Helicopter flying through Tower Bridge

[Helicaz]

Helicopter to fly through Tower Bridge (http://www.ianvisits.co.uk/blog/2012/05/21/helicopter-to-fly-through-tower-bridge/)

One of those routine Port of London Authority notices that makes you sigh, open to see what it is then sit up and type WHAT is very loud letters. Such moments are why I subscribe to them – for those rare nuggets of joy in the operational tedium.

In a couple of weeks time there will be filming along the Thames involving a helicopter.

And it is going to fly THROUGH Tower Bridge on one of the evenings.

The official notice sayth:

8th June 2012 10.00 – 20.00 Battersea Rail Bridge to Wappingness at various locations.
9th June 2012 10.00 – 22.00 Battersea Rail Bridge to Wappingness including a flight through Tower Bridge (Late evening).
Contingency

10th June 2012 06.00 – 20.00 Battersea Rail Bridge to Wappingness at various locations. If required.
I think it is fair to suggest that an awful lot of people will be in the area on that Saturday evening looking out for a helicopter doing something we are unlikely to see again.

I gather this is filming for a James Bond movie, although that is not confirmed. Then again, it does sound very bond-like.

[SilsoeSid]

First 2 minutes :ok:

ALFRED HITCHCOCK - FRENESÍ (1972) - PELÍCULA COMPLETA EN ESPAÑOL - YouTube

Hitchcock Gallery: image 2950 - Alfred Hitchcock Wiki (http://www.hitchcockwiki.com/wiki/Hitchcock_Gallery:_image_2950)

http://www.hitchcockwiki.com/gallery/500/2950.jpg

[Savoia]

Given that the article refers also to Hawker Hunters and flying boats .. I thought I might mention that a Saunders Roe (Nautical) SRN4 hovercraft, The Princess Margaret, also 'flew' through the bridge in 1969:

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-zvx1GKZ0234/T8kmdeQJTZI/AAAAAAAAI_Y/ueLO0EZhWqQ/s0-d/Princess%2BMargaret%2BTower%2BBridge%2B1969.png
Seaspeed's SRN4 'The Princess Margaret' passes through Tower Bridge during a promotional exercise along the Thames in 1969

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-8D2HKAT6Ld4/T0Xfuo-GtaI/AAAAAAAAIBI/_0Gb2PKFN3o/s84/Play%2520Icon.png (http://www.britishpathe.com/video/princess-margaret-hovercraft/query/hovercrafts)

In the video (at 0:42) a Westland Widgeon momentarily appears

[TRC]

It's been done more recently too, For the film 'Thunderbirds'.

http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j212/teeo1/TowerBridgeBirds_124-1.jpg

[si354]

Frenzy was flown by John Crewdson

Thunderbirds was Al Davis with the cameraman Simon Werry

[Flap 5]

I have flown over Tower Bridge many years ago in a Bell 47. It is on the standard single engined helicopter route through London. I could have flown under the bridge, but above the road, quite easily. I would have had my collar felt by the CAA if I had done though. There is plenty of room as can be seen from the picture from TRC above.

[ShyTorque]

The most difficult thing about the "stunt" is getting CAA permission to do it! ;)

[Shell Management]

Perhaps it will be the RAF Merlin shown in the trailor.

[OvertHawk]

The "RAF Merlin" shown in the Trailer is not an RAF Merlin at all!

[Savoia]

So did anyone catch of glimpse of the 'act' yesterday? My 'Brit-sources' tell me there was a white and blue/green 109 Grand in the vicinity (or at least circling along the Thames) yesterday afternoon!

The most difficult thing about the "stunt" is getting CAA permission to do it! Indeed. Lol!

TRC, were you involved with the red 355?

The "RAF Merlin" shown in the Trailer is not an RAF Merlin at all!
Go on then Overt .. enlighten us please!

[OvertHawk]

Sav - Apparently they used AW's demonstrator because the RAF did not have any capacity to lend them a Merlin (hardly surprising at the moment).

OH

[MightyGem]

This was uploaded to YouTube earlier today:

Helicopters fly through Tower Bridge - YouTube

[Helicaz]

thanks for posting the video, I wonder what it will look like when the CGI/editorial people are done with it! :)

[RedhillPhil]

I was up there to-day having disembarked off a boat at Westminster pier. The two helicopters made lots of very (to me) low level passes around the river environs and around the Palace of Westminster. It looked really great in the weather conditions.

[FlyingGiant]

Have some photos!

http://i.imgur.com/peUcUl.jpg (http://i.imgur.com/peUcU.jpg)

http://i.imgur.com/K0TNjl.jpg (http://i.imgur.com/K0TNj.jpg)

[Savoia]

Long overdue that an Agusta appeared in a Bond movie. Well done!

Does anyone know who the drivers were?

I must say that I do hope that Michael Wilson and Barbara Broccoli can reprise the success of Casino Royale because their last effort, the awkwardly named 'Quantum of Solace' (I mean really!) was, in a word, awful!

[Special 25]

What makes everyone think this is the Bond movie??

Skyfall is due for release in 4 months - I'd be surprised if they were filming this late. It might be that they need a few extra shots, so its not impossible, but I'd imagine it was all 'In the Can' by now.

[Special 25]

Answered my own question. Bit of Googling, and the Daily Express says it is for the Olympics - so, must be true??!!

A couple of clips online. A practice flypast and then three formation passes under the walkways.


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VZEenH9FNXM

xxU1X6wpdLU

[Tableview]

Helicopters Flying Through Tower Bridge | Terence Eden has a Blog (http://shkspr.mobi/blog/index.php/2012/06/helicopters-flying-through-tower-bridge/)

[SilsoeSid]

The Express actually says;
One eye witness said: “A crowd started to gather as the helicopters swirled. People seemed to think they were filming for a James Bond film.”

The Port of London Authority said the choppers were filming footage for the upcoming Olympic Games.
Express.co.uk (http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/325684/Helicopter-perform-amazing-Tower-Bridge-stunt)

[OvertHawk]

http://www.pprune.org/rotorheads/487490-olympic-colour-scheme.html

[TRC]

TRC, were you involved with the red 355?

Yes, I was - and this recent one too.

[Brilliant Stuff]

Very nicely done!:ok::ok:

[Bertie Thruster]

Interesting different attitudes.

[ShyTorque]

The second aircraft would need to be stepped up in that manner to avoid the 139's rotor wash.

[ptflyer]

The Express actually says;

Quote:
One eye witness said: “A crowd started to gather as the helicopters swirled. People seemed to think they were filming for a James Bond film.”

The Port of London Authority said the choppers were filming footage for the upcoming Olympic Games.
Express.co.uk (http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/325684/Helicopter-perform-amazing-Tower-Bridge-stunt)

The Port of London Authority is correct. The AW139 being registered G-OLYM is also a bit of a giveaway.

[Senior Pilot]

It may 'only' be a Daily Mail report, but there could be both Bond and the Olympics involved ;)

Two helicopters performed dramatic low flights through Tower Bridge as amazed bystanders looked on in awe.
The choppers are believed to have been filming an sequence for the London 2012 Olympic games opening ceremony on July 27.
After a fly by over the top of the bridge last night the helicopters returned, performing the daring move three times.
The spectacular event was believed to be for the film The Arrival, a short film being directed by Danny Boyle.
It is believed the piece will be shown will be shown during the opening ceremony at Olympic Stadium in Stratford, east London.
Mr Boyle, whose previous directing credits include Trainspotting, 28 Days Later and Slumdog Millionaire, is in charge of the Olympic opening ceremony.
It is rumoured that the film will see actor Daniel Craig as James Bond being given his next mission of 'launching' the Olympic Games.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Bond film and Boyle with his crew have reportedly already been filming inside Buckingham Palace.
In the film Bond is ordered on his mission at Buckingham Palace and then flys by helicopter to Stratford, where he parachutes into the arena.
Crowds thronged both sides of the River Thames around iconic Tower Bridge as road traffic was stopped to allow the two helicopters to fly through.
The only time an aircraft has previously flown through Tower Bridge was in 1968.
Flight Lieutenant Alan Pollock flew an RAF Hawker Hunter plane through the bridge as a protest against the Government.
Road traffic on Tower Bridge and river traffic on the Thames was halted while the two helicopters made two passes through the middle of the famous bridge.
In 2009 a helicopter flew close to the bridge to film scenes for a Sherlock Holmes film, but did not actually fly through the bridge.
Boyle's Olympic opening ceremony is reportedly going to be a £27m four-hour spectacular that will feature a tribute to the NHS, a torch lighting sequence and a cast and crew of 12,000.

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/06/10/article-2157202-1387BBDA000005DC-839_634x416.jpg

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/06/10/article-2157202-1387D0B1000005DC-954_634x423.jpg

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/06/10/article-2157202-1387BC30000005DC-169_634x392.jpg

herhxWwWhAg

Daily Mail (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2157202/Extraordinary-moment-helicopters-dived-dramatically-low-Tower-Bridge-BBC-film-opening-sequence-Olympic-coverage.html)

[Thomas coupling]

Ooops - cat out of bag, methinks.
Mind you, keeping something like this secret is nigh on impossible:ouch:
It had better be good and the cloudbase had better be higher than of late!!!

[Anthony Supplebottom]

I think the Daily Mail ought to read PPRuNe - specifically the beginning of this thread - in order to get the full details of who has actually flown through the bridge.

As well as Alan Pollock there would seem to be John Crewdson and Al Davis (post #5).

[TRC]

I think the Daily Mail ought to read PPRuNe - specifically the beginning of this thread - in order to get the full details...

What - and ruin a story with the true facts? It'd be a first!

[18greens]

Can someone comment on the attitudes of the two helicopters.

The one in front looks like its going pretty slowly and the one behind looks like its going as fast as it can.

Do helis change attitude with speed like aeroplanes do or do they just hang the way they are built?

[TRC]

Can someone comment on the attitudes of the two helicopters

Yes, the attitude changes with speed, but the 139 is very nose-up in the hover and has a pronounced nose-up attitude at low speed. The 355 was merely keeping up with the 139 - not going very fast at all.

[Al-bert]

Big Bridge, small helicoters, what's the fuss? :sad:

[TRC]

Big Bridge, small helicoters, what's the fuss?

If that's all there was to it - no fuss at all.

Place the 'Big Bridge' in the middle of a capital city, at 18.30 on a summer Saturday with hundreds of pedestrian sight-seers and almost solid traffic crossing it which has to be stopped and cleared off the bridge and its approaches for 5 -10 minutes at a time.
Not to mention the busy river traffic that has to be stopped clear of the bridge, and two scheduled bridge openings for oversize river traffic during the approved timings window.

Oh, and get the CAA and every other organisation involved to say yes.

No fuss at all really. :hmm:

[Al-bert]

Ah yes, I forgot the CAA. I had the benefit of a yellow helicoter for flying under bridges - and for landing in Trafalgar Square! :)

[TRC]

I had the benefit of a yellow helicoter

Welcome to our world.

(Want to buy some 'p's)

[Al-bert]

Welcome to our world.


but it's all so long ago....:8

[chopper2004]

Am watching the opening ceremony and quite impressed especially with instrumental music though best is Daniel Craig in his role of 007 escorting the Queen to one of AWs own AW139 (think its G-OLYM) and 'parachuting' into the event.

Though if it was meant to be totally British then maybe use Wildcat? :)

Nonetheless bloody brilliant display

Cheers and have a great weekend!

[Savoia]

Such prominent use of a helicopter during the opening of the Olympics is of course wonderful for any rotary-wing enthusiast; although from the 'puritans' perspective I suspect there may have been just a little too much CGI/digital-manipulation of the craft for their liking.

Regarding the ceremony .. brilliant (overall) even if the 'bit in the middle' didn't have quite the same impact as the beginning and ending.

Great job!

[Senior Pilot]

http://vimeo.com/46518877

3:30 for the Tower Bridge fly through :ok:

So, who were the pilots: anyone we know?

[Adam Nams]

Looks like the olympic police have got to you!

[lowfat]

http://www.pprune.org/rotorheads/486953-helicopter-flying-through-tower-bridge.html

What CGI?

[Bravo73]

http://www.pprune.org/rotorheads/486953-helicopter-flying-through-tower-bridge.html

What CGI?

A significant proportion of the final helicopter sequence shown on TV was CGI'd, rather than it being all live action.

[Nige321]

A significant proportion of the final helicopter sequence shown on TV was CGI'd, rather than it being all live action

No it wasn't. There was some post production to clean the background, but the flying shots were flying shots...:eek:

[SilsoeSid]

I guess the pilots were from the same lot that disappeared from the radar screens after the 7500 incident, that as far as the CAA are concerned, never happened ,,,:suspect:

[Senior Pilot]

Looks like the olympic police have got to you!

Reposted via Vimeo: currently still working ;)

[chopjock]

Nige321

No it wasn't. There was some post production to clean the background, but the flying shots were flying shots..

look at 2.50 and 2.54. Obvious CGI

[Hilico]

More impressive even than the flying was the way the pilots managed to make an AW139 sound exactly like a 206. I admire their modesty!

[Qwikstop]

I was watching from the Embankment when the Agusta flew through Tower Bridge - which was just before the Olympic Rings were suspended from the upper walkway - although these are clearly visible in all the shots.

Certainly a bit of CGI embellishment here - but that shouldn't detract from the impressive flying.

[Bravo73]

No it wasn't. There was some post production to clean the background, but the flying shots were flying shots...:eek:

There was also another sequence earlier on in the show which involved a A109E, I think, over Battersea powerstation and places. That was all CGI as well.

[WHBM]

I can't make out if the two parachutists actually jumped into the stadium ceremony or if that bit was just edited into the film. If for real, I would have expected some coverage of them landing.

If for real, anyone know who they were ?

[MightyGem]

Given all the various wires strung across the stadium, I think it would have been a bit tricky landing in there.

[9Aplus]

YouTube again :ok:

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[Savoia]

Go Agusta !!!

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-_YEAb83XvxU/UBUMkZBox5I/AAAAAAAAJYc/9FctdCVTo7Q/s802/G-OLYM.jpg

.. and Westland!

Will this perhaps pave the way for an AW to one day fly in TQHF?

[Special 25]

The two parachutists did jump from 800ft over the Olympic stadium, but landed on a bridge alongside. As you say, there were quite a few wires strung across the roof, so no options to land in the middle.

What wasn't shown is that a Merlin (also in Olympic colours) flew across the roof a short while later scattering billions of confetti to represent every person on the planet. The confetti raining down was shown, but no indication of where it came from.

http://cencio4.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/aw101.jpg

[sss]

What wasn't shown is that a Merlin (also in Olympic colours) flew across the roof

Thanks for that, I did wonder what the aircraft was, unfortunately I could not tell from where I was hanging out.

[WHBM]

Yes, we live about 2 nm away as well, and from the upstairs windows could just see the anti-collision light of a helicopter hovering over the stadium. Initially I thought it was a security one, then the bit came up in the programme with the jump.

In the 1988 Seoul Olympic opening there was, of course, a spectacular skydive from altitude right into the stadium, where the jumpers (two Chinooks' full) formed the Olympic rings on the way down. I seem to recall it involved about 40-50 of them.

[TRC]

In the 1988 Seoul Olympic opening there was, of course, a spectacular skydive from altitude right into the stadium, where the jumpers (two Chinooks' full) formed the Olympic rings on the way down. I seem to recall it involved about 40-50 of them.

That would have been horribly messy this time with all the wires across the stadium.

[Buttocknurdler]

It was very clever the way the Olympic rings were added in the final edit. In every shot, they are present. Even the camera looking vertically up from the bridge roadway shows the reflection of the helicopter in the lower edges of the rings as the helicopter passes through.

Amazing attention to detail!