FT style air to air that won't break the bank

We would all love to capture stunning air to air footage like that taken by flite test but that has always seamed impossible to us that don't have a decent wedge of cash burning a hole in our back pocket waiting to be spent. So is it possible to capture air to air for a very little amount of money?

We all know that building DTFB or Depron planes is very rewarding and also very cheap compared to scratchbuilding a 250 quad for example. Although race quads are what flite test use to capture their footage, me and the Plane Stupid gang don't own anything of that sort so we have been using a plane to capture our air to air snaps.

After many flights, near misses and fails we decided on which plane we would use.

The plane that we used is my modded mini arrow which I named the Spearo as it is a spear and an arrow.(I couldn't exactly call it a sparrow either) Here is a picture of it,

I made it after a mid air collision with a mini scout. There was no damage initially but the scout (flown by my cousin) lopped out a servo which sent me into a downward spiral. I had a mobius on that day and you will see that there is quite a lot of nose in the picture. Although it doesn't look like much, it is enough to spoil a good picture by getting in the way of your subject. Here is a video of the crash,

The wing on the right hand side was badly smashed around the fusilarge area which made me cut off the fusilarge completely. I then widened the fusilarge and made it so I could carry mobius right in the front without the interferance of a nose in the picture. This was much better for air to air as it was slightly slower but more stable than the old arrow. It also allowed me to have all the bits inside and protected by the structure of the plane itself.

 Picture of the Fully loaded Spearo with mobius,

Now to air to air. When we sat down we drew up a list of requirements for a good air to air platform. These included,

• A plane which is preferable faster than your subject
• Something more agile than your subject
• A plane which idealy has the prop out of the back
• A plane where all the bits can be stuck inside without the nose extruding into the picture
• A plane which tracks straight.
• fly circuits so you can predict what the other person is going to do, this means there is a better chance of good pictures.

You don't have to have all of these to have a good air to air plane, For example, my Spearo is slower than Charlie's new mini arrow. I asked him to back off a little and it was perfect. It tracks straight so I can take my eyes off it for a second. It also has matching agility as it once was a mini arrow. It has the prop out of the back so you can get crystal clear pictures and because the camera is at the front there is no nose in the picture. This seams quite a good option as it fulfils the criteria well.

All of these come into play and once you get some practice at it you can achive outstanding results. Another mith is that you require FPV to do air to air. Although this would make it easier I can manage fine line of sight and keep the subject in shot for quite a while. 

I would recomend that you fly with the person that you film often as you will become more aware of their flying style and when it comes to footage you can almost guess what they are going to do next which means you keep them in shot for longer.

Here are some things from our air to air adventures

Video of footage,

 Another trick would be to have another camera pointing out the back of the subject so when the other plane comes up behind you get twice the footage!

Also try flying in circuits so the actions of your subject are more predictable.

Air to air will take practice and time to refine especially when you do it LOS. After a few flights though you will be up and running and capturing awsome fotage! It is not only about pilot skill though, the plane itself is a very important piece of equiptment and if you get it right it will make the job a whole lot easier.

I would also say: don't be scared to crash. If you do it will only take you 5 mins in the shed to fix but if not, near misses are always brilliant on camera. That is why I said earlier have a plane with all of the bits inside of it so it is protected from flying wrekage or a smash into someone else for example. On a lighter note, I would like to say that once you get used to it, it is good. And at this time of year you can get awsome shots with the sun like the one above.

Thanks for reading, and good luck with your own air to airs!

Dan from PSRC