360° Helicopter Aerobatics

Helicopter pilot Sigi “Blacky” Schwarz is a living legend and he proves it in this 360° clip! As one of very few pilots in the world with an aerobatic flying license for helicopters he takes the users with him on a looping ride in the air. Sitting next to the multiple World champion while he makes the sky his playground is a breathtaking adventure!

A twirling BO105 helicopter is not the ideal film set for cameras though. The vigorous vibrations in combination with strong G-forces and the general strains of aerobatic flying made this multicam shoot a great challenge.

The G-forces can cause a so-called Jello effect on the camera sensors, meaning the picture would wobble. To avoid this and to absorb the shaking and rattling, particularly strong rigs, mounts and suspension systems were needed to produce usable pictures.

A further important point was to attach special filter systems to the cameras to balance the rolling shutter of the helicopter’s rotor blades in order to see the rotors clearly.

After taking all these production hurdles successfully, the viewers are now presented with a stunning bird’s eye view of the beautiful Dachstein area in Bavaria and get to experience an aerobatic flight from the safety of solid ground under their feet.