HeliVideo To Provide Aircraft, Expertise

Fox Sports will use UAVs in its coverage of the U.S. Open Golf Tournament in Chambers Bay, WA later this month.

Fox Sports has contracted with HeliVideo to provide the aircraft, pilots, and ground personnel to offer aerial coverage of the event. HeliVideo founder Erick Austin told the online tech site GeekWire that the company has worked with Fox for other golf events, but "not at this level. This is the Super Bowl of golf," he said.

The HeliVideo crew has already been working in Tacoma, WA capturing tee-to-green overview shots with the aircraft. That will allow the live producers to cut the footage into the shows during the tournament.

HeliVideo received a Section 333 exemption from the FAA in September, allowing it to use its aircraft, which includes a DJI Spreading Wings 1000, at sporting events and for other television productions and movies.

Austin said that the aircraft will have to be kept away from spectators. And just in case you were planning to bring your personal UAV to the tournament, the city of University Place, WA, where the Chambers Bay golf course is located, passed an ordinance banning UAVs for the month of June at a request from the U.S. Golf Association and the Pierce County Sheriff's Department. An exemption was created in the law to allow for the television broadcast of the U.S. Open.

Austin said the project was fun, but "comes with a lot of stress. The FAA has us under a microscope right now," he told GeekWire.

He also said the FAA is "way behind the rest of the world" when it comes to creating regulations for UAV use, but he's encouraged by recent progress on the issue.

(Image from file)

FMI: www.usga.org