Patent Ambitions

[BusyLittleShop]

After I retired from the USAF I joined the EAA (Experimental
Aircraft Association) and now I'm the sole inventor of a "Universally
Adaptable Camera Mount" specially for aircraft named Flight Pro...

Patent Pending
According to my Attorney from the firm of DUNLAP BENNETT & LUDWIG my
invention is currently "patent pending" which means it is covered
under the "First-to-Invent" law which affords inventors valuable
rights against any inventor who later conceives of the same invention
and applies for a patent. My next steps are market research, FAA
compliance...

Back Ground
First thoughts about inventing a Universal Mount was back in July 2014
at McClellan AFB in advance to my second flight in Betty Jane, a dual
control P51C razor back Mustang owned by the Collins foundation. Pilot
Jim Harley labored to secure a GoPro camera to the horizontal stab
using just a solitary length of angle aluminum. I questioned Jim
whether this crude mount was strong enough for our flight over Tahoe
in the realm of 400 mph. Jim shot back with a challenge, since I was
good at coming up with ideas why not design a universal camera mount
for the aircraft market?

Back Ground photos and video flying P51B Betty Jane in formation with B25 B24...
https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/3522914

After experimenting with 3 different prototypes I settled upon a mount
that features a novel universal adaptable base and a rotating turret
device in order to interface a GoPro camera with any two existing
aircraft fastener points.

Design Goals
Flight Pro design goals were aesthetics of simplicity and aircraft
functionally. First principal for Pilots, Mechanics and Aircraft
Owners assessing any new external add on product is that if it looks
right it will work right. I created Flight Pro to look air worthy and
ready to fit to a majority of complex aircraft structures. I machined
Flight Pro out of Delrin stock to be light in weight just 1.5 oz and
yet robust enough to handle the aerodynamic loads up to 400 mph.
Selecting a low profile turret demonstrates minimum aerodynamic drag.
A novel feature of the base is the universal elongated hardware slot
designed to fit a wide range of existing hardware points. My ambition
was for a easy to use kit assembly designed to inspire order in the
eyes of Pilots, Mechanics and Aircraft Owners.

P51B Betty Jane

Flight Pro Kit...

 

[Linctex]

CAREFUL!!

Putting screws in too long can interfere with the aileron controls inside!!

Ask me how I know! (I found the damage, not caused it - the pilot was lucky he didn't lose aileron control)

 

[Shannow]

BLS, I was similarly enjoying the thread until I got to the part about partially dismantling an aircraft...

Hope you have some good words in the manual about qualified persons, and the fasteners themselves have the appropriate grading, chain of custody, and the mount is structurally as strong as the component that it becomes/replaces.

What's Indemnity insurance run at for a product like that ?

I'm not tying to rain on your parade

(LOL, I remember that you've called me "Professor" before...and now you are Pat Pending)...

 

[Y_K]

Would decimal metric system help with overseas marketing?

 

[Lapham3]

Looks nice. I was expecting attaching bolts that were safety wired or maybe like holed thumb screws wired for quicker mounting. You want to insure that vibrations, ect wouldn't allow the mount to come loose.

 

[tcp71]

The packaging and product seem well designed. Doesn't changing or adding something to an aircraft require an aircraft engineer to certify installation on each model of aircraft? When we were installing our navigation equipment into helicopters, each required certification and specific installation instructions for each model of bird we were installing on.

 

[wings&wheels]

Great idea, prototyping & packaging, good luck! I love these stories.

We always struggle with camera mounts, albeit in the cockpit. I'll be curious as to the FAA's rulings on the approvals for this, how/who can install, etc..

Did you actually fly the prototype mounted on the Mustang's horizontal stab? Did you have any problems w/ the prop blast or the lens getting obscured from the exhaust and oil mist? On the wingtip mount, did the camera cause any noticeable disturbance to the airflow over the ailerons?

 

[BusyLittleShop]

All reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet my Universally Adaptable Camera Mount is unique enough to be awarded a Patent...

 

[Astro14]

Originally Posted by BusyLittleShop
All reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet my Universally Adaptable Camera Mount is unique enough to be awarded a Patent...


That's great!

Congratulations!

 

[cjcride]

Well Done!

Looks like a good product.

 

[Cujet]

Cool, I like it. that's a must have type product. We operate some experimental aircraft. No issues installing it.

 

[wrcsixeight]

Congrats n the patent.

I always wanted to tow a camera behind a surfboard fin riding a wave. Finally did so in June of last year.


[video:youtube]https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCs2f9Vk6zblz5r4x6xVewCg/videos[/video]

 

[BusyLittleShop]

Originally Posted by Cujet
Cool, I like it. that's a must have type product. We operate some experimental aircraft. No issues installing it.


What about installing it on your Gulfstream G550???

 

[JimPghPA]

A patent is only a legal right to sue anyone who infringes on your invention. It does not provide the legal cost to file the suit, or any of the cost to persue the suit which can take years and cost over a million dollars.

 

[BusyLittleShop]

Originally Posted by JimPghPA
A patent is only a legal right to sue anyone who infringes on your invention. It does not provide the legal cost to file the suit, or any of the cost to persue the suit which can take years and cost over a million dollars.


True... it was all covered in my Nolo book Patent It Yourself... which I recommend to anyone thinking about a patent...

 

[y_p_w]

Originally Posted by JimPghPA
A patent is only a legal right to sue anyone who infringes on your invention. It does not provide the legal cost to file the suit, or any of the cost to persue the suit which can take years and cost over a million dollars.

In my industry a patent (or a portfolio of many) is really only a means to protect a company from accusations of infringing another patent. A lot of products are so complicated that there are probably hundreds of potential patent violations where there was no attempt to infringe but just a coincidence. The big companies all have various patent cross-licensing agreements that mean they won't sue each other for patent violations. That doesn't mean that they get help in implementation since it's not a cooperation agreement.

There have also been some patents that would have been pretty obvious to anyone in my industry, were in wide use well before the patent, and where the patent should never have been issued.

Then there are the patent trolls.