Aerobatic Flying
Join us on an epic virtual reality helicopter ride
Experience some aerobatic moves with this 360º view of a helicopter flight in the mountains.
Flying aerobatic manoeuvres in a helicopter is not a thing most people get to experience often. It's not something that most helicopter pilots get to experience either – only a few choppers in the world are licensed to perform acro moves.
Siegfried Schwarz, chief helicopter pilot with the Flying Bulls, is one of the few aerobatic pilots up to the job. His flying makes for an ideal 360 degree virtual reality ride.
Setting up the cameras was not easy.
“Filming this special experience was not an easy task,” says director producer Peter Clausen. “These extreme vibrations in combination with strong G-forces and the general strains of mechanical stress during aero manoeuvres made this multicam shoot a great challenge.
“The G-forces can cause a so-called Jello effect, meaning the picture would wobble. To avoid this and to absorb the shaking and rattling, particularly rigid rigs, mounts and suspension systems were needed to produce usable pictures.”
The team came up with various innovative solutions including a filter system to balance the rolling shutter of the helicopter’s rotor blades in order to make the rotors look good.
Peter adds, “Viewers are now presented with a stunning bird’s eye view of the beautiful Dachstein area in Austria and get to experience an exciting dance in the sky – from the safety of solid ground under their feet.”