20 years of worldwide helicopter and drone aerial filming
2023 marks our 20 year anniversary of shooting stunning aerials for the Film and TV industry.
An enormous thank you to all of our clients, past and present, for being so instrumental in that journey.
We look forward to the next 20 years
The Story So Far
Our goal since day one has been to make the process of helicopter aerial filming affordable, efficient and safer. Previously considered too expensive for many TV shows, we have made beautiful, cost effective aerials a reality.
CAA Part SPO authorised and based at Denham, the closest civilian aerodrome to central London, we operate from a private, purpose designed and built hangar. Our aircraft are maintained at Denham to the highest standard and we have on-site engineering facilities for custom projects.
The Team
Our Chief Pilot, Ingo Prentl has been with us since 2013, working on everything from Top Gear and the Cycling Tours to Strike and Grace. He's a multi-thousand hour ATPL(H), instructor and examiner who, in a previous life, was a cattle muster pilot in the Australian outback.
Our principal DoP, Monica Wyer, has been with us since day one. From the very early days of Country House Rescue and Helicopter Heroes. Twelve consecutive years of the Grand National, Royal Ascot & The Boat Race. Top Gear, The Grand Tour, Silent Witness, Cobra and Bulletproof.
And most recently, ITV's Grace.
Aircraft
We own and operate both the Airbus Twin Squirrel and Robinson R44, both brilliant filming platforms with exemplary safety records.
We don't default to using a twin engine helicopter for every task as more often than not, a twin is just not necessary. We always offer advice on which is the best aircraft for your shoot and when that means a single engine helicopter,
the cost savings are enormous.
In addition to our helicopter platforms we also offer the amazing Diamond DA42 fixed-wing, high speed aeroplane. The only UK company to do so. This allows us to fly at up to 150KTS, 50% faster than a helicopter. The perfect solution for air-to-air filming with faster aircraft.
Cameras & Gimbals
We fly the GSS Cinema Pro. A $500,000 investment, it's just the best and offers greater flexibility over other systems such as Shotover.
Compact and lightweight, which is better for the aircraft's performance, it accommodates most TV and Cinema cameras and lenses. For the majority of 4K TV projects we love the HDR Sony P50 with the Canon CJ45. A brilliant combination
that offers stunning pictures with a serious zoom.
For cinematic work we shoot on Arri Alexa Mini, Red DSMC2 Helium, Canon C300 MKIII and as of 2023, the new Arri Alexa 35.
Available lenses include the stunning Angenieux Optimo Style 25-250, Canon CN-E 14.5-60 and the Canon CN-E 20x50.
Drones
One of the few original helicopter aerial filming companies to do so, we also provide drone aerial filming services.
Whilst helicopters remain the most suitable aircraft for many tasks, especially in congested areas, drones have the ability work much closer to the action. The ability to pull the viewer in with intimate, close range/wide angle shots creates some stunning results. And we're all for that.
We fly the Freefly Alta X and Alta 8 drones with the Movi Pro gimbal. These combinations will comfortably fly the Alexa 35 and Alexa Mini, as well as other small form cinematic cameras.
We also fly the Sony P50 for live sport
output via a COFDM live link.