Featured on AirVūz Social Media: March 2020

Johnnyfpv is the undisputed king of the emerging art form known as cinematic first-person view.  In contrast to freestyle FPV or competitive FPV racing, with cinematic FPV the pilot's goal is to maximize the visual impact of the video captured. In this he has succeeded spectacularly; his work has appeared in TV commercials, music videos, and feature movies, and he has one of the largest social media followings of any drone pilot.  This video earned a nomination in the Cinematic FPV category at the NYCDFF.

Top contributor and pilot haussmannvisuals brings us these eerie aerial views of the German financial capital of Frankfurt in the latter part of March, 2020, as the worldwide Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic caused a virtual shutdown of activity across much of Europe.  As the German case count mushroomed from just over 100 at the beginning of the month to nearly 20,000 in just three weeks, the state and federal governments took increasingly active measures to impose social distancing as a means to control the spread of the disease.  

Bali Indonesia has it all when it comes to being an epic FPV location.  Plenty of cliffs to send a quadcopter surfing along and diving down, a rugged shore line to chase, and that exquisite water to soar over...so we're pretty happy that GrizzFPV had his packs charged and ready for this epic flight. His rig was equipped with Azure Power Pros and he captured the footage with an Xiaomi Yi 2 II 4K Action Cam.  We enjoyed this flight so much we had to add Grizz to our FPV Pilots to Watch list in March 2020.

Top AirVuz content creator and drone pilot Majestic does it again with this stunning aerial portrait of Cancún, Mexico.  The resort city lies on the eastern (Caribbean Sea) side of the Yucatán Peninsula in the state of Quintana Roo.  Cancún was virtually unknown until the 1970's, when the Mexican government launched an investment program to create a new planned resort city.  The program was wildly successful, and within a couple of decades the city was the country's top beach destination.  

The Big Sur coastline in California is known for many things: the memorable drive along Highway 1, the spectacular waves of the Pacific Ocean crashing along the rugged coastline, and abundant hiking opportunities.  But for drone pilot nonexistentjay, this beautiful destination became the perfect FPV playground.  Watch as he dives the cliffs, skims the shore and gives us to-die-for views of the Bixby Bridge and Pigeon Point Lighthouse, making a clear case for his spot on our FPV Pilots to Watch list in February 2020.

Award-winning contributor Florian Ledoux used some of his best drone footage from earth's polar regions to put together this outstanding piece which won DVOW in February 2020. He skillfully uses the backdrop of shrinking glaciers and melting icebergs to remind us how these eco-systems - which hold the vast majority of the earth's freshwater - are to global climate change. The video features jaw-dropping footage from Greenland, Antarctica, the Canadian province of Nunavut, the Svalbard Islands of Northern Norway, and Iceland.

This wonderful 4K San Francisco piece by FrameworkFilms opens with some outstanding shots of the San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge, looking west toward the Financial District. At the 1:35 mark, there's an epic view of Coit Tower on Russian Hill looking at the same scene from the northwest.  Here you'll get very clear views of the city's three tallest buildings as of 2019 - the Salesforce Tower, Bank of America Center, and the Transamerica Pyramid. Other shots include the Golden Gate Bridge, great timelapses of downtown, and more. 

Some of the most iconic sights in Bali, Indonesia are the lush, stair stepped paddies used for growing rice. In this colorful drone video, first person view (FPV) drone pilot Ivan Merino takes a playful flight around the famed Tegallalang Rice Terraces.  Watch as his drone dances over the tops of the palm trees, cruises around the inviting jungle swings and seating areas.  This visually rich footage caught our attention and spurred us to add Ivan Merino to our FPV Pilots to Watch list in March 2020.

You won't want to be the one person who missed this cool first person view (FPV) video of a moving golf ball by AirVuz contributor and pilot Rosshasadrone!  Watch as he takes off for each long drive and chases down the links to give us all the best perspective on that ball traveling from 'club to tee.'  Rosshasadrone said he's wanted to do this ever since he got into FPV, and we're betting he's got more creative and cool flights to come. This video earned a nomination in the X-Factor category at the NYCDFF.

AirVuz contributor and pilot sojkincz was picked as a Finalist for the Drone Video of the Week for this fantastic wintertime video of the Beskid (Beskydy) mountains of the northern Czech Republic.  The Beskids run for a length of about 600 km (around 360 mi.) through the northern Czech Republic, along the border between Slovakia and Poland, and into Ukraine.  They form part of the great Carpathian range, which also covers much of Romania.  As you will see in the video, the Beskids form a truly iconic winter landscape.   

Trust us on this one: The timeless beauty found at the National Romanian Opera house has *never* been seen like this! Drone pilot Skylens made our FPV Pilots to Watch list in March 2020 when he uploaded this remarkable tour of this famed landmark in Bucharest, which was built in 1953.  Watch as he takes us all on an elegant flight through the entry and around the levels of the audience seating area before he navigates around the cast dancing and singing upstage.  Everything about this flight was a top performance.  Bravo, Skylens.

Brand-new AirVuz contributor expeditionsouth hit a "bullseye" with this spectacular drone video from Bolivia. He spent two months criss-crossing this landlocked South American country with a Kawasaki KLR 650 motorcycle and a DJI Mavic Pro drone. The DVOW winning video features footage from both the portion of the country covered by the Andes Mountains system as well as the northern portion, which is part of the Amazon River Basin. Check out the amazing aerials of the Uyuni Salt Flats, the "train cemetery", the Altiplano, and much more.  

Top contributor vitality.karpovich, whose first three AirVuz uploads were all picked as Drone Video of the Week Finalists, hits another "bullseye" in this fantastic drone video of Budapest, Hungary.  The video opens with some epic footage of St. Stephens Basilica, the Neo-Classical masterpiece completed on the eve of World War I.  Other sights featured include the orange-steepled Matthias Church, the enormous Parliament Building, Buda Castle, Fishermen's Bastion, the Statue of Liberty atop Gellért Hill, and more.  

We definitely don't see this too often...actual flying and filming during a demolition!  The very brave and skilled pilot Pircho FPV flew his racing quad around the Hungarian scene of a tall chimney tower in the moments before, during, and after its imminent demise.  He snuck in a few last dives down the stack before the explosion brought it to the ground.  The flight was remarkable, the footage fantastic, and the ultimate edit was a real crowd pleaser...all good reasons for Pircho FPV to be added to our March 2020 FPV Pilots to Watch list.

Top content creator hamzamuj brings us this marvelous video from the great South Asian nation of Pakistan.  Shot using both drone and ground camera footage, the video features footage of the Badshahi and Wazir Khan Mosques in Lahore; the mountain town of Naran in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa; and numerous sites in the northern territory of Gilgit-Baltisan, including the city of Karimabad, the Passu Cones ridge, the Hussaini Suspension Bridge, the Hunza Valley, Attabad Lake, Baltit Fort, Eagles Nest, and the Duiker View Point.

To get a sense of how drones are revolutionizing the way we can view action sports, check out this magnificent video from the French Alps by new AirVuz contributor maximemoulinfilm.  The subject of the piece is Sam Favret, one of France's top freeride skiers.  The video captures him seemingly flying down a mountain in the Aiguilles Rouges, a massif of the French Prealps which is situated across the Chamonix Valley from Mt. Blanc.  This video earned a nomination in the Extreme Sports category at the 6th NYCDFF.

In this adrenaline-charged 60 seconds, Team AirVuz pilot Phluxyfpv made the most of a Minnesota winter reality: frozen lakes.  Watch as his quad chases some professional drift racers spinning around the white course while the GoPro captures all of the action.  Of course, Phluxy has no problem keeping up, considering he placed 3rd in the 2019 season of the Drone Racing League (DRL).  For this gem of an FPV video, we of course had to put him on our FPV Pilots to Watch in March 2020.

Top AirVuz contributor and pilot BeemFlights brings us this DVOW nominated film from the great Indonesian city of Bandung. The capital of the province of West Java, Bandung is the country's fourth largest city (after Jakarta, Surabaya, and Bekasi) and the center of its third-largest metropolitan area.  Situated in a river valley and surrounded by mountains, Bandung's elevation of 770 meters above sea level (around 2.5k ft.) provides it with cooler climate compared to the country's other large cities.  

FPV pilot Haliticfpv packed his FPV racing quad on his trip to Ireland with his wife, and properly put his resources to use to take in a crazy good flight along the water's edge in County Kerry.  The rocky coast was just asking for his drone to surf along its jagged edges, and the steep rock wall with the pounding waves seemed to be calling him too.  This video is part FPV masterpiece and part creative tourism marketing for this inspiring coastline, and we're pretty sure it's not just the Irish eyes that are smiling as they watch.

Check out this magnificent round-the-world drone reel by top AirVuz contributor FrameworkFilms.  The video features highlights from ten years' worth of aerial videography work from Europe and North America, including (in order of appearance) San Francisco's Bay Bridge, downtown Manhattan, southern Iceland, the Shiprock formation in the Southwestern USA, downtown Los Angeles, Mexico's ruins of Chichen Itza, the Chicago River, the Seattle Space Needle, the Faroe Islands, the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, and more. This video won DVOW in March 2020.

Top contributor and former DVOW winner Makhorov brings us this stunning wintertime video of one of the most important cities in Asian Russia: Krasnoyarsk.  Capital of its namesake oblast, it's the third-largest city in Siberia after Novosibirsk and Omsk.  Founded as a border town on the banks of the Yenisei River in the early 17th century, it went on to become one of the most important junctions for the Trans-Siberian Railroad.   The video features some stunning dronelapses from the vapors visible in the frigid temperatures.  

Most of us have seen incredible drone footage of Germany's iconic  Neuschwanstein Castle, but never the likes of what first person view (FPV) pilot TimFeistner offers up in this video.  While the stunning landmark in Bavaria was closed in response to the Coronavirus pandemic, this skilled freestyler found a silver lining and used the opportunity to cruise around the castle and it's breathtaking environs. Diving the "fairy tale" spires, he gives us a tour that's most definitely not on the usual sightseeing agenda

Ok...watch this fantastic 29 seconds of awesomeness which got top AirVuz content creator and first person view (FPV) pilot Nikofilmz on the FPV Pilots to Watch list in March, 2020.   Our contributor and his flying buddy Carter fly in formation high above the Sierra Nevadas in Sequoia National Park.  Keeping another quad "in frame" is not easy, and far less so when you're surfing California's gigantic mountains.  The view of the lead quad makes for some very impressive visuals, demonstrating the incredible creative potential of top FPV pilots.  

Top AirVuz contributor and pilot LP - Drone Videos put together this fantastic drone video from the fabled island of Zanzibar in the Indian Ocean. A territory of the East African nation of Tanzania, Zanzibar (together with its "sister" island of Pemba) was once known as the Spice Islands in reference to its extensive spice farming.  Shot with a combination of drone, ground, and underwater cameras, the video conveys the beauty of this tropical paradise which is located about 25 km (around 15 mi.) from the Tanzanian mainland.  .  

For a first upload to AirVuz, new contributor and former NYCDFF winner marcusmollerdp brings us this stunning video of the  landscapes of Sweden.  The video was shot with a variety of drones and cameras, including a DJI Inspire 2, a Mavic Pro 2, and a Red camera.  Filmed over different seasons, the video brings out the stunning natural beauty of this giant Scandinavian country.  The piece features outstanding footage of Sweden's lakes, forests, low-slung mountains, and northern lights.  At the 1:30, you'll even see a herd of Swedish reindeer!  

Just when we think we've seen the coolest bando for FPV, pilots like former Drone Video Award winner TomzFPV go ahead and really rewrite the script.  Check out this amazing freestyle flight around the abandoned cast iron factory known as the Lorraines Foundries and Steelworks in northeastern France.  It's been out of use since 1991 and decaying ever since, but its giant blast furnaces have been preserved for prosperity.  With his epic flight that hits all the gaps, this video was picked for the FPV Pilots to Watch list in March, 2020.  

Prepare to be amazed by this fantastic nighttime drone video from Shanghai, China, compliments of top AirVuz contributor and former Drone Video Award winner Panvelvet.  The video will take you over and through this fantastically modern city, now home to one of the world's most impressive skylines.  Shot during the evening hours and expertly edited (including some brilliant timelapses), you will be taken through the canyons created by its giant structures, over the historical Bund area, and along the Huangpu River.    

Experts say exposure to nature boosts our happiness and benefits both our physical and mental health (especially in a time of quarantine), but who could have hoped for a dose like this?  Watch this incredible long range flight over Mallorca, courtesy of pilot ParasiteFPV. This cinematic edit is full of power loops and smooth runs along the rocky coastline and lush forest of Spain's largest of the Balearic Islands.  GoPro + Reel Steady + Parasite FPV = FPV Pilot to Watch on AirVuz in March 2020.

Ravaged by the worldwide Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak, Italy went into a virtual national quarantine in mid-March, 2020. The emergency actions, desperately needed to stem an outbreak claiming hundreds of lives a day, effectively closed one of the world's most beautiful countries to international and even domestic travelers. To help us all remember what awaits when the epidemic recedes, new AirVuz contributor Ale_headshot brings us this wonderful aerial collage of Italy before the epidemic took hold here. This video won DVOW in March 2020.

On AirVuz, we've known Sharpwest to deliver some pretty great cinewhoop flights, but this flight has taken off in a different direction...like over a pretty sweet bando he discovered.  He told us it was from a hotel that was abandoned over 40 years ago, and the remaining shell and outside features provided plenty of spaces for him to show off his flying skills.  Watch as he skims the outer walls, flies upside down and through the gazebo, and give us all plenty of reasons to add him to the FPV Pilots to Watch list in Marco 2020. So we did!

Of all the islands of the Caribbean Sea, the one with the most appeal to nature lovers is probably Dominica.  One of the world's smallest countries, Dominica lies roughly in the middle of the Lesser Antilles, as the smaller islands of the eastern Caribbean are known as a group.  Geologically the youngest of the Caribbean islands, Dominica's interior is covered by lush mountainous rainforests.  This means, of course, waterfalls; check some of them out in this amazing piece by top contributor semberadventure.  

Monument Circle in Indianapolis, Indiana is home to the Sailors and Soldiers Monument, which was completed in 1902.  This limestone monument is now a symbol of both its home city and state, and due to the empty streets caused by the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic, it was an alluring challenge for FPV pilot vitopulverenti.  Watch this cinematic edit in which he uses his GoPro, his skilled flying maneuvers, and ReelSteady to create an epic freestyling treat.  We enjoyed it so much we put him on our FPV Pilots to Watch list in April 2020.

As Italy's death toll from the Covid-19 coronavirus epidemic soared past China's in late March, 2020, top AirVuz contributor marco.ghisetti pulled together some of his best drone footage to create this moving tribute to his suffering country.  The video opens with an epic shot of the Tre Cime di Lavaredo formation in the Dolomite Mountains.  Other featured locations include the great historical treasures of Florence and Venice, the seaside town of Polignano in Apulia, the financial capital city of Milan, and more.