Press Release
Issued by .
April 4, 2012
The Falcon 50 "flying camera" of the Jet Services Group, presented exclusively during the last Paris Air Show in 2011, made its first long flight to the Marrakech Air Show. This exclusive aircraft, specifically modified by UniAir, the maintenance centre of Jet Services, will be operated by Aerovision. The pod camera consists of a gyro-stabilized pod placed underneath the aircraft and a work station in the cabin. The system is presented at Marrakech, from 4 to 7 April 2012.
Aerovision has put sister company UniAir, a Part 145 approved maintenance centre, in charge of all the modifications required for the aircraft. The system comprises a pod fairing, a gyro-stabilised pod that can be angled and retracted containing a digital video camera and digital frame camera, and connectors link this equipment to the control, recording and broadcast system in the cabin.
Aerovision is the only European operator of this type of aircraft and can now enable air-to-air or air-to-ground pictures to be carried out at high altitude and high speed. The images can be broadcast live or retransmitted. A rotation of 350° in all directions can be combined with a rotation of 20° up or 120° down for aerial pictures.
Aerovision's many references include flights for Airbus (photos of the A380 and A400M in particular), feature films ("Tomorrow Never Dies", etc) and special operations (TGV speed record) carried out with Corvette jets. The Falcon 50's performance will allow the company to broaden its market appeal.
Swiftly convertible to a VIP version
The Falcon 50 has a quick-change set-up offering dual use--certified for aerial work as well as maintaining public transport approval to carry out business flights, to complement Aerovision's other Falcon, Cessna Citation and Hawker Beechcraft jets. The gyro-stabilised pod and camera piloting system are easily removed to transform the cabin into VIP configuration.
Flight tests schedule
Very soon Aerovision's Falcon 50 Flying Camera will be certified EASA and operational, ready to meet the needs of TV and movie producers, photographers etc.
The aircraft has just completed its first flights, near Paris, then from Toulouse to Marrakech, with success.
The initial tests will lead to the certification of the cabin, which will allow Aerovision to operate the jet in a passenger version for business flights.
The certification of the pod is expected by September 2012. The aircraft should be operational for aerial pictures flights by the end of this year.
