Aerial photography mission, tips?

twdeckard

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twdeckard
I volunteered to fly a photographer over the Tour de Tonka bike event in a few weeks. Purely for fun. C182.

Any tips? Haven't met the photographer yet and don't have any idea what they might be looking for. I have heard that folks remove the window brace stop so that the pane can open outward all the way up? Haven't looked into it yet. Any clever suggestions for myself or the camera man.

Regards
Todd
 
Jim Koepnick has an article in the June 2010 EAA Sport Aviation magazine on air-to-air photography. Not quite the air-to-ground you're interested in, but there are some good tips in there. Also, at http://www.oshkosh365.org/ok365_contentdetail.aspx?id=1258 there's a past webinar on air-to-air photography. Follow the link for Webinar Archives at the bottom of the page and select the webinar entitled Air to Air Photography. It is also hosted by Jim Koepnick. He's the EAA's chief photographer.
 
Concentrate on flying the airplane -- no sightseeing.

CAP does lots of low altitude orbits with observers on board. The one rule stressed over and over is that the pilot flies, the observers -- observe, period. Good rule.

Low-level flight requires practice to be good and safe. If you haven't practiced at low altitude (high enough to satisfy the CFRs per the situation, of course), go practice solo before bringing a passenger.
 
Secure the camera.
Secure the cameraman's other stuff (including headset, sunglasses, etc)
Don't bust the 1000-foot minimum altitude over this open-air assembly of people (you'll have the proof of the violation in the camera, a lot of people are watching, and the FAA is currently reviewing this YouTube from this weeknd http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWcSIUVSMMk).
Stay focused on flying the plane and avoiding the other aircraft (news helos, police helos, etc).
 
Early morning hopefully?
 
Secure the camera.
Secure the cameraman's other stuff (including headset, sunglasses, etc)
Don't bust the 1000-foot minimum altitude over this open-air assembly of people (you'll have the proof of the violation in the camera, a lot of people are watching, and the FAA is currently reviewing this YouTube from this weeknd http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWcSIUVSMMk).
Stay focused on flying the plane and avoiding the other aircraft (news helos, police helos, etc).
What's to review? He was coming in for landing and realized that he needed to do a go around because he wasn't getting three greens! :)
 
Also, tell the camerman to hold his camera pointed at a 45* angle pointed towards the rear - gives a good oblique picture which effectively stops motion. Works well.

I have done some of this kind of flying here in the mountains watching for the box canyon and rising terrain and also in a town where the area being photographed had a tower in the middle of the property! I can tell you that it's easy to get distracted when you are trying to get the photo guy over his objective and either steepen the turn or the pitch without even realizing it. The first time I did this was in the town w/ that tower by the time I did the mountain run I had figured out how to set up the passes for the pics and didn't have trouble - also, I told the woman that I could only get her so close due to terrain. Cessna 152s just don't climb up out of canyons real well :wink2:.....
Glance at the objective and then fly the plane... make several circuits from different approach lengths and let him deal with it. Be very mindful of your speed.
 
I have heard that folks remove the window brace stop
I've flown a 172 with the brace screw removed, and it does indeed provide for much easier photography (even the clearest plexi gives a bluish haze to photos). It can make for flutter in cabin air pressure, and will certainly pick up any loose lightweight items, so be prepared for that. I found 80kias, slight slipping one side or the other (changing AOA on the open window), and opening the other window to the stop helpful for those issues. If your photographer hasn't done aerial work before, I suggest taking a practice flight together. There are many differences from other types of photography, and there's nothing like looking at some full-size photos on the ground to educate the photographer. Most prominent difference is motion, and the effects of wind. Solution: high shutter speed and keep camera inside away from the slipstream. I've gotten some decent pix from 1200AGL and above. Hope you have fun. :)
 
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Have the photographer wear black shirt to minimize reflection off the windows.
 
I have heard that folks remove the window brace stop so that the pane can open outward all the way up?


I heard that too. So, I tried it. The window just flopped there with nothing to hold it up. Maybe there is more to it or I just removed the wrong screw...
 
just flopped there with nothing to hold it up

Maybe different in a 182, but in the three 172s I've seen this done with anything above 80kias keeps it open. In fact you need to have a good grip on the handle when you open it, to prevent it bashing against the wing when it swings up. Once open, it hovers an inch or two below the wing. At 70kias or so it tends to flop shut as you mentioned. I've found that angle of attack makes a big difference too, including the effect of flaps and of slip. The first time I tried it, a stop at our friendly A&P was needed first because the rivnut was turning with the screw making it impossible to remove with a screwdriver. We fixed both windows, and on one he was able to get the screw out and tighten the rivnut. On the other he drilled the head off the screw and installed a new rivnut & screw.
 
Other than having removed the aforementioned brace which then allows my Skyhawk's pilot window to open to the bottom of the wing I've added another touch. Attached to the lock mechanism at the bottom of the wind screen is now a substantial cord long enough that I sit on the other end. When flying solo I can slowly control the opening of the wind screen without losing attention to flying the plane. When the photography is done I can reel-in(close) the wind screen without sacrificing visual(and manual) attention by not having to focus on getting my left hand out the opening to grasp and pull the wind screen closed.

A lot could happen while potentially struggling with getting the wind screen closed if no hands are on the yoke.

HR
 
a substantial cord long enough

Great idea! I've wondered about some way to hold the windows open at lower speed, but it's easy enough to just keep it at or above 80kias. I know someone who filed the heads of the stop screws down, so he can adroitly slip the little swing arm past the screw head in flight. He uses that to allow the windows to both fully open and return to partially open.
 
I did some aerial shots of a property early Monday morning. Very hazy (vis ~5 miles) but fairly smooth.

I should have removed the door, but the window slides open and provides a good shot 45 degrees forward.

july%204th%2020010%20020.JPG


july%204th%2020010%20013.JPG


I would have flown lower but they wanted shots of the entire property.

So I descended and flew lower on the way back. :D
 
Why is the FAA reviewing a helicopter flyby in Yokahama?????

The race was in New Jersey, Yokohama makes racing tires. Now as for why it deserves any undue scrutiny ...

Still corresponding with the race organizer on my project. Haven't met the photographer yet, but I have suggested we fly a practice run. I intend to meet up with the local police providing race support just so they'll expect me to be loitering overhead. Also will visit the KFCM tower folks as a few of the likely angles clip the class D. They are used to dealing with the Bell-47s doing skeeter suppression this time of year so I can't imagine I'll be a problem.

Interestingly you can overlay aviation sectionals on Google Earth and so I have a beautiful plot of the course superimposed on an explanatory map of what-is-where.

All the council about concentrating on the avigation while he does his best with the camera will be well-heeded. The ground reference manuevers from 1200' AGL should be straightforward.

Todd
 
Maybe different in a 182, but in the three 172s I've seen this done with anything above 80kias keeps it open. In fact you need to have a good grip on the handle when you open it, to prevent it bashing against the wing when it swings up. Once open, it hovers an inch or two below the wing. At 70kias or so it tends to flop shut as you mentioned. I've found that angle of attack makes a big difference too, including the effect of flaps and of slip. The first time I tried it, a stop at our friendly A&P was needed first because the rivnut was turning with the screw making it impossible to remove with a screwdriver. We fixed both windows, and on one he was able to get the screw out and tighten the rivnut. On the other he drilled the head off the screw and installed a new rivnut & screw.


Well, I tried mine at 0 KIAS on the ground. I would be worried about it bouncing around on the wing while in the air...
 
The race was in New Jersey, Yokohama makes racing tires. Now as for why it deserves any undue scrutiny ...
That video clip is only part of the show that pilot put on according to the witness who spoke to me, but even by itself, an FAA Inspector (helo type) who saw it said he thought it violated 91.119, even given the exceptions for helos in 91.119(d)(1), as well as 91.13. Me? I wasn't there, so I can't say for sure what happened, but I know the FAA is looking into it.
 
I did some aerial shots of a property early Monday morning. Very hazy (vis ~5 miles) but fairly smooth.

I should have removed the door, but the window slides open and provides a good shot 45 degrees forward.





I would have flown lower but they wanted shots of the entire property.

So I descended and flew lower on the way back. :D
Dan- have you tried a polarizing lens? They sometimes work in cutting through haze.

Edit- you generally don't want to shoot through a plane window since the polarizer will show the stressed areas as various colors- this works best with an opened window.
 
Dan- have you tried a polarizing lens? They sometimes work in cutting through haze.

Edit- you generally don't want to shoot through a plane window since the polarizer will show the stressed areas as various colors- this works best with an opened window.

I don't think a polarized filter will do anything for haze. It can reduce glare from flat surfaces but AFaIK the only thing that helps with haze is a UV and/or UV/blue (sunlight) filter.
 
Re: Aerial photography - Article

Since this thread (aside from the detour into FAA vs. helo) has expanded into more about aerial photography on top of flying considerations, I offer a wiki "project" article I wrote at the urging of a local wiki wiz who's flown with me:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Aerial_photography

I haven't looked at it for probably a year so there are probably things I could add now, but it had stuff we hadn't seen elsewhere so maybe it would be useful to people starting out. Any professional aerial photographer with good equipment will probably just find it a waste of time or perhaps annoying. :)
 
I don't think a polarized filter will do anything
I agree and disagree. Some of my very best aerial shots have been with polarizer, and many of my worst. I find it depends very much on the conditions, especially the type of haze and the shot angle relative to sun. The cheap polarizer I could afford also produces some color shift I then have to correct in image editing. The biggest downside is losing several f-stops of light, when that's already such a critical commodity in the low to mid-price ($1k) camera gear I can afford. Another factor is if you're shooting wide angle, the effect will vary across the frame. All that said, I now sometimes shoot a particular subject several times both with & without polarizer if conditions and subject merit multiple passes (my polarizer isn't quick swap mount). Having both, I can choose what worked best and if wx doesn't permit flying (much more fun for me than anything else) I could even edit multiple shots together (tho so far I haven't bothered). Again, everyone's needs and preferences differ widely so hopefully no offense taken if I'm "wrong." :)
 
I don't think a polarized filter will do anything for haze. It can reduce glare from flat surfaces but AFaIK the only thing that helps with haze is a UV and/or UV/blue (sunlight) filter.

This is the best I can come up with right now- I'm stuck in meetings and presentations except for a few minutes.

Look at the horizon next to the hotel built as a cylinder. Notice the clouds- in picture10, the clouds are lost in the haze, but are clearly visible in picture11.

The polarizer filter is a special tool with some unique abilities. As it is mounted so it can rotate, the amount of polarization can be adjusted or polarization changed for various conditions.

Both pictures were taken with the polarizer but I rotated it in picture11 so it is effective. Picture10 was rotated the filter was essentially not being used.
 

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Practice flight this AM went great!

Photographer had a gyrostabilized camera and telephoto lens of some sort. Although he had never taken pictures from a 182, he had been strapped to the top of a moving van to get advertising pictures of a tractor trailer. So when I teased him that we might be able to take the door off the Cessna he never flinched and said "do you want me to go home and get a harness?"

The trick to remove the window brace was priceless. Thanks for that one. We taped some foam along the edge to protect it from chafing the lower wing surface and it was perfect.

We are both just volunteering for this mission but we might actually turn in some good looking results! I'll post an example in two weeks.

Todd
 
The trick to remove the window brace was priceless.
Sure reduces the need for unusual attitudes, eh? :)

Now I'm trying to dream up a wind deflector to clip on the rear edge of each window. It would eliminate the fluttering wind noise that was once so strong it set off our ELT! The other thing is some way to hold the window completely open at airspeeds below 80kias. Ideally the two things could be done by the same mechanism, and it would be easy to deploy/stow from the front seat. Ideas anyone?
 
BTW, two recent Chief Counsel interpretations bear consideration before flying the plane while someone else takes pictures unless you're volunteering both your time and your airplane without any compensation or reimbursement.

http://www.faa.gov/about/office_org...0/interpretations/data/interps/2010/Perry.pdf
http://www.faa.gov/about/office_org...erpretations/data/interps/2010/Shamborska.pdf

Please feel free to correct me, but Perry seems to say if you have a photography business and sometimes take pictures from the air, you're OK to do so with a PP & 3rd Class. If your business is exclusively air-photography, you need a CP and 2nd Class medical, right? The line where the aerial photography switches from "incidental" to the primary business remains gray fuzzy though.
 
They are used to dealing with the Bell-47s doing skeeter suppression this time of year so I can't imagine I'll be a problem.

Naw, I've heard them working with pilots who have declared that they're on a photo-mission (usually over Lake Minnetonka). Shouldn't be a big deal.
 
Practice flight this AM went great!

Photographer had a gyrostabilized camera and telephoto lens of some sort. Although he had never taken pictures from a 182, he had been strapped to the top of a moving van to get advertising pictures of a tractor trailer. So when I teased him that we might be able to take the door off the Cessna he never flinched and said "do you want me to go home and get a harness?"

The trick to remove the window brace was priceless. Thanks for that one. We taped some foam along the edge to protect it from chafing the lower wing surface and it was perfect.

We are both just volunteering for this mission but we might actually turn in some good looking results! I'll post an example in two weeks.

Todd


Very cool! I took up a photographer friend of mine this weekend but we hadn't even talked about pictures he just wanted to fly!

Hindsight now says I should've done that to let him take some pictures. oh well there's next time.

Good luck!
 
Please feel free to correct me, but Perry seems to say if you have a photography business and sometimes take pictures from the air, you're OK to do so with a PP & 3rd Class. If your business is exclusively air-photography, you need a CP and 2nd Class medical, right? The line where the aerial photography switches from "incidental" to the primary business remains gray fuzzy though.
That's not the way I read it. Here are the actual words:

You included with your request a copy of a letter addressed to Mr. Pritchard H. White which states that aerial photography or survey operations which do not carry persons or propertyfor compensation or hire may be conducted with a private pilot certificate. This letter distinguishes operations in which the aircraft is used as an aerial platform for other photographers for compensation or hire for which the pilot would need a commercial pilotcertificate. This letter was signed by Leland S. Edwards, Jr., an attorney then in the FAA'sNorthwest Mountain Regional Office.​
See Legal Interpretation to Mr. Pritchard H. White,from Leland S. Edwards, Jr., Attorney (May 11, 1995).


We note, however, that on June 17, 1987 the FAA Chief Counsel's office issued a legal interpretation that stated that an individual must hold a commercial pilot certificate in order to act as pilot in command of an aircraft involved in an aerial photography business.
See Legal Interpretation to Mr. Wayne M. Del Rossi, from John H. Cassady, Assistant Chief Counsel, Regulations & Enforcement Division (June 17, 1987) (enclosed). To reach that conclusion, the FAA examined whether the photography flights would be incidental to the pilot's business, and found that the "proposed aerial photography business is not an activity, completely unrelated to aviation activities, in which a pilot certificate would be irrelevant to the fundamental character of the business." Id Likewise, this interpretation determined that the pilot would be receiving compensation for the operations in violation of the permissible private pilot privileges. See id


As these interpretations are inconsistent, the FAA must determine which is controlling. Validly adopted legal interpretations issued by the Regulations Division of the Office of the Chief Counsel are coordinated with relevant program offices at FAA Headquarters and have FAA-wide application. Interpretations issued by regional offices generally are not\ coordinated at the national level. Therefore, in a situation such as this, where two\ interpretations address an identical scenario and reach an inconsistent result, the interpretation issued by the Assistant Chief Counsel for Regulations takes precedence. Accordingly, the Del Rossi letter is the controlling interpretation in this situation and your proposed operations could not be conducted with a private pilot certificate.

It appears that the part to which you refer that seems to say that some aerial photography for hire may be OK with only a PPL was written by a Regional Counsel in 1995, and the Chief Counsel is now saying the RC was and is wrong based on an earlier 1987 Chief Counsel interpretation which the RC either missed or misinterpreted. Since the Chief Counsel gets the final word...​
 
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I have flown as a photographer for a few flights. It looks like some of these have been covered, but here are some of my thoughts.

* Fly as slow and low as safety and legality allow
* Have a window that can be opened
* If the window can not be opened make sure to clean bot the inside and outside before the flight.
* Secure the camera and any loose objects inside the plane
* Do not use Digital Zoom. Optical zoom's are better
* Digital SLR cameras with a quality lenses work well. I have had great luck with 100mm
* Higher speed ISO and shutter speed work well
* Remember that the photographer needs to see the objects. line up passes so that the target will come down their side of the plane.
* Good communication is key. The pilot and photographer need to have a good dialog. this will help make sure that you are getting the shots you need.

Hope that helps

hope that helps
 
That's not the way I read it. Here are the actual words:
It appears that the part to which you refer that seems to say that some aerial photography for hire may be OK with only a PPL was written by a Regional Counsel in 1995, and the Chief Counsel is now saying the RC was and is wrong based on an earlier 1987 Chief Counsel interpretation which the RC either missed or misinterpreted. Since the Chief Counsel gets the final word...​

The way I read that was that you couldn't have an aerial photo business, as then the PP flying wouldn't be "incidental" to the business. But if you're a photographer and most of your work is ground-based, but occasionally you do some aerial work, that aerial work could be incidental to the business, so works on 61.113(b). Essentially the good old fashioned "duck test".

I think the issue addressed was a PP opening an aerial photography business, identifying it as such, then trying to claim that the aerial portion was only "incidental" to the business which is quacking pretty loudly!
 
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The way I read that was that you couldn't have an aerial photo business, as then the PP flying wouldn't be "incidental" to the business. But if you're a photographer and most of your work is ground-based, but occasionally you do some aerial work, that aerial work could be incidental to the business, so works on 61.113(b). Essentially the good old fashioned "duck test".
That's the way I read the now-repudiated 1995 Regional Counsel's letter, but not how I read either of the Chief Counsel's letters from 1987 or 2010. Y'all be careful.
 
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