PXW-X70 Takes to The Air

[James R. Wilson Sr.]

My X-70 continues to confirm that it was a good investment. This is a short clip of an early evening air to air shoot with a P51 Mustang. The Sony performed nicely in the soft light but understandably the focus began to hunt a little toward the very end when contrast was waning. This is HD, prior to the 4K firmware upgrade.

Mustang Air to Air on Vimeo

[John Nantz]

Really nice shot! Gorgeous looking plane, too.

For all the planes that were built, it’s sad there aren’t more of them around. The 4-blade prop on the Mustang is HUGE and until one can stand beside it on the ground it’s hard to get a feel for how big it really is.

What were you in and what were you cruising at? Looks like your plane didn’t have tinted windows, or your window was open, so that really helped with the color.

Good job and nice work. Thanks for posting.

[James R. Wilson Sr.]

Thanks John! Normally my platform is a WWII B25 with the tail cone, gun, and gunner's seat removed. This quick shoot was from a Beechcraft A36 with the two rear entry doors removed. The only time I shoot through anything, but air, is when it's military and I'm stuck behind a canopy.

The A36 will cruise 160 knots with those doors removed, at which speed the Mustang isn't even beginning to breath hard. My shutter speed on the X70 was rolled back to 1/60th and the Mustang prop is a full disc, but barely.

[John Murphy]

Hi James, nice looking footage. Are you using a stabilizer of any kind? Or just hand-held.

I shot a Lear 24 from a 210 once. It was one of those days when you just love your job.

Rode in the Confederate Airforce Mustang years ago. Oh my...

jm

[James R. Wilson Sr.]

Hi John,

In still work sometimes I use a stabilizer and sometimes I don't, but with video I always use one. I have two Kenyon stabilizers, a 4x4 and a 6x6 depending upon camera mass. I'm going to add an 8x8 for my FS/7. Yes, the Mustang is quite a ride, the fact that you are in the most iconic fighter in history is icing on the cake.

JW

[Rob Cantwell]

very nice indeed

Reminds me of the film - Empire of the Sun, where a young Christian Bal whoops "Cadillac of the skies!"

[John Murphy]

Jim, looks like you get to work with the Collings Foundation? They had a B-17 and 24 up here a few years ago. In fact I wear the Nine-O-Nine hat all the time!

I've used the Kenyon Labs gyro before (helicopter) definitely a big help.

Do you get engine vibration while in the B-25?

Fly-in, Three Forks, MT on Vimeo

If your an airplane fan here is a Local fly-in. Shot on Z5 but SD upload.

j

[Mark Fry]

Originally Posted by James R. Wilson Sr.

...the most iconic fighter in history...

This is obviously a cultural thing. From a British point-of-view, it would be the Spitfire, without a doubt. Only someone with an interest in aircraft or WWII history would know the significance of a Mustang, but every child, every granny, knows what a Spitfire is. It's probably the only aircraft that justifies the term "iconic", with the possible exception of Concorde.

Good shots, by the way. I love the glint above the exhaust pipe as the planes turn towards the sun.

Ignoring the debate over the 4K upgrade, the X70 appears to be the best small HD camera at the moment...

[James R. Wilson Sr.]

Hi Mark,

The Spit is clearly the most aesthetically beautiful fighter and iconic, but I think if you asked for opinions the Mustang would be firmly in "iconic' territory.

[James R. Wilson Sr.]

Hi John,

The Mitchell is a thundering platform filled with historic sounds and smells, I love them! I have shot with and without stabilizers in the aircraft with very good results. My shutter speeds drop into the 1/60th and below range with some of the fighters and bombers. The Kenyons will up your keeper rate at 1/60th and below in smooth air. I have shot at 1/8th ripping along at 185 knots and had tack sharp results. Everyone has to be at the top of their game in that situation though. Shooting jets is a walk in the park compared to trying to get a beautiful full disk from the big slow turning props of a fighter/bomber.

[Mark Fry]

Originally Posted by James R. Wilson Sr.

Hi Mark,

The Spit is clearly the most aesthetically beautiful fighter and iconic, but I think if you asked for opinions the Mustang would be firmly in "iconic' territory.

In the States, I'm sure you're right. In Britain, anyone who knows about aircraft would most likely agree with you, too. However, if you showed a picture of a Mustang plane to Joe Public in Britain, many of them wouldn't recognise it, and some of them would think it was a Spitfire, since that's the only WWII-era fighter they know about. If you asked most people here what a Mustang is, most of them would say either an American car or a horse.

To be "iconic", I think something must be instantly recognisable to any member of the general public. The Eifel Tower is iconic. The Blackpool Tower might be thought so in Britain, but not elsewhere.

But none of this has anything to do with cameras... Sorry!

[James R. Wilson Sr.]

That was a great clip Rob, the sound of a RR Merlin engine is a thing of beauty.

[John Nantz]

Okay, guys, would you believe this? Our (American) Mustang, while built in the US, was actually “conceived, designed, and built by North American Aviation (NAA) IN RESPONSE to a specification issued directly to NAA by the British Purchasing Commission.”

See the Wikipedia article at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_...n_P-51_Mustang

Wow! This is interesting. So, the British Purchasing Commission came up with the specs for our, or maybe that’s their?, Mustang.

I can easily see where the name Mustang came from because Hollywood was still making a lot of western cowboy movies and being co-located in Southern California, the then center for aviation manufacture in America, it would have been a natural.

The other thing of interest in the article was that the Mustang apparently didn’t see that much use in the Pacific war which for me was a bit of a surprise. But thinking about it, that was more of a Navy show so carrier based aircraft would be used more. I also always thought of it as a fighter and didn’t realize it was also designed as a bomber. Learn something new every day.

I still think that the 4-bladed prop on the Mustang is absolutely impressive. Maybe they got the design from the Dutch windmills??? That prop is totally huge.

[James R. Wilson Sr.]

True enough! A switch from the Allison power plant to the Rolls Royce Merlin made the aircraft, in most knowledgeable circles, the one that turned the war around. No secret, there's a lot of British "hutzpah" in the North American P-51 Mustang.

Back to the video that began this thread. Waning light, and fuel didn't give me the opportunity to capture the variety of angles I would have liked. A couple of wing over peel offs would have spiced that clip up quite a bit, but it'll have to be on another day. That was more or less a shakedown flight to see if the PXW W-70 exhibited any nasty CMOS characteristics, and to see which Kenyon gyro unit paired best with the little Sony. The X-70/Kenyon 6x6 combination is about as solid and anyone could want. I'll post a clip from an earlier flight when the air was still a little churned up. You can clearly see my subjects, a couple of aerobatic monoplanes, coping with the choppy air, but the X-70 is rock solid. Obviously you don't want your subjects bouncing all over the place, but if you happen to be forced into those conditions, you can trust that combination.

[John Murphy]

Jim, I didn't realize that Kenyon had those new models (6x6). Looks like a great setup, much more convenient.

Are you also hanging the camera on a bungy cord or straight hand hold?

As I recall the Mustang was developed for long range support and protection for the bombers. Up till the Mustang the fighters had to turn back before the bombers.

If you ever get a chance, ride in one.

j