Cebu Temple May 2010

This is one aerial shoot that I am really proud of.. This is our debut into Night Time Aerial Videography and there can be no other perfect subject than the newly built Cebu Temple. It was truly an honor for the whole AeroEye Asia team to be of service to God! :)

SuperFerry Print Ad

My father was the one who saw this on Saturday's paper... :)

Aerial Virtual 360° Tours

As part of AeroEye Asia's commitment to constantly find ways to improve our services and offer new innovative solutions to our clients, we are re-introducing the Aerial Virtual 360° Tours.

A few months back we hinted about launching this new service. Now that we have perfected our procedure in conducting such shoots, this is our answer to what my professor at the Asian Institute of Management would fondly say, "Make yourself obsolete, else others will".

This is perfect for real estate developers and marketers. From an aerial virtual perspective to an interior virtual tour of model units and facilities. Go ahead, check out the following links:

http://www.aeroeyeasia.com/aerialvirtualtour.html

http://www.aeroeyeasia.com/virtualtour

Matanglawin's New OBB

We got interviewed on ABS-CBN lately to talk about the making of Matanglawin's New Opening Billboard that they'll be using as the show enters it's 3rd year.

Thank you Matanglawin Production Team and especially Kuya Kim for this honor and privilege to work with you guys! More power to your show!

Shooting for PNOY

Shooting for President Noynoy Aquino is such a privilege and a feat that will be hard to equal by any of the new players in our industry. It was such a historic event for AeroEye Asia that left me proud of my team for such an astonishing achievement. Despite the rains that day, Cory Magic prevailed and we were able to conduct a successful shoot LIVE on national TV with no less than the President of the Philippines as guest of honor and witnessing our helicam take the shot of the unfurling of the Guinness Book of World Records entry, Tita Cory's Gigantic Photo Mosaic. The milestone event was held at the Quirino Grandstand area last July 31, 2010, around three o'clock in the afternoon.

We were guarded by no less than four Presidential Security Group personnels, all our equipment inspected and were tagged with PSG stickers.




(Guinness World Records Entry; Tita Cory's Gigantic Photo Mosaic)

Aerial Photography of Ships

Surprisingly, despite the rains, July and August got pretty busy as well.

Here are two of the recent ships we shot:

Shooting ships is by far the most challenging aerial shoot that we ever do. This may look and sound simple but behind the scenes there are so many concerns and details to tackle, ranging from the ship's date of availability, the course of the ship to take, average speed, maneuvers to make (Williamson's Turn), the ship owner's go signal and the ship captain's cooperation, --plus concerns of the weather and the best time to shoot. 

Before AeroEye Asia started offering close range aerial photography services using RC helicopters, there was the problem of logistics. It was so difficult to match the time of rendezvous of the airplane or helicopter with the ship. Out in the sea, it is like finding a needle in a haystack. What if the lorry carrying the ship's fuel got delayed? What if it rains? What if the ship encounters some technical problems and can't leave port immediately? So many concerns that can easily drive any project manager to insanity.

After MT Matikas, Betico2, MT Magsaysay Island, MT Panglao Island, Star Sirius, SuperFerry20, MT Samal Island, we can safely say that AeroEye Asia has the experience to help simplify the task of conducting aerial shoots of ships SAFELY and SUCCESSFULLY, from barges to Motor Tankers and Cruise Ships. 

(Aerial Photography of Ships in the Philippines, Aerial Photo Cruise Ships, RORO, Barges and Motor Tankers) 

Back to work!

Now after a month of R&R and R&D, it's time to get back to work. I aim to make July another exciting month for AeroEye Asia.. So far we have two confirmed bookings already, I need to find two more to meet my monthly targets (even though we reached our quota for the year already months ago).

Done with the Engine break-in of AeroEye4... finally! Next step is to install the governor then next comes the autopilot system. I aim to have it up and running by the end the month.

Aerial shots we did for Pilyang Kirubin and Endless Love were aired recently.  :-)

Sa totoo lang...

"Sa totoo lang" TV ad has been airing almost daily on prime time spots and even in cinemas.. wow!!! :-D

AeroEye Asia Web Site finally updated!

I finally found some free time to update the two gallery pages of our web site!

Check them out!

http://www.aeroeyeasia.com/galleryp2.html

http://www.aeroeyeasia.com/gallery.html

Beautiful Batanes: Mission Accomplished!

We flew in Monday, May 24, 2010, on a chartered flight which took us about one hour and ten minutes flying time, cruising altitude of about 30,000 feet. Capt. Dan (tisoy) was the one flying the 30-seater twin jet liner.

Batanes aerial shoot is for the upcoming TV series of GMA7, "Pilyang Kerubin". Our shoot involved a scenic shot featuring two kids running on a hill top something similar to Sound of Music opening sequence, in a location known to locals as Marlboro Country. Another shot involved Janno Gibbs with the kids and one with Eddie Garcia.

Upon arrival, we went straight to Marlboro Country and we were able to shoot a couple of scenes before it started raining. We resumed shooting around 4PM and by 5:30PM we were done for the day.

The morning of Day 2 it was raining really hard. Over breakfast, I was able to discuss with the executive producer the outlook of that day's weather based on several internet sites and saw a break by 11AM. So we all went back to our hotel rooms and by 11:30AM we were at the second location (beach scene) with Eddie Garcia and was able to shoot by 1PM when the rain finally stopped. Our shot with Eddie Garcia involved flying over rocks then revealing Eddie Garcia standing at the beach and flying around him then a pull out shot. By 3PM we were back at the Marlboro Country location to finish off our shot list involving Janno Gibbs. Thank you Lord!

We were done by 4PM and our driver, Romy, took us on a scenic tour around Batanes... wow.. Beautiful Batanes indeed!!!

Tataran Island

Our Cessna Team just got back today from Palawan Wednesday afternoon, bringing back with them amazing aerial shots of Tataran Island in Quezon, Palawan.

They were there Monday, May 17 and did the aerial shoot Tuesday, May 18. This aerial shoot involved flying our 2-seater Cessna to Puerto Princessa which took them 12 long hours total flying time to reach Palawan! They had to battle the headwind in full power! Plaridel-Calapan-Busuanga-Puerto Princesa was the route they took and their stop over refueling points.

Flying back to Manila only took them 8 hours due to the tailwind.

Good work team!

Catarman Shoot

Just got back from Samar... Tomorrow will be leaving for Gensan for another aerial shoot. So much has happened already and I'm now playing catch up on my blogging. Will update this by this weekend and post new pictures. :-)

Aerial Update Shoot for 32 Months!

Thursday, April 15, 2010... got a call from an energy company and they informed me that my proposal to do an aerial shoot of their 600 hectare project site in Bataan got approved already and that we'll be doing this for the next 32 months! Wow! We are to submit update aerial photos on or before the 13th of each month! :)

This is a job only a Cessna can accomplish and I have asked for the help of my dear friend Capt. Dennis Baltazar to take care of this for me. Norbert, our top gun DOP will be the one handling this since he has the experience already shooting out of the window of Dennis' two-seater Cessna. Norbert was the one who shot the NLEX, SLEX, SCTEX and STAR TOLL for the DPWH video project which aired (together with our 14-day footages of road networks and bridges all over the Philippines) on national TV last April 4, 2010. :)

Bohol Beach Club: Mission Accomplished!

We just got back today from a 5-day Bohol Beach Club aerial shoot which started Tuesday, April 13, 2010. Our official carrier for this project is Zest Air. Their handling of our baggage is satisfactory and they even gave us a few kilos bonus. They charge about P90 per kilo!

Day 1, Tuesday in Bohol Beach Club was all about planning of the shoot and ocular. It was raining the whole afternoon and we were not able to test our equipment.

Day 2, Wednesdauy started early and we were able to shoot the whole beach front by 9AM. Called off the shoot around 10:30AM when the wind at the Amihan side was getting gusty. Lunch was prepared for us by Executive Chef Victor. We were suppose to continue our shoot 4PM but again lighting was not that good in the afternoon.

Day 3, Thursday's shoot was a complete success! We were able to accomplish the whole shot list for BBC, both video and stills. The afternoon was spent doing an ocular and aerial survey of a 7 hectare property in Dawis (still in Panglao Island). This was a bit of challenge because it involved hiking up a hill. We were done shooting by 4PM.

Day 4, Friday morning was devoted to Blue Skies, another Tambuli Beach Resort in Panglao Island. Another successful shoot over water featuring the beachfront, restaurant, swimming pool and jacuzzi area of the resort. Sir Joey, the owner of Blue Skies, even treated us a very hearty lunch prepared by Bok and then brought us to a 90-hectare property overlooking the whole of Panglao Island which they plan to develop in the next 5 years! Around 2PM, we went back to the 7-hectare property again to do a quick aerial shoot of the front and rear overview of the 7 hectare property in Dawis.The rest of the afternoon was spent enjoying Bohol Beach Club to the max!

Day 5, we took the morning flight going back to Manila and got a good tip from the people at the check-in counter on how we can cut cost on the excess weight. ;)

In summary, we really enjoyed our 5-day stay in Bohol Beach Club. We all gained weight since we were pampered with buffet meals and special lunch treats prepared for us by their executive chef. The owners, the marketing manager and all their staff were so nice to us and very accommodating.

Will post pictures very very soon.

Aerial Shoot with a EUROCOPTER EC135!

Received a call Wednesday morning from a industrial park client requesting me to free-up my schedule Thursday, April 8, to ride a full scale heli and take aerial shots of their industrial park in Sto. Tomas, Batangas. Their Chairman will be dropping by Thursday around 1pm with prospective clients (locators) to do an ocular and since they have the heli for the whole afternoon, might as well use it to do aerial shots of their industrial park.

When we got there, I was so ecstatic to find out that I'll be riding one of Eurocopters latest models, the EC135. It's the Mercedes Benz of helicopters. All leather seats, super smooth flight characteristics.. wow, such a winner! I brought a partner photographer with me, Engr. Bugz to serve as backup to help take as much pictures as possible. He as well was so excited about the shoot since this will give him another opportunity to update his portfolio.

The flight was indeed really smooth despite winds blowing up to 27kph... we went up to a height of 1,000 feet and flew around the 300 hectare property twice. At one point we had to go up to 2,000 feet to avoid several kites flying in the area. :)

Busy Busy Busy

This week is getting busier by the hour... 2 confirmed meetings tomorrow, one on Wednesday and Maintenance day come Thursday, I need to have AeroEye1 checked, greased and cleaned-up, as well as complete setup and installation of AeroEye4 (MX9)..

I was up around midnight, dreamt about doing something with my camera mount to minimize excess movement and lessen the need to do post stabilization and EUREKA!, it worked! 

Will do another round of sales blitz tomorrow morning and try to see if we can still fit in a few more aerial shoots this month. 

Hello April!

Though April is not as busy as March in terms of the number of destinations (but who knows?), it can still fairly pass as a busy month since we're already booked in advance for a shoot of a popular resort in Bohol on the 2nd week, a wedding in Manila on the same week, and the much anticipated Road Trip Bicol aerial coverage on the 3rd week.

On the technical side, I aim to have the autopilot system up and running by the end of the month and offer a new application for my aerial services for real estate developers and property managers. This new application will be another milestone and another first in the Aerial Photography Industry here in the Philippines.

I just completed the break-in process of AeroEye3 which I will use as a platform for the autopilot system and next in line will be completing the build of AeroEye4 (MX-9) and breaking-in its new engine as well. :)

Matang Lawin OBB Shoot

What a day!

We were double booked for the day: Matang Lawin OBB Shoot in San Mateo, Rizal with five take-off points and Magallanes Cloverleaf/Interchange Shoot with just one take-off point. Our experience really made it possible for us to pull off two shoots in one day without rushing.

And this ladies and gentlemen concludes the month of March 2010 which will be remembered in AeroEye Asia's history as THE month to beat in terms of the number of signed contracts and aerial shoots.

Thank you Lord Jesus! :D

Election Year 2010

When I thought we have done all the aerial shoots humanly possible in a span of one month, I received a call the other day asking if I can do an aerial coverage of a rally, at night. I was quick to reply that we avoid shooting over big gatherings /crowds, especially at night --safety concerns. The person I was talking to is the managing director of a small TV network station and a big production outfit. He then asked if I can do motorcades and my answer was yes, as long as we identify safe take-off points and areas without wires.

Come following day we arrived at the assembly point in JP Rizal around 6AM. The motorcade started exactly 7AM and after getting enough footage at the first take-off point (Shot of the candidate waving at the camera and doing a pull out shot), we transferred to another spot where we waited for the motorcade to pass and get a shot of all the candidates waving at the helicam with the big Makati marker as backdrop.

After successfully executing the aerial shoot, I immediately captured the footage, stabilized it and handed it over to the director on DVD to playback at the Meeting de Avance that night.

TMX a blast!

I'm currently at The Enterprise Center in Makati and I have a few minutes to spare before my next meeting so I thought of updating my blog about what's been happening for the past few days...

Coming straight from the 14-day sprint around the Philippines, I had my pilot and safety officer brought directly to our hotel in Clark, Pampanga to rest and prepare for the next day's shoot. --Yes, I know, March has been crazy! It seems like everyone's requiring an aerial here and there and good thing is no conflicting schedules so far. I had to go straight back to Manila to get my SUV and fresh new set of uniforms. Our pilot had no choice but to do some laundry that night.

Saturday came and what the event's video production outfit required of us are establishing shots of all the TMX events. Dir. Buko gave us the creative freedom to compose and record all the aerial shots for them. All of which we were able to deliver to make it to their 3PM cut-off for the SAME DAY EDIT (SDE) AVP. Needless to say, we got so many praises from our corporate client as well as their agency. I really have to thank Dir. Buko and Lead Editor Mariel who both made us shine in the final cut. Video clips were stabilized and edited on the spot and this is what makes AeroEye Asia a true industry leader. We got what it takes and we synergize well with production outfits. Enuf said. :)

Wednesday, 24th March, we did an aerial shoot of Batangas Port. It was a quicky shoot and we were done by lunch time.

Now the next project we're preparing for is the 4-day RoadTrip Bicol event this coming April which will again involve two aerial teams.

Around the Philippines in 14 days...

Ang ganda ng Pilipinas!

Challenging Dasmariñas (Cavite)

While we were on the road going back to DPWH staff house in Tacloban, Leyte, I received a text message from a director who is currently  working on an AVP for the LGU of Dasmariñas, Cavite. He asked about our rates and I asked him back about the specifics of their requirements plus their deadline. After getting the details of the exact aerial shots that they needed and learning that their deadline was YESTERDAY, I told him how much we'll charge for the scope of work he defined and that we're free to shoot on Wednesday. 

Needless to say, we got the contract and proceeded with the shoot in Dasmariñas, Cavite come Wednesday. 

Total of 5 take-off points: 

1. Commercial Area

2. Industrial Park

3. School

4. Municipal Building

5. and Another School

I consider this a bit challenging because we haven't had this much take-off points for half a day's work. Plus the limited airspace that we took off is not for any pilot with a very very weak heart.

I think it is safe to say as of today, that we have successfully conquered Dasmariñas, Cavite.

Another great job, TEAM!

LEYTE-CEBU-BOHOL: MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

I will post the aerial videos we shot very very soon... :D

Smooth and Easy Bohol!

We woke up very early today, around 3AM... The team needed to be at the Ocean Jet terminal by 5AM and we have yet to pack our helis and support equipment. Got us Business Class tickets and it was a smooth 2-hour ride all the way to Tagbilaran. Upon reaching our destination, our mode of transport was a car for the crew, a pickup and a big truck for our helicopter case and support equipment. After checking-in and having a hearty breakfast, we started with our shoot around 10:30AM and we were done by 4PM. Another successful shoot.. and finally for this leg of our aerial shoot assignment, MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! Way to go TEAM! :D

Hanep Cebu!

1st time I ever tried PAL Express! Cool 50 minute ride from Tacloban to Cebu. VIP treatment by our clients from start to finish... 3 pick-up trucks as escort, and one Super Grandia as our personal transport service. Shoot to Kill late breakfast, and buffet lunch! WOW! 

We shot a total of two bridges, a viaduct and a subway. :)

Off to Tagbilaran tomorrow via Ocean Jet... :D

Agas-Agas Bridge, Southern Leyte

We just got back from what seemed like we were on the road the whole day! Ang layo ng Agas-Agas! And I am so amazed that we were able to fit two helicopters, two camera mounts, a driver, a DPWH representative, a pilot, a safety officer plus me in a Mitsubishi Adventure! Hanep!

Sun was really up and we decided to go for aerial video first... followed a pick-up truck crossing the bridge then pull out to reveal the whole bridge..  then after lunch, relocated to a different spot to get a better aerial perspective of the bridge... will be posting our shot in a bit.

After Agas-Agas we went straight to a golf course and took several aerial stills.

Got super hungry after a day of shooting and went to Andok's where we super indulged on native food!

Tomorrow, Saturday,  we will be flying to Cebu to shoot another bridge and roadway then Bohol come Sunday.. ang hectic! ;)

All I can say is.. WOW! :-)

Kota Keluarga... Azure.. ADB Tower Project... Lucky ME TVC Shoot... DPWH... I never had so much business in barely just two months into the new year!

Saturday 28 February, 2010, will be remembered as another milestone in AeroEye Asia's history.. we did our very first test shoot using a full scale Cessna!

Busy Busy Busy

Looks like it's going to be a very busy March, April and May for my team..

This coming March we are scheduled to do several shoots outside Metro Manila for DPWH as far as Vigan up north, then somewhere in the Mountain Province, then down to Cebu, Bohol and Leyte, to Butuan and Davao in Mindanao...

Then back to bohol for a beach resort shoot..

Come April there will be two trips down Mindanao again and a 4-day road trip in Bicol...

May, a 4-day shoot in Cebu then biggest Human Star on the 28th...

Busy Busy Busy! Thank you Lord! :)

A New Mac and MX9

This coming week we will be acquiring another RC Heli which will take on the role as backup heli and designation AeroEye#4. Also happening this week, I will be retiring my old MacBook Pro and acquire the new 13 inch version.

Autopilot update: New Servos Installed!

Finally had the new servos installed by Mark the other day. . . just one more final tank full of fuel with 2T mineral based oil and it will be ready to take on the role of lead Helicam of Team B.

Next move is to complete the new setup and break-in process. Once that's all done, then comes the installation of the autopilot system.

ADB Tower Shoot

Took off from roof deck.  We were able to get a good aerial shot of simulated view from 45th floor up for the ADB Tower Project. The neighboring building was so nice to allow us to shoot from their roof deck. We just walked-in and talked with the building administrator.

Another perfect no-wind situation. The only technical concern we had was the down link receiver somewhat receiving unstable signals due to frequency noise. Ortigas is widely known as a noisy environment in terms of microwaves, radio waves etc. We only used up the remaining fuel from yesterday's shoot.

Azure Shoot

Another successful shoot today in Bicutan. We started around 8AM and we were done by 9:30AM. Funny thing was my pilot and safety officer thought we were going to the beach (LOL)!

Shots were all aerial stills, meant to give an honest representation of the type of views from units purchased from the 10th floor all the way up to the 30th floor.

Kota Keluarga

Kota Keluarga shoot last Wednesday (February 17) went smoothly. The trip took us about two and a half hours from Manila. Left around 5:30AM and arrived around 8AM. We took both aerial video and aerial stills of the gate, the park and the beach resort area. Had a great lunch at a nearby eatery called "Kapamilya" (it's just a make-shift resto similar to Goodah setup outside a house)... spent only about Php500 to feed 5 people. Kaldereta, Bopis, Ginataang Isda (forgot the name of the fish) and Adobo. Busog!

Even though our contract was just for a half-day shoot only, we took our time taking the shots and we were done by 4PM. Got home around 7:30PM and just found out that it was our RC pilot Mark's birthday! No wonder he kept on showing us his driver's license that morning... Happy Birthday Mark!

Good job Mark and Caloy (A Team) ! :)

What a Pefect February Weather!

We have been experiencing blue skies for the past several days and more blue skies expected for the next couple of days! Wow! Perfect timing for all my scheduled shoots this month of hearts! Cheers! :)

Beware of Master Jinx

I just had a relaxing Sunday at the flying field... One more liter mixed with mineral oil to go and AeroEye3 will be ready to take on the role as the Helicam with an Autopilot system.

I witnessed another crash at the field that afternoon involving a RC Helicopter. I think people should start learning not to entrust their helicopters or airplanes with the Master of all Jinx. It seems that anything he touches gets destroyed eventually. This guy has a track record already of crashing things due to his stubbornness and complete disregard to safety (sounds familiar?), -- walang pagmamalasakit ito sa gamit ng ibang tao. What makes it worse is that he gets so comfortable borrowing other people's RC helicopter / RC plane to the point he gets so adventurous flying it. And then when he crashes it, he comes out with all the wise alec excuses and technical babble why it crashed and what part failed. When will you people ever learn? 

Panday Kids

Aerial shoot in Morong, Bataan went very smoothly. First location shoot was in Zambales where we took some aerial shots of the lahar area.. next was the river shot revealing the hanging bridge where a fight scene is taking place, and lastly was a forest overview shot.

As we presented the stabilized aerial video to the production crew that same afternoon, everyone got so excited and they were all happy with the results and how fast we were able to execute Direct Mike's instructions. Christopher De Leon was there as well and was so pleased and amazed with what we did.

3 locations within 6 hours, using just 1.5 liters of fuel, -everything was shot with just one take. I guess it is safe to say now that our experience made the big difference.  :)

Animo La Salle!

We had a successful shoot today at DLSU - Dasmariñas Cavite. Another world record attempt that we got ourselves involved in, -- to form the biggest human star (about 12,000 participants were expected)... We provided a live video feed to the Large LED screen and made a total of 5 flights from 5:30PM to 7:30PM. Another milestone for AeroEye Asia that showcases our capability for doing aerial shoots at night.

Safety was everyone's major concern so we did our best to manage our risk. We had so many backup plans and emergency procedures in place. I'm glad that we were able to pull it off perfectly without any incident. Another proof that our policy on safety, maintenance, pre-flight, post-flight checks are all working for us.

Whata-Windy-January!

Average wind conditions lately has been 12 kph, peaking up to 20 kph!... I'm happy to report that despite of unfavorable weather conditions, kayang-kaya pa rin namin!  But of course, once my pilot starts to raise red flags, I'll call off the shoot no matter what. Safety first.

One of the lessons we learned the hard way in one of our past projects is knowing when to say NO to clients.

Saying YES all the time is dangerous and outright crazy. If it's beyond our competency, then it is better to be honest about our limitations than risk our safety record and the reputation of our business. Managing the client's expectation before conducting any shoot is our standard practice.

My Autopilot system has finally arrived!

We had another successful shoot today at an industrial park in Batangas!

Yesterday's wind condition prevented the B Team to take any shots. It was too gusty, around 40kph! For safety reasons, after 4 different take-off site attempts, we decided to pack up and go.

I went back to the park again today around 7AM, but this time with my A Team. The reason why it seems that we are resolved to get the shots done ASAP is due to our January 18 deadline. Our client, an assistant to the president of a big holding company based here in Manila, needs the photos for a very very big presentation to their Chairman of the Board this coming Tuesday.

Having a reputation to make things happen, despite the windy weather problem, we went ahead with the shoot and was able to take enough pictures to back up our client's report.

We are set to go back to the park this coming Friday to have another go with the borrowed autopilot system, try to reach a height more than 150 feet and use a standard lens to capture a panoramic shot.

On my way home, while in transit, I went on-line to check the shipping status of the GPS-equipped autopilot system I ordered from the U.S. and it stated that it is in transit for delivery... I then quickly called home and our security guard said that the package is already there! Wooohooo!!

There's no stopping us now from Conquering 2010!

AeroEye Asia Today

As we strive to attain our Vision to be Number ONE and make AeroEye Asia brand synonymous with Aerial Videography and Aerial Photography in the Philippines, as well as our Mission to "Exceed our Client's Expectations, Commitment to Quality and Safety Above All.", we now have embarked on a 5-year development program that will expand our current capacity and competencies to include and cater to two niche markets that we have recently identified.

Presently, the company owns a fleet of three petrol-powered rotary wing aerial platforms...

Another gasser and an electric coming this February...

Two camera mounts, and another two in the works..

Two great pilots who both understand my business formula and principles..

Client-friendly downlink monitors...

A safety officer who doubles as Helicam Operator in case the client requires two helicam teams...

A team of female Brand Ambassadors /Safety Officers for big events...

A Team of Cessna pilots and access to a two-seater plane...

A Cessna mount in the works already and scheduled for testing by March 2010...

A Full Scale Helicopter camera mount (testing phase already) and access to a Robinson R44..

Insurance coverage for third party liability and property damages...

Group insurance coverage to cover our risks whenever we're out in the field...

An institutionalized preventive maintenance program, pre-flight, post-flight checks and SOPs which resulted to ZERO Incident /Zero Accident record for 2009...

Flight Stabilization System

I just got word from my supplier abroad that he will be shipping the component I ordered from him by Monday. I really can't wait to get my hands on this flight stabilization system. This is part of my short term development plan on identifying other niche markets that my aerial business can serve effectively. About three months ago, I am so blessed to receive an email from the Chairman of a company who is into an industry that will be so perfect for my setup to get into. He learned about my company from an article written by my dear friend that was published last year in Philippine Star. He is all out support to get me into the industry that his company is involved in. He is equally excited about the news and can't wait for us to start doing business together.

My Detractors -- Idiots you should avoid working with

Hmmm... instead of naming names, I'll let you in on how they became my detractors.

This aerial business came about as a thesis idea to earn my Masters Degree on Entrepreneurship. It is a result of pure market research. And for those of you aspiring to be Entrepreneurs like me, the best suggestion that I can give is "do not assume", always base your decisions on "facts" and the only right way to do it is through "market research". This is so "common sense" among prominent entrepreneurs.. but in the 10 years of being a consultant, "common sense" is not so common to a lot of people.

After Googling for weeks, I finally ended up with my very first viable aerial platform, --a 5-foot helium balloon, tethered. I was very successful in using this platform for 6 months with my Canon 300D Digital SLR coupled with a Canon Super Wide Angle Lens until my clients started asking if I can do aerial videos as well. Helium supply became a problem as well which led me to consider RC Helicopters.

Detractor#1 - We were introduced through a common friend. He's into gas-powered RC Helis and has successfully created a camera mount that his heli can carry. He claims to be "the very first to do aerial photography in the Philippines" using an RC Helicopter. Our common friend suggested that we put up a company together and split the earnings 50-50. My job is to take care of marketing, provide the camera equipment that we will be using, as well as editing the images and videos. His part is to provide the aerial platform.

To cut the long story short, whenever we have a scheduled shoot, he is either out of the country, busy or his heli has crashed and is still waiting for some parts to arrive. After almost a year of cancellations, I said to myself, this business will never take off. I had to call it quits with the guy and move on.

Detractor #2 - After calling it quits with my now Detractor #1, I moved on and taught myself to fly a RC Heli with the help of one of the Philippine's top F3C pilots. I then realized that all the info that this previous so called business partner of mine (Detractor#1) was feeding me about NITRO-powered RC helicopters were all untrue. Thank God for the internet and for a lot of helpful hobbyists based in the U.S., I learned a lot of things about RC helicopters, about limitations and managing risks. And again, to cut the long story short, I was successful in transforming a NITRO-powered RC Heli into a feasible aerial platform.

Six months of successful shoots later (I had ZERO incidents/ZERO crashes with that NITRO-powered RC helicopter before moving to gassers for economical reasons--cheaper fuel), a group of hobbyists offered to partner with me and set up a corporation together. And when we were discussing about shares, there was this guy (my now Detractor#2) who insisted on a big % share of the corporation and is questioning my % share. His contribution will be purely "industrial", nothing more. His background is RC AIRPLANES and as he claims, he was part of a team of experts whose task was to develop military AUVs. Sensing potential problems with the sharing scheme and that I will still end up doing most of the work, I finally decided to back out. ---"Hello?! Hindi po ako uto-uto."

Detractor #3 - Oh this guy... he texted me and asked if we can meet up to explore the idea of outsourcing his clients' aerial requirements to my company. He is into renting video equipment and his wife is a director. I was so gullible at that time and did not realize that he was actually fishing for info on how I do my business and his real objective was to get into the same aerial business. Lo and behold, after telling him stuffs about my aerial platform, my pricing scheme and what works for clients and how we can make this "outsourcing" game plan work, --I was so surprised to see him at the RC heli shop the following day. Later on it became very obvious what his real agenda was. He told my "kumpare" (the shop owner and the one who manufactures my RC heli) of his plans to buy several helicam units and get into the aerial photography business by renting them out to his existing clients. This guy thinks that a RC helicopter is as easy as operating a video camera.. that a RC helicopter is something that his clients can learn to fly overnight and use for business the following day. Wow, I had an impression that he is a smart guy who researched a lot about this and learned a lot about AP biz from what we call THE INTERNET.

He became my detractor when he realized that PINOYHELICAM.COM points to my web site and confronted me with this and stated that he has RIGHTS to this domain name. Ows??? Now that's STUPID.

POP QUIZ: What's the very first thing that you should do when starting your own business, --something so fundamental that you should accomplish before ever thinking of ADVERTISING your business? Anyone???

ANSWER: Come up with a good businss name that is catchy and unique then check with DTI for the business name availability and reserve it ASAP! If it's available, check if the domain name is available as well and if it is, grab it immediately! Register your trademark or business name ASAP! Once you have the DTI registration document and application approved that's the only time you can claim RIGHTS to a business name.

This Detractor #3, sad to say, did not do his due diligence and blames me for his STUPIDITY. Imagine, he started spending money advertising and using a business name or trademark that he hasn't checked yet with DTI if it's available. He even posted a statement at an online forum attacking me, where he tried (in vain) to rally all my detractors and the whole RC community against me.

Detractor #4 - "Ang pa-importanteng" RC pilot, who's lame excuses include "Sorry I didn't make it, I've been waiting for a taxi for two hours", someone who seems to be a victim of food poisoning once a month, who switches off his cellphone the whole day if he doesn't feel like working, whose stubbornness contributed to a lot of crashes that costs my business to lose our earnings to repairs, and who is such a pea-brain when it comes to doing business. After several months of this kind of bad attitude, I had to call it quits with him. I think he assumed too much that my business will be paralyzed without him. To think that he is already getting 1/3 of whatever I am being paid for each project, he still wanted more. No matter how much I explained my business formula, he simply doesn't get it or refused to understand.

1/3 - pilot, 1/3 my share, 1/3 for the business operation

What this guy does not understand is for the business to prosper, there are costs involved: Cost of operations, cost of marketing, cost of communication, cost of transportation, cost of depreciation, cost of tax, business permits etc. All these things are WAY BEYOND HIS COMPREHENSION. His only responsibility aside from flying the heli is to make sure our aerial platform is in good working condition and do regular checks on all the parts. He has no monetary investment in my company and yet he gets 1/3 of the project cost net of VAT. One of the old folks at our flying field finally opened up as he heard me air my concerns about this guy's bad attitude-- this old folk validated and concurred this idiot's lack of professionalism and etiquette. "Pontoy" is the perfect word to describe this guy.

I really don't know what happened to this guy.. sobrang bait naman nitong taong ito sa field when I first met him, sobrang matulungin sa pag setup ng helis ng mga newbies at kung sino mang may bagong laruan... ewan ko ba... Siguro mas bagay na yun nalang gawin niyang pang habang buhay dahil mahirap siyang katrabaho. I think the statement MONEY CHANGES PEOPLE is so very true! Ibang klase talaga work ethics ng taong ito, --nakaka-stress! Talo pa ang demands ng isang girlfriend or asawa. Kung hindi mo susunduin sa tinitirhan niya, ma-le-late siya ng dating at mapupurnada project schedule ko... at kung hindi mo sasakyan yung kaartehan niya, hindi ko magagawa yung shoot for the client. I will not be surprised if this guy as well as Detractor #2 will stay single for life...

I finally called it quits when I lost another client. This idiot wasn't answering my calls and text messages re his schedule. I really got so pissed when I later found out that he was just at the shop the whole time, just surfing the internet and checking his Friendster account.

Let's talk about crashes.. in a span of just a few months, we had several crashes already. And all these crashes WERE AVOIDABLE had he listened to me!

crash#1 - Main gear failure. Heli crash landed. Ok, nobody's fault. But it could have been prevented if I already knew back then about symptoms of a main gear that is about to fail.

crash#2 - one of my constant reminders to this guy is to follow safety procedures which includes "avoid taking off nose-in, as this may lead to disorientation and crash the heli upon take-off". During our Pinatubo shoot heli fell to its side upon take off damaging main blades. He claimed the cause of the crash was sudden gust of wind. Huhh?! What wind!?Another friend of mine who is a RC heli pilot was there with us and it was obvious to him that it was a clear case of pilot error. Cost of repair: Php 7,000.00

crash#3 - Balamban Cebu shoot for a newly built catamaran. Prior to taking off, I kept reminding this guy to be aware that there is a crane at the dock where the catamaran was parked. Yet, he still managed to hit it with our heli. Cost of repair: Php 30,000.00 for the heli, Php 35,000.00 for a brand new 3CCD mini DV camera with wide angle lens attachment. We got lucky the helicam didn't plunged into the sea and landed on the dock, else it would have been a total loss.

crash#4 - At our flying field in Cavite, after fixing the heli, another constant safety procedure reminder of mine to this guy is avoid chopping the throttle, --the engine might unexpectedly quit. Never do FORCED AUTO-ROTATIONS with my helicopter unless it's a real emergency situation. There is no sense of risking the heli. As he was doing another test flight, he still went on defied my safety reminder and chopped the throttle to show-off his AUTO-ROTATION skills, it went bad and needless to say, the heli crashed. Cost of repair: Php 17,000.00

crash#5 - engine was sounding lean already, and no matter how much he adjusted the needles, he couldn't get the tuning right. I told him to abort the shoot and land the heli immediately. He stubbornly continued flying and yelled at me to keep on shooting, "Ayoko nang bumalik dito! Sige na magshoot ka nalang ng magshoot!". As I had feered, the engine flamed-out, the heli crashed, the new 3CCD camera got damaged (purchased recently as the replacement for the previous one which got destroyed in another crash), camera mount got twisted and damaged as well. Cost of repair: Php 20,000.00 plus cost of repair of the new 3CCD camera and wide angle attachment!

crash#6 - It was during a shoot in Bacolod, Helicam#1 was out of commission due to a bad thrust bearing so we resorted on using the backup heli (heli sponsored by manufacturer). The previous day as we conducted a test flight, the backup heli sounded strange. There's this humming sound emanating from the center of the heli. He told me that it's nothing, it's just the main gear that needs replacing, --he has the replacement part with him already and all he needed to do was replace the gear that night. Come morning the next day, as he hovered the heli, it was still sounding weird. He admitted that he failed to replace the main gear the previous night but it will hold.. when we were about to start shooting I wasn't getting any trigger response on the camera so I requested him to land the heli for me to be able to fix the problem. As he was about to land, the main gear suddenly gave-up, heli landed hard and crashed! Imagine what could have happened if the main gear gave-up during mid flight! The heli can be repaired, but if it landed on people, wow, that will be a total disaster!

TOTAL DISREGARD TO SAFETY. This guy (Detractor #4) has total disregard to safety. Doing stunt flying at a project site after a shoot just to show off to clients also attests to this. Given his track record on heli maintenance and crashes, what if something goes wrong with the heli and hits someone at the project site? It's my business reputation that he is putting at risk!

After FOUR failed business partnerships, I started to question myself "teka, baka nasa akin ang diperensiya?"... You tell me... How about you? What would you do if your business partner is immature, unreliable, stubborn, has a pea-brain and doesn't understand words like "SUSTAINABILITY", "depreciation", "COSTS", "SAFETY" or if your partner is someone who has his own agenda and whose obvious goal is to make a quick buck /easy money and piggyback???

I'm a marketing person, an I.T. guy, a video editor, a web developer, a SEO consultant, a solutions provider and a proud entrepreneur. All of which I owe to my loving parents who invested heavily on my education... I am really puzzled why my detractors are crying out "Unfair Business Practices and Advantage"... What the @#$* are they talking about?! If you can't keep up to match my business, then switch industries and go find another niche!

These creatures, who are now my detractors, are THE creatures that you should AVOID working with! These are the idiots who will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience. So BEWARE. Huwag kang maging UTO-UTO! Always consult with a lawyer before signing into something.

A little bit of history...

I've been a subject of so much controversy with some members of the RC community (Philippines)... maybe because I have succeeded in such a short time where my so called detractors have failed..

Now that those people who detest me so much are finding it difficult to match our capabilities, they have resorted to dirty tactics such as character assassinations, negative publicity and blogs containing fabricated content to the extent of impersonating my wife and stating that she is into the escort service industry.

What I am realizing right now is that (unknown to them) the more they attack me, --the more blessings come my way. I am happy to report that I have 5 contracts for this month alone (January 2010), I'm debt-free, in good health, still happily married, blessed with a super cute and smart kid, and about to start with the construction of a new house. :)

My secret?

I always aim to be a solutions provider.

I live by the following principles:

"Keep Moving Forward" -- Walt Disney

"Knowing is Half the Battle" -- G.I. Joe

"DO GOOD, LOOK GOOD, FEEL GOOD" -- CPM

"Always strive to make your business obsolete, else others will." -- AJF

"You have to see beyond your nose." -- TL

"Staying Focused"

"Exceed Our Client's Expectations, Commitment to Quality and Safety Above All"

Tags: Jojo Mariano, AeroEye Asia, Bubut Lujero Mariano

Conquer 2010!

Finally decided to create a blog about my aerial shoots for 2010 and document how this year will be like for my business and personal success. So far there are so many exciting things in stored for us as we move to professionalize the business even further, explore new industries and identify and conquer another niche market.

Targets for 2010:

1. 36 Aerial shoots (minimum of 3 contracts per month)

2. 12 AVP contracts (minimum of 1 per month)

Total Gross Revenue Target: Php x,xxx,xxx.xx

My ultimate goal: To double the figures year after year based on my 5-year development plan; To be number ONE.