AERIALWORX - Extreme Droning

Sounds like the sort of thing we suffered as teenagers from an irate mother, constantly nagging to tidy my bedroom or do the chores... Or was that just me! By Aerialworx (Peter Stanton).

How did we get into it? We got a chance phone call from a TV company who'd been let down by another aerial filming company. With everything set roll the unfortunate aerial filming company's drone just wouldn't fly. With the TV company left in limbo by the impending crisis, the film crew quite literally searched through Google for an alternative local company and AERIALWORX came top of the list. For us it was a last minute scramble, a quick check with air traffic and next thing we knew we were on the top of a mountain getting amazing shots with a very content client. It was a fantastic break, a steep learning curve but a brilliant opportunity to show off our skills.

Realising the vast potential available for stunning filming opportunities on our very own doorstep we enlisted the services of a local outward bound centre to increase our portfolio and hone our skills. This took us way off the beaten track to film rock climbing, hill walking, mountain biking and kayaking. Nothing was easy; weather, location or terrain, each introduced their own individual challenges. There were long hikes, steep climbs and long flights over deep water accompanied by long exhausting days and even longer tiring nights spent in the company of a soldering iron and hair drier. But the knowledge gained from our efforts was invaluable.

From our earlier encounter with the TV film crew we were again commissioned to film a high profile, prime time TV series due to be aired this summer. It would be arrogant to say it went without a hitch. Even though we were well prepared and practiced in the art of filming, in the mountains mother nature had a few more ace cards up her sleeve.

We disciplined ourselves to use only meticulous engineering practices in the construction and maintenance of our equipment. On top of Snowdon we encountered hot, dry conditions, with an unseasonal heatwave in the middle of September. With each of us carrying 20kg of filming equipment high up on the mountain all day dehydration was the hidden trap. The decision not to reduce weight by reducing the amount of water carried was a temptation we thankfully avoided. Without sufficient water the best equipment in the world would have been useless without a functioning pilot!



The sudden torrential rain in the Peak District which saw a months' worth of rain fall in 24 hrs. The result saw us once again, despite all attempts to keep our equipment dry, re-acquainted with our old friend the soldering iron and hair drier until late in the evening to prepare for the next day's shoot.

Determined not to repeat that exercise we wisely invested heavily in robust, water proof transport cases for all parts of our equipment and this proved invaluable, especially when sat on an exposed mountain waiting for an elusive weather window to appear.

On Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the UK at over 4,400ft, the deep freeze of winter was memorable in many ways. Sat on an island in the clouds in all its astounding beauty was breath taking, but when the mist rolled over and the wind chill dropped the mercury to -30c we saw the beauty and the beast. In these temperatures batteries can be consumed in a blink of an eye but we had planned ahead and developed a method of maintaining the batteries at an ambient temperature to overcome this problem. As a result the temperature had only minimal effect to our flying capability.

We have come a long way since out first tentative flight on a film set and we are still learning something new every time the camera rolls. There have been many areas that have led to the success of AERIALWORX so far.
Accomplished engineering has kept us in the air, excellent flying skills has got us in the right place and well-practiced videography skills have captured the footage we wanted.

www.aerialworx.co.uk