Lyon Aerials

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Here are the results of our trip to the amazing Cedar Key on the Gulf Coast of Florida. Met some amazing new friends down at the Low Key Hideaway. Found out that our drone wasn't the first to fly the skies of Cedar Key either! We spent 4 days there enjoying the cold Florida weather, the off season, empty bars, sun rises, sunsets and flying the Phantom as much as we could. Some days got really windy and we were grounded. We also took a day trip to the Suwannee River and the Wildlife Refuge which you will see in the video, its the section with the tall pines called Slash Pines. If your'e looking to get away from the city for a few days and you are in Florida, take the drive to Cedar Key. 

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Decided to pack up and hit the road in search of unique aerial footage on the Gulf Coast of Florida. The destination is Cedar Key which has so much to offer in terms of islands, the Gulf, brilliant sunsets and a short drive to the Suwannee River. I'll be editing a piece on Cedar Key and Suwannee area in the next week and post on the site. 

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Freedom Tower in Downtown Miami. Originally this was built as the offices of the Miami News in 1925 and remained that until the late 50's. The Federal Government then used it to process Cuban refugees fleeing Castro in the 60's, which is how it earned it's name. It's architecture resembles the Biltmore Hotel in the Gables because it was designed by the same architect firm Schultze & Weaver who also designed the Breakers in Palm Beach. 

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Morning after my rough landing, new props installed and everything is good to go. Spent some time in front of the AAA and the Freedom Tower just across Biscayne, pics to follow. Great morning with little wind and nice blue sky. Filmed some video clips for a future vignette and the usual upload to my stock footage accounts. 

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Rush hour in the Gables, also Happy Hour. Not a happy hour for me, one of my batteries failed me 20 seconds into the flight after this one causing a really hard landing that broke a prop! All else seems good though. I'll do some testing in the AM. Well this is Coral Gables, my home. My apt is about 3 quarters up on the left behind the big office building. I love shooting around here, but can be a challenge.

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Last year I travelled to Austin, TX for the American Le Mans event at Circuit of the Americas. On the back side of the trip I took an extra day to sight see, eat BBQ, and fly my Phantom. I found this awesome green space on the opposite side of Town Lake to launch and grabbed a few stills and some video. Here's a shot from that day. Couldn't ask for better flying conditions!

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Its kind of hard to believe this section of Miami exists so undeveloped. It's history spans all the way back to World War 1, it was used as an air field. Then in 1923 the United States Department of Agriculture used it as a plant introduction garden. The property has passed through many hands since including the University of Miami and the Deering Estate but there has not been any development of the land, which is a good thing. Head down Old Cutler Road and turn at Deering Bay Drive. Park your car at the canoe launch and keep walking. 

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Sunrise over Virginia Key Beach. This is one of my favorite beaches in Miami, nothing like South Beach with all the hype, traffic and tourists. It's quiet, and has a Caribbean feel to it. There's lots of little hidden nooks and crannies here that you can find an empty stretch of beach on.  If you hike around the island far enough, you'll find a section for yourself and not see another human for hours. Imagine that. You can see this shot in action on my demo reel hosted on www.lyonaerials.com home page.

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Flying high over the old Crandon Zoo on Key Biscayne. I remember coming here as kid, you can still walk around and see the abandoned animal cages which are pretty interesting.  The property is now a botanical garden and is pretty well kept. A great place to walk around and bring back some faded memories of the old zoo. 

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The Alhambra Water Tower is a cool little gem hidden towards the edge of the Gables along 57th ave, right off the Grenada golf course. It was built in 1924 by Merrick and was abandoned in 1931. 

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This is one of my favorite buildings in South Florida, possibly my most favorite. The historic Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables, Florida. The hotel was built in 1926 by John Bowman and George Merrick, who are credited with many of the buildings in Coral Gables and elsewhere in South Fl. The Biltmore served as a hospital during World War II and there are claims that it is haunted.