Aerial Cinematography: North American B25 Mitchell

North American B25 Mitchell

The B-25 Mitchell enjoys limited use as a camera ship. This World War II light bomber is famous for its raid on Tokyo led by Lieutenant Colonel Jimmie Doolittle in 1942. For motion picture camera ship missions, the waist, nose and tail gunner positions serve as mounting positions for film cameras. Four different POVs can now be achieved simultaneously which can later serve as background plates for process or compositing purposes. Such work was accomplished for the motion picture "Drop Zone" to aquire background plates at different altitudes to be used in the film's opening scenes. More recently a B-25 was mounted with a Spacecam gyro-stabilized ball mount in the tail gunner's position for "Con Air" to do air-to-air shooting of that film's C-123 Provider story ship. This is a good example of the need for a camera ship that fills the performance gap between the Learjet and the commonly used helicopter camera ships. For some time, the B-25 was the fixed-wing camera platform of choice, but that role has been largely taken over by the Lear.

Mount Compatibility

Camera mounting capability in a B-25 that frequently performs camera ship duty is usually accommodated with fixed Mitchell-top plates that will accept the current popular fluid and geared heads. Tyler Camera Systems provides a mount designed specifically for fixed-wing work. Known as the Tyler Three-Axis mount, it is mainly intended for air-to-air filming (targeting) and not as a traditional pan-and-tilt mechanism although it does offer that movement capability. Any specialized mount installation, such as the Spacecam ball mount mentioned above, should be discussed with the aerial coordinator, mount vendor and pilot/owner of the aircraft to make certain all FAA restrictions are addressed. B-25s not normally functioning in the camera ship role will need to be rigged for mounting.

B25 Mitchell Specifications

For general reference only. The following specifications are for the B25 Mitchell. They do not consider the altered weight-and-balance characteristics or resulting restrictions on inflight performance with installed camera mounting systems.
Length:	52 ft 11 in (16.13 m)
Wingspan:	67 ft 7 in (20.60 m)
Height:	16 ft 4 in (4.98 m)
Empty weight:	19,480 lbs (8,836 kg)
Maximum takeoff weight:	35,000 lbs (15,876 kg)
Maximum speed:	272 mph (438 kmh)
Range:	1,350 nm (2,173 km)
Powerplant:	2 1,700 hp (1,268 kW) Wright R-2600-92 Radial Pistons

Important Considerations

These vintage aircraft are not soundproofed. Hearing protection within the aircraft is vitally important as noise levels during flight are above the pain threshold.
The B-25 is a nonstandard category aircraft and as mentioned earlier, the FAA has taken exception to the use of such aircraft over populated regions. Rated as experimental, there are restrictions on who can fly them and where they can be flown.
Remember that this aircraft was designed for utilitarian purposes and not comfort. It is extremely important to always be aware of where loose items are placed or where one steps inside the aircraft, particularly around the bottom edge of both sides of the fuselage. The open construction means all of the aircraft's control cables are exposed. Inhibiting the function of these cables will interfere with the controllability of the aircraft.