Hamilton Watch Presents: Dreams of Flight +Hamilton Khaki X-Wind Day Date - .@hamiltonwatch

Hamilton Watch Presents: Dreams of Flight +Hamilton Khaki X-Wind Day Date

Excited by the sweeping and sculptural lines of the Namibian dunes, and over a two-year period, we supported Jacob and Dario to plan and execute this remarkable project. The resulting film is a celebration of flight in its purest form.

Jacob was drawn immediately by the cinematic elements of the black plane silhouetted against the majestic dunes, its white smoke trail suspended in the air. Dario's focus was to fly fast along and above these huge natural sand structures. Their aim to create a film of both beauty and power.

The shoot took place in the Swakopmund dunes. For three days an international crew including Europeans, South Africans and Namibians, worked with multiple cameras to capture the footage. A helicopter crew, a crew on the ground and cameras mounted on the fuselage were used to record the action. 

The team used a specially adapted all-black aerobatics plane for the shoot.

Though visually attractive, the matte black wrapping caused the temperature inside the plane to be extremely high.

In addition to exterior temperatures of 40°C (104°F), the team contended with high winds, sand and fog that would roll in from the sea, impairing visibility and creating nearly un-flyable conditions.

What appears wonderfully simple on the surface is full of complexity and is a masterful achievement. The challenges for Dario were manifold. Low air density changed the aerodynamics and reduced engine performance, making this one of his greatest mental and physical challenges to date, with smooth flight proving incredibly difficult. No one before has ever flown an aerobatic plane so close to these dunes with a speed of more than 370Km/h.

“Depth perception over sand is so difficult. I used my experience of low level flying over the snow-capped Alps, and prepared at home by visualizing the scene a thousands of times, over and over in my head,” says Dario.

For Hamilton, the film is both a passion project and a huge achievement. “We are proud to be the force that has finally brought these two creative greats together to make a unique movie sure to inspire others that you can do anything you dream of if you put your mind to it. This is exactly the spirit we live at Hamilton,” says Sylvain Dolla, Hamilton CEO.

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