Could James Bond REALLY fly a helicopter upside down?

Could James Bond REALLY fly a helicopter upside down?

Photo © EON, United Artists, Danjaq LLC

Leading scientists and engineers have studied stunts in James Bond films.

"SPECTRE" (2015) had everyone talking when a helicopter, presumably with Bond in the cockpit, performs a 360° corkscrew stunt.

Helicopter pilot Mike Buckley from the British Airline Pilots Association says that it is possible to fly a helicopter upside down for a short period of time.

'Helicopter pilots are highly trained and this footage appears to be a Bo105 undertaking a very skilled manoeuvre with an expert pilot at the controls.'

Bond, being Bond, has obviously undergone rigorous training.

Buckley explains the Bo105 has a rigid rotor head which makes it possible to fly these amazing routines.

'The Westland Lynx, as flown by the UK Army Air Corps and the Royal Navy, also has a rigid head and is often seen in air shows around the UK doing rolls and occasionally loops,' he says.

Buckley admits it's difficult to tell if this footage is a real flight or a CGI recreation, because the film makers may have filmed a real flight and tinkered with the images afterwards.

'There are strict rules about low flying, so if it is real footage, the backdrop [of the city] may have been added later,' he says.

Source: James Bond 007: 7 Bond stunts - E & T Magazine

Spectre's upside-down helicopter: POSSIBLE


See our earlier published stories how stuntman Chuck Aaron did this here (including VIDEO) and here

See more "SPECTRE" news here

Aerobatic Heli Pilot Chuck Aaron Stunt Flying for SPECTRE

Aerobatic Heli Pilot Chuck Aaron Stunt Flying for "SPECTRE" (2015).

Video by: Red Bull








Chuck Aaron is a living legend in aviation, and America's only licensed aerobatic helicopter pilot who can make a heli, flip, tumble and spin in a way that no helicopter should physically be able to do. After flying his BO-105 in air shows around the world, he decided to take his talents to the big screen to fly for the latest film in the James Bond Franchise, “SPECTRE,” making for one hell of an action-packed opening scene in Mexico City. Get a behind-the-scenes look at 00-Aaron’s experience flying on set!




See more "SPECTRE" news here

"SPECTRE" filming at New Airport Palenque, Mexico

"SPECTRE" (2015) team has moved to New Airport Palenque to continue filming the last scenes in Mexico. Six trucks and about 130 people moved to the area of Palenque to shoot the scenes that were not possible to film in high-risk areas of Mexico City.

Chuck Aaron who is an expert and a specialist of aerial acrobatics will fly and perform stunts on a helicopter.

Charles 'Chuck' Aaron (call sign "Malibu") is the only pilot licensed by the FAA to perform aerobatics in a helicopter in the United States, and one of only three such pilots in the world. In 1980, Aaron worked on the air rescue program for NASA's Space Shuttle, and he founded his own company, FX Helicopters in Westlake Village, California in 1997.

Aaron is also an experienced test pilot, having test-flown a tracking system for the Boeing AH-64 Apache; and an infrared vision system as the first helicopter pilot to deliberately fly into brownout conditions. He is also an FAA certificated Airframe and Powerplant (A&P) Mechanic, known for having assembled three working TAH-1F Cobras from surplus parts. (Wikipedia)

Chuck Aaron having a meeting

 
The location of Palenque International Airport was chosen due to the infrastructure and technology that it has. Natural scenery is surrounding the site, not to mention that the archaeological site is just behind the area.

Source: TVNotas

See more "SPECTRE" news here