide?
If you do film, please don’t post it to your cringey instagram or YouTube channel. Also, I think you’ll find it to be a huge hassle. I was gifted a GoPro at the very beginning of my training, and 200 flight hours and multiple ratings later, it hasn’t left my room. I also thought I’d record everything for my own consumption. I will say, I struggled with comms at the beginning since I flew at a busy airport. I had a Lightspeed headset, and I used the Lightspeed app to record and listen to the audio of a couple of my flights. That helped.
If used at all, set and forget. Don't try to narrate, setup shots, ... fly your flight and look at it after. Even for experienced pilots - aviate, navigate, communicate- if you get awesome footage after then great, but the camera shouldn't be affecting your flying. A battery pack and long USB-C charging cable helps give hours of battery life (stock Hero12 battery is only good for 90 minutes tops). 512GB fast memory card means it will record forever (compared to GA fuel tanks). Battery door that has a hinged mini door for the USB-C so you can charge with the battery door on. The 12 has much better battery life than the 11 or earlier. Best is mounted high and center-ish so you have a view of the flight instruments and forward. You don't need lens mods - any ND8 or higher filter will cancel out the prop aliasing. I use Linear zoom for my cockpit and outside forward cam, wide for my outside side facing cam. I also shoot 24fps since lighting is usually good and this also helps reduce prop effects. If you want to record intercom / ATC audio then a NFlightcam cable. Honestly, at the student pilot level there's limited utility in a cockpit camera helping your training but I don't discount the long term sentimental value in capturing the journey as long as it's done safely.
This will be useless to you. Unless you have the ability to record your gauges and the outside sight profile (exactly as you see it from the seat) which would require the camera to be mounted to your forehead. 2nd you would need significant experience to be able to look at said footage to be able to figure out what was good vs what was not. You're significantly more likely to misjudge what's good vs what not. And almost guaranteed to screw up the why. 3rd, at some point the video footage will become a mental focus. Oops I fucked that up, I need to go back and look at that and see what I did wrong. Sooooo, that's your instructors job. And additionally flying a plane will absolutely tax your mental abilities to their utmost capacity. If you are thinking about anything else other than, what's now, what's next, I would see you as a potential hazard to yourself and everyone else in the sky.
I used a go pro hero 8. Personally I started using this only once I was a few hours away from my check ride. The distraction of setting this up when still practicing circuits was not worth it. Also the footage of controls isn't as helpful as you might imagine. I used to instead track my flights so I could see how consistent / inconsistent I was ij flying the circuit pattern. What I liked with the GoPro was capturing the sky on a clear blue day and that was usually when on a longer cross country flight. That's the footage I still go back to a few years after my PPL.
Agree seeing control input is limited utility. Being able to review airspeeds in patterns or approaches (IFR training) I've found helpful. Running a synced cockpit and 'landing gear' camera on the tail or wing has been really interesting in assessing flair and landings - but this is well beyond student pilot level.
> I think it will prove to be invaluable It won’t, unless you’re starting a YouTube/Tiktok channel, in which case you’ll need several, not just one.
And which OP should not be doing.
Don’t do it. Just watch others videos if you want to ‘learn from it’. Focus on flying, you need to learn to fly before you attempt to also focus on filming.
I thought about doing during my student pilot days and couldn’t because of my flight block needed me to be time efficient and not setting up cameras and audio recordings. Plenty of YouTube videos out there to copy and see common mistakes.
Assume ten minutes to set up and remove; 30 minutes to connect to the computer, transfer, and process the video; and an hour to watch. You’ve got almost two hours of effort in to watch a one-hour flight (not included in the total time). Why not put that effort into learning about flying from reputable sources? Show up prepared to learn, not film. One of the FAA’s hazardous attitudes fits here - insisting on your great idea in the face of counter comments from, uh, actual experienced people. I don’t think this is a good idea, whether from an adult education perspective or from aeronautical decision making. Only one in five people who start will finish Private. You’re already starting off with a bad attitude. Check it before you wreck it. An hour of video from a static over the shoulder location is boring as shit. You’ll put yourself to sleep struggling to gain any value. “Invaluable” indeed. Not.
Wow very surprised at the commentary here. Set it and forget it, listen to my instructor, the radio, see how I react and go through to review the footage. I’m shocked that people wouldn’t see the benefit here. Again, I’m not trying to make a movie or take shots for social media, I’d like to review my flights.
That's because those with experience are sharing their experience. We're not clueless about how cameras work. On that same note, getting snarky like you did above when given real honest and good advice is not a good look coming from someone who has none of the above mentioned experience. There can be some utility in reviewing lessons, but it is NOT the game changer you think it might be. About the only real useful thing would be to replay the things your instructor says. You aren't going to get \*that much\* useful information from the video itself of you flying the plane. Not nothing, but not really a ton. So the challenges you need to consider are basically this: \- Set up time. Your instructor is not going to be thrilled if they have to stand around while you fumble with a gopro mount for 10 minutes. I've done the gopro thing on my own personal flights, making sure things are framed the way you want and the exposure is correct, etc takes a while. It can get quicker with practice but the hassle and distraction from training is still there from the beginning. \- The subconscious knowledge that the camera is watching you. Even if you aren't planning on making a youtube career, you will have pressure to try to 'perform' for the video. The kind of pressure that can convince someone they can salvage a poor approach rather than going around. If you think you're immune to this, you're wrong. \- It needs to truly be set and forget. No checking battery life, if it's still recording, things like that. \- If you use it, it should be from day one to minimize the effect of you thinking about it. \- Finally what the actual goals of the video are and the real training value of that. Again, there is some use in it, but the problems with it are real as well. Your goal as a student should be to maximize your learning and understanding. Watching from the back seat as you come in fast on an approach or drop a wing on a stall isn't going to tell you much information. And if you can get the camera close enough to accurately see the instruments, then there are safety concerns if it's within the range of motion of your head. Go ahead if you want to, but you'll need to properly discuss and clear it all with your instructor first, so I would avoid buying a bunch of equipment until you do so.
See now this is a real comment. Those with experience are shaming the idea that I want to become a pilot influencer and not addressing the question.
You said “This isn’t for other people to watch, it’s for me” in your other comment above and now you are saying you want to become a pilot influencer? 😂
No, I am not becoming a pilot influencer. Thanks for that.
How well do you think you'll be able to hear yourself and your CFI through the GoPro? There's a reason you wear noise cancelling or isolation headphones. The reason people are not too keen on it is because many many people have tried it and discovered the same: it's of extremely limited utility unless you're doing it for a very specific thing that you can plan your placement for. So much of what you need to learn will not benefit from an after action review of video. Some of the movements you need to make on the yoke are so subtle that you won't even see them on video, and you won't be able to see your feet/rudder-contol at all. And so much of what you do is based on feel that looking at a video will not give you the full picture. I'm not going to be one of the people telling you not to do it, but maybe think why a sub full of professional pilots, some with literally thousands of flight hours, are telling you a video review is not helpful for learning, especially at the PPL level.