Those celebrities are often challenged to perform the very same stunts Bear is known for, and a lot of those have involved the use of a helicopter. Our unique skills and experience at providing helicopter stunts have led to us to have become a regular appearance over the years. These include rappelling Michael B Jordon into the sea and rescuing a sheep out of a quarry with Rob Brydon.

In September he came to us with something new, he wanted to skydive out of one of our helicopters at 10,000 ft. In true Bear Grylls fashion, this wasn’t going to be enough, to add an extra level of jeopardy to the challenge, he wanted to climb down out of the helicopter and hang from the skids. He planned to not do this alone; his son Jesse would be joining him in the stunt.

For most people this would but enough, but not for Bear. Hanging off the bottom of a helicopter 10,000 ft in the air simply would not be dangerous enough for the British adventurer. So, in preparation for the jump, he challenged Jesse to pack his parachute for him. Blindfolded! Packing someone else’s chute is a massive responsibility and to do so blindfolded, well, that’s just Bear Grylls for you.

After Jesse had packed Bear’s parachute, they joined Will Banks at our H125 (G-TVGB) and got ready to lift. They began the climb up to 10,000 ft where Will brought the helicopter to a hover ready for the skydive.

Capable of a maximum altitude of 23,000 ft (7,010 m), the H125 has no trouble getting to this altitude. However, in 2005, it broke the world record for the highest altitude landing and take-off at 29,029 ft (8,848 m) on Mount Everest.

Sliding open the door, Bear climbed down out of the helicopter while Will kept the aircraft steady, and then lowered himself further to hang off the skid. He was shortly followed by Jesse before they both let go and hurtled towards the ground.

A minute of freefall later and Bear’s parachute opened without a hitch, as did Jesse’s. But Bear’s challenge wasn’t over just yet. There had to be a winner in this stunt, and that would be whoever landed closer to a target in a nearby field. Landing much closer to the target, Jesse was the clear winner, leading Bear to cheat by running to the marker with his parachute still deployed.

Performing this skydive stunt required us to be granted special permission from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). As with all our stunt work, we always ensure we have the appropriate permissions from the CAA before the project begins.

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The helicopter abseil granted by the CAA was the first permission to be given for this kind of stunt within the UK whilst operating under an AOC.

While the cold, windy weather could not have been more perfect for the series producers. The weather added to the tasks already stringently laid down performance requirements. Having proven the ability to hover on just one functioning engine in the event of a failure of either engine, the CAA granted approval.

The abseil could not have gone any smoother. We were delighted to be a part of the chaos as both Bear and Michael rappelled down the wire. As they both dropped into the murky sea they were greeted with roaring waves crashing over them. The pair started their 24 hour adventure in style; Running Wild with Bear Grylls Season 2, Episode 7.

Since then, we are proud to have completed an array of helicopter stunts and aerial filming sequences across the TV sector. This has included a high volume of helicopter abseils, people jumping from the helicopter and people being flown on a longline underneath the aircraft with an additional filming aircraft capturing the action. The most notable stunt was for Harry Styles debut music video “Sign of the Times” which won Brit Award “British Artist Video of the Year 2018”.

If you are thinking of performing a helicopter stunt for your latest production, contact our operations team. They will be happy to discuss your requirements and options to make dynamic aerial sequences. At GB Helicopters we always maintain the highest level of safety on task.

For more information on helicopter abseils and aerial stunt work for TV and Film or contact our operations team on ops@gbhelicopters.com or call 0800 030 4105.

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