A unique 'flying camera' Falcon 50 has made its maiden flight to the Marrakech Air Show in April and will be presented at EBACE, for the very first time, with its pod camera.

Aerovision says it 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.

The company's previous triumphs include flights for Airbus for photography of the A380 and A400M in particular, feature films such as Tomorrow Never Dies, and special operations carried out with Corvette jets. It believes the Falcon 50's performance will allow Aerovision to broaden its market appeal.

It is now expected to be operational for aerial photography ahead of schedule from this summer. Modified by Uniair, the maintenance centre of Jet Services, the aircraft has a gyro-stabilised pod located underneath and a workstation in the cabin. It 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, Citation and Hawker Beechcraft jets. The gyro-stabilised pod and camera piloting system are easily removed to transform the cabin into vip configuration.