I just ordered a Magpie AP from Mountain Models
I've messed around with a compact 35mm film camera on a home-made mount on my World Models Super Frontier Senior (SIG Senior knock-off) but had so-so results due to engine vibration. I used my smoothest four-stroke --a Saito .65-- and cut it down to a low idle when I activated the camera, but still had vibration blur in about 1/2 the shots. The shots that were in focus were great. I just wished there was a way to shut down the engine for picture-taking and start it up again to resume flying. (I know... there is a way, but I'm not going that route.)
The Magpie AP, a big high-wing foamy made for aerial photography, seems pretty popular. There are some long threads on it on RCGroups. It's inexpensive and according to the owners, flies very well. I think I read about 200 posts on RCGroups before I ordered it. =:-0 It has a swinging camera platform that you can control in flight. The camera rides in a cut-out in the fuselage and can be aimed straight out the side or rotated to point straight down. It should be ball for in-flight video. I can't wait to mess around with this stuff (if I ever get time).
I also picked up a neat video camera from
And speaking of electric flight, I just finished my World Models Spitfire EP tonight. It came with a brushless outrunner and the whole deal was $99. The airplane is what I would call a typical World Models ARF: very well built, complete, easy to assemble, and not very true to scale. Oh, and I almost forgot: it comes with one of those WM pilot figures... the one I call "the ethnic mystery guy." He doesn't appear to be Chinese and I'm not sure what he's supposed to be. The electric powered ARFS come with a very lightweight painted foam version of their pilot and mine had his nose flattened in shipping, so he's particularly strange-looking. :-)
This electric stuff is becoming addicting after just a couple of flights with my old ElectroStreak converted to brushless/LiPo.
Good flying, desmobob