Mini-chopper grabs the big views

Emerson Coolsville and Matt Wilmot of Media Mechanics, with their radio-controlled helicopter. Photo / Brett Phibbs

It started out playing with model helicopters over a few Friday night beers.

Now, it's becoming big business, using the ultimate in boys' toys.

Most days, Matt Wilmot and Emerson Coolsville go to work to play with a helicopter they use when filming for Mr Wilmot's production company, Media Mechanics.

The company specialises in video production and is finding increasing demand for its Icarus AC cinema helicopter, which has a camera attached to it for filming and still photography.

The helicopter, which weighs 12kg and costs $38,000, is handy for filming where static photography or photography using full-sized helicopters doesn't work.

Mr Wilmot, Media Mechanics' director, said he first thought about attaching a camera to a helicopter when he was flying model helicopters at after-work drinks sessions.

Extensive research on the internet led him to Wellington engineer Kimberley Attwell, who designed the helicopter.

Mr Wilmot said it took about a year to learn to operate the helicopter - a job which requires two people.

Mr Wilmot holds the remote operating the helicopter while Mr Coolsville operates a "tray" remote to control the camera while wearing goggles to view live images from the camera, beamed back by video transmission.

The helicopter even has autopilot and an in-built GPS connected to 12 satellites, which can guide it back to where it took off from if radio signals break down.

While they haven't crashed this model, the men admit to having some "doozey" crashes learning with smaller ones.

The helicopter is handy for going where a big helicopter cannot - or for the times when company budgets can't afford a bigger one.

It is also more manoeuvrable than the full-sized equivalents.

Images on the Media Mechanics website show views flying over the gannet colony at Muriwai and of cars on a racing circuit.

The men said the most unusual thing they had filmed using the mini-chopper was a man tagging a bronze whaler shark during filming for a fishing show.

The helicopter is electric and runs on rechargeable batteries that last about 10 minutes.

It can fly at heights of up to 120m.

Mr Attwell sells the devices through his company Photo Higher.

He named them Icarus after the character from Greek mythology who used wax and feathers to make wings so he could fly to the Sun.

Mr Attwell said with a laugh that he opted to ignore the last part of the myth, in which Icarus flew too close to the sun, melted the wax in his wings and fell from the sky.

Mr Attwell has sold six of the helicopters, most of them to overseas buyers for video work.

Potential buyers include the Australian police, who are keen to see how the cameras will work in search and rescue operations.

Fishing company Sanford has also expressed interest in using one to send off from a boat to look for tuna - a much cheaper alternative to using a full-sized helicopter.

And a horticulture company in Nelson is looking into using them to scare off birds.