Episode 1 Airmageddon

'Welcome to Airmageddon,

'the ultimate test of airborne skill.

'Four teams and their flying machines

'are about to go head-to-head

'over a series of three epically tough challenges.

'Each game will see one team grounded,

'and just one team will make it through to the semifinals.

'Here, in our purpose-built airena, they'll face each other

'and our resident drones,

'a fleet of ferocious unmanned aerial vehicles

'programmed to shock and awe.

'But who will survive?

'Who will be crowned master of the skies?

'Aviators, stand by, this is Airmageddon!'

Welcome to the airena.

Prepare yourselves for spectacles of aerial audacity...

..for feats of elevated daring...

..and laugh-out-loud moments of catastrophe.

Four magnificent teams...

..and their flying machines...

..are about to go into battle...

..but only one will survive

and earn themselves a place in our semifinals.

-BOTH:

-So, let's meet our aviators.

'Yes, indeed.

'First through the airena doors, it's the Hopping Hornets.

'Hot on their heels, it's Girls Squad-Drone.

'Next up, it's the Dronehawkz,

'and finally, the Flying Scotsmen.'

So we've have met our teams.

And now it's time for my friend,

the personalised interactive gyrocopter, AKA the Pig,

to show them how the course works.

'Here is our expert Pig on a test flight of this obstacle course,

'similar to school sports days but with state-of-the-art drones.

'One lap of our vast airena,

'aviators must throttle off the launchpad,

'then fly through the first narrow gate.

'Next, it's the Hurdles of Horror, a tricky traverse under

'and over the coloured bars,

'through gate two and the Pillars of Precision, and on to gate three.

'Then it's the Vortex,

'pitch forward into the heart of the Turbulent Tornado,

'wrestle with the controls as you deal with 100mph winds.

'Blown up and out, you then dash through the fourth gate

'and over the finish line.

'Too hot to trot, Pig, that was awesome.'

Thanks, Pig.

My personalised interactive gyrocopter, there.

He made that look easy,

but one of these guys is going to make it look a whole lot harder.

'A W.A.S.P, or weaponised assault ship,

'functions as an attack patrol and rapid response unit

'in the airena.

'Fast, agile and quite literally with a sting in its tail.'

So, the air assault course is set and awaiting its first victims...

I mean, teams!

So let's get them up here. It's the Girls Squad-Drone.

'Yes, leading out the teams today is Girls Squad-Drone.

'12-year-old aviator Phoebe

'is at the controls, with best friend and wingman Freya

'by her side.

'Nothing says "we mean business"

'quite like an angry-looking red drone.'

You're ready to go but you are first.

Does that feel like extra pressure, Phoebe?

A little bit, but we don't actually know how the others do anyway.

That's a good point, and you'll get to enjoy watching them

and hoping they get a slower time.

Do you reckon you will set the fastest?

Er...it depends.

It depends. She's philosophical.

Are you ready, though? Yeah?

-Yeah.

-All right, then.

Aviators, stand by!

Fire up your motors, rev up your rotors.

'Thanks, Will. First to go,

'Girls Squad-Drone.

'I think they may well set a record here.

'They are the first to go, after all. They have some pitfalls,

'not the least this big guy at the end.

'And overseeing things, our Air Marshal to start.'

Aviators, stand by in...

three, two, one.

'Up, up and away

'towards this first obstacle,

'the gate.

'If she gets through this, no doubt the nerves

'will be calmed a little bit.

'Spot on.

'Right through the centre.'

Turn?

No, not turning.

OK.

Or not.

'You have to circumnavigate this airena,

'but not exactly in a circular path.

'Now she's into the Hurdles of Horror.

'Through the centre, back up again, gaining altitude

'towards gate two.

'Magnificent flying.'

Grid down.

'Drop in altitude about ten metres here

'as she goes through the Pillars of Precision.

'There's some difficult air currents

'near the bottom of this airena.

'Hits the thrust, back up to gate three.

'And again, very clinical,

'but here comes the trickiest bit of the entire lap,

'the Vortex.

'100-mile-an-hour winds,

'you must go on under the red lines.

'And back out through the top.

'Phoebe looks solid.

Oh, my goodness, the Air Marshal's gone down!'

OK.

'Well, well, well!

'I didn't expect that.

'There'll be some blushes from him, that's for sure.

'Let's hope he's OK.

'Phoebe, though, still has

'the dash through gate four

'and the W.A.S.P. to deal with.

'Here comes the sting.

'Smoke, size,

'but she's got the speed.

'One way...and the other...

'Yes, she's over the line!

'That was a tremendous time!'

We didn't crash!

'No, you didn't at all, but the Air Marshal did.

'Let's have a little look through some of the sections.

'Highlights, more like lowlights for the Air Marshal.'

Girls, how was that?

Really good, I'm really happy.

-Freya?

-Yeah, that was great.

01:50. I can tell you something, that is fast.

Did you have any tactics going into it?

Not crash.

Well, you didn't crash so, whoohoo, girls!

'Yeah, great stuff, girls.

'Next up it's the Dronehawkz.

'Ten-year-old aviator Michael

'partners with wingman dad Mike,

'who's a real-life pilot.

'I wonder if he's ever drawn a set of razor-sharp teeth

'on one of his planes.'

Now, Michael,

I hear you are pretty nifty with the old Irish dancing moves?

Yeah.

So, if you do really well in this, will you give us a little jig...

-Definitely.

-..afterwards?

Are you confident you will be giving us a little jig afterwards?

-I will, yeah.

-Excellent.

Mike, as we heard earlier, you are a professional pilot.

Are you going to be OK at not being at the controls

and being a kind of back-seat flyer?

Yes, definitely, all the pressure will be on Michael today.

-I'm pleased about that.

-OK!

Good, he likes keeping pressure on his son.

All right, then.

Aviators, stand by.

'Now we get under way, there is Pig.

'He is our forced substitution for the Air Marshal

'who is being pieced back together in the workshop.

'Remember the two Mikes have no idea

'whether the Girls Squad-Drone

'set a world record time or crashed out.

'They'll need to put that out of their minds

'and just go as fast as they can.

'And there we go!

'Pitching forward,

'up towards the first of four gates.

'And there is Girls Squad-Drone

'Wondering how their time will hold up.

'Just finding the right altitude.

'Father Michael, the wingman, watching on intently.

'A pilot, you wonder just how much advice he will give here.'

-Over?

-Over.

-Safe?

-Safe.

And down safe.

'Safe. I like the terminology

'and it was indeed as they go on to the Hurdles of Horror.

'That was very safe.

'That may just take a little too much time

'if they take a long route like that.'

A bit higher?

A bit higher.

'Very close to the bottom of the gate.'

Down and forward a little bit to us.

'The Pillars of Precision

'and spot on, there.

'Climbing altitude, gate three.

'No problems.

Almost three-quarters of the way

'round, but here is the trickiest bit.

-MIKE:

-Lower, lower.

'The dreaded Vortex.

'In through the bottom, there's the 100-mile-an hour-winds.

'Very stable piloting!

'Most impressive,

'but is it quick enough?

'Through the final gate and then the W.A.S.P. to face.

'Yes, through the finish line.

'He still has to get past the W.A.S.P.

'Look at the time, it's over two minutes!

'I'm afraid it's outside the time set by the Girls Squad-Drone.

'Well, great airmanship then,

'the two Mikes were on the same frequency, definitely.

Well done, guys!

You looked super-cool out there, but where you feeling super-cool?

Kind of. Could have done a little bit better,

but I'm happy with what I did.

02:05. I can confirm that puts you

into second place cos the Girls Squadron got 01:50.

but that's a brilliant time. You're in good position.

'Putting a good spin on it, there, Rachel.

'But no Irish jig, I suspect.

'A little disappointment.'

'Yes, confirmation. 01:50 for Girls Squad-Drone.

'15 seconds ahead of the Dronehawkz,

'who are in the drop zone,

'but two teams to come. Whosever bottom will be grounded

'and out.'

We are quite literally flying through this challenge now.

We've got two more teams to go, so let's get the next one up here.

It's the Flying Scotsmen!

'The Flying Scotsmen I led out by ten-year-old aviator

'Alexander,

'with dad Robert as his wingman.

'Their drone is called The Tartan Terror

'and comes with this year's must-have for drones,

'a beard.

'Reminds me of my uncle.'

Alexander, I have to say,

I have seen a lot of drones and yours is definitely

one of the best. Just talk me through it.

Well, it's got a 3-D effect of eyes and nose

and then it has the beard and hat.

The beard and hat is great, and what is really great,

if you were to put a hat on our cameraman, Pete,

he would look exactly the same as your drone!

'But not as handsome.

'Joining the action, then,

'coming towards gate number two.

'So far, steady.

'No mistakes,

'though perhaps not the quickest of runs.

'This father-son duo -

'they must use all of their concentration now.

'Try and pick up the pace a little bit and that is exactly

'what they are doing.

'Coming towards the Vortex.

'The trickiest part of this course.

'Oh, goodness!'

Ooh, ooh!

'Just losing altitude with the turbulence.

'Did he clip the ground?

'There is no penalty if you do,

'but it certainly doesn't make things any easier, that's for sure.

'Well, now into the vortex.

'Let's hope his confidence isn't riding low. No!

'Actually that was well dealt with.'

-ROBERT:

-Right towards us again.

Towards us, towards us!

'Dad taking a little more control here.

'Helping navigation now.

'Once he comes through this fourth and final gate

'he has the W.A.S.P. to deal with.

'Picking his gap.

'Goes towards and charges him!

'Sells him a dummy and side swerves over the finish line.

'Well, the time not as good as the others,

'but still a good finish.

'Look at this, face down the W.A.S.P.

'In thrust we trust, and over the finish.'

Alexander, how did you find that one?

Yeah, it was quite tricky at some points.

I almost hit the W.A.S.P.

It just had to duck.

Were you trying to take him out, take him of the course?

I was just trying to slow down after the hoop.

He was annoying you, you needed your fly spray up there

to hit him out the way.

Let's go and see how The Hovering Hornetz get on, shall we?

'After all that excitement, the leaderboard is shaping up like this.

'Girls Squad-Drone still on top with 01:50.

'15 seconds back from there, the Dronehawkz in second,

'and for The Flying Scotsmen,

'I'm afraid they're in the drop zone.

'Wanting to avoid that drop zone is The Hovering Hornetz,

'our final duo,

'piloted by aviator Cameron

'and wingman Cam.

'I wonder if their drone

'is a distant cousin of our very own W.A.S.P.'

Cam, Cam - The Hovering Hornetz, how are you feeling?

-Good, yeah.

-You feeling good?

Yep, just a bit nervous.

You will be fine.

Our last team had a little run-in with the W.A.S.P.

Have you got a strategy for dealing with the W.A.S.P.?

Just try and ignore it and give it our best shot.

And maybe he will be scared of you,

because hornets are much more hardcore than wasps.

Good stuff, guys. Aviators, stand by.

Fire up your motors, rev up your rotors.

PIG OINKS

'The boys are buzzing,

'The Hovering Hornetz,

'overseen by Pig,

'still standing in for our Air Marshal.

'Hopefully, he doesn't make any "rasher" decisions.'

Right, steady, steady.

'The two Cams, I have to say,

'have started quicker than anyone else here.'

A bit...right and back.

'A wee bit on the wild side. Yeah, that was close.

'Let's see how close it was.

'Centimetres away.

'Let's hope they keep this together now.

'If they do, it's going to be very fast.'

Take your time on this one.

-Take your time, take your time.

-Move along.

'Sensible advice there from the wingman.

'Through the next gate.'

Drop, drop, drop.

Move it on.

Forward a tiny bit.

'Must drop the altitude to get through the Pillars of Precision.

-'Oh...'

-Oh!

-'Just losing control.'

-Oh!

-'Oh, no!'

-No, no!

'Oh, it's the Pillars of Collision.

'Did you see the way it went down? And in the end,

'gravity will always be the winner.

'Sent into a tailspin there.

'Not quite sure what caused it,

'but, my goodness, it was spectacular.

'Heartbreaking for the boys, though, no doubt.'

Unlucky, what went wrong there?

-I was rushing it.

-You were rushing it?

-Yeah.

Wingman, I heard you saying, "Keep it steady, keep it steady."

I think he was just going a bit too fast and thinking, "We can do this."

-Yeah?

-I think it should have been a bit slower cos...

We just... It was unlucky.

Girls Squad-Drone on top in game one.

Just behind, Dronehawkz.

The Flying Scotsmen took third and I'm afraid in the drop zone,

with a Did Not Finish, The Hovering Hornetz.

Cameron, Cam, you did really well to get this far

but, unfortunately, after that crash, you guys are grounded.

Well, one team leaves disappointed

while three progress, ever more excited to be part of this

airborne spectacle and nothing excites me more than

a flyby from my personalised interactive gyrocopter.

Tell us all about the next challenge, Pig.

'Well, this round is all about accuracy and agility.

'Each team has five giant magnetic weights to pick up

'and deposit to their coloured target zones.

'The wingmen control the electromagnet for pick-up

'and release.

'Score a point for every weight dropped in the target area

'but drop one on the airena floor and it is out of play.

'And who's going to be joining our aviators in the airena?

'It's the G.U.A.R.D.

'Giant, unmanned aerial reconnaissance drone,

'built to block, designed to deceive,

'not to be messed with.'

Do you think you're going to do well at this one?

As long as I turn on the remote, then yes.

In practice, she didn't turn on the remote

so we thought something was wrong.

-Guys, this isn't boding well, is it?

-BOTH:

-No!

Who are you most fearing out there, of the other two teams?

-BOTH:

-Both of them.

Ah... Good luck, team, you think you're going to need it.

The drones are recharged, the propellers are re-oiled

and the electromagnets are attached.

I think this one is going to be quite the uplifting challenge.

-Who is ready for it? ALL:

-We are!

Excellent news. Now just remember,

the team who comes last will sadly be grounded

but the team who wins will go through to the Dogfight

with a time advantage. All right?

All right. Aviators, stand by.

-AIR MARSHAL:

-Aviators, stand by in three, two, one.

'Aviate, navigate and communicate, that is what this game is all about.

'Wingman plays a key role here on the electromagnetic winch

'and it is the green team - the Mikes - who are in first.

'Dronehawkz, good job there.

'Now, they must take it to the target zone.'

-No, no, no, no.

-Oh!

'Oh, Reds, that was a bit of a fluff...

'..from the team that won the very first game.

'Good job there, though, the Dronehawkz.'

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. Yes!

'Now, can the Girls Squad-Drone come back from that?

'The Flying Scotsmen in the middle there, the blue team.'

Now, drop it, drop it, drop it.

-'Very nice indeed.'

-Yeah!

-'Yes, absolutely, Phoebe,

'telling her friend and wingman, Freya, that she was over the area.

'Now, The Flying Scotsmen are starting to look in trouble here.

'They have knocked a couple of their weights off.'

-Oh...

-'They've only got five weights.

'Ooh, that was a little messy by the Dronehawkz.

'It's not lost on them either,

'they actually managed to scoop her up and off the pin.

'These almost get harder as the heights get higher.

'Here's a good pick-up by The Scotsmen.

'That was excellent but can they get it over the target zone?

'As they go down, get lower, don't make a mistake.

'Father Robert...

'..good advice to his son, Alexander, who is piloting.

'Spot on. Right in the middle.

'A little messy there from The Dronehawkz

'who perhaps are feeling the pressure of the other two catching.

'It's all evens at the moment.

'Down come the Dronehawkz again...

'That was a little heavy-handed.

'They didn't quite have the entire electromagnetic patch on the weight

'but over on the right-hand side, look what's happening -

'Girls Squad-Drone, they're starting to get their act together.

'Oh...

'Panic moment from The Flying Scotsmen and look what it is...

'They didn't exactly have a great start.

'Girls Squad-Drone right now in the lead.

'Now, the Dronehawkz managing a good solid pick-up there.

'Dad, absolutely spot on with the pick-up.

'That's their final weight.

'So too The Flying Scotsmen,

'Well, who's going to get this one in the target zone first?

-'Oh, goodness...'

-Drop, drop, drop.

-'Brilliant from the Dronehawkz.'

-Yes!

-AIR MARSHAL:

-Green team land immediately.

'They're on two, as are Girls Squad-Drone,

'Flying Scotsmen accuracy...'

-AIR MARSHAL:

-Blue team, land immediately.

'Brilliant stuff by them and the Greens and the Blues,

'they have run out of weights.'

-AIR MARSHAL:

-Ten seconds remain.

'Now, can Girls Squad-Drone make this three?

'This is their last one.

'A nice, outright win would be impressive.'

-BUZZER RINGS

-'Just run out of time, I'm afraid.

'Never mind, they still take the win

'and they'll get a five-second advantage

'going into the Dogfight, the final game.

'That could be crucial.

'Girls Squad-Drone take the win.

'Everybody had two.

'Dronehawkz second

'and I'm afraid the slowest was The Flying Scotsmen. They're grounded.'

Guys, it was amazingly close but because The Flying Scotsmen -

you got your payload into the target area last - I'm afraid,

that does mean that you guys are grounded.

Dronehawkz, Girls Squad-Drone - you are both through to the Dogfight.

'The Dogfight. Let's find out who'll reign supreme

'in drone-on-drone combat,

'as shown by Pig and W.A.S.P.

'First, fly through the activation gates to power up

'your advanced targeting system.

'Successfully target your opponents' sensors and they lose a life.

'Take all four lives and they're grounded.

'It's as simple as that.'

Our two finalists are about to battle it out in the combat zone.

A place in the semifinal is at stake, which will be a shame

for one team but fame for another.

They face each other for victory

whilst trying to avoid one of our resident drones.

Who's patrolling the combat zone this time?

'He is back for an encore.

'The G.U.A.R.D.

'And he is taking no prisoners.'

Now, teams, remember, if you stray into the no-fly zones,

our resident drones may engage.

And trust me, that will not be pretty.

-But teams, are you ready?

-ALL:

-Yes!

Excellent. Well, for the final time, start your pre-flight checks.

Strap yourselves in, calibrate your sights, this is the Dogfight.

You're cleared for takeoff.

-AIR MARSHAL:

-Air Marshal airborne.

Well, it all comes down to this -

a head-to-head contest for the ultimate prize -

a place in the semifinal.

-AIR MARSHAL:

-Girls Squad-Drone launch in three, two, one.

They're all set to go, it's time for the Dogfight.

-AIR MARSHAL:

-Dronehawkz launch.

Girls Squad-Drone - targeting systems engage.

'The rules are simple - two drones enter, one drone leaves.

'That five-second advantage for the red team - the Girls Squad-Drone.'

-AIR MARSHAL:

-Dronehawkz - targeting systems engage.

'Activated their laser system all the earlier.'

-SHE GASPS

-What does that mean?

-'Dronehawkz now, though.'

-Start shooting, Dad.

-'Yes, they're sorted.'

-Good.

-'The two Mikes.'

Lower, lower. To the side. Get them.

-Shooting.

-Got it? Shooting?

'They get the first shots away - advanced targeting system.'

And up a bit.

'It's the wingman's job, actually.'

-AIR MARSHAL:

-Strike, green team.

'First strike there, goes to the Reds...'

-AIR MARSHAL:

-Three lives remain.

'..as it has done throughout this entire episode.

'Girls Squad-Drone are looking magnificent.'

-Keep forward, keep firing.

-Keep going.

Keep going.

'Four lives is what you've got...

'what you've got to protect.'

Level.

-'Ooh, so close!'

-Keep flying.

'Dronehawkz had them in their sights, just too quick.

'Phoebe is a magnificent pilot for the Reds, again drops down,

'drives up, thrusts away just before she gets hit.'

To your right, right.

'They must be the two calmest people here.'

-AIR MARSHAL:

-Strike, green team.

-'Again!'

Two lives remain.

'Right now, they can't panic.

'This is where dad Mike must just keep young Michael calm.

'As a professional pilot himself....

'..he is no doubt well versed in what could go wrong.

-AIR MARSHAL:

-Altitude warning, altitude warning.

'What's going on with our Air Marshal?

'He's having another dizzy turn.

'My goodness, this isn't the best day for him.

'He's not meant to be in the drama.

'He's meant to be keeping things right.

'The Greens taking their chance.

'Keep missing by what I would say was a country mile.

'It's aerial artistry here by the Reds.'

-AIR MARSHAL:

-Strike, green team.

We got hit.

'And yes, just one life now for the Dronehawkz.

'Oh, goodness.

'And they're chasing.

'This isn't going to last long at this pace.'

The face of concentration!

'Ha! Time for a joke, I don't believe it.

'One more hit away from making the semifinal.'

-Oh, no!

-AIR MARSHAL:

-Strike, green team.

-'And they've done it.'

-AUDIENCE CHEERS

'Well, it is an unforgiving crucible, the airena

'and I'm afraid for the Greens, we say goodbye.'

-What a battle.

-It's boiling in here.

-That was pretty tense up here.

-It is boiling in here.

It's from all the flames out there and from the tension.

You guys, it took you a long time to break them down

but I think we have a winner.

Let's get confirmation from the Air Marshal.

-AIR MARSHAL:

-Scores.

'Yes, indeed, victorious 4-0 was Girls Squad-Drone,

'but a great fight by the Dronehawkz.'

Unfortunately, you're now grounded.

Congratulations to the day's winners,

it's the Girls Squad-Drone. How do you feel, girls?

-Really happy.

-Freya?

-It's great.

"It's great." It is great and we'll see you in the semifinals.

Now, though, it's time for you guys to power down...

..and for you to step on up.