best way to deal with vibrations?

[crazy christian]

Hello friends!

I was hoping to tap into all you wonderful AP pilots years of expireance? I have a Blade CP pro and because of its very light weight; every vibration carries through the whole machine. The main question I have is about sling mounting my CVS camera. The foam base I made works good, but I notice a slight vibration durring hover at low levels and low head speed. Is it better for the camera to be held in place by most of its surface are being against the base..... or is it better for the mount contact areas to be as small as possible? I have a training gear on it now because the foam tend to snag easy. That might be part of the problem too. If anyone can give me some advise on lessening vibrations on a sling mounted camera...I would be forever greatful.

Here is what I am working with so far.

[AZ ChopperCam]

I hate to say it but you're going to have a hard time getting very stable footage from a helicopter this small. There's just not enough mass to keep it smooth and these things are so light that their own wake turbulence bounces them around.

hmmm.... that said since this small of a heli is really to small for a traditional underslung mount to really work effectively, what I would do is remove the canopy and mount the camera on the end of a long carbon rod. The carbon rod should be attached to the helicopter underneath as close to the CG as possible and should be allowed to pivot in the pitch and yaw axis by at least 20-30°. The rod should extend aft of the attach/pivot point at least an equal amount as the front length (maybe 5-7"?) and should be counterweighted (with downlink, or battery) so the camera on one end is balanced with the counterweight. Use some very small tension springs to keep the rod from being able to swing too freely in both axis. The longer you can make the rod the more stable it will be.

I guess this would be a form of inertial stabilization.

But this will do nothing if the machine is not PERFECTLY balanced. It's SO important to have the helicopter as true and balanced as possible or else you'll never get smooth video.

[crazy christian]

THANK YOU SOOO MUCH!

That is a great idea and I intend to work on it imedeatly. I bet the boom will absord the vibrations better than a block of foam :D .

Thanks again for your help!