Drones are our passion.

Founded in 2000, Helicam is one of the most respected video, survey and inspection firms in the world.

Our timeline

2000

Our first drone helicopter

It all begins with an idea. The first Helicam was made to aircraft specification using a carbon fibre airframe, jet-turbine engine and included a full 3-axis gyro-stabilised camera platform. At almost 3-metres in length this aircraft was a beast.

Sony PD-150 camera platform

Operation time - 8 minutes

2008

CAA approval

We obtained our first official approval in 2008 - we were one of the first!

Operator ID: 0008. Permission for Aerial Work (PFAW).

Scheme upgraded to Permission for Commercial Operations (PFCO) in 2016.

2012

Intel Falcon 8+ added to our drone fleet

We expanded into industrial drone work, involving surveys and inspections of commercial assets. We purchased the specialist Intel Falcon 8+ drone, a really stable platform making it very suitable for offshore inspections, or where wind gusts can be an issue such as in coastal areas.

The Intel version has high levels of redundancy, with an excellent safety record and was seen favourably by the CAA, meaning we could seek special permissions using the operational safety case (OSC) process.

Payload was a Sony A7r DSLR with 35mm lens, Panasonic zoom or FLIR thermal-imaging camera.

2016

2016 - DJI Inspire 2 released

The launch of the DJI Inspire 2 brought with it a solid range of gimbals, including 6k video (X7), high-range thermal (XT2) and high-powered zoom cameras (Z30).

Due to the flexibility and capabilities of the payload the Inspire 2 is now our go-to daily work horse for most inspection and survey jobs.

We also have the M210 v2 RTK drone for high-precision aerial mapping and for situations where high-precision RTK mapping is required.

Contact us.

It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to discuss how you can use drone footage in your next video. Or maybe you have an industrial project where you want to reduce risk and save money. Whatever it is, get in contact with us today - we’ll try our best to help!