What’s New
Here’s the latest news from Airborne Images. Check back often to learn about the latest projects we’re working on and what we’ve been shooting.
Red Bull Stratos Project
Airborne Images has been working in secrecy with Red Bull on the Stratos project, a mission to the edge of space. The project was recently made public. In April, Austrian pilot Felix Baumgartner will attempt to make a world record skydive from 120,000 feet above the Earth. Aaron Fitzgerald has been flying as the test jump helicopter pilot during the development and testing of the pressure suit Felix will wear. Aaron will continue to fly with the Stratos team throughout the project providing helicopter support.
Posted by Aaron Fitzgerald on 01/27 at 05:52 PM
Airborne Images Captures Red Bull Aerobatics with Golfer Camilo Villegas
Recently Red Bull-sponsored PGA golfer Camilo Villegas visited Southern California for a golf tournament and took a trip out to the airport for a ride with Red Bull airshow performer Chuck Aaron. Airborne Images was there to capture air-to-air footage of the flight. Aerial DP Carston Bell was operating the Cineflex and Aaron Fitzgerald was flying the AS350B2 camera platform. Flying formation with Chuck and seeing him work is always a thrill. It was a spectacular California day, and Camilo proved to be quite airworthy throughout the aerobatic maneuvers.
Posted by Aaron Fitzgerald on 01/26 at 05:57 PM
Extreme Loggers in North Carolina
Carston Bell made another trip to North Carolina for Discovery’s hit show Extreme Loggers. Airborne Images has done all the aerial work for this show in a variety of locations in the United States and Canada. This installment featured swamp loggers in a rural area outside of Wilmington. The helicopter is a Jetranger from Helivision out of Concord. It was flown by the very capable and experienced Buddy Knotts. We have worked with Buddy and Helivision many times and they always deliver. The camera system was an Angel City Air Cineflex V14 HD. Buddy and Carston took advantage of the only flyable weather for several days to make this shoot happen. This photo was taken by Extreme Loggers Director of Photography, Terry Pratt on October 27th.
Posted by Aaron Fitzgerald on 11/25 at 09:16 AM
Red Bull Air Force invades the Rose Bowl
The Red Bull Air Force Skydive Demonstration Team jumped into the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA before the UCLA Bruins played the Oregon Ducks on Saturday, October 10th. Luke Aikins took these photos of Jon Devore while they descended into the stadium. The jumpers were Luke Aikins, Jeff Provenzano, Mike Swanson, and Jon Devore. Aaron Fitzgerald flew the helicopter, an AS350B2 owned by Helifilms USA. We staged at the Pasadena Police Department Heliport and would like to thank them for helping us make this another successful RBAF event. Photos by Luke Aikins.
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Posted by Aaron Fitzgerald on 10/13 at 07:21 PM
Red Bull and NBC
On September 22, we had another fun day shooting air-to-air sequences for a new NBC show that will air later this year. We spent the day at Camarillo airport flying with Bill Reeseman and Chuck Aaron from the stable of Red Bull airshow performers. We operated Angel City Air’s AS350BASD1 (or Super D) with a Cineflex V14HD camera system. First, we shot Air-to-air of Bill Reeseman is his incredible Mig-15. (no luck keeping up with him, but got some good footage) then we shot another full air-to-air sequence of Chuck Aaron doing his magic in the aerobatic BO-105 Red Bull helicopter. Aaron Fitzgerald flew the camera helicopter with Carston Bell as the Aerial DP. Carston got some of the best footage yet of Chuck in action. This photo, taken by Carston, is of Chuck and Aaron at Camarillo Airport after the completion of all the aerial sequences.
Posted by Aaron Fitzgerald on 09/22 at 08:37 PM
Eclipse Camera system
Aaron had the pleasure of flying the new Eclipse Camera system this week. Eclipse is the newest system from Pictorvision that features many advances in Gyrostabilized camera technology. On Tuesday, September 15th we flew aerial sequences for the new ABC series ‘Flash Forward’ with a Sony F35 HD camera system. Then, on Thursday September 17th, we shot aerials for the new Feature film ‘The Green Hornet’ using the same system with a film camera and a 275mm Panavision lens. We used Helifilms’ AS350B2 helicopter which performed flawlessly, as always. Aaron Fitzgerald was the pilot, Kurt Soderling was the Aerial DP, and Peter McKernan was the Aerial Coordinator for both productions. Many thanks to Kurt and Peter for making us a part of these projects. This photo was taken by Pictorvision President Tom Hallman on Monday September 14th as we took off for a test flight in Van Nuys, CA.
Posted by Aaron Fitzgerald on 09/22 at 08:19 PM
America’s Cup Challenger
On August 20th, Airborne Images was on board with Helifilms USA shooting the America’s Cup challenger from the United States. The boat was sailing off the coast of San Diego in preparation for the upcoming race in Dubai. These photos, along with the HD video captured by Helifilms Aerial DP Mike Boidy, will be used to compare and analyze the various entries. It was a fun day and it is always a pleasure to work with David Calvert-Jones. Photos by Aaron Fitzgerald.
Posted by Aaron Fitzgerald on 08/22 at 04:14 PM
Somewhere over the Pacific…
Airborne Images spent the day ‘Feet Wet’ over the Pacific Ocean today shooting HD footage of the US Navy’s Guided Missile Cruiser, USS Bunker Hill. We worked with Air Center Helicopters from Fort Worth, TX using one of their off-shore equipped Bell 407s. The pilot was Shannon Burton and the Aerial DP was Carston Bell with Aaron along as self-loading cargo and still photographer. We can’t tell you much about the Bunker Hill’s capabilities, but it goes very fast and is VERY agile for a 567 foot vessel. We used the Cineflex V14HD and recorded to a Sony XDCam deck. The first photo is the the helicopter’s view of a flank speed starboard turn. The second is of Carston on the deck at Camarillo Airport after the completion of the mission. The third photo shows pilot Shannon Burton trying to look serious while doing some of his incredible close proximity flying. It was a very successful day.
Posted by Aaron Fitzgerald on 07/29 at 09:06 PM
Dirty Jobs goes to Hawaii
Airborne Images went to Hawaii with Discovery’s ‘Dirty Jobs’ crew to shoot host Mike Rowe learning about a high rise window washing operation in Honolulu. This picture shows Aerial DP Carston Bell working with Pilot Jedrick Squyres near downtown Honolulu on July 17th. Carston and Jedrick faced a few challenges that day because the building being filmed is situated on the final approach to Honolulu International Airport, but they did great work and captured spectacular aerial footage of Mike on the building. The helicopter is an AS350FX1 from Sunshine Helicopters in Maui and the camera system is an Angel City Air Cineflex V14HD with a 9.7x42 lens. This photo was taken by ‘Dirty Jobs’ camera assistant Ryan Walsh from the roof of the building.
Posted by Aaron Fitzgerald on 07/24 at 09:07 AM
Short Haul test
This is Aaron testing out the other end of the long line under the MD530F on July 10th. There were short haul operations underway on the Bouquet Canyon power line project so we had to join in on the fun. Flying external loads is something that requires focused concentration for the pilot, but BEING an external load is pure fun. Mark Kovaletz was the pilot flying the MD530F and provided an excellent and memorable long line ride.
Posted by Aaron Fitzgerald on 07/22 at 09:21 PM
Protest Snowboard short film
On June 4th Aaron and Carston worked with French snowboard Champion Aymeric Tonin on a hilarious short film by Caviar productions for Protest Snowboards. The shoot took place in several locations, but our scenes were shot mostly at Whiteman Airport in Pacoima, California. We used two helicopters and one Cineflex V14 HD, with Carston shooting and Tim Lynn flying the camera ship. Aaron flew the story ship. Here are two still shots taken from the footage that show Aymeric and the story helicopter, which by the way, is N1231A from the Angel City Air fleet. We will post a link to the movie when it is released in the next few weeks. Thanks to John and Don at Caviar for these still frame grabs.
Posted by Aaron Fitzgerald on 06/10 at 02:14 PM
Red Bull at the Race Track
On May 4th The Red Bull traveling circus converged on Willow Springs Raceway for a day of racing and helicopter aerobatics. Red Bull Base Jumper Felix Baumgartner was in Southern California with his race car and we were there to film aerials of him racing on the track. As if low-level race car chasing wasn’t enough, Chuck Aaron was on location with the Red Bull Aerobatic B0-105 helicopter. We had the pleasure of filming some unbelievable air-to-air footage of Chuck doing his aerobatic routine with Felix in the co-pilot seat. Adding to the fun was Red Bull pro snowboarder Travis Rice who was in the mix all day flying and making everyone laugh. Aaron was the camera helicopter pilot and Curt Morgan of “That’s It, That’s All” fame was the Aerial DP. Pictured here are Travis, Aaron, and Felix in front of the AS350B2 and Felix’s car.
Posted by Aaron Fitzgerald on 05/09 at 10:04 AM
Dirty Jobs In Wenatchee, Wa.
We went to Wenatchee, Washington the week of April 20th with the ‘Dirty Jobs’ crew to shoot Rocky Reach Dam on the Columbia River. There will be two segments on the Dam and we shot all the aerials. This picture shows Aaron working as the aerial DP and coordinator with helicopter pilot Rick Dominy from World Wind Helicopters in Renton, WA. Rick looks a little startled in this picture, but we can assure you that he had a great time and the job went off without a hitch. Rick and everyone at World Wind were a real pleasure to work with. The weather was great and we saw and captured some spectacular scenery in the Cascade Mountain range. In this photo, Aaron and Rick were flying south down the Columbia River toward the Dam which is visible in the windscreen. Chuck Klausmeyner took this photo from the back seat shortly after he spotted the biggest Bear we have ever seen.
Posted by Aaron Fitzgerald on 05/04 at 08:11 PM
MD530FF
Here is Aaron in Summit’s mighty MD530FF slinging some rigging equipment on the power line project. The big 500kv towers were put in place by the Sky Crane last week and we were recovering the rigging steel and loading it back on the truck. The MD530FF is a pleasure to fly and the weather has been great lately except for a few very high wind days. This project is making progress, but there is a lot of work to do for awhile. Photo by Mike McCoy Sr.
Posted by Aaron Fitzgerald on 04/18 at 06:43 PM
Power line project
The power line construction project is up to full speed now. We are working with six helicopters on our segment of the project in Bouquet Canyon, North of Los Angeles. In this picture, Aaron is landing N888SD, an MD500E owned and operated by Summit Helicopter, on the touchdown pad at tower site 65 on April 1st. Bouquet Canyon reservoir is visible in the background, and thankfully, the weather is perfect after many weeks of challenging and cold weather. This pad is situated at around 2,800msl and has no real obstructions around it, making it perfect for photo opportunities. Aaron is flying in support one of the subcontractors on the project. Photo by Mike Mitchell
Posted by Aaron Fitzgerald on 04/03 at 08:55 AM
2009 NBA All-Star game
Spike and Aaron doing some lens maintenance on the Sequoia camera rig at the NBA All-Star game in Phoenix. This is the newest Sequoia HD gimbal deployed on the Cablecam system. This was the third year we shot the NBA All-Star week for TNT. Blake Chapman of Cablecam took this photo on February 14th, just prior to the Skills Challenge and Slam Dunk competition.
Posted by Aaron Fitzgerald on 02/15 at 01:32 PM
Alaska Week Aerials
This is ‘Dirty Jobs’ Director of Photography, Doug Glover with the camera ship in Alaska on February 10th. Doug, pilot Dave King and Aerial DP Carston Bell were shooting some spectacular aerial footage for the show and for Discovery’s Alaska Week. Airborne Images is proud to have provided aerial assets and coordination for several shows in Alaska this season with over 40 shooting days in a wide variety of conditions. This picture was taken by Carston and shows Doug and Dave (at the controls of his helicopter) overlooking the Knik Glacier near Palmer, Alaska.
Posted by Aaron Fitzgerald on 02/14 at 01:26 PM
Airborne Images and Dirty Jobs in Alaska
Carston brings some sunshine to the Cineflex near Big Lake, Alaska on February 9th. Dirty Jobs was doing two stories in the Palmer area for Discovery’s upcoming Alaska week so Carston was busy for several days shooting aerials with pilot Dave King from Last Frontier Air Ventures. The temperature was around 10 degrees on all three shoot days. Carston actually enjoys the cold weather, but the Cineflex doesn’t, so he is applying a little gentle heat to expedite the boot up. This photo was taken by Dirty Jobs Producer/Director David Barsky.
Posted by Aaron Fitzgerald on 02/14 at 10:44 AM
Carston in Northern Alberta
Carston Bell, intrepid Aerial DP, pictured during a fuel stop on his latest Airborne Images project. This photo was taken at a fuel cache near Peace River, Alberta. Carston was shooting Aerial footage for the latest installment of Discovery’s popular show, Extreme Loggers. This episode featured the Ice Loggers of Northern Alberta and Carston was enjoying some cold but very sunny weather during the shoot. The helicopter, an AS350B2, from Highland Helicopters was flown by pilot Darry Markle and was equipped with an Angel City Air Cineflex V14. Photo by Brian Kuennen
Posted by Aaron Fitzgerald on 01/30 at 07:43 PM
Power line project, Los Angeles County
Aaron in a MD520N on December 8. We are flying in support of a major power line construction project north of Los Angeles. The MD520N is a fun little helicopter and good fit for the type of flying that this job requires. This helicopter, N451WT, is being operated by Summit Helicopter in Pacoima, CA for the duration of the project. Dave Martin and Aaron Fitzgerald are the primary pilots for this contract and it should keep everyone busy for the forseeable future. This photo was taken by Mike McCoy Sr. at the Pumpkin Patch landing zone.
Posted by Aaron Fitzgerald on 12/09 at 08:12 PM
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