The Grand Final Airmageddon

Ten epic shows, 32 aviator teams.

-We've seen wall-to-wall airborne skill...

-Yes!

..audacity, dexterity,

screams, dreams, high-grade action,

and now only two remain.

And of those two, who will emerge as master of the skies?

This is what we've been waiting for.

The Airmageddon final!

# Ba ba ba-ba BA, ba ba-ba BA... #

Jim, stop it. I've told you before, you can't sing the theme tune!

I'm sorry, I'm just really excited.

Welcome to the Airena for what promises to be

a sensational grand final.

Yes, this is what we've been taking off for,

setting our sights on, and building up to.

We've witnessed eight heats, two semifinals, 32 teams,

and more flight time than a transatlantic Boeing 747 pilot.

It's been intense, it's been action-packed, and two teams

have survived everything we've thrown at them to fly again today.

But only one of them will have the skills, nerve,

and tactical superiority to be crowned our champion.

Yes, there really is everything to play for.

Glory, honour, and the chance to hold

the Airmageddon trophy sky-high in victory.

You really could cut the tension with a rotor blade.

-BOTH:

-Let's meet our finalists!

Galloping out of the gate first are This Way Up,

Tom and his wingman bro Toby.

Like a force of nature, here comes Vortex -

Joel and his wingdad Christian.

Finalists!

So, here we are. Two sets of finalists and one trophy.

-Who wants to get their hands on this?

-BOTH TEAMS:

-We do!

All right. Well, unfortunately, only one team can.

And the first team to fly today, it's Tom and Toby, This Way Up.

So, Tom, you've been here before now, you know,

you kind of know the drill.

But how much does it mean to you to have got to the grand final?

Oh, it means so much to me, like, making it this far is really,

really great, and everyone's really proud of me,

and I'm proud of myself, as well.

Excellent. Excellent.

Well, our final team over here, Team Vortex, Joel and Christian.

What would it mean to you to actually win the grand final?

It'd mean everything. It's been great getting this far.

We've done a lot of practising. I can't wait to get out there and fly.

Absolutely. Well, good luck to both teams.

And so, they've taken on all-comers and defeated many,

many drones to get here.

And now, for the final time,

they have to navigate the obstacles and dangers of the Airsault Course.

Here's PIG with the lowdown on the rules, regulations,

and optimum flight path that you need to take.

OK, this is the Airsault round.

It's the final, so for the final time,

here's what lies before the aviators.

First of all we go up through the first gate,

round the first Pillars, through the Letterboxes of Luck.

Up to the second gate,

then it's down the world's foggiest corridor,

then there's the Horizontal Gate. They must go up and back down,

then through the third gate...

..up the windy Vortex, through the last gate, round the corner,

over the line and...

PRRRRP! What the...?

Where did that sperm whale come from? Just fell out of the sky.

Luckily, at 50 square metres,

the Airena is big enough to hold not one sperm whale, but...

PRRRRP! Two sperm whales!

Splash! Ha-ha!

Thanks, PIG.

So, the rules have changed from all previous stages of the competition.

Here in the final, there are no eliminations.

No-one will be grounded.

But whoever puts in the best performance in the Airsault Course

will be taking a five-second time advantage into The Dogfight.

And, of course, they'll still have our resident drones to contend with.

Who's up for some mischief this time?

Spin the selector.

It's the WASP.

Uh-oh! Who's poked this guy's nest? Because he looks angry.

He's dangerous on the wing, and look out for that sting.

It's the WASP.

The Airsault Course is set, the WASP is ready and waiting,

so let's get this grand final underway.

Let's get the first team up here.

It's This Way Up.

Super-geek Thomas and his wingbro Toby make up today's first team.

This Way Up, so called because they only know one way - upwards.

They push their controls to the limit

and are worthy contenders for the trophy.

This is the way, and this was their journey.

-Yes!

-This Way Up's road to the final started at a blistering pace.

They blew away the competition in their first Airsault

with a time of 1.48.

Yes! Yes! Yes, Tom!

Playing at Bottle Bash in round two, they drew joint second on points

but went through due to their completing it in a faster time.

-Yes!

-Then they ran into the semis with a 4-1 score in The Dogfight.

-Oh! My gosh!

-Right, do it. Come on, faster.

In the semis, they ran an incredible 1.38 in the Airsault.

Yes, Tom!

Then once again came second in a game of Wallbusters,

giving them the disadvantage in The Dogfight.

But their strength and talent shone through, as they took

the Flight Masterz, with a Z, to the cleaners, with an s,

in a 4-1 rout.

So, in your heat you guys posted 1.48,

which is a great Airsault Course time,

but then in your semifinal, with the super-sized Airsault Course,

you were even quicker with 1.38.

Do you thrive under pressure, is that what it is?

Yeah, I think that's definitely what we thrive off, you know.

It pushes us further, much quicker, more adrenaline -

-that's how we like it.

-Definitely.

Well, situations don't get much more pressurised than the grand final

of Airmageddon so, Toby, are you expecting a super-quick time, then?

Uh, yeah, just same thing, basically.

Just go round the track and complete it, basically.

Know where you're going.

-And be careful of The Vortex, cos last time we got a bit stuck.

-Yes.

Yes, the extra-large Vortex, it is a pretty intimidating obstacle.

OK, guys. Let's get you in the air. All right, good luck.

Aviators, stand by.

Fire up your motors.

Rev up your rotors.

You're cleared for takeoff!

Hi, Air Marsh.

Once this is over, what are you going to do with yourself?

Your primitive human brain would not be able to comprehend.

Uh, what do you mean "primitive", mate?

Your basic intelligence will not be able to process

the information correctly.

-Ah-ha! Try me!

-You really want to know?

I do! I do!

-I'm going to Margate.

-Margate?!

I don't get it, why Margate?

I told you, you wouldn't understand. Primitive human.

This Way Up, prepare to launch.

This way...cup? Or should I say trophy? Ha-ha-ha.

Three...two...one.

Grand final begins!

The second Airmageddon final is underway, and they are fast.

They've made it through the first gate in no time.

The WASP is already gunning for them as they shift through

the sparks and round the first post.

He's definitely pulling out all the stops on this run.

He is. Look at him shift towards the Letterboxes.

Although he's not giving much away in his face.

Cool as a cucumber, this one.

He's lurching about a bit,

but he doesn't seem to be too hindered by the course so far.

Look at him rise up to the second gate.

That is some super-fast motion.

Vortex will have a job keeping up with this guy.

Doesn't matter if you crash.

Going down to the Foggy Corridor.

Ground effects seem to be hampering them slightly,

and the lack of vision.

Look at him bouncing off the floor, there.

Right, so, quick rise up to the Horizontal Gate...

..even quicker drop back down.

OK, up there. Quick, up.

WASP is moving around, looking to head him off at the pass,

whatever that means.

He lets forth his stream of sparks. There we go!

But This Way Up are way out of there.

Coming down to The Vortex, here. A few wobbles.

Speed over smoothness is the style preferred, here.

They push into the smoke and it's this way into The Vortex,

but there is only one way...

up.

..then just go really fast when you go through there.

Look at Marshy trying to keep up with him as

he smashes through the last gate.

Round the corner, and a quick bounce off the ground and over the line!

Well done.

WASP lets off a few sparks in admiration, or frustration,

whatever, it's too late.

1.28, an incredible time.

A time fit for any final.

Tom and Toby! Come in, guys!

This Way Up, you just keep going up and up and up.

Talk us through that, it was amazing.

At loads of bits I think I nearly lost it. You know, risk it all.

I nearly lost, but it's worth the...

I think that was the series record, so I was really happy.

1.28 is what he's talking about. Series record.

And you were saying risk it all, because, Toby, I heard you say,

-"It doesn't matter if we crash!"

-Yeah, because, um...

Yeah, but it does, kind of, because we get

a five-second advantage, so...

-What did you think of Tom's flying out there?

-Really good.

He did really well.

Freestyle dance enthusiast Joel and his wingdad Christian make up

the formidable Team Vortex. With their Flaming Danger drone,

these guys really set the Airena alight in the previous appearances.

Let's see how they got to be here today.

Naming themselves after the scariest part of the Airsault Course,

Team Vortex have been fearless in their approach to Airmageddon.

In their first heat they may have got lost in the fog for a while,

but it didn't stop them winning their heat

comfortably with a time of 1.49.

Well done, well done, well done.

This is really close.

Moving on to laps, they narrowly beat J-Force2 by one lap.

And then in The Dogfight...

He hit me already!

..they took them on again

and won by four lives to two.

The semis were a more comfortable affair,

and where Vortex really came into their own.

They did the Airsault Course in a crazy 1.33.

In Wallbusters they finished HOURS before anyone else,

and then schooled the Flying Foxes by beating them 4-1 in The Dogfight.

And here they now are, the second of our worthy finalists.

Team Vortex.

Our second grand finalists are here

and ready to take on the Airsault Course for the final time.

It's Team Vortex.

So, Joel, in your heats you posted a good time,

but then in your semifinals you posted a really good time, 1.33.

Do you think you've got it in you to shave off even more seconds?

Hopefully we can. We're going to try and attack everything

as quick as possible, and hopefully we'll just get

-a few more seconds off.

-Brilliant.

Now, Christian, after that run in the semifinal,

which was great, you were saying to Joel,

"Well done, that was brilliant,"

but you saw areas where he could have improved.

Yeah, we've gone through it and we think we'll

hopefully take a few seconds off. We'll see.

You've identified some of those potentially slower areas.

Yeah, good few seconds. Good few seconds, so fingers crossed.

All right, then. Well, I look forward to seeing this.

Guys, this is the final, so good luck.

Aviators, stand by.

And so, here it is, the final of the final Airsault.

Remember, 1.28 is the time to beat.

It's a formidable time, but if anyone can beat it,

I reckon it's these guys.

What do you reckon, Marshy?

I think it would be irregular of me to speculate.

Yeah, sure, but you must have a hunch.

I am here only to marshal.

Vortex launch in three...two...one.

And Vortex takes to the skies.

They will make a beeline - sorry, WASP - for the first gate.

-A really good team, these two.

-Yes, Will.

It's almost as if they're related.

Oh, WASP can only look on and spray his sparks.

Left. Keep... Up.

There you go. Through. Drop. Drop. And pull.

And look at them take to those Letterboxes.

Talk about express delivery.

Up. Push on, push on, push on...

Through the second gate, and already at the Foggy Corridor!

They seem smoother than This Way Up. Could this be to their advantage?

-I think so.

-Up you come, up you come.

There is really no messing with these two.

Wingdad giving just the right encouragement as they now

rise up into the Horizontal Gate,

like a blooming yo-yo.

Now, onto the next gate,

just before they get to their dreaded namesake, The Vortex.

Goodness. Wingdad is absolutely driving him on. This is amazing.

-Push, push...

-So far, this has been incredible.

He takes to The Vortex, and he pushes upwards,

letting the hurricane wings spur him on.

Look how smooth this is.

It's almost as if their namesake is willing them on!

Just one more gate now, which he takes with ease, too.

This is incredible.

-Go left...

-Just round that last Pillar.

-Go on. Good lad.

And over the line.

That was an incredible run.

Was it enough to beat the record-breaking run of This Way Up?

A truly efficient and faultless run.

What more can I say but that? Amazing.

Team Vortex! Joel!

That was some absolutely speedy flying.

1.11. Did you expect that?

No, not at all. I thought I'd get 1.20, but 1.11...

-I can't believe it.

-22 seconds quicker

than when you were in the semifinals.

-What have you been doing to prepare for that?

-Loads of practising.

It's just ama... I'm speechless.

Scores confirmed.

This Way Up managed through the course in an amazing 1.28,

but then came Team Vortex,

who stormed through the course in a seemingly impossible time of 1.11,

which means they get the first five-second advantage up for offer

in the grand final Dogfight.

So, Team Vortex have that potentially crucial

time advantage in The Dogfight.

But their opponents,

This Way Up, now have the chance to draw level here in the Airena.

OMINOUS OINKING

Ah! And here's PIG to show them how they can do just that.

Take a drone and fit it with a high-calibre paintball cannon,

launch it into the air and shoot at balloons.

Burst the most balloons and your final party will go with a bang.

But the wingmen must decide the best point to discharge them

or they risk running out of ammo.

Good luck, gents. Game on.

FEROCIOUS OINKING

What are those things? Oh, no!

There's thousands of them, I'm scared! What are they doing?

What do you want from me? Ha-ha! It's the BUGS.

Team Vortex. We have round two. You did really well on round one.

How do you think you're going to get on with the paintballs?

In practice it was quite good, a lot of fun,

so I hopefully will be all right.

Christian, though, we know he's brilliant. It's now down to you.

You've got to actually pull that trigger.

How do you think you're going to get on?

Yeah, he puts me in the right spot, tells me to shoot and I'll shoot!

-It's gone well in practice so looking forward to it.

-OK.

I want to know, Joel, what are your tactics?

My tactics are to try and stay facing one way, so if I hit one

balloon then I go forward and I'll be hitting the next and the next.

This Way Up, how are you feeling ahead of round two?

Not too confident, but, you know,

we've still got a really great chance to pull it off and win

The Dogfight but, yeah, just hope we do well.

Why aren't you feeling that confident?

In training it didn't really go so well with communication,

so we just need to improve on that and then we'll do really well.

OK, so, Tom, what has Toby got to do to make sure you guys do well

in the next round?

He just needs to make sure that when I tell him to fire

-that he actually fires, so... Yeah, that'll do well.

-OK.

Good luck, guys. Second round is coming up next.

Their drones are re-charged, their weapons are armed,

but are our aviators ready for the second challenge of the final?

-ALL: Yeah!

-Excellent stuff, OK.

Team Vortex, Joel,

now, in that previous round you were blisteringly fast.

I mean, you were like lightning out there. Has that given you

loads of confidence going into this challenge?

It's given me quite a lot of confidence,

-I just can't wait to get out there.

-Excellent stuff.

This Way Up, Tom and Toby,

now, you did do really well in that last challenge but it wasn't

quite enough, and it just shows how good these guys are.

-How does that make you feel going into this one?

-Um...

A little less confident, but then again it's not about speed,

this one, so as long as we can keep it controlled we'll do really well.

Excellent. It does sound like you guys have been talking and you know

exactly what you need to do to get through. So, just a quick reminder.

You are playing for another five-second advantage going into

The Dogfight, all right? Are we ready to fly some drones?

ALL: Yeah!

All right, then. Aviators, stand by.

So we're already onto the final round two game of the series! Wow!

These extremely talented flyers have shown us how fast they can go,

but they now have to show us how precise they can be.

Aviators, stand by.

You can see the anticipation on the two pilots' faces as they wait

to launch their drones.

OK, here we go. They're in the air!

And This Way Up are fractionally faster.

The blues are straight off the mark,

popping a balloon almost instantaneously!

Yellow fire one off, no burst,

now the second one does go boom!

Good work.

Look at that! Oh, unbelievable!

It left a mark but it didn't burst.

There we see how it took two shots to take out one balloon.

Eight balloons, 11 paintballs.

At this rate Vortex won't have enough to finish the job.

And now we're with This Way Up as they miss, recalibrate and hit!

Look at that puff of smoke there.

Good stuff.

Now yellow fire one off. They miss.

They fire again, they hit!

The two teams are looking really comfortable,

matching each other shot for shot.

Look at that concentration from the blue team.

OMG, it's a BUG, what's he going to do?

Fire.

Blue doesn't care, he just wants to shoot another balloon,

which he does. He moves on to the next one.

Yep, fire.

And another hit.

It's now 4-2 to the blues.

Joel is having to think hard. It's a miss again,

and it's a hit, 4-3.

At the behest of his wingman, Vortex slides across to another balloon

and in one sure hit he evens up the score.

It's four apiece.

Oh, what happened there?

They burst a balloon with their rotors while simultaneously

shooting another one to smithereens.

How will the Air Marshall react to this?

One point only.

Of course, that's the one burst by the paintball.

Rotors and landing gear don't count in this game, guys.

Look at the BUGS.

They're on the blues' tail. Will they be able to stand the pressure?

Oh!

Balloon violation.

That looks like another violation, another illegal burst.

Up, up!

So, as we know, the balloons can only be burst by paintball guns,

they cannot be burst by any other means.

The blues have used up all their ammunition so if the yellows

can hit the next two balloons, they will win the round.

The blues have got to hope they don't.

They fire one to level the scores.

And there's another!

Vortex take the lead

and go into The Dogfight with another five-second advantage.

A really close round there.

This Way Up popped two balloons with their rotors

which of course aren't allowed.

Vortex were able to hang in there and reel off more precise shots

because they were conservative with their ammo.

Well done, Vortex.

So, it was a very close round, these two teams are matched pretty well.

Once again it was Vortex who managed to edge out This Way Up

by bursting seven balloons to This Way Up's six.

Good work, Team Vortex.

You guys got seven balloons with your paintball gun.

Unfortunately, This Way Up, you guys only got six of your balloons

with your paintball gun.

The other two you got with your propellers.

Are you surprised, are you disappointed?

I thought I only popped one, but, yeah, it's all right.

You did very well, there was some very neat flying there.

But, guys, that gives you ten seconds overall in the grand final

going into the final Dogfight. How are you feeling about that?

That's great. We're just going to be there waiting for them.

As soon as they come through we're going to shoot them.

My goodness. All right, guys, you've heard their tactics,

so you know what to do about it, but you better watch out.

All right, I will see both of you in The Dogfight.

This is the greatest gladiatorial test on TV,

and here we are at the very final one.

Rise up, activate lasers, blast away until you take four lives

from the opponent, and step up to collect the trophy.

Our finalists are going rotor to rotor in The Dogfight.

As always, they have to avoid taking a direct hit from their opponents.

Yes, the Airena is about to echo and reverberate

to some serious aerial combat.

It's the finale of our epic tournament,

but do the resident drones care about that? They should.

Let's find out who's up there with them.

It's the DRAGON.

Oh, yes, look out!

He had to make an appearance sometime.

It's the daddy of them all -

fire, brimstone, as old as the hills,

it's the DRAGON.

So if they stray into the no-fly zone the DRAGON may engage,

but somehow I suspect that's not

going to be an issue for our finalists -

they've only got eyes and crosshairs for each other.

-Shall we get our first team up?

-Yes.

This way up, come on! Guys, guys, guys.

OK, boys. So, you are going in with no advantage.

-Are you worried about that?

-No, not at all.

I think we're really confident about it, actually.

-All right, then, Team Vortex.

-Guys, come on!

So, Joel, you've got the ten-second advantage.

You mentioned before that your tactic would be to come out of

the blocks and get right into their flying zone from the start.

-Is that what you've decided to stick with?

-Yeah, definitely.

We are about to get this Dogfight underway -

have you got any final words for your opponents,

bearing in mind this is the grand final of Airmageddon series two?

May the best man win.

Ooh, Tom, what have you got to say to that?

We will.

They both mean business, so let's get this Dogfight underway.

This is the grand final, so make it count.

Aviators, stand by.

So, this is it. The endgame, the final Dogfight.

Two mighty teams who have proven themselves over the weeks

to be the very best of the best.

And now, it's time to find out who will be

the absolute master of the skies.

For the victor, the trophy.

For the loser, a long walk home...

unless you've got a car.

Vortex have got the all-important time advantage

but This Way Up are so unpredictable,

it really could be anyone's game today.

Win or lose, this will be a corker.

Aviators, stand by.

Vortex launch in three, two, one...

And up go the yellow team, which is Team Vortex.

Wingman helps guide Joel into the optimum position ready to pounce

when This Way Up take to the air, and they do that now.

Can the blues, This Way Up, get to the activation gate

before being zapped by the yellows?

Yes, they can.

This Way up make it through the activation gate

and seem to manage to avoid the Vortex ambush.

But Vortex don't give up, they continue to fire at them!

This Way Up yo-yo hard to avoid the shots

but the barrage is just too much for them

and finally they take the hit.

There it is, a well-timed strike and now it comes down to flying tactics.

Hunt or be hunted, engage or evade.

Some more up-and-down action there.

Vortex blast them again and another life is lost on This Way Up.

Vortex seem to be running away with this but let's not discount

the pluckiness of This Way Up just yet.

They fire one off but it misses and now they both bounce in front

of each other, trying to get that all-important angle.

Up, up, up!

And look! This Way Up get one back, and now we have a game on our hands.

They're getting cocky, they try and follow it up.

A little too cocky, it seems -

they get caught again by Team Vortex.

Tricky stuff here for This Way Up

and this is now sudden death for them. This is exciting!

That's it!

Oh, but wait, Vortex take a hit themselves!

This Way Up are at them, firing hard here. It's 3-2.

The next zap is crucial.

-3-3!

-It's neck and neck. Next hit wins.

Three lives lost each, this is crazy.

This Way Up have been thoroughly predictable

in their unpredictabilityness!

So after all the heats, all the rounds,

it all comes down to this, the next laser strike.

It's really anyone's game now.

Incredible, there is so much riding on this I can't take the pressure!

Up, up, up!

Oh, a boom!

Vortex strikes the killer blow, that is it!

APPLAUSE

We have a new champion.

Team Vortex, take a bow.

That may look like any other strike but it is in fact

the 26 million strike,

the strike of the series, the strike of champions.

This Way Up, that way down.

Erm, we don't actually give out 26 million.

Anyway, ahem, so there we have it!

What a final. This Way Up took three of Vortex's lives

but Vortex are the winners by taking all four of This Way Up's.

Well done, Vortex, master of the skies.

It's time to collect.

APPLAUSE

Guys, this means you are the Airmageddon champions!

Joel, how are you feeling?

This is amazing, I'm speechless.

Guys, you were so good. Christian, how are you feeling?

I'm just totally stoked. Really proud.

Guys, it was so, so close.

Well done, guys, this is so exciting!

You did really well, guys, as did our runners-up.

Guys, you were fantastic, you fought so valiantly,

and right at the last, your tactic of going up and down, yo-yoing,

it nearly pulled it back for you, didn't it?

Yeah, definitely. I think that ten-second advantage

really did give them a few hits on us first.

But have you enjoyed being a wingman?

I want to say thank you to the whole team for looking after us.

That's really kind of you to say. What a great pair of aviators.

Let's give them a big round of applause.

And, of course, you're not going home empty-handed, guys.

Here are your Airmageddon runners-up trophies, so congratulations.

Well done, guys. Brilliant stuff.

But, Team Vortex, that does mean you are our champions.

Congratulations, guys.

We will see you very soon,

but for now it's time for Airmageddon to power down.

And for Team Vortex to really step up!

APPLAUSE

We might not have won, but then again,

out of 700 applicants we made it through.

They were very good competitors.

They fought their hardest, tried their best and they got a really

good time in the Airsault Course, and I think they did their best.

Airmageddon power down.