Camera flyer
Also known as: skydiving camera flyer, freefall videographer, tandem video flyer
A skydiver who jumps with helmet cameras to film other jumpers - tandem students, formation teams or wingsuit flights - from the exit to landing.
Updated
What it means
A camera flyer is an experienced skydiver whose job on a jump is to film. They wear a camera helmet with one or more cameras - usually an action camera, sometimes a stills camera fired by a mouth or tongue switch - and fly alongside tandem pairs, students or competition teams to capture the exit, freefall and often the canopy ride.
It is a skill in its own right: the flyer has to match fall rate, hold position a few meters from the subject and stay clear of them at deployment. Dropzones and national associations usually set a minimum jump number, often a couple of hundred, before anyone flies camera.
How it works in practice
A typical tandem setup is an action camera on top of the helmet, set to 4K at 60 fps with a wide field of view, which forgives small position errors at freefall speeds near 200 km/h. Many flyers add a 360 camera so the angle of the exit can be chosen later.
The sequence that sells a tandem video: gear-up and a short interview on the ground, the walk to the plane, the climb, the door exit, freefall smiles, the canopy opening and the landing. One load easily produces 15-30 minutes per camera, while the finished video is usually a few minutes long with music.
What to watch out for
Camera gear is a snag hazard. Helmet setups need low-profile mounts and a cutaway system so the helmet can be released if lines catch it. Never improvise a mount from parts that could hook a line or bridle, and follow your dropzone rules on camera equipment.
On the footage side, wind noise drowns freefall audio, so plan on music. Start recording before boarding - pressing a button at altitude with gloves on is unreliable - and make sure the card has room for the whole load. Fast temperature swings between the ground, the plane and altitude can also cause fog on a lens cover, so keep the lens clean and check it before exit.
How RawClip handles it
Camera flyers often come home with long, repetitive files from every load. RawClip takes them in one order - helmet camera, reframed 360 exports and phone clips from the ground - and the AI picks the exit, freefall and landing, removes the waiting and the climb, and cuts a beat-synced video at the length you choose.