UFO sightings in BC? No, just getting a different vantage point on the Sage and Sparrow Conservation Area
Hexacopter (Photo by NCC)
In the video, the camera seems to fly over two Nature Conservancy (NCC) staff as they walk along a cliff-side. You might wonder: how did they make that camera fly and take such great shots?
Recently, the BC Region arranged for a short video to be created to promote our new Sage and Sparrow Conservation Area. Barb Pryce and I were on deck to show the photographer various property highlights, although the August date meant most of the plant flowering and bird activity was past for the season. We had been told that the photographer was bringing another guy to do some aerial shots with a drone of some type.
We spent the first couple of hours helping set up the standard shots; then the hexacopter arrived. This model helicopter had six electric-driven rotors on a circular frame (about a metre in diameter), on which was hung a full-size video camera. The chopper was piloted by a guy with 3,000 hours of model helicopter acrobatic experience. He flew the copter with joy sticks, while his wife viewed the film footage on screen and used her joysticks to move the camera.
This was a serious piece of hardware worth at least $20K; the pilot needed to file each and every flight plan with Transport Canada. Barb had warned the U.S. Border Services about our use of a camera drone; we did not want it shot down by their bigger border-patrolling drone.
Well, the results were terrific. Shots included low-level passes over the sagebrush steppe, cruising over a lake with waterfowl, shooting straight down over trembling aspen groves, circling a wildlife tree, photographing a cliff and snake den, and photographing deep gullies. It then was sent straight up about 300 meters, where it slowly rotated 360 degrees while photographing the property.
Each flight lasted about 10 minutes and batteries were then changed; this happened at least four times. The hexicopter was programmed to fly back and land where it had taken off, if communications were lost. One could program in GPS locations, and the chopper could fly to that point and take photos. It was amazingly quiet, and well lit with red, green, and white lights.
As far as we know, no one reported a UFO that day in the area, although the hexicopter certainly looked and performed like one.
About the Author
Andrew Harcombe is the BC Region’s special advisor for stewardship.
