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Quote:

Originally Posted by AstronMike

Your mention of camera carrying BGs brings to mind the few I did back when that 'gum cam' craze started, on this very Forum, no less!

One model was a largish Readiboard based parasite glider, sort of like a Manta, mounted upon a finless carrier rocket tube. That shot OK video, especially for the time, but still had too much 'vomit vision' to it. Other versions were like BT-60 and 70ish Skydart types, but again, the low resolutions available in '08 were not conducive to good vids.

Considering 'getting back on the saddle', as it were, with something much more modern. Would have to be pretty cheap, though, as mid and HPR gliders, well, tend to not live long and prosper

Hmmm...a front-motor B/G with good glide stability about all three axes and that makes large, gentle circles should take good videos. A larger glider would tend to be better-damped in its motions, due to its greater mass, and moderately-swept wings (20 degrees or less) contribute to yaw stability (a properly-sized vertical stabilizer can also do this, of course), while dihedral or polydihedral will give good roll stability. Something like an upscaled, "D" or "E" powered Estes Falcon or Centuri Swift might work well as a camera carrier. A DT (Dethermalizer Timer) of the type used by F/F (Free Flight) hand-launched glider competitors could be added to the B/G to prevent "fly-aways." Also:

For small-field flying or breezy-day flying, a delta-winged (possibly with canards up front) glider such as the Centuri Mini-Dactyl has good stability *and* wind penetration; an upscaled B/G of this type should take stable videos even in windy conditions. (For *deliberately* taking "jiggle-cam" videos just for laughs, short and under-damped lifting body boost-gliders such as the Centuri X-24 "Bug" and the Quest HL-20 [or upscaled versions of them] would make interesting camera carriers, although they do glide stably after they "settle down" following ejection of the motor.)