 The cameraplatform was suspended from a bungie cord attached to a 70-lb staticload capacity vacuum suction cup secured to the flight deck wall in a panelpass-through. |  During the set-up of the equipment, a second suction cup was riggedas a safety against a possible loss of vacuum (and load bearing) of theprimary suction cup. |
 A sign hung right above the second observer's seat was a constant reminderto "check and re-pump" the suction cup vacuum pressure frequently. |  The support point for the camera/gyro platform was immediately abovethe window behind the pilot's seat. Operations procedures document attachedto seat back. |
 110 VAC 400 Hz gyro power inverters and Ni-Cad battery packs attachedwith velcro to bottom of pilot's seat and flight deck floor next to seatrail system. |  12 V DC-to-DC regulated power supply and Ni-Cad battery source forSBIG CCD camera velcroed to flight deck wall and floor next to observer'sseat. |
 Camera operations laptops on seat; film and video guide camera withPowerBook, CCD camera with ThinkPad. UMBRAPHILEand NIKON VR interfaces velcroed on shelf. |  Rotating swivel clip held bungie cord to suction cup permitting alignment.Loosely coupled safety ropes straddle platform support but do not hinderfloating support. |
 Camera/gyro platform fully rigged and suspended from flight deck wall,in position at observer's window behind pilot's seat ready for final balanceand alignment check. |  Electrical (power and control) connections established to/from camers/computersand gyros. Note green light on gyro power inverter #2. |
 Cabling was rigged vertically downward and supported from below fromplatform center of gravity to minimize unbalanced torques on the platform. |  The camera platform was pre-balanced to tilt upward at an angle of14.9°, the solar altitude at mid-totality, when suspended from it'ssupport point at the COG. |
 A third laptop (floor) was used for real-time eclipse navigation, computingflight position updates based upon winds aloft. Note solar filter now onobserver's window bottom. |  First of several in situ flight plan updates are computed via EFLIGHTand relayed to flight crew for input into Boeing 747-400 Flight ManagementSystem computer. |
 With ingress phase of eclipse well in progress Di Patterson (with eclipseviewing glasses in hand) assists Glenn Schneider in with final proceduresreview. |  Cpt. John Dennis (with eclipse viewing glasses) and Cpt Brian Meadetake a peek at the dwindling solar crescent as we align the aircraft forthe Totality run. |
 Penultimate set of target way points are ingested into and read backfrom the FMS. "Glass cockpit" display on right shows first threeof five totality run waypoints. |  For the final time before totality, Glenn Schneider checks and re-pumpsthe vacuum pressure on the platform support suction cup in preparationfor Totality. |
 TOTALITY from CCD Camera (click image for more info) |  TOTALITY from FILM Camera (click image for more info) |