How Air TV’s specialist team used innovative flight planning software for its helicopter aerial shoot in the Lake District for Channel 5’s “Cumbria: The Lakes and The Coast.”
Capturing the majestic beauty of the Lake District in its summer glory from the air was the top priority for the Air TV production team making five episodes of Cumbria: The Lakes and The Coast for Channel 5.
But the Lakeland Autumn with its high winds, low cloud and drizzle was only weeks away.
Air turned to its expertise in aviation to come up with a novel solution to a tricky problem.
Cumbria covers more than 2,500 square miles and its peaks climb all the way up to over 3,500 feet…
To film its landmarks, from Striding Edge to Coniston, by drone could have taken weeks – so Air execs Ian Cundall and Morland Sanders set themselves a challenge of shooting all the aerial footage by helicopter in one day.
Using a navigation program called SkyDemon designed for private pilots, Cundall – who is a pilot himself – planned a route that would cover more than 40 locations in just 1 hour 20 minutes.
Air called in GB Helicopters’ chief pilot Will Banks and camera operator Phil Arntz – fresh from shooting Brad Pitt’s new motorsport movie – to turn the plan into reality.
Sanders says: “All our conversations with Channel 5 revolved around comprehensively capturing the stunning beauty of Cumbria in the sunshine.
“But many areas can experience four seasons in one day, even in August and time was really tight with winter on its way.
“We’re proud of our Albert certification and we did look at greener alternatives but drones are very limited in mountainous terrain. We’d have had to send an operator on day long expeditions up five peaks over 3,000ft hoping that the weather played ball, knowing it probably wouldn’t.”
Pilot Banks was able to download Air’s 123 mile route directly into the helicopter’s navigation system. Each turn and orbit around landmarks was choreographed in advance. The lowest point was a 100ft high speed pass up Windermere, the highest the top of Scafell Pike at 3,200ft.
Air insists all aerial shoots begin with a face-to-face briefing to rehearse all the scenarios that may occur – including avoiding the military jets that use the Lakes as a training area, often at the same height the team would be flying.
Air TV maintains a permanent team of trained helicopter aircrew for its emergency shows and three of the staff are pilots.
The company planned a mid-flight refuelling stop at a local air ambulance base that saved a costly 100 mile detour to the nearest airfield, outside the Lakes.
Cundall says: “People think helicopters are like a filming vehicle – fill it up and off you go. In reality weight is critical to the manoeuvres the aircraft can perform. We needed to be able to limit fuel we carried to safely fly around the summit of peaks like Helvellyn and have enough power and agility in hand to cope with brutal downdrafts and unpredictable wind gusts.
“Racing through the Lakeland landscape with one eye on Phil’s monitor was an exhilarating experience. My highlights were looking down on walkers inching along the rocky trail up Striding Edge and roaring down Coniston just above the masts of the lake steamers.
“But there was little time for creative conversations at 120 miles an hour and it was a great relief to download the cards back at base to confirm we’d got what we went for.”
The result was a tight rushes reel full of dramatic, dynamic GVs showing Lakeland in the last days of summer.
It was achieved well within a tight budget and allowed the post team to intercut wide landscape aerials with Air’s own drone footage, capturing locations from above in greater detail.
Air TV’s Managing Director Matt Richards says: “Helicopter bills can be unpredictable – it’s so easy for time to run away with you and the result can be very expensive. Using our experienced team and this specialist software transforms the process.”
The series, narrated by Downton Abbey actor Jim Carter, captures a rich slice of life in one of the UK’s most popular holiday destinations.
Its stars range from the young aristocrat who has just taken over the family stately home after an IT career in the USA to a daring husband-and-wife fishing boat crew and a Caribbean chef developing new recipes in the fells.
The series producer is Hayley Nelson and Channel 5’s commissioning executive is Federico Ruiz.
Cumbria: The Lakes and The Coast is Air TV’s first series for Channel 5 and starts on Wednesday 17th July at 8pm.
Jon Creamer
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