The footage is part of a 9-minute short film called 26,000 Days – as in, the number of days in our average life span – directed by Henry Behel. The message is poignant, even if you've heard it before: Do something. Live while you can.
Eric Tucker is a second generation airshow pilot who performs all over the world in his Piper J3 Cub. He's known for his dead-stick antics – purposely killing the engine and doing aerobatics while tumbling and gliding back to Earth. He's also good enough to fly really badly, as part of his comedy "rodeo clown takes to the skies" act.
As spectacular as Tucker's flying is, it takes an equally incredible talent to capture it on film. Aircraft footage has historically been tricky; they move very quickly, and they're up in the air. If you want third-person footage, you need another aircraft, and that can become extremely tricky to coordinate.
A high-speed FPV drone, though – the incredible agility of these machines offers some unique opportunities, and 26,000 Days makes the absolute most of them. One dynamic pilot captured by another. Just watch:
The drone pilot who captured all this amazing footage is Alex Vanover. He's been a professional drone pilot since he was a teenager. He's won a championship in the Drone Racing League, and has cinematography credits working with people like Michael Bay and Justin Bieber.
We've got to shout out sound designer Mark Camperell, too – when Tucker turns the engine off at the start of the film, and leaves us hanging in all that quiet air, listening to nothing but the wind and the creaking of the airframe... That's a heart-in-mouth moment.
Heck, this guy's whole life must be one heart-in-mouth moment after another. It's a remarkable short, and only nine minutes long. Check it out!
Source: 26,000 Days
