Aircraft
Heavy lift
Heavy lift is a Freefly Alta X carrying a cinema camera, a full size gimbal, and the lens the shot needs.
AGL comes out of nearly thirty years of specialty camera movement work. The aircraft is a camera platform first. The flying serves the frame, and the shot is built the way any other specialty move is built.
01Airframe
Specifications
The Alta X lifts 35 lb of payload, spans 7 ft 6 in, and tops out at 60 mph.
Heavy lift
Freefly Alta X
| Max gross takeoff weight | 76.9 lb34.9 kg |
|---|---|
| Max payload | 35 lb15.9 kg |
| Wingspan | 7 ft 6 in2.29 m |
| Top speed | 60 mph97 km/h |
| Camera mounting | Overslung, underslung |
| Flight time | 13 min |
| Typical with a full cinema build. Endurance moves with what is carried. | |
Confirmed figures are published by Freefly. Metric values are conversions of those figures.
What is missing
Battery turnaround and transport footprint are not published here yet, and neither are the built payload weights for each gimbal. Nothing has been estimated in their place. Ask and they will be measured against the package being flown.
Mounting
Underslung hangs the camera below the aircraft. Overslung puts it above, which opens up low angles and shots that look up without props entering frame.
02Payload
Camera and gimbal
The Alta X flies a full size cinema gimbal with a cinema camera and a lightweight zoom or anamorphic.
Alta X
Camera payloads
| Gimbals | DJI Ronin 2, Freefly Movi Pro |
|---|---|
| Cinema cameras | Alexa Mini, Alexa Mini LF, Alexa 35, RED, Sony Venice 2 |
| Lenses | Lightweight zooms, lightweight anamorphics |
| Lens weight | 6 lb or less |
| Suggested, depending on the camera body. Guidance, not a hard cap. | |
| Payload budget | 35 lb15.9 kg |
| Camera body, lens, gimbal, and accessories together, not per item. | |
| Mounting | Overslung, underslung |
Built payload weights are the numbers a camera department needs. Until they are measured, confirm the weight of the specific build before the day.
Payload is a budget
The 35 lb payload covers the camera body, the lens, the gimbal, and the accessories together. There is no separate limit on any one of them.
The pieces trade against each other. A lighter body leaves room for a heavier lens. A heavier gimbal takes room away from both. The combination that flies is worked out in prep against the actual build, so send the camera and lens list early and the configuration follows from there.
Lens guidance
Six pounds or less is a good working assumption for a lens, depending on the body it sits behind. It is guidance rather than a cap: a lighter body moves the number up, and the only figure that has to hold is the 35 lb total.
Camera bodies
Alexa Mini, Alexa Mini LF, Alexa 35, RED, and Sony Venice 2. The aerial unit shoots the same body as the ground units, so the material cuts together without a grade fighting it.
03Fit
What this is right for
Heavy lift is right for shots that need the same camera and lens in the air that the production is already shooting on the ground.
- A cinema body and the lens the DP chose, rather than a lighter substitute.
- Anamorphic work, where the build fits inside the payload budget.
- Aerial coverage that has to cut with ground units.
- Sustained moves at speed, up to 60 mph.
- Low angles and looking up, on the overslung mount.
What this is not right for
It is not right for confined spaces, proximity work, or long unbroken takes.
- Interiors and tight geography. The aircraft spans 7 ft 6 in and needs room to work.
- Proximity and speed through gaps. That is what the FPV aircraft is for.
- Long takes without a battery change. Endurance is the limiting factor on every heavy lift day.
- Packages that will not fit 35 lb once the body, lens, gimbal, and accessories are counted together.
04Payload
Lighting
The Alta X also flies lighting. A 2x2 Stratus array mounts on a gimbal under the aircraft.
It is a payload swap, not a different aircraft. The gimbal points the array independently of where the aircraft is heading, so the source can hold on a subject while the aircraft moves.
05Process
What a heavy lift day looks like
A heavy lift day runs prep, build, block, shoot, and wrap. Battery cycles set the rhythm.
Crew
AGL flies heavy lift as a three person team.
Focus, iris, and zoom are pulled from the ground over FIZ, with a video feed down so the frame is watched live rather than reviewed after landing. The team works as part of the camera department rather than as a separate unit running alongside it.
01Prep
Prep confirms the camera package before the day.
Lens choice drives payload, and payload drives the rest of the plan. A lens list that arrives on the morning is a plan built twice.
02Build
Build is the aircraft assembled and the gimbal balanced.
Balance is done with the exact camera, lens, and accessories that will fly. A balance done with a stand-in lens is a balance done again.
03Block
Blocking walks the move with the camera department and the AD.
Height, path, and speed are set against the frame. The aircraft goes where the shot needs it, and the flight plan follows from that.
04Shoot
Shooting runs in short flights, set by battery cycles.
Batteries come down before they are flat. Turnaround between flights is the number that decides how many takes fit in an hour.
05Wrap
Wrap is media offloaded and the aircraft back in cases.
Case count and transport footprint matter to a transport department and to a location with a long carry.
06Questions
Common questions
The questions a coordinator asks before booking, answered directly.
- What cameras can the Alta X carry?
The Alta X carries the Alexa Mini, Alexa Mini LF, Alexa 35, RED, and Sony Venice 2.
It flies them on a DJI Ronin 2 or a Freefly Movi Pro, with lightweight zooms and lightweight anamorphics. Six pounds or less is a good working assumption for a lens depending on the body, though the figure that has to hold is the 35 lb total the body, lens, gimbal, and accessories all draw on.
- How long can a heavy lift drone stay in the air?
About 13 minutes, which is typical for the Alta X with a full cinema build.
Endurance moves with what is being carried, so a lighter package buys time and a heavier one spends it. Flights are planned around battery cycles rather than flown to the limit, and batteries come down before they are flat.
- How much payload can the Alta X lift?
35 lb.
That is a budget covering the camera body, lens, gimbal, and accessories together, not a limit on any one of them. A lighter body leaves room for a heavier lens, and the combination that flies is worked out in prep against the actual build.
- What is the difference between overslung and underslung mounting?
Overslung puts the camera above the airframe and underslung hangs it below.
Overslung opens up low angles and shots that look up without props entering frame. The Alta X mounts either way, so the choice follows the shot rather than the aircraft.
- Can a heavy lift drone carry a lighting package?
Yes. The Alta X flies a 2x2 Stratus array on a gimbal under the aircraft.
It is a payload swap rather than a different aircraft. The gimbal points the array independently of where the aircraft is heading, so the source can hold on a subject while the aircraft moves.
- What do you need from production before a heavy lift day?
The shot, the camera and lens list, and the dates.
Lens choice drives payload and payload drives the rest of the plan, so the package is settled before the day rather than on the morning. If the package is not locked, what is known is enough to work from.
07Booking
Book heavy lift
Send the shot, the camera package, and the dates.
A lens list and a location get a useful answer fastest. If the package is not locked, send what is known and the rest can be worked out from there.