Timeline

Freefly is only 13 years old. We’ve packed a lot into that timeframe! Check out some of the highlights and lowlights from this adventure.

Freefly Timeline

  • historical Historical
  • first First
  • cool Cool
  • failure Failure

2024

Hovermap for Astro Launches

Emesent and Freefly partner to bring their incredible hovermap mapping and autonomy for Astro

First drone induced controlled avalanche test by Drone Amplified

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Alta X continues to expand its use cases with this test between Drone Amplified and Alaska DOT

2023

Ember showcase #2 Launches

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These shots represent 6 months to 1 year after Ember launched and within a year its clear Ember has changed the high speed cinema game

Ember Stabilization launches

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Smooth footage with no gimbal is now just a few clicks in the app away

Power surge launches

Movi Pro gets a firmware update that allows 40% more performance for free!

Pilot Pro Launches

Finally a pro level drone controller hits the scene!

1st annual Freefly Fest

Freefly customers and partners from around the world travel to the drone ranch for an epic party

Workswell Wiris Thermal payload for Astro Launches

Astro gets a thermal payload option!

Ember app launches

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Ember app launched to allow easier control and sharing from Ember

Ember showcase #1 launches

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In just 6 months Ember customers have already set the world on fire with incredible footage.

2022

Freefly brings production machining in house

Ember is machined completely in house – the first time we have done full production run machining at Freefly!

Ember Launches

Camera team hits it out of the park with their second camera to market – Ember

Sitecan for Astro launches

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ESRI sitescan integration for ArcGIS launches

1st SL4 Battery ships

Movi Pro gets a battery upgrade from SL8’s new little brother.

1st Astro Map Ships

Astro + Freefly Gimbal + A7R4 = ❤️

Amplify Ships for Wave Camera

Camera division ships amplify which allows users to visually analyze vibrations using Wave realtime.

First AI enabled feature ships – AI Enhance

Camera division ships a feature to help improve the quality of our 2K footage.

Alta 6/Alta 8 EOL

Farewell Alta 6 and 8, you and your swan neck booms will always have a place in my heart.

2021

Freefly Alta X is Selected for DIU Blue List

It’s a big, fast, capable drone and is now Blue approved.

Freefly invests in Aoleus SP

Doing some next-gen design, David B started using Aeolus for aero design/optimization. After being super impressed with the software Freefly invested.

1st SL8 Battery ship

Our first battery designed and manufactured in-house ships and we kick off our “Power Systems” Playpen.

1st Astro Ships

Our compact drone platform launches! We built a new flight controller, motor drives, and batteries for this – what a project!

Freefly Launches V2 Profit Sharing Program

Freefly decides to decentralize even further, and hire/promote CEOs for each business unit or “playpen” as we call them.

MōVI Cinema Robot EOL

Farewell baby MōVI, it was fun while it lasted.

Freefly Acquires BFD Systems

Unable to keep up with drone demand, Freefly looks to BFD to help us scale and keep our quality high

2020

Wave Launch

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Freefly launches our first camera which shoots 4K 400FPS continuously. This brings high-quality high speed to the masses.

Freefly Acquires Keiryou Robotics

Shane is back! After creating the Wave on his own in Boston, Freefly joined the party to help bring it to market.

Freefly RTK GPS Launch

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Freefly launches Ublox F9p-based RTK positioning for increased accuracy.

BFD HQ Relocation

BFD moves from Philly to South NJ.

Fuel-injected, water-cooled, gas hybrid multirotor

BFD develops a fuel-injected, water-cooled, gas hybrid multirotor for long endurance mapping missions.

2019

Alta X Launch

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Freefly launches Alta X which becomes the cinema and industrial heavy lift workhorse and the first quad people trust.

ALTA Pro Launches

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Freefly launches its first waypoint capable drone built on the open PX4 flight stack.

The world's first water-cooled hydrogen fuel cell multirotor

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BFD works with Protonics to develop the world’s first water-cooled hydrogen fuel cell multirotor.

2018

MōVI Wheels

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Freefly introduces MōVI Wheels which allows MōVI operators precise control of MōVI Gimbals.

360-degree Majestic

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Freefly launches ‘3D Majestic’ which allows users to roll 360 degrees while maintaining full majestic control.

360-degree Roll

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Freefly introduces ‘Blackjack’ firmware which allows for 360-degree roll – the first in any handheld gimbal.

Arc200 Launches

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Freefly Robotics introduces the Arc200, a 200 amp universal motor control.

Freefly Robotics Launches

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The Freefly ecosystem grows to include a line of components for DIY vehicles and other projects.

Freefly Landshark

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Freefly introduces the first 5-axis gimbal mounted on an electric bike.

MōVI XL Fiber Optic Gyro

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Freefly introduces the Fiber Optic Gyro upgrade for MōVI XL. For the first time, consumers can access the same level of performance found on gimbals 10x the price.

Tethered Heavy Lift Multirotors

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BFD develops heavy lift tethered multirotors for persistent flight emergency cell towers.

2017

MōVI Cinema Robot

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Freefly introduces the first smartphone stabilizer designed to easily create professional content with external lenses.

MōVI XL Launches

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Freefly announced the MōVI XL – built to handle the largest professional camera packages.

World's first 5-axis handheld/drone mountable gimbal

Freefly announces the world’s first handheld/drone mountable 5-axis gimbal allowing for shots up to 240mm.

Put A MōVI On It Contest

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Freefly customers create the most amazing contest we have ever seen.

World's first handheld stabilizer to interface with video game controller

FW 1.1 allows users to control the MōVI Pro with a Playstation Controller.

Worlds First Gestural Control of F / I / Z

Move your hand to control Focus/Iris/or Zoom.

BFD Founded

Max, Evan, and Mike start a business!

2016

MōVI Pro - first full filter and gain auto tune under 15 seconds

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Tuning a gimbal becomes a thing of the past.

Dronesurfing

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Henning leads the crew to tow him with the ALTA 8.

Freefly Anywhere Contest

Our very first mash up contest.

ALTA 8

8 rotor version of the ALTA 6 for increased payload.

2015

World's first drone with compass-less position hold

For situations where the compass is unreliable, we developed an algorithm that derives aircraft heading with only one GPS. Still unique today in the market!

World's first Multi Rotor with Sinusoidal Motor Drives

No more screeching motor drives; all you hear on ALTA is prop noise.

ALTA 6

World’s first top/bottom mounted camera drone.

MIMIC

World’s most intuitive remote camera control.

Wedge

World’s smallest/lightest 3-axis lens controller.

Flite Fest RC Event in Ohio

Max and Evan meet Mike in Ohio.

2014

First handheld stabilizer with full cage for increased performance

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More than doubled the performance by holding the camera more rigidly.

MōVI M15

Shipments of the larger MōVI M15 begin.

Tero

Our first ground vehicle to carry MōVI.

MōVI Certified 'Camel Compatible'

We never imagined all the ways people would use a MōVI.

World's first 50+ ft jump by chase camera man with perfectly stable footage

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Kirk Bereska risks life and limb to create one of our all-time favorite shots with Nick Schrunk and Corey K.

First Flight of the RED Dragon Camera

We can now fly a fully professional camera package and create stable imagery.

2013

Max and Evan meet on Set

Max and Evan meet doing practical FX for TV and movies.

MōVI Controller

Our first integrated controller for MōVI Product line. Gives users complete control over MōVI/Camera/and FIZ from 600+ feet away.

MōVI M5

Freefly announces the smaller/lighter MōVI M5.

World's first stable long lens footage from drone

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Shots up to 85mm in this piece ignited the quest which eventually led to MōVI Carbon.

Majestic Mode

Intuitive single-operator control of a 3-axis handheld stabilizer.

First Flight of a handheld 3-axis stabilizer in manned aircraft

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Vince strapped Tabb to the front of a helicopter and flew around NYC.

MōVI M10

World’s first 3-axis digital Handheld Stabilizer.

2012

Radian

Freefly’s first electronic product – camera stabilization module.

Cinestar 3-axis gimbal

We added a pan axis to the 2-axis gimbal to allow more complex dual-operator aerial cinematography.

2011

CineStar 8 MultiRotor

Our first octocopter built to carry heavy (for the era) camera packages.

World's first EPIC to fly on MultiRotor

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Tabb strapped on his Epic and kept it low, the flight was terrifying but showed that multirotors had the potential to carry cinema packages.

CineStar 2-axis gimbal

Our first 2-axis camera gimbal designed to fly on CineStar 6 and 8.

Freefly Systems Incorporated

Shit’s getting real!

First flight of 1st CineStar 6 Prototype

This was really one of the key moments for us taking the leap to start Freefly. I took the CS6 to NAB and showed it to GoPro and Quadrocopter and they were so pumped.

First Panasonic AF100 Flight on Drone

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One of the first times I actually thought our footage looked good!

2010

CineQuad to carry Cineflex Built

Exploded on first flight!

2009

Hugh and Tabb Meet on set of Clean Break

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We didn’t get along at first, then fell in love.

2008

David and Tabb meet on RCgroups

Tabb originally bought XERA motors from David B and started talking his ear off about heavy lift industrial electric helicopters.