Airbus E-Fan soars with GearhouseActis during historic electric-powered flight

Airbus' E-Fan soars with GearhouseActis during historic electric-powered flight posted: 23/07/2015

RF specialist took to the air for broadcast of ground breaking aviation event

GearhouseActis, Gearhouse Broadcast's in-house RF-specialist, provided the wireless solution which enabled live video coverage of Airbus' first ever electric-powered flight across the English Channel in its revolutionary E-Fan electric aeroplane. The camera feeds were captured from a helicopter and relayed via a second plane to a ground unit located in Calais, France.

GearhouseActis delivered a 42 minute video sequence of the entire 70km-long flight which was captured by a gyrostabilised Cineflex V14 HD camera fitted to the underside of a Eurocopter AS355 Ecureuil 2 helicopter. This signal was sent via RF to a BN-2 Islander aeroplane able to fly at an altitude of 33,000ft in order to combat any potential problems caused by adverse weather. These feeds were then transmitted to a ground-based G200 tracking antenna in Calais. All three points were linked together via an intercom system which allowed two-way full duplex communications.

There are always so many factors we have to deal with when undertaking a project as significant as this, said Mathieu Rocton, managing director of GearhouseActis. We had to make sure flight paths were clearly set out in order to fly two aircraft at once, we needed to know our solution would work no matter the weather and that we got everything we needed first time around as we were capturing history in the making.

GearhouseActis designed the receiver set up to have a signal range of 100km - longer than the total flight distance of the E-Fan plane. This and the relay from the helicopter to the relay plane gave camera operator Franck Escudie complete freedom to capture different angles and shots of the flight.

The gyrostabilised nature of the Cineflex camera we used to capture the E-Fan's flight is the best choice for any aerial filming, said Bruno Claus, technical director at GearhouseActis. It gave our operator complete freedom to use just one camera and get wide, beauty shots as well as close up detail shots.

About Gearhouse Broadcast

Gearhouse Broadcast is a market leader in the field of broadcast services and specialises in broadcast equipment rental, equipment sales, project solutions and systems integration. Operating globally from its offices in the UK, US, Australia, India and Qatar, the company offers huge experience and a proven track record in delivering major world sporting and entertainment events.

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