Experimenter is a magazine created by EAA for people who build airplanes. We will report on amateur-built aircraft as well as ultralights and other light aircraft.
Issue link: http://experimenter.epubxp.com/i/178050
H in t s F or H o m e b uil d e r s Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, Who is the Fairest of Them All? My mirror replied, "Not you!" By Cy Galley Every person who works on airplanes has a collection of mirrors to inspect the nooks and crannies of a plane. I have big ones, little ones, round ones, square ones, magnifying mirrors, one that will go through a spark plug, a lighted mirror, a variable-angled mirror with the angle remotely controlled. Yet I am frustrated by the mirror-on-the-wall's pronouncement. Unfortunately, mirrors have several shortcomings. They have a limited field of vision. Their view is always farther than the real distance. The reflected image is reversed left to right. They are difficult to maneuver to get a good clear view. Poor lighting makes it difficult to see the reflection. They only work where there is a direct line of sight. But the greatest limitation is… there's no way to share or consult with others about what you see. You can't compare the present view with last year's, last month's, or even a minute ago. There are several great solutions in this electronic age. One is a small camera with a wide-angle lens and close focus. Many of these cameras can slip into small places and will light up the area with their flash. They'll work in places where even a mirror won't work or when there is no direct line of sight. They can go through an inspection hole, for example, to look at a buried cable pulley for wear. On many cameras, you can use the ¼ -20 tripod hole to affix a rod to extend your reach. If it is too far to reach the shutter button to take a video scan of the area, then just start videoing, insert the camera until you reach the area you want to view, and pan the area. After you stop videoing and pull the camera back out, you can pause the video on the frame that gives you the desired view. You can see the result immediately on the camera's viewer, and the image or video are stored on a memory card (SD, CF, or whatever card your camera uses). The view on the camera in most cases can be enlarged to home in on the important portion of the photo. When the memory card file is loaded onto your computer for viewing, the photo can be really be magnified, rotated, cropped, or even printed. That image file then can be e-mailed around the world for consultation help from a fellow builder, owner, or supplier. Another device that many of us have is a cellphone. In many respects the cellphone camera is handier than a regular camera as an inspection tool because we are generally carrying it with us. Cellphones have an added feature: the camera can be switched to be a forward-facing camera, which allows us to see what the camera is seeing. This makes it an electronic mirror, which aids in looking at the desired location. Most of us will take still pictures, and some of us may even do videos. In addition to what a regular camera will do, you are able to e-mail the pictures from your cellphone to your computer or tablet. Just like with a camera, you can view it "live." Cellphone cameras can even be remotely triggered as there is an "app" for that! 28 Vol.2 N o.9 / September 2013 Photography by Cy Galley