Uploaded October 2012 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
New footage, remixed, and trance soundtrack!
Song: "Phobia" by Starshifters (Suncatcher & Mihai M.)
"A-Bird" is my son's playa name (used at Burning Man) because his name starts with A, and he's obsessed with Angry Birds. Flying dreams are the best!
My ground station for much of the flying was in the shadow of that lone RV you see early in the video. Note there are not many of the 52,000 people out and about at 9am. The "flying dream" starts in Center Camp Cafe, under the open oculus at the center of the tent. All of he many tons of tension from the huge tent structure passes right through that small circle of beautiful, calm blue sky. I always find that kind of cool.
No software image stabilization applied to most of the shots, giving a "true FPV view".
ABOUT FPV FLYING:
FPV is "first person view" flying of a radio controlled aircraft using a video image from the plane transmitted wirelessly to a viewing station on the ground, using video goggles in my case. This allows safe operation of a small, quiet, electric airplane while taking high-definition video while piloting the plane as if one were sitting in the cockpit. I flew at about 50kph (30mph) at an altitude of of 30m (100ft) over the playa and the city to obtain video for this production, then landed safely right on the inner playa. The plane was operated using the DragonLink long-range UHF system which gives highly-secure control for up to 10 miles range.
ABOUT BURNING MAN:
Trying to explain what Burning Man is to someone who has never been to the event is a bit like trying to explain what a particular color looks like to someone who is blind. It is an 8-day event which takes place annually in late August in the temporary city of Black Rock City located in a dry lakebed in northwestern Nevada, USA.
The radial streets are laid out like a clock face, from 2:00 to 10:00. I have marked some of these streets as well as some of the prominent and favorite theme camps and villages. (*if you want me to mark your camp in the video send me a PM and the timestamp in the video where it appears)
The attendees are all participants in a sense and are themselves the attraction. There is no corporate sponsorship or presence of any sort. Only ice and coffee are sold. Everything else is brought in under the concept of "radical self-reliance" or gifted by others. Most 'burners' participate by finding the creative or artistic thing that they enjoy most and do best, do it to the fullest extent, and share it as much as possible. My thing is RC aircraft flying (nerdy, I know). There are artists, musicians, performers, carpenters, doctors, architects, philosophers, computer programmers, entrepreneurs, engineers, and people from every other imaginable walk of life.
Black Rock City is a full-featured city of over 50,000 citizens with every almost every amenity including airport, post office, recycling, bicycle repair, bars, dance clubs, barbers, yoga studios, fire department, clinic, rangers, kid's center, and more - all given for free for the enjoyment and self-expression of doing it. A couple of weeks later the city is gone without a trace.
And yes, it is a huge party as well and we burn stuff - lots of big stuff, then clean it all up. This was my third time, my son's first.
PRODUCTION NOTES:
This video was shot during the hours of 8-10am August 29, 30, 31, 2012. Winds were 8mph, sky partly overcast.
A GoPro set to 1080p was used for maximum resolution capture. All but one shot of this video is actual-speed, with a few shots in slow-motion. Video editing on iMovie.
The aircraft is the "Ozone", constructed from scratch by my own design out of foamboard, packing tape, hot glue, and carbon fiber. This was piloted using DragonLink UHF control and FatShark Predator video goggles. Video link was Lawmate 2.4GHz 500mW. RC transmitter was Spektrum DX7.
Please message me with any questions. Be well and live easy!
New footage, remixed, and trance soundtrack!
Song: "Phobia" by Starshifters (Suncatcher & Mihai M.)
"A-Bird" is my son's playa name (used at Burning Man) because his name starts with A, and he's obsessed with Angry Birds. Flying dreams are the best!
My ground station for much of the flying was in the shadow of that lone RV you see early in the video. Note there are not many of the 52,000 people out and about at 9am. The "flying dream" starts in Center Camp Cafe, under the open oculus at the center of the tent. All of he many tons of tension from the huge tent structure passes right through that small circle of beautiful, calm blue sky. I always find that kind of cool.
No software image stabilization applied to most of the shots, giving a "true FPV view".
ABOUT FPV FLYING:
FPV is "first person view" flying of a radio controlled aircraft using a video image from the plane transmitted wirelessly to a viewing station on the ground, using video goggles in my case. This allows safe operation of a small, quiet, electric airplane while taking high-definition video while piloting the plane as if one were sitting in the cockpit. I flew at about 50kph (30mph) at an altitude of of 30m (100ft) over the playa and the city to obtain video for this production, then landed safely right on the inner playa. The plane was operated using the DragonLink long-range UHF system which gives highly-secure control for up to 10 miles range.
ABOUT BURNING MAN:
Trying to explain what Burning Man is to someone who has never been to the event is a bit like trying to explain what a particular color looks like to someone who is blind. It is an 8-day event which takes place annually in late August in the temporary city of Black Rock City located in a dry lakebed in northwestern Nevada, USA.
The radial streets are laid out like a clock face, from 2:00 to 10:00. I have marked some of these streets as well as some of the prominent and favorite theme camps and villages. (*if you want me to mark your camp in the video send me a PM and the timestamp in the video where it appears)
The attendees are all participants in a sense and are themselves the attraction. There is no corporate sponsorship or presence of any sort. Only ice and coffee are sold. Everything else is brought in under the concept of "radical self-reliance" or gifted by others. Most 'burners' participate by finding the creative or artistic thing that they enjoy most and do best, do it to the fullest extent, and share it as much as possible. My thing is RC aircraft flying (nerdy, I know). There are artists, musicians, performers, carpenters, doctors, architects, philosophers, computer programmers, entrepreneurs, engineers, and people from every other imaginable walk of life.
Black Rock City is a full-featured city of over 50,000 citizens with every almost every amenity including airport, post office, recycling, bicycle repair, bars, dance clubs, barbers, yoga studios, fire department, clinic, rangers, kid's center, and more - all given for free for the enjoyment and self-expression of doing it. A couple of weeks later the city is gone without a trace.
And yes, it is a huge party as well and we burn stuff - lots of big stuff, then clean it all up. This was my third time, my son's first.
PRODUCTION NOTES:
This video was shot during the hours of 8-10am August 29, 30, 31, 2012. Winds were 8mph, sky partly overcast.
A GoPro set to 1080p was used for maximum resolution capture. All but one shot of this video is actual-speed, with a few shots in slow-motion. Video editing on iMovie.
The aircraft is the "Ozone", constructed from scratch by my own design out of foamboard, packing tape, hot glue, and carbon fiber. This was piloted using DragonLink UHF control and FatShark Predator video goggles. Video link was Lawmate 2.4GHz 500mW. RC transmitter was Spektrum DX7.
Please message me with any questions. Be well and live easy!
