Come fly with me! (a take off & landing with a quadriplegic pilot)
I’ve had a leaking o-ring on one of the cylinders in the engine for quite awhile so as the On a Wing & a Chair Round Australia flight is approaching, it needed to get fixed. My trusty mechanic Geoff, who built & installed all my aircraft adaptations, fixed it during the week.
Today was a glorious Monday public holiday with light winds & a sunny afternoon with smooth air. A great day for flying! I took Geoff with me for a test flight just to make sure it was all fixed & there were no other problems. It’s running like a dream!
While I was at the plane, I couldn’t miss the opportunity to try out my new GoPro Hero 3 camera from a few more angles. The cockpit view worked really well. Check it out here, watch this & imagine you’re my co-pilot. You can see how I operate my adaptations to fly the plane. Don’t forget, my fingers don’t work & I’m controlling the engine speed with a tube in my mouth!
Here I am flying today.
I installed the camera with the suction cup mount on the windscreen which gave a great view but a little shaky at times. Seeking help if anyone knows how to mount these & remove the vibrations. Leave a comment & let me know what you think.
Finally, congratulations to Nick & Kate Fenwick for the birth of their baby boy this morning! Nick is one of the Directors of On a Wing & a Chair. I’m sure his new son will be flying soon!
Over & out!
Dave
Hi Dave, A mutual friend sent me your post. I met you at Tooradin once. I’ve used GoPro’s (original HD and GoPro2 HD) for a while now. The suction mount is probably as good as it gets for vibration and your video is pretty spectacular as is, but maybe I can help with audio. There’s a mismatch with most camera’s audio input levels and aircraft audio systems which I’ve fixed with a modified patch cable. See my Youtube channel (website link in this comment) for examples.
Let me know if you want more info. It’s easy if you have a mate with a soldering iron!
Hi Mark,
Thanks so much for your comment here. I’ll checkout your Youtube channel & be in touch with you soon for more info about your patch cables.
I’m on a pretty fast learning curve with trying to get some good footage & sound from these cool little cameras!
Cheers,
Dave
Oh, BTW, my Barwon Heads video – I forgot to plug the cable in – try some others for audio!
David,
I am proud to call you my friend, you are and always be an inspiration to me.
You fly better than most pilots and are diciplined in your flying which I admire.
Also looks like married life is treating you well and I wish you both all the luck, best wishes and good health on the on a wing and a chair flight around Australia.
Forever your friend
Alf
Hi Alf,
Thanks so much mate!
I really appreciate your words & friendship. I can’t wait for you to meet my beautiful wife Linda.
Look forward to catching up with you soon.
Cheers,
Dave