News 
Supported by the watch firm, British director Jacob Sutton and Italian racing and aerobatics pilot Dario Costa combined their respective passions for aviation and film in making a particularly inspiring short film. Sharing the same enthusiasm for both worlds, Hamilton presented the short film Dreams of Flight.
Excited by the sweeping and sculptural lines of the Namibian dunes and over a two-year period, the Biel/Bienne-based brand supported Jacob and Dario in planning and executing this remarkable project. The resulting film is a celebration of flight in its purest form.
Jacob was immediately drawn to the cinematic elements of the black plane silhouetted against the majestic dunes, its white smoke trail suspended in the air. Dario’s focus was to fly fast along and above these huge natural sand structures. Their aim to create a film of both beauty and power. The shoot took place in the Swakopmund dunes. For three days an international crew including Europeans, South Africans and Namibians worked with multiple cameras to capture the footage. A helicopter crew, a crew on the ground and cameras mounted on the fuselage were used to record the action.
The team used a specially adapted all-black aerobatics plane for the shoot. Though visually attractive, the matte black wrapping caused the temperature inside the plane to be extremely high. In addition to exterior temperatures of 40°C (104°F), the team contended with high winds, sand and fog that would roll in from the sea, impairing visibility and creating nearly un-flyable conditions.
What appears wonderfully simple on the surface is full of complexity and represents a masterful achievement. The challenges for Dario were manifold. Low air density changed the aerodynamics and reduced engine performance, making this one of his greatest mental and physical challenges to date, with smooth flight proving incredibly difficult. No one before has ever flown an aerobatic plane so close to these dunes at a speed of more than 370Km/h.
October 17, 2019