RC Airplanes and Helicopters
 

I fly a lot of RC's so when I go I often shoot video. Here's a short video I shot foe the fun of it showing people flying RC airplanes and helicopters.

Re: RC Airplanes and Helicopters
 

Is it the Music?

Re: RC Airplanes and Helicopters
 

+1 Airplanes and Video together... The only thing missing is dogs :) I enjoyed watching this, seemed to flow nicely, however I think it could have been shortened a bit. In my opinion, the music went fairly well with the content, but not something I think I would ever listen to on my MP3 player or on the radio. I really liked some of the shots where it would be easy to believe these are real full size airplanes and not models. Overall I enjoyed it. nice work!

Re: RC Airplanes and Helicopters
 

Been flying RC for about 20 years and thats one of the nicest vids I've seen on the subject. Great energy. Sad ending for the Hughes 500 though! But that's part of the game!

Re: RC Airplanes and Helicopters
 

Chuck,
What would be the payload of those choppers?

Cheers,
Al

Re: RC Airplanes and Helicopters
 

If you're thinking cameras, gopro, contour, replayXD would be no issue for the helis in the video which sounded like .60 or .90 size. Small palmcorders shouldn't be a problem either. However, the rigs to attach the camera must be taken into account and it significantly changes the flying characteristics. Especially if you want pan and tilt control. I've seen a 5D work well on a gasser heli and I'm sure the .90 size would lift it as well. Youre talking about helis that cost well above $2k some around $4k if you add the camera support.
Right now I'm flying a TRex 450 electric with a replayXD in a fixed position and it's good for about 5-6min of flight. It is pushing the limit a bit. But it is a very inexpensive rig at under $500. Trick is, smaller the heli...the harder it is to fly and when you add weight, gets even trickier. I've been flying helis for a very long time. Adding the camera to it, I'm having to learn to be even more precise in my flying!
Not recommended for beginners at all. Unless you like watching wads of cash disappear very quickly! Ha ha!

Re: RC Airplanes and Helicopters
 

Thanks Robert, very interesting. So to sling a full size video camera under one requires an RC just a little short of life size I guess!!!!! :)

Al

Re: RC Airplanes and Helicopters
 

LOL! Not quite...I know theres a company that makes a 12' long turbine powered heli that essentially has a cineflex ball on the nose. (i dont think its an actual cineflex but i could be wrong!) Capable of flying 35mm film cameras and certainly med to large camcorders. Its been a few years since I've seen it but during a behind the scenes video, it showed the heli filming a chase scene along a mountain road that goes through a tunnel and out the other side. The pilot and camera operator were in a chase vehicle behind the stunt cars and heli. It was a continuous shot which is what made the RC heli essential. A full size wouldn't fit in the tunnel safely.

I'll see if I can find any info on it!

In the meantime check these guys out:
http://www.skycamusa.com/gallery.shtml

And this is another bunch of very serious guys...
Make sure you watch the Bond video!!

http://rchelimenace.wordpress.com/20...lywood-movies/

Pretty serious stuff!

Re: RC Airplanes and Helicopters
 

Robert,
Sounds great !!!!!

Al

Re: RC Airplanes and Helicopters
 

Robert,

Just had a look at the links, great stuff. Thanks.

Al

Re: RC Airplanes and Helicopters
 

If your serious about aerial videography then you need to be prepared to spend a lot of money. Generally speaking you don't want to fly a $10 camera setup with a $2000 quad or RC Helicopter.

But both are getting very sophisticated and capable. If you want to purchase a ready to fly setup you should check these guys out: Quadrocopter Mikrokopter Ready to Fly RTF and Online Store

Depending on what accessories you want these can cost about $9,000 to $14,000. But when you consider what you can accomplish with these that's not that expensive.

I try to caution people, you always need to remember what ever goes up must come down.

I'm having fun trying to figure out how to build my own, not so much to save money but when I started I didn't know enough who to trust and what actually worked. The larger electric helicopters have been around longer than the heavy lift multirotors but they require considerable skill to use these to get the shots you want.

This was shot from a $300 quad and a $299 GoPro. This is no where near the level of quality that you'd get from flying a GH2 on a Cinestar 6, but I'm sure I can now build a Hex or Y6 that would easily carry a DSLR for about $2000.

Re: RC Airplanes and Helicopters
 

Chuck,

Thanks for that. I've seen that footage before and liked it. I often dream of airial shots but whether it'll become a reality is another thing.

Al

Re: RC Airplanes and Helicopters
 

Some of the best AP done with Multirotors is coming from Australia.

This is a dream that can become a reality, this video was shot by one of the guys selling the multirotors I referred to in a previous post on this thread: