Heat Six Airmageddon

Welcome to Airmageddon - TV's Ultimate test of airborne skill...

Get out the way! ..and radio-controlled mayhem.

SCREAMING

32 teams of wannabe aviators from across the UK...

Yeah!

..will do battle in the Airena with their customised drones.

Only those with the skills... Yes!

..the luck, and the aerial courage... Go, go, go, go!

..will make it through.

Eat my wind, this is Airmageddon!

BOTH: Hello!

Welcome to the world's first competitive environment

for drone-on-drone action -

AKA the Airena.

In this purpose-built sports venue, four new teams

will take on each other,

a series of airborne events and our resident drones to take gold.

Yes, our aviators, they really are finely tuned athletes -

or airletes, if you prefer.

They've got hand-eye coordination, superhuman reflexes,

unmatchable skills, and, just like the real thing,

they've even got their own call signs.

Yes, just like Mo Farah has the Mobot.

Yeah, Usain Bolt's got the lightning bolt. I like that.

Our aviators, they've got the double wings.

BOTH: Let's meet them.

So first into the Airena are Louis and mum Julie,

AKA The Arachnerds.

Then we have the Grenville's Guardians,

better known as Benji and his uncle Stuart.

Third is Joshua with dad Nick and their team Pirates of the Sky.

Completing the line-up are the Fly By Knights -

Toby and grandad Peter. High five!

Here are our aviators. Are you guys ready? ALL: Yes! Excellent.

Well, the first team to kick us off is the Arachnerds -

Louis and Wing-Mum Julie.

How are you feeling?

To be here in the Airena, it's pretty cool, right?

Yeah, it's amazing. It's much bigger than I expected.

Well, we've got the Pirates of the Sky over here with Josh and Nick.

Are you guys ready to steal the win?

Yeah, we're going to take them down. We'll have to see about that.

So our guests have all arrived...

And our first course of mayhem is about to be served.

Isn't that right, PIG?

That's right, Will. The Airena is as big as a jumbo jet.

It has to be, because each drone is almost this big.

Our aviators need to scoot around the Airsault Course today, thusly.

Our bikes - I mean drones - have to fly through four gates, and they'll

have to navigate around pillars as tall as rugby posts,

but with no funny-shaped balls.

Aviators then have the Letterboxes to contend with.

The gap is only one metre,

so accurate aim is the name of the game,

or it's a two-storey drop to the floor.

After the foggy corridor, which is like walking through

a corridor in the dark - don't try that at home -

it's this! Imagine everyone in Milan

blowing upwards at the same time.

Windy - that's The Vortex.

Then it's the finish line.

Check your time, feeling fine.

I'm a rapper.

It's enough to put you off your breakfast.

Especially when you factor in our resident drones.

So let's find out who'll be up there with our aviators.

It's the WASP.

There's a buzz of excitement as the fearful WASP

will be flying in the faces of our teams.

Sparks are definitely going to fly. Look at them!

First to face the Airsault Course are the Arachnerds.

Aviator Louis is a keen guitarist,

but will he fret when he takes to the sky

or will he string together the perfect performance? I know...

Wing-Mum Julie works as a nurse.

Let's hope she has her plasters ready in case things go wrong.

Louis thought his drone looked a bit like a spider,

so he put hair on it and called it Arachnerd. Clever.

Creepy, actually.

Louis, Julie, so you're up here, you're in the tower.

Arachnerds... I'm arachnophobic, genuinely,

so you're not my favourite team. Oh, OK, OK.

You've got to be a little bit worried, though,

about the flame-throwers.

Yeah, it is furry, so I don't know how that will work.

It's the furriest drone that we've ever had... Really?

..on Airmageddon. Yeah.

So maybe it could be the best fireball we've ever seen.

OK. Fingers crossed that won't happen, all right? Yeah.

Good luck, guys. Aviators, stand by.

Making a drone out of flammable fur in a room full of fire...

This could be fascinating.

WASP is thinking exactly the same thing, I'm sure. Here we go.

Rev your rotors.

You're clear for takeoff.

Arachnerds launch in three, two, one...

Arachnerds are go! It's a hair-raising start.

There he is - the giant furry spider.

It does have a spider look to it, doesn't it?

Apart from the propellers.

Excellent, excellent.

And there's some fire! Look out, Arachnerds!

Really well cleared, that's very... Now I'm just going to...

I'm going to go right back.

Oh!

Guitarist Louis came at that first Letterbox like a head-banger

at a heavy metal gig.

GUITAR RIFF

There's the sound effects for you.

OK, it's OK. Calm and breathe. You're doing really well.

Wing-Mum Julie has brought her nurse's bedside manner

with her to the Airena. Very soothing.

In fact she sounds a bit like a sat nav. Up through the hoop.

And then she lets herself down. It's a hi-tech gate, Julie! Not a hoop!

Get out the way! Steady, there, steady. Now careful, Air Marshall.

You don't want to get stuck in his web!

Now a reminder you've got the smoke so just keep an eye on it.

Finally, it's down to the foggy corridor. That is a lot of smoke.

That is a lot of smoke. More than usual, I'd say actually.

Move around. Move yourself around so you can see.

But Louis gets through unscathed. Can anyone else smell burnt toast?

Strike a light! The WASP has caught himself alight!

That could be a classic battery overheat

or a lesser spotted short-circuit in the mainframe.

The WASP is on fire.

OK! Don't panic, Will!

Here come some fully trained human-looking drones

to extinguish the WASP.

Just marvel at the expert way in which they handle WASP's meltdown.

Heroic stuff there.

Also look at how big the WASP is compared to the humans.

Ah! So it wasn't burnt toast! It was burnt WASP!

I notice nurse Julie didn't offer any help to the WASP there.

Charming. Talking of which, how are they getting on?

Fantastic. Fantastic, Louis.

Ah, here's The Vortex.

That's it.

You're doing really, really well.

They have done really well to keep cool

through the heated drama of the WASP fire!

Through the middle. Really well done.

And with one less resident drone in the sky,

that should make life a bit easier for Arachnerds.

Last pillars! Yeah! Rock on, Louis!

Amazing. Good round.

Time confirmed.

2.26 puts the Arachnerds on top of the leaderboard,

and bottom, for that matter.

Woo, high five, Louis! That was pretty cool!

Nerves out the way. Yeah. How you feeling? Yeah, it's really amazing.

I just... Yeah, lost for words, it's so amazing.

How do you think your mum was doing in the role of Wing-Mum?

She didn't do much but she was great.

I just tried to keep my distance and just be there as a presence for him.

Cool design, and I like the fact that Will hates spiders too, so...

Yeah, yeah. Good one there, Louis!

The second team to navigate the Airsault course are the

Fly By Knights.

Toby is a dog lover when he's not flying drones

but will he find this a walk in the park?

Toby's Grandpoppa, Peter, picks up the Wingman position.

The two of them are so close they speak in code.

They are the Fly By Knights because knights are noble

and fearless but they've not yet met our resident drones - oh, dear!

Toby and Peter, the Fly By Knights.

This is pretty exciting, how are you feeling? Really excited! Excellent!

Your wing-Poppa. What makes him such a good Wingman?

He taught me everything that I know so we work in the same kind of way.

Brilliant.

So you can say with some honesty, "I taught him everything he knows!"

That's right. A chip off the old block. Great. All right, guys.

Let's get you flying. Aviators, stand by.

Toby and Peter are getting into position,

Air Marshall is ready and so is the GUARD

who's subbed into the game while WASP has some ointment applied.

How is WASP, Air Marshall?

He was a little hot under the collar in the last race.

I believe his fire is out now. Me too.

He didn't make a roaring success of things, did he? He works too hard.

He's burnt out. Ha-ha! Any more fire gags?

No. No, me neither. Let's do this.

Rev up your rotors, you're cleared for takeoff!

Fly By Knights launch in three, two, one.

Gently, good boy.

Wheel it round. And the Fly By Knights are airborne.

They'll be sure to keep out of the GUARD's way.

His name rhymes with hard for a reason, you know.

Good, good. Sure that you're correct?

Arachnerds backstage keeping a check on the time.

Or do they just need the loo? I don't know.

One gate and the pillars dealt with nicely

but now the GUARD's coming to play.

Here he comes.

Down. Go down, go down.

Peter Wing-Popping some clear instructions at the Letterboxes.

These two spend a lot of time remote-controlling together

so they should make a good team. And through. Don't nudge me!

Schoolboy error from Poppa Pete there. Never nudge the pilot, Pete!

Good. Up. Through. And through the second gate at speed.

Lovely stuff from Toby. Lower. Lower, lower. Lower. Oh!

I can't see. Good. The Foggy Corridor is doing it's job there.

It glitched! It glitched? Or you hit a pillar?

Will looks petrified, but how did that happen?

Let's have another look.

Still none the wiser, really, but the Fly By Knights

hit the pillar and worked their way up the shaft.

Will they be able to recover from this? I dunno.

Through. Good, lovely. Pop it down.

TOBY WHISTLES

Whistling during the Airsault course? That's another first.

You're supposed to be listening to your Wingman!

This course is obviously not tough enough for this fellow!

Is that low enough? You're in the middle, yeah, in the middle.

Straight up now.

Peter is also keeping it calm with clear, concise instructions

and Toby continues to whistle.

Some classic Justin Bieber? Or just something fairly tuneless?

HE WHISTLES

Are we clear through? You are, sorry. Now go like hell.

Oop! No, no, no, no! Go, go, go. Oh, no!

The finish line is in their sights

but the Fly By Knights have come a cropper.

They've gone on a whistle-stop tour of the Airena

and that's going to cost them some valuable seconds

and possibly wreak havoc with the drone's innards.

Get over that finish line!

It seems so simple. But can he get there?

Stress, stress, stress. Oh! It is.

And now the Fly By Knights have hit terra firma once again!

Fly By Knights cease.

Oh, no! No, no, no. Oh, yes. Sad times.

Air Marshall has blown the whistle with the line just inches away.

And look at the force of that impact.

The Knights nearly knocked their legs off.

And that answers Shakespeare's most famous of questions -

Toby or not Toby - and that was not Toby. Sorry.

Crash of the series!

Look what you did! You broke the landing gears, props...

Toby, what went through your mind then? Try and get it back on track.

Yeah. A massive positive is you did get to the fourth gate

which means the other two teams, if they crash before the fourth gate,

you could still go through. All's not lost yet, Knights, OK? Yeah.

Time confirmed.

So after that, the Arachnerds remain in top spot on the leaderboard.

The Fly By Knights are flying by the seat of their pants.

They need one of the remaining teams to crash out before they did

in order to progress in the competition.

Our third team today are Grenville's Guardians.

Aviator Benji is a keen chef who makes dinner for his family.

Let's hope he's cooking with gas today.

Wingman Stuart is Benji's uncle and a keen photographer

so he knows when to focus. That time is now, Stu.

The team are named after Benji's grandad, Grenville,

and they've commemorated him in their design. That's lovely.

Benji, taking a look at the course from up here,

is there any particular bit that you're really worried about?

Yeah, the four pillars down there are going to be a bit interesting.

Yeah, The Vortex with smoke. Interesting's one way to put it.

Stuart, what about you?

Have you got any good tactics for him as the Wingman?

Um, he's pretty much got it nailed, I think.

As long as he doesn't bounce off of anything, he should be good. Yeah!

Keep bouncing to a minimum and you'll be fine! Yeah.

All right, guys, let's get you up in the air. Aviators, stand by.

The time for talk is over for Grenville's Guardians

but it's just starting for me, let's just...

HE COUGHS ..clear the old throat.

Jokes.

Rev up your rotors, you're cleared for take off! Here we go.

Grenville's Guardians launch in three, two, one.

Flags fluttering in the propeller's breeze and they're up.

No early signs of nerves from Benji as they head to the first gate.

I love the customisation on that drone. Got little flags.

Thanks for flagging that up, Will,

but they could really be a hindrance to a drone.

There's a real chance that they'll cause some drag.

What the actual hey?

Like Beth Tweddle on the bars,

Benji has done a loop-the-loop on the first Letterbox!

Wow, well done! Good recovery!

Stuart's seeing the funny side of that, but is there any damage?

It's not designed to get dizzy!

As we look at that again,

you can see that the feet get stuck on the bar!

Grenville's Guardians do a somersault

before completing a triple salchow and hitting the deck!

That was brilliant! It was!

I bet you a tenner he couldn't do that again if he tried!

I hate to say it,

but this is looking quite good for you at the moment. Yeah.

It is looking good for Toby, Rachel.

If Benji crashes out before they did,

the Fly By Knights will go through.

He's quite wobbly. I wonder whether the flags are causing problems?

Good point, Will. The flags could cause a problem in The Vortex,

the obstacle Benji most fears. Will it claim another victim?

Will another drone plunge to its doom? No!

He's made it through without any problems at all, well played!

You're doing fantastic!

Benji plays basketball in the outside world

so he should be used to hoops. I mean gates! Gates!

Straight through the hoops and over the finish line, yeah? Down, down.

Round the last of the pillars and Stuart encourages Benji home.

Go, go, go, go. There he is! Good job, Benji!

An interesting flight from Benji there with lots of ups and downs

but this Airmageddon world first is well worth looking at

again and again and again and again.

Why not? What happened?

I thought I was going in at level,

and then it just got caught here and started doing, like,

going backwards, so I just put the power off and it managed to stay on.

Times confirmed.

So, Arachnerds remain top of the tree for now,

with 2 minutes 26.

Grenville's Guardians could have been fastest had they not done

so many loop-the-loops, but they still got round in 2 minutes 35.

The Fly By Knights nearly got back into the contest thanks to Benji's

antics, but their only hope now is that the fourth team crash and burn.

Well, shiver me joysticks, harr-harr.

Last into the Airsault Course are the Pirates Of The Sky.

Aviator Josh uses his drone at home to film bike races.

That's totally cool!

Wingman, dad Nick, is a wood-turner by trade.

That's not quite as cool.

And that skull and crossbones on the drone there

might be a good target for the GUARD.

Now, Josh, you've done a lot of flying, haven't you?

So, how are you feeling about this?

Pretty confident. But anything could happen, really.

You're absolutely right. What about you, Wing-Dad?

Well, we're going to show no mercy and do our best. That's good.

That's the pirating spirit we like to see. Aviators, stand by.

Pieces of eight, or pieces of cake?

It's time to find out.

Aviators, start your rotors. Here we go.

Aviators, stand by.

The GUARD is ready to make our droners walk the plank.

He's keen to make a splash in this round.

I'll stop now.

Pirates Of The Sky launch in three, two, one.

Remember, the Pirates just need to finish. Time doesn't matter.

Do that, and Fly By Knights are gone.

But the Pirates are oblivious to the previous team's performance.

I'm expecting big things from Josh. Me, too.

Straight down. Straight down, right. Clear.

Good, concise wingman bants there from dad Nick.

But Josh also needs to be aware of Air Marshall and the GUARD,

who are both lurking with intent.

That's fine, that's fine. Go, go, go.

Nick seems to be concerned with time,

but they just need to finish and they're through.

Straight through, straight through. Take it easy, boys. Perfect.

Go through the hoop. Go through the hoop.

Try and make this quick. Go straight through, straight through.

Look at that - Josh isn't fazed at all.

These drones aren't scaring him.

Down, down, down. Down, that's it.

Darren. Almost... Almost caught that.

"Almost caught that" is an understatement, Nick.

A second look from Air Marshall cam shows that Pirates Of The Sky

would have been sunk without a trace if they'd hit that gate.

That's it. Get in, get in.

It's The Vortex. That's it, perfect.

Straight up. Up, up, up!

Over, over, over. He sailed through The Vortex there with ease.

This is a tremendous wing-mannage.

That's it. Perfect. Keep going, keep going.

He remembered how close the last gate came to disaster,

and coached Josh through this one perfectly.

Go, go, go!

Keep going, keep going!

They've plundered the course superbly.

Pirates Of The Sky are home and dry.

Times confirmed.

That was really epic.

Pirates Of The Sky have robbed Arachnerds of first place

in that round by a clear 20 seconds.

Grenville's Guardians are a further nine seconds back,

meaning that the Fly By Knights are going to become

the Bye-Bye Knights very soon.

You're definitely through. Yes! Brilliant. Excellent. Feels good?

Feels good, yeah. Yeah. Brilliant. Really happy with that.

It's really good, thank you.

Excellent. All right, good stuff, guys. Well done.

Fly By Knights, you've been great.

Toby, Peter. Thank you for having us. Thank you so much.

I'm going to have to ask you to leave, though, guys. OK. Bye.

One team down, but three are rising in our estimations.

Unlike this chap.

It's the notorious PIG.

We're talking hand-to-eye coordination

and a steady hand on the controls in the next game.

Isn't that right, Pig?

PIG OINKS

Yes, that's right.

Each team must knock five bottles off the pillars using

these rather cumbersome wrecking balls we've attached to

the undercarriage of their drones.

The bottles can get knocked off in any order, but the first two

Miley Cyrus wannabes to clear them all go through to the next round.

That joke was because of Wrecking Ball. Sorry.

And, of course, buzzing round the bottles are these blighters.

The bugs' sole aim in this game is to bug the aviators,

so it's just another thing to worry about.

Now, guys, you were first in the last round.

So what tactics have you got worked out for this challenge?

Slow and steady, because if you miss it,

then you're wasting time going back. I like it.

Now, remember, the team that wins this round

goes through to the dogfight with a five-second advantage.

All right, then, aviators.

Stand by. Rev up your rotors.

You're clear for takeoff.

Three teams are about to become two.

Motors are up, so the Air Marshall just needs to count down.

Aviators, standby.

Four, three,

two, one.

They are off!

And Wing-Dad Nick straight away

tries to work the angles for Josh.

Straight on. Straight on. No, missed it. Go back.

And you can see right away that these wrecking balls

swing wildly in the air.

And that makes flying incredibly hard for the aviators.

That said, the Arachnerds have knocked a bottle to the floor.

Very early on.

Louis knocked one down already.

Louis hit the bottle smack in the middle. That was plum!

Or elderflower, perhaps.

I don't know.

Maybe it's one of each, as Louis has hit another to the deck.

Knockout! And a two-point lead here.

Are Grenville's Guardians distracted by that?

No! They've scored two.

The Pirates Of The Sky are struggling to pillage any treasure,

thanks to that pesky ball.

Sometimes, the ball just seems to go round them instead of through them.

Yes, it does.

And while Josh struggles on,

Benji hits another bottle to draw level with the Arachnerds.

That was a much better technique, just straight through.

Pirates Of The Sky miss with the wrecking ball.

But take the bottle out with their undercarriage,

and they're on the scoreboard!

Whatever it takes, lads.

Slow down, slow down.

The Pirates have finally got their game plan going.

Slowly, slowly, smashy bottle.

The technique works, and we're all square here!

But not for long,

as Grenville's Guardians take down another to open up a lead.

Back, back, back. Back, back...

Poor old Josh and the Pirates,

still struggling with their out-of-control ball.

Louis scoring there with a real charge at the bottle.

Louis and Benji both got three.

Spectacular when it goes right.

Looks dreadful when it doesn't.

OK, steady now, steady now. Hold your nerve.

And just like waiting for a bus, you wait for ages for one,

then two come at once.

Grenville's Guardians and the Pirates both score!

Smashing stuff here!

And another! I've never seen anything like this before!

Back, back, back, back.

From swinging around aimlessly at the start,

the Pirates Of The Sky have nearly conquered all around them.

What a comeback!

OK, it's OK.

You've got loads of time.

Benji finished. He has!

Grenville's Guardians knocked their final bottle over

with another world first.

They used their propeller. And they're through to the dogfight.

So, it's between Pirates Of The Sky and the Arachnerds.

And Louis has used his spidey senses to dodge a bug and draw level.

It's four all!

The Pirates are so close.

The bottle's knocked over, but it needs to fall off the pillar.

Got to get it right on!

It's going to be harder to hit, now.

And here comes the Arachnerds at speed, all or nothing!

It's all! Smashed it!

But so have the Pirates.

Who got there first?

Scores confirmed.

Well, what a contest that was,

with the lead changing hands several times.

But in the end, it was Benji and Grenville's Guardians

who came out top.

And joining them in the dogfight are...

The Arachnerds!

It was nail-biting, up until the end, but Louis just clinched it.

Unfortunately, that does mean, Josh,

you haven't made it through to the dogfight, mate.

OK. You guys are grounded.

Let's see our surviving teams fight it out in the dogfight.

It's all been building up to this.

The final round today, the perilous dogfight.

Hit your opponent four times with your built-in lasers, and you win.

But at the same time, avoid getting hit four times yourself,

avoid the resident drones,

and avoid getting burnt by the fountains of fire.

That's a lot to think about.

Teams, remember, if you stray into that no-fly zone,

the Dragon will engage.

Have you got any final words for your opponent, Louis? Bring it on!

We're going to take you down. Ooh!

This is fighting talk!

We need to get these guys in the air. Aviators, stand by.

Start your pre-flight checks. Calibrate your sights.

This is the dogfight - you're cleared for takeoff.

Dear viewing public, if you've never known tension,

let me introduce you.

This is it. Right here, right now, in the Airena.

Grenville's Guardians have the vital five-second advantage at the start.

Aviators fire up.

Can the Arachnerds survive an early onslaught?

Let's dogfight.

Grenville's Guardians launch in three, two, one.

Benji is released, and heads straight for the gate.

Once through, he can start firing.

Targeting system engaged.

Now, Louis is on the way.

Can he get through his gate unscathed,

and launch an attack himself?

Oh, jeepers!

What just happened there?

Probably the thermals from the flames, mate.

Yeah, the thermals, in that indoor Airena? Or pilot error.

One or the other.

Either way, Grenville's Guardians are lucky to still be in this

without a shot being fired.

Targeting system engaged.

OK. Both sets of drones are armed.

Oh, oh! You nearly got burned!

Remember, the Arachnerds have a highly flammable fur coat on today.

Louis nearly had a meltdown.

Just keep hovering, fella. yeah, hovering isn't Arachnerds' problem.

The Dragon is.

Fire, fire!

Arachnerds fire first, but miss.

Benji banked just out of the way.

That was super close.

Benji fires back, but also misses.

He looks intent on causing damage, though.

And he has done!

First hit to Grenville.

Looking back, you can see that Benji

just waited for Arachnerds to bank into their line of sight.

Louis is rattled. Is he getting stuck in his own web?

No! Just look at the screen.

I am, I'm looking at the screen.

We'll just keep going.

Stay there, let them come to us.

Wing-Uncle Stuart plays a cool dogfight, and it works.

The Guardians score another hit, two-nil.

Got two strikes on them, mate.

The legs are falling off the Arachnerds.

The Dragon and Air Marshal aren't helping them much either.

Wing-Mum fires off a volley of shots,

but none of them hit home.

Three.

Strike, green team.

One life remains.

And now it's three.

After avoiding everything Arachnerds could throw at them,

the Guardians reply with another hit.

Arachnerds scuttle backwards, but it's not enough.

The whitewash is complete.

Strike, green team.

No lives remain.

Dogfight over.

We just won. We won. Yeah, all right, calm down, lads.

Don't get too carried away.

Benji, you slid the Arachnerds under a glass

and released it into the garden.

Dispatched!

Louis was fighting for position from very early on, there.

Benji hardly let him off the ropes.

That was the most entertaining dogfight I've seen

since my mum's cockapoos argued over a dropped digestive.

Messy business.

Dogfight score confirmed.

Grenville's Guardians really stepped up in that dogfight,

and once they got started, they never looked back.

Louis and the Arachnerds didn't do much wrong, but today,

nothing was going to stop Benji.

Your grandad would be proud, mate. Well done. Four-nil.

Benji, well done! Thank you. How does it feel?

It's absolutely amazing.

Unfortunately, that does mean that you guys, Arachnerds, are grounded.

But have you had a good time, though? Yeah, it was great. Yeah?

Congratulations, Grenville's Guardians.

We'll see you in the semifinals.

Well done, guys.

But for now, it's time for Airmageddon to power down.

And for these guys to step up.

My appearance here today has been absolutely amazing.

Seeing his face when he won, that was fantastic.

My message to the Grenville's Guardians would be

to have amazing fun, and win.

I have had a really good experience,

it's been really good. It's been really fun.

Oh, no!

My Airmageddon highlight was crashing,

cos it happened more than once.

Airmageddon power-down.