So there we are standing in the dewy Golf Costa Adeje grass at 9am waving up at a helium filled zeppelin, it’s the only way to start the day. Being Tenerife the sky was clear blue and the sun was already knocking out plenty of heat. The view of the golf course from our standing position was delightful but from the camera slung underneath the balloon it was so much more. A panoramic sweep showed the hills rising inland and the coastline sloping down to the twinkling Atlantic as gentle waves broke on the shore. This is Tenerife as seen by Vistaire Canarias and their aerial photo system and that’s just a hint of the new horizons opened up by this eye in the sky.
Martin Hejnar and Miguel Rodriquez, the business partners at the helm of Vistaire had met myself and John Beckley from Tenerife Magazine to show us just what their inflatable friend is capable of. The first surprise was seeing the balloon emerge already inflated from the back of their van, all wired up and raring to go. The camera suspended just underneath the main body was compact but powerful and Miguel was able to carry it to one of the greens to begin the test drive. As Miguel let out the line the zeppelin floated up to nearly 300 metres unwavering once it had reached the required height.
Martin had the fun part, tweaking the control box, easily held in one hand and able to zoom in and out as required not just to see us waving like school kids but also to take in any of the developments around the course and during a big tournament to follow the action quietly and with uninterrupted views that even the keenest spectators would struggle to achieve.
As we attracted curious gazes from the ground staff and early morning golfers Martin explained a bit of the company background. ” We started up in Mallorca 4 years ago and still have a base there but from Tenerife we cover the Canary Islands. The weather is nearly always good for us, the balloon is very aerodynamic and holds its position well in the air, it’s only really strong blustery cross winds that affect it.”
You may have already spotted the distinctive balloon around Tenerife on missions as diverse as mapping the coastline from Los Gigantes to Los Cristianos or filming the capital Santa Cruz to give unique still photos and video footage of cruise liners packing the port or rare views of iconic sights such as the auditorium. There is a full gallery on the Vistaire website and they are ready to take on any challenges that float their way.
