Pictures from 1500 ft from a Piper Warrior

saracelica

saracelica

Pattern Altitude
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saracelica
The plane I got my PPL from is in a Warrior. (Yep low wing) The Cessna has been in and out of maintenance and I'm not checked out in it and don't like it as much. So if I want to take a picture of something on the ground say 1000 feet below (it's near a lake so not that populated later this year)

Any good way to do it? I'll have a safety pilot actually flying while the camera is to my face. Would a video camera be easier and then try to snag the *ideal* picture from the video? Trying to get a picture of the place where my husband use to go to camp - 30 years ago. :)
 
If your safety pilot is comfortable with steep turns, a 30-45 degree bank should give you a good view.
 
Steep turn - why didn't I think of that?!
 
a bit of wing I'm okay with - but want to be sure I get the landmark as well.
 
the area between the leading edge of the wing and the cowling is just fine for photos, sometimes a little wing creeps in, but you can't point the camera straight down in a Cessna either (well unless you have one of those special windows) you just have a wider angle in which to snap photos. This is one of those things that high wing fliers try to make a bigger deal out of than it actually is :)

Shot from my Cherokee.

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The POH contains a section about opening the windows in fllight. Plenty of room for SLR lens.

bartmc said:
the area between the leading edge of the wing and the cowling is just fine for photos, sometimes a little wing creeps in, but you can't point the camera straight down in a Cessna either (well unless you have one of those special windows) you just have a wider angle in which to snap photos. This is one of those things that high wing fliers try to make a bigger deal out of than it actually is :)

Shot from my Cherokee.

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Thanks for the photo.

On another note the tag is actually nice :)
 
wabower said:
The POH contains a section about opening the windows in fllight. Plenty of room for SLR lens.
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Yeah, I let my friend do that in a 150 to snap some photos, I couldn't believe how much it yawed just by the window being popped open. the 150 I used to rent, I guess they had problems with stress on the window hinges or something due to people opening them in flight and they asked that you not.
 
bartmc said:
Yeah, I let my friend do that in a 150 to snap some photos, I couldn't believe how much it yawed just by the window being popped open. the 150 I used to rent, I guess they had problems with stress on the window hinges or something due to people opening them in flight and they asked that you not.
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Sounds like they aught to fix them.
 
Full flaps and a power-off descent? Should give you a decent view out the front quarter.
 
Another thing you can do besides take pictures of objects off your leading edge, is throttle back to get a good nose down attitude, and use rudder as needed to yaw the aircraft in order to get a good view. This saves you from flying steep turns, and is (in my opinion) easier to do by yourself.

If you do this, I would start higher than your target altitude so you have time to get the shot you want without feeling rushed. It goes without saying that you should clear the area first and verify there are no towers, lines, planes, etc around.

The Sport I fly primarily is great for this because even nose down it is slow as a brick, so you have plenty of time to get the shot in. Not to mention the stability is good.
 
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I have done photos from a Warrior quite nicely by opening the little window so you're not shooting through the plexiglass and shooting ahead of the wing. Just zoom in a little, or crop it out later. No need for a steep bank if your subject is a bit in front of you...
 
As others said, taking photos out of Pipers isn't really that complicated.

This is Venice, from FL 080.
 

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From Skyhawk(avatar) at about 1200'. I took the hinge out of the bracket so the window opens right to the bottom of the wing(and stays there at 70+ mph). If you were one of several families over 100 years ago you would have been part of the group that bought Mink, Hen, and Malden Islands. They lie about 6sm below my house, and still owned by later generations of the founding families. Want to visit the islands? One needs to be "invited."

HR
 

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A 'safety pilot' who flies the plane while you take pictures isn't a safety pilot...it's an alternate pilot.
 
Captain said:
Thank you, you are correct.
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Yes, but the observation was yours, I just reworded it a bit. Funny because I was thinking "safety pilot" too but that is a misnomer.
 
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