Tag Archives: YouTube

Why I Shop on Amazon

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Where else can I get exactly what I want when what I want is something weird?

If you’ve been following this blog, especially lately, you know that I’ve been doing a lot of video work. A bunch of it requires two cameras that create a pair of videos that must be synchronized. As I explain in my video about the setup, I was creating a sort of key frame for synchronization by clapping my hands between the two cameras, which face each other.

That’s not the way professionals do it. They use what’s called a clapboard. It’s the iconic black and white (usually) device that’s snapped together right after the director calls “Action!” Typically, it’s got spaces on it that are filled in with information about the scene being shot, including the date, take, and scene identifying data.

The real benefit of a clapboard is that when you snap it shut hard, it makes a sharp clapping sound. If your video clips have an audio track, this clap appears as a spike in that audio track. That makes it super easy to align the clips so both spikes appear one after the other. Perfect alignment, right up to the frame.

I decided I wanted one of these things.

Now, I live in a rural area. While Wenatchee is a nice little city nearby, it doesn’t have any shops that cater to video producers. This isn’t Los Angeles. Although we have a few video production companies in town — I’ve done some flying work for two of them — the demand for video equipment will never be enough for someone to open a shop that carries the equipment they need.

Besides, I had very specific needs. I wanted one that was small so it would fit in my video kit but not a toy or novelty item. I wanted it to work with dry-erase markers instead of chalk. I wanted it to be sturdy with a good snap.

So I did what most people in the U.S. do these days: I went to Amazon.com and searched for movie clapboard. And Amazon immediately showed me hundreds of search results.

To be fair, some of them were really off-base. A coffee mug with a movie clapboard on it. A novelty director’s party kit that included a fake Oscar, megaphone, and clapboard. A picture frame designed to look like a clapboard. Clapboard keychains. Pillow covers with a movie theme that included a clapboard.

But the vast majority of the hundreds of items listed were actual, usable movie clapboards.

I went through them. It took some time — but not nearly as much time as it would to find a brick and mortar shop that sold clapboards, get to it, make my selection (if they had what I wanted), and get home. I eventually found the one I wanted: Action Cut Board, Andoer Acrylic Clapboard Dry Erase Compact Size TV Film Movie Director Cut Action Scene Clapper Board Slate (whew!). It was $10.99 with free shipping.

I read the reviews with a grain of salt. Amazon reviews are notoriously untrustworthy. You have to read a bunch from “verified purchasers” to get a real idea of the pros and cons of the item you’re considering. Disregard the 5 star reviews that seem a bit too glowing and short on details. Disregard the 1 star reviews that seem too critical and short on details. You know the kind. The rest of the reviews were good enough. One mentioned the solid clapping sound. I think a few complained about the small size — which is actually a feature I wanted.

So I ordered it. It arrived in two days.

The clapboard really is exactly what I wanted, but I admit it did not arrive in perfect condition. Two of the nuts/bolts holding the clapboard on were a tiny bit loose; I tightened them. And the acrylic board that had been glued into a slot on the clapper part wasn’t exactly aligned. Fortunately, it also wasn’t glued in very well, which made it loose in the slot. I pulled it out and glued it back in with more glue and better alignment. What do I expect for $11, right?

Clapboard
Here I am, showing off my new little clapboard during a livestream event on YouTube.

I showed it off to my YouTube channel viewers at the beginning the AMA Livechat I did last night. I snapped it for them.

This is the kind of thing that’s impossible to find in brick and mortar shops unless you’re in a large enough city with a large enough market for a niche item like this. And that’s why I turned to Amazon. Although it’s often a pain in the butt to wade through the search results and quality is becoming a bigger issue every day as they allow more and more junk to be listed, I will almost always find exactly what I’m looking for, usually at a price that I’m willing to pay.

More Helicopter Cherry Drying

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A video on the FlyingMAir YouTube Channel.

COME FLY WITH ME while I dry cherries in three different orchards after a heavy rain.

This is the last cherry drying video this season — I promise! It’s very long — despite heavy editing — because I do a lot of talking about my drying work and cherries, including orchards, growing, picking, and those light-colored tarps under the cherry trees. You’ll also hear me talking to the two other pilots on my team as I coordinate our efforts. If you’ve got sharp eyes, you’ll even see them in flight. Along the way, I have a close encounter with two wind machines and deal with a minor in-flight “emergency.” On flight segments from orchard to orchard, you get a glimpse of the amazing scenery in the Wenatchee area of Washington State.

So grab a favorite beverage or bag of popcorn or chips (or bowl of cherries) and settle down beside me in the cockpit to learn some things about cherry farming that you probably didn’t know.

Some questions answered:

About Cherry Drying:

About Me and the Helicopter

  • I have been flying for about 20 years. My nearly 4,000 hours of flight time is in R44, R22, Bell 206L (Long Ranger), and Bell 47 helicopters.
  • The helicopter is a Robinson R44 Raven II — the same one that appears in the photo at the beginning of the video. You can learn more about them here: https://robinsonheli.com/r44-specifications/ I own this helicopter. It is the third helicopter I’ve owned since 2000.
  • My helicopter has ADS-B Out and is picked up by radar facilities. You can see my track for recent flights on Flightradar24:
    https://www.flightradar24.com/data/aircraft/n7534D
    This is a great site for tracking any almost any flight, including the airlines.

About the Video

  • The video was recorded with a pair of GoPro cameras, one of which is connected to the helicopter’s intercom system. Both cameras record audio, but I dialed down the helicopter sound to about 25% of normal volume so it wouldn’t be annoying. I wouldn’t mind leaving it out altogether, but lots of folks seem to want it, so there it is.
  • The video was edited on a Macintosh using Screenflow software. (Screenflow was the only affordable software I could find that allowed me to do picture-in-picture.) Learn more about it here: https://www.telestream.net/screenflow/overview.htm
  • The intro music is by Bob Levitus, famed “Dr. Mac.” You can find him here:
    http://www.boblevitus.com/

I’m trying to drop flying videos like this one every Sunday morning and usually drop “extras” with more info about owning and operating a helicopter midweek. I’m also working on putting together occasional livestreams with Q&A chat. Subscribe so you don’t miss anything new! And tell your friends. The more subscribers I have, the more motivated I am to keep producing videos like this one.

Still reading? Thanks! Maybe you’ll consider buying a T-shirt, mug, or sticker to help fund my video equipment acquisitions? Check out the Teespring links on the video page.

Fueling a Robinson R44 Helicopter

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A video from the FlyingMAir YouTube channel.

Lots of the folks who watched the video where I flew from home to the airport noticed that I parked right in front of the fuel island at the airport and wanted me to show how the helicopter is fueled. Well, that fuel island is now out-of-order and fuel comes from a truck. The other day, when I was feeling kind of punchy after flying through a hailstorm, I took a moment to video Dana, the FBO fuel guy at Wenatchee, as he refueled my helicopter, Mr Bleu. It was raining pretty hard and I whined about that but I think the results are worth sharing. So here, by popular demand, is how to fuel an R44 helicopter. Enjoy!

Some notes to answer questions I know I’ll get:

  • Robinson R44 helicopters burn AvGas, also known as 100LL. It’s a 100 octane leaded fuel.
  • On the day this video was posted, AvGas at my airport cost $5.52 per gallon.
  • My helicopter burns between 14 and 17 gallons per hour, depending on my flight profile.
  • I don’t do “hot fueling” — in other words, fueling the helicopter while it’s running. That can be dangerous.

When you do the math, you might say, “Wow! Only $80-$90 for an hour of flight time. Operating a helicopter is a lot less than I thought. Why are tours so expensive?” But that’s not taking into consideration are the other costs of owning and operating a helicopter: regular maintenance ($3K to $10K per year) and insurance ($8K to $20K per year) are the two biggest. Robinson Helicopters also need a complete overhaul every 12 years of 2200 hours of flight time; that’ll cost me about $250K or more than $100/hour. Taking all costs into consideration, my cost to operate is well over $400 per hour. It’s one of the reasons why I and so many other pilots are offended when strangers suggest splitting the cost of fuel in exchange for a ride. It’s like “sharing the cost” of a nice meal out by just paying half the tip.

If you’re really curious about R44 operating costs, you might want to download this document from the Robinson Helicopter Company: https://robinsonheli.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/r44_2_eoc.pdf Just keep in mind that Robinson is in business to sell helicopters, so these numbers are optimistic.

And another note to answer a specific question someone asked on another video the other day. When fuel comes from a truck (as opposed to self-serve), I have to request fuel service. I can do this two ways: (1) make a radio call to the FBO (fixed base operator) or fuel provider, which is usually on the common traffic advisory frequency at small airports like Wenatchee Pangborn (KEAT), or (2) land, shut down, get out, and go into the FBO building and ask in person. I’m a regular customer at Pangborn, so I have an account there and they bill me once a month based on what I bought. At other airports, I pay either at the truck or inside with a credit card.

If you have other questions, please don’t hesitate to post them in the comments. And don’t be offended if I’ve answered them here and tell you to read the video description. Thanks!

Helicopter Flight to Crescent Bar

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A video from the FlyingMAir YouTube channel.

Join me and Penny the Tiny Dog for a flight from our cherry season base in Malaga, WA to an orchard at Crescent Bar in Quincy, WA. I’ll fly you down the river and tell you a little about what we’re flying over and past while also telling you a little about helicopter operations.

Before you ask, the blue rag over my iPad keeps the sun off it so it doesn’t overheat. (I usually use a yellow rag, which works better because it’s a lighter color.) If you ask in the comments, I’ll tell you to read this description and then you’ll feel silly. Just saying.

Answering more questions:
– This is NOT a video game. If you think it is, it’s time to shut off your gaming platform and go outside. You might need sunglasses; it could be bright out during the day. Real life is cooler than video games if you work a little to make it that way.
– The helicopter is a Robinson R44 Raven II — the same one that appears in the photo at the beginning of the video. You can learn more about them here: https://robinsonheli.com/r44-specific… I own this helicopter. It is the third one I’ve owned since 2000.
– I have been flying for about 20 years. My nearly 4,000 hours of flight time is in R44, R22, Bell 206L (Long Ranger), and Bell 47 helicopters.
– The video was recorded with a pair of GoPro cameras, one of which is connected to the helicopter’s intercom system. Both cameras record audio, but I dialed down the helicopter sound to about 25% of normal volume so it wouldn’t be annoying. I wouldn’t mind leaving it out altogether, but lots of folks seem to want it, so there it is.
– The intro music is by Bob Levitus, famed Macintosh book author. By this point, he may have written more books than me. I should ask him.
– Penny the Tiny Dog weighs 7 pounds and flies with me quite often.

My helicopter has ADS-B Out and is picked up by radar facilities. You can see my track for recent flights on Flightradar24:
https://www.flightradar24.com/data/aircraft/n7534d
This is a great site for tracking any almost any flight, including the airlines.

I’m trying to drop flying videos like this one every Sunday morning and usually drop “extras” with more info about owning and operating a helicopter midweek. Subscribe so you don’t miss anything new! And tell your friends. The more subscribers I have, the more motivated I am to keep producing videos like this one.

R44 Helicopter Panel Overview

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A video from the FlyingMAir YouTube channel.

Lots of people have been asking me to give them more information about the helicopter itself, so here’s my first plain information video. In it, I give you a guided tour of my helicopter’s instrument panel, from top to bottom. Airplane pilots will recognize a bunch of the instruments, but there are also a few that are helicopter-only. Keep in mind that this is just an overview — I don’t go into deep detail about any of the instruments or knobs that I discuss. The video has two parts — I got a phone call from a client and had to fly while I was in the middle of recording it — so you get the added benefit of seeing the instruments actually reading something near the end. Can you spot the blades still spinning?

I’ve also gotten requests to show what my helicopter looks like, so I included a photo in the beginning. I should mention here that the intro music was created for me years ago by Mac author Bob Levitus; I’m only using a tiny piece of the opus he composed and recorded for me. (Maybe I’ll use the whole thing as background music for a flight in the future.)

I mention in this video that I can be tracked in flight via ADS-B. You might try https://www.flightradar24.com/data/aircraft/n7534d to see a list of my recent flights. Click Play to see my route. If I’m in flight when you look, it’ll show you my flight progress. Flightradar24 can track all kinds of airplanes — including commercial flights — and even has iOS and Android apps so you can track flights on your mobile device.

If you have any comments or requests, please put them below. I do read all the comments and use them to improve future videos. I don’t answer questions that are answered in the video description, so you may want to read these before posting questions.

If you haven’t caught on yet, I release flying videos on Sunday mornings and “extras” midweek. I hope you subscribe and tell your friends! I’m trying hard to build the channel into a library of videos folks want to watch and share and every new subscriber motivates me to make more, better videos.