AV News: Droning Without Limits

Here is an inspiring story about a fellow drone pilot out of Esperance, Australia. At the age of 17, Jaimen Hudson suffered major injuries after a motorbike crash, leaving him paralyzed. The accident would undoubtedly change his life, but it did not deter him from exploring new hobbies. Now 25 years old, Jaimen has mastered the art of aerial cinematography and his videos have amassed millions of views all over the internet. Check out his amazing story here, brought to you by AirVuz!
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As those in the Drone community know, having the right set of skills and knowhow to operate a drone properly can result in some great flying, and even greater footage. A drone pilot out of Australia did not let one life obstacle get in the way of his ability to capture some amazing views. Here’s Tyler Mason with the story.
Jaimen Hudson spent plenty of time outdoors as a kid growing up in Australia. He enjoyed diving, surfing and riding bikes, making the most of the beautiful scenery in his hometown of Esperance. But when he was 17, Hudson crashed his motorbike while attempting to clear a jump. The accident changed his life forever.
“I would have had, not exaggerating; a lot worse crashes than that in the past. It’s just obviously how I landed on my head. I pushed my head towards my chest. I always explain it like this because to me, this is how it went down. To me, I felt like a weird, it was like an electric shock or something go through my body.”
Hudson broke the C4 and C5 vertebrae in his neck. He was paralyzed instantly, telling a friend at the scene of the accident that he couldn’t feel his arms. Now a quadriplegic confined to a wheelchair, Hudson does have some use of his hands but doesn’t have the finger dexterity he once did. Though the 25-year-old Hudson is no longer able to participate in the activities he and his friends enjoyed before his accident, he’s found a way to stay connected – with a drone.
Hudson first saw a drone in action in late 2014. As soon as he saw the aerial video that was taken, he was hooked.
“Like anything, when you first see drone footage, you’re like, ‘Wow, that’s such a different perspective. That’s amazing.’ So I wanted to buy one, but I wasn’t sure if I would be able to fly it because I don’t have dexterity in my hands. They’re sort of like that all the time. But my family was like, ‘Just buy one, and if you can’t use it, just sell it. It doesn’t really matter at the end of the day.’ I was like, ‘That’s a good point.’”
Hudson purchased a Phantom 2 and used his GoPro camera. He eventually upgraded to the Phantom 3, which he still uses. It was with that drone that Hudson captured two different videos that went viral. The first was a collection of dolphins swimming in the waves, a video that reached half a million views online. A few weeks later, Hudson uploaded another video, this time of two whales swimming near a paddle boarder. That footage proved to be even more popular than his dolphin video and now has nearly 6 million views online. That viral video resulted in interview requests for Hudson from outlets such as the Australian Broadcasting Channel, the Huffington Post, the Sydney Morning Herald, and now AirVuz News.
“It’s crazy how much of a reaction it got. I guess it’s just the size comparison between the paddle board and the whales underneath it in the clear water. That sort of clarity of the water, we just experience that all the time. But I think people from other parts of the world that aren’t lucky enough to see that very often; they’re pretty stoked on it when they do see it.”
Despite limited dexterity in his fingers as a result of his bike accident, Hudson has had very few problems operating his Phantom 3. When he’s not flying his drone, he helps his family at their marine-based tourism business in Esperance. Eventually, Jaimen hopes to make drone videos into a money-making venture. He’s working on obtaining the proper certification in order to fly drones commercially in Australia. In the meantime, he’ll continue to enjoy spending time with his friends via his newfound hobby.
“People just like seeing stuff like that, seeing a different perspective of themselves surfing. I think the best way to explain it is back when I surfed, everyone likes seeing footage of themselves, but no one really wants to be the one standing on the beach with a camera. They want to be out there enjoying it. That’s where it’s cool, inclusion with them.”
At AirVuz News, I’m Tyler Mason.