Imagine a remote controlled helicopter with military-grade components. Now give it four rotors for super-smooth stability and handling, then strap on a high-definition video camera.
The result is Killer Aerial Productions, a Vernon company that is taking video and still photography to new heights (or at least to the 400-foot maximum allowed by Transport Canada) with its revolutionary drone helicopter.
The drone, affectionately known as Sniper, uses a slick combination of size, stability and versatility to allow Killer Aerial founders John Keith and Andy Raeber to capture “the impossible shot.” In operation since December, they are just starting to realize the possibilities their business venture can create.
“With motion picture, they’ve always had to use either dolly shots, crane shots or full-sized helicopters,” said Keith, a remote airplane enthusiast for the last 30 years.
“We can fly low and close enough to a person that they’re not in harm’s way. At the same time, we can be there and then fly up 400 feet. You get that seamless integration.”
Sniper has already proven useful in many applications, including search and rescue, building inspections, real estate promotion, landscaping and extreme sports.
“We could chase a skier or snowboarder down a steep run you could never get to,” said Keith, who deftly pilots the unit with a radio transmitter.
Killer Aerial has already worked locally with Silver Star Mountain Resort for a promotional video and they also provided coverage at the B.C. Winter Games. Raeber, who handles the video downlink, ground photography and sales side of things, believes Sniper will lend itself nicely to promotional videos for resorts, golf courses and wineries.
At just 50 centimetres wide, Sniper can do pretty much everything full-sized helicopters are capable of, and some things they aren’t, such as maneuver among trees, inside buildings and around other tight areas.
“We wanted it to be small so we could fly through areas that others simply can’t,” said Keith. “Literally, we can fly through a home.”
Sniper comes armed with a military-spec GPS system and electronic compass, allowing it to fly accurately within inches. When Keith isn’t on the controls, the unit simply hovers in space, awaiting direction. If the unit ever happened to fly out of range, or was unable to communicate with Keith’s transmitter, it features both a return-home function and a height limiter.
Which is a good thing because Sniper is capable of flying a lot higher and farther than Transport Canada regulations permit. It can easily exceed the 400-foot ceiling, and with the right transmitter, it could have a range of 60 kilometres.
“What this is capable of and what we’re allowed to do are two completely different things,” grinned Keith, whose father, Elgie, a civilian pilot, first introduced him to remote controlled airplanes when he was a kid.
“When he passed away, I kind of let it go,” he said.
Keith’s wife, Chantelle, helped rekindle his hobby enthusiasm when she bought him and several family members remote control helicopters for Christmas.
“I started looking at this thing and thought ‘You know, wouldn’t it be cool if you could strap a camera to one of these things?’”
After looking at what other people were doing, Keith realized stability was key.
“A lot of the images I found were not stable, jerky, and not well directed. We really looked at how we could get a better quality image out of it.”
Getting great footage is only part of the equation for Killer Aerial Productions, says Raeber, adding post production is what ties it all together.
“You can have all the video you want, but you have to be able to sew that story together and be able to give a message,” he said.
Killer Aerial is currently developing a larger drone with eight rotors capable of handling cinematic cameras. Raeber says it should be ready later this year.
