Re: Advice on shooting from a helicopter
 

Nice work. The most expensive part of this solution, and the one we have the least control over is the helicopter itself. This discussion also runs the gamut regarding budget. Robert I think this is a great "medium" priced solution. As you may have gathered I'm not a big fan of attaching gyros to a camera.

I would like to make a few points that might help you in future aerial shots and others who are still trying to figure out how to shoot good aerial. Putting a Ronan on the end of a bungee was the next logical step to what I recommended in post #14. Generally this works great, however most gimbals suffer from horizontal drift and there's quite a bit of it in the video that you posted. Adding the thumb controller will make it easier to frame shots but won't help with the Horizon. The other constraint with a gimbal is the balance, you couldn't use a 70-200mm lens for example, of coarse most aerial is going to be shot with wider lens so that might be a non issue. But, if you use the right bungee, match the elasticity with the weight of the camera and lens, you can use longer, heavier lenses and still get similar results without the gimbal.

When talking about gimbals there are quite a few good choices, one that I think is very well suited for this type of shooting is the Gremsy H3: https://www.gremsy.com/product/gremsy-gstabi-h3 This gimbal is much lighter and because of its encoded motors more powerful than the Ronin.

There's so much that goes into capturing good aerial I try to keep things as simple as possible which is why I like using bungees. I agree adding a gimbal can certainly be an improvement as long as I don't have to spend a lot of time balancing and tuning. It might be tempting to add steadicam arms, operating the camera remotely etc., but I think you'll find that will add a layer of complexity beyond the point of diminishing returns.

Again, it depends on the camera, gimbal and access to mounting hardware on the helicopter that will determine that. But I have yet to show up for an aerial shoot that I couldn't figure out how to get good aerial with just a bungee. Having said that, now I never show up for an aerial shoot without my gimbal ; )

Re: Advice on shooting from a helicopter
 

Depending on the model of Huey there might be some differences. Most UH-1H and newer have soundproofing that is snapped in, generally you can unsnap it near the door you want to shoot out of and you'll see some "cubby holes" with circular holes and the occasional support bar that are easy to attach your bungee too.

Obviously don't just start unsnapping the sound proofing, talk to the pilot, and probably a mechanic, tell them what you want to do and that you've done it before and they will unsnap the sound proofing. The circular holes in the bracing can be a bit abrasive, so wrap your bungee with Gaffers tape where it goes through the hole, it will protect both the bungee and the aircraft, and tie-wrap the join.

Don't attach it too close to the door, give yourself room to be comfortable and it you fly with the doors pinned back you'll have a huge vista without having to be in the slipstream.

Re: Advice on shooting from a helicopter
 

Chuck thank u! The link of the gimbal doesn't work!
Now....we are curious to see your aerials:)
Where can we found em?