Episode 10 Airmageddon

Welcome to Airmageddon, the last of the semifinals.

We're down to the final four teams,

each of them winners from their previous shows,

each of them here to continue their quest

for the ultimate air supremacy!

A series of crazy courses,

horrifying head-to-heads,

and dangerous dogfights,

not to mention the resident drones!

So let's find out who is the whiz of the skies!

Ladies and gentlemen,

buckle up!

It's time for the penultimate Airmageddon!

Well done!

Welcome to the second of our semifinals here on Airmageddon.

Four teams of aviators have proved their piloting skills.

-They've held their nerve.

-And they've made it this far.

But now we've set the bar ever higher here in the Airena.

We're raising the stakes,

and we're taking the challenges to new heights.

Only one of our teams will be victorious

and speed through to the grand final.

There really is everything to fly for here.

-So, Will, you know what time it is.

-Oh, yes.

BOTH: It's time to meet our aviators.

Some rather familiar faces in our semifinal line-up...

Q Rexx - George and wingman Clive.

Next in is Umar and Ami, team Infiniti.

They're followed on by the Dronebusters,

Theo and dad Nicholas.

Last, but certainly not least, it is Team Ace -

Marcus with wingman grandad Steve!

They're flying for a chance to get into the finals

where this awesome trophy is up for grabs.

Their piloting skills are in no doubt at all.

But whether they can survive this next challenge IS.

The Airsault Course is new, it's improved,

and to show them how it's done,

here's my Personalised Interactive Gyrocopter.

Yes, we've made it harder than ever before.

We've added the giant Columns Of Control

and then, shock, horror!

It's the Hurdles Of Horror,

with the addition of the Letterboxes Of Luck.

Who'll post a good time through those?

Then they face not two Pillars Of Precision,

but four! PIG GRUNTS

Through that, they're onto the terrifying winds of...

The Vortex!

Through that obstacle,

they have to face yet another pair of Columns Of Control,

before powering past the finish line.

Thanks, Pig.

So we're flying a super-sized and altogether superior Airsault Course.

Let's see which of our resident bad boys will be on hand

to make it super-difficult.

-ROBOT:

-Spin the selector.

Wasp.

It's yellow and black and can ruin your day!

It's not burnt custard, it's the Wasp!

Watch out, Infiniti!

If our aviators thought the Airsault Course

couldn't get any more airxtreme,

they were wrong! Let's find out if they can handle it. It's Infiniti!

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

First up, it's speedy team Infiniti -

Keen drone flyer Umar teamed with

furniture fabricating dad Ami!

Infiniti's design's based on the Bird's Nest Olympic stadium

in Beijing.

They're as quick as Usain Bolt!

But the team didn't always see eye-to-eye

when they were on the course.

Shhh!

Umar posted a very impressive time...

I got this!

..of one minute 15 seconds.

Things then got a little tricky for Infiniti in round two,

the Slalom,

as he found that he was strangely drawn to the poles,

hitting several on the way round.

Not too cocky, Umar, not too cocky.

Wingman Ami tried to keep Umar in check, and they made it through

in second place, as they were the hot dogs in the dogfight...

-Shoot!

-..winning 4-2,

-and getting their place in the semis.

-Yes!

-Yes!

We are getting closer to the final.

How much would it mean to you to get your hands on that trophy?

It would be great. It would be like something new in my room.

That's great. He's great at flying drones.

He's also got a keen eye for interior design.

So, are you ready?

I'm ready.

Excellent. All right, then, aviators, standby.

Fire up your motors,

rev up your rotors,

you're cleared for takeoff!

Aviators, standby.

Well said, Air Marshall!

Oh, Wasp, planning on watching this one from the sideline quietly,

I expect.

Pah, don't think so!

Launch in three, two, one...

BUZZ

And the semifinal is a go-go!

Go round the hoop. Those two.

Wow, that's fast becoming Umar's catchphrase.

Well, straight up and through the first gate.

Taking a really good line there.

Absolutely.

Whizzing through the letterboxes.

They call him the mailman. He always delivers!

Careful, Umar!

Hit the side of one of those and your drone will be very

difficult to control, rather like jelly sliding around on a plate!

-That's quick.

-Someone's been training. This is quick!

-Keep coming up. Up, up, back.

-Conquers the ancient pillars.

-OK.

-Through the gate.

-Come down.

Come down through here. Come down to us.

Maybe we should have put a wall of candyfloss up

and a pool of custard in there!

But no-one ever listens to my suggestions.

They put this vortex in instead!

And he handles that beautifully.

So, just the gate and Wasp to go.

He releases the evil sting.

-Look at the time, one minute 13!

-Go! Go, go, go!

-The wasp is slow as treacle!

-Yeah! Yeah!

You bet, Ami! He nailed it! Sub-one minute 15.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

That's quicker than he did in the first round! Magnificent!

Umar and Ami, come on in, team Infiniti.

Oh, my gosh, the new Lewis Hamilton of drones.

-How are you feeling?

-Quite happy with my time, and I feel excited.

Well, yeah, 1:14, I can tell you, was actually a second quicker

than the heats, which was a less difficult course.

Did you have any tactics?

It was sort of the drone,

the red lights, facing me,

at all times.

Yeah. Did you have anything for your wingman?

Did he have anything that he had to do?

-Just be quiet.

-Yeah.

-That's what it was, yeah.

-Aim it, aim it.

-Shhh!

Next up are team Ace -

Pilot Marcus,

and sprightly grandad Steve

from West Sussex.

Marcus's drone bears a natty Team Ace logo design.

He's a keen drone enthusiast,

and once carried out a search and rescue to help find a dog.

In their first Airsault Course,

they posted a solid time of one minute 31,

winning their heat.

Go, go, go!

-Brilliant!

-He wasn't wrong!

-This is the difficult bit, I think.

Those magnets on round two have proven to be one of the most

difficult and challenging games in the Airena.

Team Ace had the right mix of co-operation, skill,

dexterity, and posted a high score of four.

They got four!

Double that of their nearest opponents.

And their winning streak continued

with a brutal 4-0 dogfight score over their competitors.

MARSHALL: Strike.

I'm here with team Ace, Marcus and Steve.

So, Marcus, you did really well last time,

but obviously you're kind of comfortable with this now -

you've been there, you've done that.

What did you learn in the heats that you can apply to this course?

To just keep calm and fly normally.

-Fly normally?

-Yeah.

-Normally, but fast, I would imagine.

-Yeah.

Steve, what about you? Cos you were a good wingman before.

How are you going to up your game even more?

Well, there's a little bit more intention here.

We've got obstacles that are a little bit narrower.

-Yeah.

-So, therefore, we've just got to keep an eye...

-Yeah.

-And just a tickle here and there.

A tickle here and there!

Ho, tickly, tickly, tickly!

Watch out for the Letterboxes Of Luck, fellas...

..as we join the action just after the Hurdles Of Horror!

Down, down, down, down, down, down.

The wingman giving good advice,

but they need to

pick the pace up a bit!

Let's take a look back at what Infiniti were doing

at this moment in time when they were doing it!

Much faster!

Back to team Ace.

Erm, you're good. Good, good, good.

Getting through gate two.

-MARSHALL:

-Gate two complete.

Agreed, Air Marshall. Well said.

-Cool, cool, cool, cool.

-Into the pillars.

Taking his time a bit more with the posts.

You say posts, I say pillars,

tomayto, tomahto, but look at the concentration

on young Marcus' face!

Now, onto the Vortex.

This is windier than a 50-pound bag of whistling lips!

-Oh!

-And it's caught him!

But well controlled,

watching on from the Air Marshall's point of view.

-I've got this.

-Right, got it.

Expert manoeuvring sees team Ace getting in to the Vortex

and flying out the other side.

You can see flying is Marcus' passion!

But he has a gate and a nasty Wasp to deal with.

Ooh, get out the way, Air Marshall! Go, go, go!

Ah, gee, jeering at it isn't going to do any good!

Go on, go, go, go, go!

-That's right!

-Go, go, go, go, go...!

Hit the throttle!

Whoosh! Bingo!

02:18:02

Not quite as quick as the previous, but solid indeed.

Let's have a look at the entrance to the vortex again.

Well, that ground effect causing him all kinds of problems,

but a great sprint for the finish.

Team Ace, come on in!

Whoo! Safe. Got through.

Got a time on the board. How does it feel up there?

It was a bit more nervous than the last time, but it was good.

So we tried to make the assault course a bit more difficult

than the heats. Did you find it more difficult?

-It was more difficult, yeah.

-Which bits in particular?

The turbulence.

Mmm. And the Wasp, that getting in the way?

Yeah, he got in my way so I just flew under it.

Well, let's take a look at the Airsault leaderboard.

Infiniti up on top, one minute 14.

Over a minute behind, team Ace, two minutes 18!

They're in the drop zone at the moment.

Two teams still to come, though.

Our next team out, Q Rexx!

George is the aviator. Father, wingman Clive.

Check out the scaly design on this drone.

It's from their love of dinosaurs.

We all know they're extinct!

Q Rexx doesn't want to follow in their footsteps!

Right, down through. Down through.

Going through, just, is what they did in the first show!

Third place, one minute 39, in the Airsault Course.

-Well done. Good lad.

-Good lad indeed.

In round two, he was poptastic,

nailing more balloons

than anyone else

and getting a five-second advantage

to the dogfight.

By that point, they were pretty much unstoppable, as they made it

through to the semis with a 4-0 beat down!

Q Rexx.

George, what extra training have you done to prepare for this?

Because it's the semifinal!

I've practised skill flying at my club ready for today.

Great. And were you being the wingman during training last night?

Yes, I was. I was helping him at the club, yes.

All right, glad to hear it. Well, good luck out there, guys.

Aviators, standby!

Over to you, Air Marshall.

-ROBOT:

-It's the Air Marshall.

Talking about yourself in the third person again, sir!

But he is the big man around here,

except for the Wasp!

Launch in three, two, one...

BUZZ

Here we go!

Well, they've absolutely no idea how the other teams have done so far,

so they have to mix speed with a bit of caution.

Q Rexx are after a good time.

-Yes, going quickly.

-Over you go. Over you go.

Well, some useful help there from wingman Dad.

Down. Down.

He keeps going on about Dan.

There's no Dan here.

Anyway...

Ooh, down, yes, that's what he meant,

and through the final letterbox.

Magnificent flying, to gate two!

Well, they're looking good.

Maybe not as good as Infiniti.

Onto the pillars.

Oh, this is smooth!

To the third gate.

And Wasp is at the end, waiting.

There he is, looming.

Into the Vortex they must go!

Some say winds over 1,000 miles an hour.

-ROBOT:

-Vortex proximity.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!

They'd be wrong. Oh, my goodness!

He bashes heads with a pole there,

but he somehow manages to steady.

-This is magnificent piloting, I must say.

-Down. Mind the pillars.

Yes.

Now, through these columns.

Right, go, go, go, go, go.

and... Hah!

He leaves Wasp for toast!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

One minute 26 puts him into second place.

And look at this replay.

Had all kinds of problems at the start of the Vortex,

but still kept control.

George and Clive, come on in!

I did not see that coming! Wow!

A quick time, 1:26. How do you feel?

-Good. Great. Yeah.

-Great. Clive?

-Fantastic. Fantastic.

He did really well.

Was it much more difficult than the first round?

Cos we tried to make it super-hard out there.

I didn't find it too much more difficult.

No? Anything challenged you?

Just the wind from the vortex threw me off a bit.

Well, with one team to go

the Airsault leaderboard looks a little like this. Infiniti on top,

by over ten seconds ahead of Q Rexx who just went.

Team Ace looking mighty vulnerable in the drop zone, two minutes 18.

Just the Dronebusters to come.

And here they are, aviator Theo, 12, from London,

with wingman dad Nicholas, 55 years old, and still going strong.

Now, their scary design comes from his keen love of magic

and taxidermy.

Let's see if Theo has a spell of good luck

and knocks the stuffing out of his opponents,

as he did in his heat with a

record-breaking time of one minute three seconds.

Oh, how awesome's that?!

Now shoot. Good, that was right in the red.

Well, it was magnificent in the paintball for them.

We're out of ammo.

Yes, out of ammo, but with a score of 20.

The dogfight,

where accuracy was the name of the game again.

Let's land it very gracefully,

in the best possible manner.

As champions.

It's Dronebusters. Theo, how are you feeling?

Very excited.

Good. So you guys got the fastest time out of all of the heats before.

How did you manage that? What was your secret?

I wasn't sure how much of it was actually in control, so...

OK! So your secret was be a little bit out of control?

-Yeah.

-Do you reckon you're going to be able to do that again this time

and get a really good speed?

Might not be the right tactic if it's the semifinals.

Shadow on the floor.

So, we pick up the action

as they enter the Pillars Of Precision.

The Chevron, through the next batch.

-Nice.

-Pretty solid so far.

There's the Wasp, waiting,

and he's waiting for Theo the Taxidermist!

Be careful, Waspy, you might end up stuffed on his mantelpiece!

Or, it could be the other way round, of course, as he enters the Vortex.

Whirling wind.

Great flying.

Indeed! In low, out high with ease!

The gate, the columns, and then the Wasp.

Can he give them a good stuffing?

Now, what is the time?

1.35.

Ooh, yes, he goes underneath.

1.38 in the end.

That is good enough to go through to the next round.

Scores confirmed.

And here's confirmation.

Infiniti on top, 1.14,

Q Rexx in second, the Dronebusters in third on 1.38,

and I'm afraid it's Team Ace who are grounded and out with 2.18.

So, that does mean, Team Ace, unlucky.

How was it?

-It was good. It was fun.

-Steve?

It was good enjoyment. Great.

Best teams have gone through.

But that does mean today you are officially grounded.

So, for one team it's the end of the road, but the journey continues

for three of our semifinalists, and here's Pig to show them the way.

GRUNTING

What's the best thing to do when you see a wall?

Smash it down!

For this round, we've attached wrecking balls to the

undersides of our aviators' drones and they'll be required to

smash down every single brick in the wall in the quickest time.

Top two teams who knock down the quickest will fly into the Dogfight.

This is Wallbusters!

Spin the selector.

Dragon.

Oh, no!

It's red, grey and breathes fire.

This mythological monster is back to cause mayhem in the real world!

EVIL LAUGH

These are some pretty good competitors here.

You've seen them in action now, you know what they can do.

Is there anybody that you would rather not face

in the Dogfight out of these two teams?

I'd like to face both of them.

Oh, that's a great answer!

He wants to take them both down!

All right, good one. Team Infiniti.

Umar, you were the fastest in the previous round.

How are your tactics going to differ in this one, though?

Because it is a very different proposition.

I think it's about speed and you have to do quite tight movements.

Mmm.

But you also need to get a lot of momentum on that wrecking ball.

Do you reckon he's going to be OK with that?

I think he's got the speed and the skills to do it.

The speed and the skills to pay them bills, OK.

Dronebusters!

Theo, you've got to be feeling good about this one.

Dronebusters, Wallbusters.

This game was made for you!

I'm rather excited cos I do like being reckless.

Yes, we've seen that.

All right, well, it sounds to me like all our teams are ready to go.

So, if you are,

aviators, standby!

Fire up your motors, rev up your rotors,

you're clear for takeoff!

Let's do this, Will. Second round, the Wallbusters!

Air Marshall.

Aviators, stand by.

Launch in three, two, one.

And here we go, smash time!

Now the blues.

Ha, a doubler!

Oh, great start from Infiniti!

Yes, two in one hit, as we see the replay.

Here come the yellows!

They've hit one nicely.

Coming back for some more!

Seconds, if you like.

Ooh. Check out Q Rexx's mastering of the pendulum effect.

Here come the blues!

Ho-ho!

They missed by a whisker.

Now, Dragon, what's he flaming on about?

Ah, the blues clip one. They're in the lead.

Over, over, over.

Go in.

Keeping in the zone there, it's team yellow, aka Q Rexx.

Go lower! Go lower! Go lower! Go lower!

They're quietly going about their business.

Look at that, Q Rexx score a giant payload!

How many went down? Ooh, I'll work it out later.

Good work, guys!

Where are the Dronebusters?

Ha!

I tell you what, Umar and Aminur don't care.

Infiniti on nine!

I mean, look at that replay. Wow.

Low, go, go lower! Go lower!

Nice little clip there from the reds, Dronebusters.

Oh, my goodness, they used the whole drone there!

Look how many. They're on 16!

That was smashtastic!

Oh, another one falls!

Remember, they need just one more for victory.

Well, trying to keep as close as they can are Q Rexx.

They're on 12.

Ah, gosh, it doesn't look good for Dronebusters.

Time, it's a-ticking!

Oh!

Just missed that one.

That was closer than two coats of paint!

Good little hit there from the reds as we look at the replay.

13! I tell you what, that was a massive hit!

I was going to say they've gone ahead of the yellows,

but not any more!

It's all evens!

Who's going to the Dogfight?

And what's happened with the blues?

Are they going to come back and finish this off?

Are they going to grab defeat

from the jaws of victory?

In they come.

Ah, they missed again, and again!

Oh, my goodness!

The yellows, they don't miss.

Into second. Just one point in it.

My goodness. Remember, 18's the magic number!

There, 17, it's all evens at the top.

Dronebusters aren't far behind, either.

All you need to do is aim it.

Slowly, but patient.

Come on, reds! Could you just pull off a miracle?

Q Rexx, they've done it!

Yeah, I can't believe it!

My goodness, the replay, a square-on hit.

Couldn't have been any better.

Now, 17 apiece.

Infiniti and Dronebusters have both got one left each.

Just one brick in it.

Who's going to get it first?

It's lost control!

Oh, Dronebusters are in trouble. Oh, my goodness, they've gone down.

Look at the slow, steady pace of the blues!

Oh, no for Dronebusters,

oh, yes for Infiniti!

That is it. Shall we have a little look at the Dronebusters?

Well, they had some great moments.

Ha, Q Rexx were magnificent, they were first through.

And Infiniti, they gave us all a scare.

So, here's confirmation.

Q Rexx go through with a five-second advantage.

They did their 18 quicker than Infiniti.

Dronebusters, I'm afraid, are grounded.

As you can see, guys, you've still got one block standing,

which does mean that you're not going to make it through to the

Dogfight and you guys are grounded.

CHEERING

You guys are both through and, Q Rexx,

you're taking the time advantage into the Dogfight.

Well done.

So, our two surviving teams have to get each other into their sights

with some precision targeting.

One final battle,

one place in the final up for grabs.

This is getting serious.

This is the Dogfight!

This is what it all comes down to -

the Dogfight!

Two teams enter, one team leaves.

This is laser combat of the highest order.

Hitting their opponent four times is all it takes for one of our teams

to make it to the grand final.

But they can't just focus on firing their lasers, they have to

watch their back and avoid becoming a target.

Am I right, Pig?

GRUNTING

That means yes.

The Airena is about to echo, shake and reverberate to the

sound of two airborne machines locked in a ferocious Dogfight.

Only one of them can take that last place in the grand final.

Who's it going to be?

Perhaps one of these bad boys knows.

Spin the selector.

Guard.

Stoic, unflappable and tough as nails,

the Guard is one of our mightiest drones.

Can it keep the wannabe finalists in check?

I want to know, have you got any final words for your opposition?

-BOTH:

-Infiniti all the way!

Ha-ha!

-BOTH:

-May the best team win. Good luck.

Good grief!

All right, this is it.

Aviators, standby!

Adjust your straps, calibrate your sights.

This is the Dogfight, for a place in the final!

Air Marshall airborne.

Q Rexx, a five-second advantage.

Q Rexx, five-second advantage.

Yes, I just said that - thank you, Air Marshall.

I apologise. My sonic receivers were momentarily disengaged.

AKA, you weren't listening.

-Pardon?

-Nothing, sir.

Q Rexx, launch in three, two, one.

Q Rexx are off!

Infiniti, launch.

So, the window of opportunity

to aim and fire off the lasers

accurately, so small,

that the wingmen and aviators have to really

be on their game.

Target systems engaged.

And they're off, both off,

both target systems fully engaged,

as you heard from the Air Marshall.

This is it!

-Tell me to go up or down.

-Yeah, OK.

Time to find out who will be in the final,

the grand final! Onboard with Infiniti.

-I'm looking at the...

-Yeah, that's good, that's good.

You done good, you done good.

Oh, this is getting intense!

Strike, yellow team.

Three lives remain.

Q Rexx are hit!

1 - 0 to Infiniti.

1 - 0 to Infiniti indeed!

Seems to have control.

They can't panic here.

Both teams start to use up the space trying to find an angle.

Manoeuvring without dropping your guard, easier said than done!

Umar desperate to reel off a shot!

Q Rexx, too wily.

Flames, drones, lasers, what more do you want?

Well, I want to see a drone as big as a bungalow!

I'll see about that in the next series!

Strike, blue team.

Three lives remain.

Infiniti are hit!

It's game on!

And again!

He shot me again!

No, no, no, no, no.

Look at the panic on their faces!

Smoke everywhere!

The advantage with Q Rexx.

Aminur's now shooting off as much as he can...

Stay there, stay there. Line up, line up.

-I am, I am, I am!

-..hoping to hit.

It's getting very hot. Staying hot, actually.

Staying hot. Q Rexx are indeed hot -

they're in the lead.

Just two more hits against Infiniti

and they'll go through to the grand final.

Strike, blue team.

Whoa, did you see that?

As they dropped, they zapped.

Infiniti, so good throughout.

Now on the brink of being grounded.

One life left.

The yellows, they're so tricky.

I have to say, it is a masterclass of piloting.

Looking stoic.

And there it is!

-Yes!

-It's over!

They're through to the grand final!

Zaptastic!

Well, this really was Q Rexx's day.

3-0 in the end.

Infiniti, brave effort,

but they will be grounded.

Q Rexx, the grand final!

Commiserations, Infiniti, you are today's runners-up.

Umar, how are you feeling?

That was a close battle.

Quite sad.

Quite sad, but you've done so well to get through to the semifinals.

Congratulations, both of you, but, for now,

unfortunately, you are grounded.

And that means that you guys, Q Rexx, you are through,

you are today's winners.

George, how are you feeling?

-Well done, young man.

-Really good.

-Really good.

Excellent. Well, it was fantastic flying.

OK, guys, I'll see you in the final!

Great, lovely. Thank you.

Until then, it's time to power down.

And for these guys to step up!

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING