6 ms·

I was wondering how long the pilots train for and how much they practice the routes used for the course. >For six months, the pilots train for the routes, mane

I was wondering how long the pilots train for and how much they practice the routes used for the course. >For six months, the pilots train for the routes, maneuvers, emergency procedures, and camera positioning required by the director for the most effective, picturesque coverage. Their filming missions are literally scripted to the minute by the TV director, leaving little room for improvised maneuvering. 6 months seems satisfactory!

hanniabu 7y ago
Just hearing this stuff, I would never imagine this production is profitable.
- privong 7y ago
  > Just hearing this stuff, I would never imagine this production is profitable. It sounds like NBC doesn't even make money off their re-broadcast of it: https://www.velonews.com/2019/07/from-the-mag/inside-nbcs-tour-de-france-television-broadcast_495538 https://www.velonews.com/2019/07/from-the-mag/inside-nbcs-to...
- stevenwoo 7y ago
  I've read the Tour de France generates roughly 90% of the advertising income for bicycling as a sport. Each city that hosts a stage start or finish pays for the privilege.
  - DC-3 7y ago
    I would guess that the French government splashes some cash as part of their cultural budget too.
- Someone 7y ago
  Need not be that expensive. Lots of the preparation and training can be done on the ground, even outside simulators. Let’s say 10 top pilots, each a year’s wages, additional costs for flying, etc. 10 to 20 million euro? The TdF doesn’t sell tickets, but the organizer makes a healthy profit (https://inrng.com/2017/11/amaury-sport-accounts-finances/ https://inrng.com/2017/11/amaury-sport-accounts-finances/, of which likely half or thereabouts from the Tour de France. (aside: ASO is a for-profit, and looks at the short term, to the detriment of the ever more popular women’s cycling. Earlier this year, they decided to move down two major women’s races (Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège) from the top flight level because they didn’t want to spend the money on broadcasting them that the international cycling union requires for top flight races (https://www.outsideonline.com/2397117/aso-bumps-marquee-womens-races-world-tour https://www.outsideonline.com/2397117/aso-bumps-marquee-wome...) )
  - jaclaz 7y ago
    I would say much less than that. Only as a data point the Italian TV valued in 2017 8.5 millions Euro for 4 years[1] (again Italian but not too bad via google translate): https://www.repubblica.it/tecnologia/2017/01/08/news/elicotteri_geostabilizzanti_e_droni_la_rai_stanzia_8_5_milioni_per_produrre_il_ciclismo-155637160/ https://www.repubblica.it/tecnologia/2017/01/08/news/elicott... [1] Covering, beside the Giro d'Italia, also a few other national cyclism events.
- notatoad 7y ago
  I was told a couple years ago that the international live viewing audience for a world triathlon series race was approximately 40 million. there's a whole lot of television markets out there that have very different tastes to US audiences.
jaclaz 7y ago
Besides the script, the training is needed because they fly real low, and particularly in mountain zones (it is the same for the Giro d'Italia [1]) there can be a lot of obstacles, particularly high voltage lines, that may be badly signaled or have been changed recently. [1] curiously enough one of the pilots for the Giro d'Italia has been for years Gianni Bugno, who won the actual race in 1990, here is an interview (Italian, but not too bad via Google translate): http://www.manualedivolo.it/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=521:il-campione-in-elicottero&catid=45:cronaca&Itemid=74 http://www.manualedivolo.it/index.php?option=com_content&vie...
- 24gttghh 7y ago
  I did not mean to imply 6 month's was excessive. Far from it in fact. It seem's to be just right, considering they're the pro's and they do this every year.
  - jaclaz 7y ago
    Sure, I was referring to the fact that the main reasons for the training is due to safety requirements. In the original article it seems like the importance of the safety procedures were minor compared to the director's needs. As a side-side note, several years ago I happened to be involved in a couple "normal" projects (construction) involving transporting machinery and materials via helicopter, and the guys doing the actual work, besides the helicopters pilots, the ones hooking/unhooking the loads (that we provided) followed (understandably) much, much more strict safety rules than "common" building crane operators and workers, including (much like - say - firefighters do) exercising on things like quick load release, communication (via radio), ropes/belts checks, etc. It's risky business.
  - FireBeyond 7y ago
    Right, and the training is on this specifically - remembering that these are mostly ex-military helicopter pilots with already thousands of hours of training.
- davidw 7y ago
  Hah, yeah I was going to post about Bugno too. It was cool to see him flying during the Giro - they'd always give a bit more of a shout out to him than the regular chopper pilots got.

hanniabu 7y ago

Just hearing this stuff, I would never imagine this production is profitable.

privong 7y ago
> Just hearing this stuff, I would never imagine this production is profitable. It sounds like NBC doesn't even make money off their re-broadcast of it: https://www.velonews.com/2019/07/from-the-mag/inside-nbcs-tour-de-france-television-broadcast_495538 https://www.velonews.com/2019/07/from-the-mag/inside-nbcs-to...
stevenwoo 7y ago
I've read the Tour de France generates roughly 90% of the advertising income for bicycling as a sport. Each city that hosts a stage start or finish pays for the privilege.
- DC-3 7y ago
  I would guess that the French government splashes some cash as part of their cultural budget too.
Someone 7y ago
Need not be that expensive. Lots of the preparation and training can be done on the ground, even outside simulators. Let’s say 10 top pilots, each a year’s wages, additional costs for flying, etc. 10 to 20 million euro? The TdF doesn’t sell tickets, but the organizer makes a healthy profit (https://inrng.com/2017/11/amaury-sport-accounts-finances/ https://inrng.com/2017/11/amaury-sport-accounts-finances/, of which likely half or thereabouts from the Tour de France. (aside: ASO is a for-profit, and looks at the short term, to the detriment of the ever more popular women’s cycling. Earlier this year, they decided to move down two major women’s races (Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège) from the top flight level because they didn’t want to spend the money on broadcasting them that the international cycling union requires for top flight races (https://www.outsideonline.com/2397117/aso-bumps-marquee-womens-races-world-tour https://www.outsideonline.com/2397117/aso-bumps-marquee-wome...) )
- jaclaz 7y ago
  I would say much less than that. Only as a data point the Italian TV valued in 2017 8.5 millions Euro for 4 years[1] (again Italian but not too bad via google translate): https://www.repubblica.it/tecnologia/2017/01/08/news/elicotteri_geostabilizzanti_e_droni_la_rai_stanzia_8_5_milioni_per_produrre_il_ciclismo-155637160/ https://www.repubblica.it/tecnologia/2017/01/08/news/elicott... [1] Covering, beside the Giro d'Italia, also a few other national cyclism events.
notatoad 7y ago
I was told a couple years ago that the international live viewing audience for a world triathlon series race was approximately 40 million. there's a whole lot of television markets out there that have very different tastes to US audiences.

jaclaz 7y ago

Besides the script, the training is needed because they fly real low, and particularly in mountain zones (it is the same for the Giro d'Italia [1]) there can be a lot of obstacles, particularly high voltage lines, that may be badly signaled or have been changed recently. [1] curiously enough one of the pilots for the Giro d'Italia has been for years Gianni Bugno, who won the actual race in 1990, here is an interview (Italian, but not too bad via Google translate): http://www.manualedivolo.it/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=521:il-campione-in-elicottero&catid=45:cronaca&Itemid=74 http://www.manualedivolo.it/index.php?option=com_content&vie...

24gttghh 7y ago
I did not mean to imply 6 month's was excessive. Far from it in fact. It seem's to be just right, considering they're the pro's and they do this every year.
- jaclaz 7y ago
  Sure, I was referring to the fact that the main reasons for the training is due to safety requirements. In the original article it seems like the importance of the safety procedures were minor compared to the director's needs. As a side-side note, several years ago I happened to be involved in a couple "normal" projects (construction) involving transporting machinery and materials via helicopter, and the guys doing the actual work, besides the helicopters pilots, the ones hooking/unhooking the loads (that we provided) followed (understandably) much, much more strict safety rules than "common" building crane operators and workers, including (much like - say - firefighters do) exercising on things like quick load release, communication (via radio), ropes/belts checks, etc. It's risky business.
- FireBeyond 7y ago
  Right, and the training is on this specifically - remembering that these are mostly ex-military helicopter pilots with already thousands of hours of training.
davidw 7y ago
Hah, yeah I was going to post about Bugno too. It was cool to see him flying during the Giro - they'd always give a bit more of a shout out to him than the regular chopper pilots got.