Commercial Photography: Twister Aerobatics Team at DHL FOCUS 2020
Back in January, I, along with the Twister Aerobatics Team pilots Peter Wells and Chris Burkett embarked upon another adventure with DHL. On this occasion we would be the surprise opening act at the huge DHL FOCUS 2020 conference, hosted at Atlantis, The Palm, on Dubai’s Palm Jumeirah.
Chris Burkett & Peter Wells of Twister Aerobatics Team over the Palm Jumeirah, Dubai
Unusually for one of our DHL bookings, this one began (for us humans – the aeroplanes flew out from East Midlands Airport) at London’s Heathrow Airport. Instead of flying with the aeroplanes, we took an Emirates Airbus A380 to Dubai. We would reassemble, and base, the aeroplanes from the same private airfield used by Skydive Dubai. We would then reposition to the organisation’s Dubai Marina base each day.
Twister Aerobatics Team at rest at Skydive Dubai’s Dubai Marina base
Flying with Skydive Dubai
This provided some very cool opportunities, as it meant we could transit between the two in formation with some of Skydive Dubai’s own assets. The fleet of fixed wing aeroplanes is currently made up of de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otters.
A Skydive Dubai Twin Otter taking a brief rest between drops at Dubai Marina
Even cooler was the fact that they were quite happy for me to be harnessed (and wearing a parachute) next to the open cabin door of one of their aeroplanes, photographing the team’s Twisters alongside. The Palm Jumeirah is still a work in progress, but it’s impossible to deny that it’s a stunning sight from above.
The Silence Twisters of Twister Aerobatics trail their smoke over the sea just off Dubai’s Palm Jumeirah
Transiting back one day, we flew down the Sheikh Zayed Road. Skyscrapers reached up on either side, in some cases towering above us.
Twister Aerobatics Team flies down the Sheikh Zayed Road and past Dubai Marina
On another occasion, I was offered the chance to fly in the right-hand seat of the Twin Otter. It was during a drop, and the increased altitude provided even more breath-taking views of the landscape below.
Palm Jumeirah as viewed from a Skydive Dubai Twin Otter
DHL FOCUS 2020 Conference
The actual Twister Aerobatics Team performance at the DHL FOCUS 2020 conference was a trademark pyrotechnic show in the period immediately after sunset. I was lucky to be invited to photograph it from an elevated position at the Atlantis Hotel on the Palm Jumeirah. It’s not everyday that we get to perform with the Dubai Marina skyline as the backdrop!
The wing-tip mounted pyrotechnics burst into life at DHL’s FOCUS 2020 conference
The Twister Aerobatics Team pulls up into the vertical with the Ain Dubai ferris wheel behind
Twister Aerobatics Team passes in front of the Dubai Marina skyline
There was just enough time for Pete and Chris to get back to the hotel for the drinks reception part of the evening. Literally everybody wanted to meet them and to congratulate them on a great performance.
Atlantis, The Palm, Palm Jumeirah, Dubai
It had been another fantastic Twister Aerobatics Team adventure.
With sincere thanks to everyone who made it possible.
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If you’ve not already done so, please take a look at my Event Portfolio.[vc_row][vc_column][gem_textbox rectangle_corner=”lb” content_text_color=”#757575″ border_width=”1″][vc_column_text]Karl Drage is a professional Northamptonshire-based event photographer who also covers surrounding counties such as Leicestershire, Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Rutland, Oxfordshire & Warwickshire. If you are looking for an event photographer in the towns of Northampton, Kettering, Wellingborough, Oundle, Corby, Peterborough, Leicester, Huntingdon, Towcester, Rugby, Daventry, Oakham or nearby, please use one of the methods on the Contact Us page to get in touch. He will be only too happy to go through your needs with you and will endeavour to put together a competitive solution that meets them.[/vc_column_text][/gem_textbox][/vc_column][/vc_row]
