Taking pictures in a flying helicopter...?

[haring]

Do you know how to take pictures of people in a flying helicopter? Have you ever done it?
I am thinking about putting my camera on the helicopter's cockpit and I would like to trigger it via a remote. This way I would be able to take take the photos while the pilot is flying the chopper.
The question is how to set up the camera so it is stable on the cockpit...?
I was thinking about using a powerful suction cup camera mount. Something like this: http://www.filmtools.com/grip32manwoo.html
Any thoughts? Have you ever done something similar?

Thanks!

 

[Lisa]

I haven't done photography in a helicopter, but in a small plane. One comment is that, at least in a plane (and I expect in a helicopter too), you really don't want to have the camera touching the aircraft itself unless you're using very fast shutter speeds, because of high-frequency aircraft vibrations. You'll get less motion blur just holding the camera in your hands, because your body is a very effective vibration reduction system for aircraft-type vibrations.

Lisa

 

[Bill_Green]

What is the plan there, stick it to the windshield? Find decent light, use a wide angle lens (15-17mm on a 35mm sensor) and shoot hand held. If it is cool with the pilot, mount a couple strobes on remote triggers and use low power (not a lot of space).

Have you ever used the suction mount you linked to? They are awesome, but keep a very close eye on the plunger. If you see the red line (like in the picture) get ready to catch the camera. Also, make sure the suction cup and the surface you are mounting it to are clean.