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Credits
Drone Unit has an unrivaled reputation in providing the biggest Feature Films, TV Shows and Commercials the best in aerial cinematography. Producers, Production Managers, Directors and DOP's return with confidence knowing that Drone Unit will provide a safe and reliable service.
About US
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Experience - Drone Unit’s pilots have over 1500 hours operating drones (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles). This allows Drone Unit to fly complex and precise flight paths producing some of the most stunning aerial video in the world. All pilots and crew members are IATSE 667 members.
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Permits and Insurance - Drone Unit holds Special Flight Operations Certificates (flight permits) that allows us to fly almost anywhere in Canada, day or night. We carry an extensive liability insurance policy.
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Equipment - Most of our equipment is designed and engineered in-house offering some of the best drone performance and video stability in the industry. Our drones can easily fly in winds up to 35km/h, offering smooth and precise flight even in the most challenging weather situations.
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Reliability and Safety - Drone Unit started operations in 2011 and has flown thousands of commercial operations since with a stellar safety record. We have designed our fleet of drones with redundancies for all mission critical components and carry backups to ensure we are always ready when you are.
"The Industry Leader in Drone Cinematography"
Clients
Equipment
We design, prototype, build, test & fly our own aircraft.
We believe redundancy is paramount which means we carry two sets of all equipment
Drone Unit-Spyder X
Coaxial X8 Octocopter
The Spyder X is the largest drone in our fleet. The Spyder X offers some of the longest flight times and lifting capabilities in the industry. Regardless of wind conditions, the Spyder X can fly up to 50mm lenses without the need for post-stabilization. Drone Unit has multiple Spyder X drones and comes with at least two Spyder X drones to set, giving us a ready to go backup drone.
Camera - Alexa Mini or RED Cameras
Top Speed: 70+ km/h
Max Altitude: 120 m (due to regulations)
Diameter: 2.0 m (blade tip to blade tip)
Taskeoff Weight: 23-35kg
Number of Motors: 8
Flight Time: 15-20min
Drone Unit-Spyder 1600
Octocopter
The Spyder platform has been around since 2015 and has completed thousands of fights on dozens of features, TV series and commercials. The Spyder offers some of the best video stabilization for Red and Alexa cameras in the industry. Drone Unit has multiple Spyder drones and comes with at least two Spyder drones to set, giving us a ready to go backup drone.
Camera - Alexa Mini or RED Cameras
Top Speed: 70+ km/h
Max Altitude: 120 m (due to regulations)
Diameter: 1.8 m (blade tip to blade tip)
Taskeoff Weight: 20-35kg
Number of Motors: 8
Flight Time: 13-17min
DJI-Inspire 3
The Inspire 3 is a great tool for high speed sequences and locations where there is not enough space to fly the Spyder. The Inspire 3 and support equipment pack neatly away in small cases allowing for much easier transportation than the Spyder drones for difficult to access or risky locations. All our Inspire 3's come equipt with DJI's newest X9 camera.
Top Speed: 90+ km/h
Max Altitude: 120 m (due to regulations)
Diameter: 1.0 m (blade tip to blade tip)
Weight: 4kg
Number of Motors: 4
Flight Time: 20min
Camera - DJI Zenmuse X9 AIr
The Zenmuse X9 is a compact Full Frame camera with an integrated gimbal made that delivers stunning 8K resolution. The sensor has a dual-native EI of 800 and 4,000 and more than 14 stops of dynamic range. The camera can shoot up to 60FPS is full 8K.
Lenses - 18mm, 24mm, 35mm, 50mm
Small Foot Print - All of our gear fits in a 10'x6' aluminum trailer allowing us to stay mobile and drive over soft surfaces with minimal impact.
Wireless Video Transmission - Our wireless video systems deliver excellent long range HD image quality, low latency, and the highest levels of robustness.
Batteries - Drone Unit comes prepared with a large number of batteries to fly as much as a production needs. We use only the best quality batteries in the industry to ensure safe and reliable flight every time.
Long Range Focus - After continually having problems with popular FIZ units on the market, we designed and built our own long range focus/iris system. This system easily reaches ranges exceeding 1km in urban environments. Our custom motors weigh only 60 grams which helps reduce front end weight of the camera and help improve image stability.
Day Bright Monitors - Directors and DP's who prefer to view from the camera operators station will enjoy day bright monitors over 1200 nit.
SUPPorting Gear
Drone
Lighting
Drone Unit has designed custom high power LED spot lights for use on our Spyder and SpyderX aircraft. The lights are mounted in Freefly Movi Pro gimbals with small cameras to accurately point and maneuver the LED spot lights. The lights are flicker free and can be remotely turned on and off while airborne.
3 LED Light Array Specs:
Lumens: 36,000
Colour Temp: ~5800K
Beam: 30deg
Runtime on SpyderX: ~20min per flight
*Multiple other Lights available upon request
Custom Equipment
Made for Film & Televison
Most of our equipment is designed and engineered in-house offering some of the best performance and reliability in the industry.
We have the ability to tailor our drones to a Production's specific needs using tools such as CNC machines, 3D Printers and Laser Cutters.
Management team
Chris Bacik
Founder of Drone Unit
Head Pilot
Brett Linseman
Director of UAV Design and Testing
Lead Camera Operator
Konrad Robinski
Pilot, Director of Safety
and Regulatory Affairs
