FPV & Drone Filming of the Flying Scotsman

FPV and cinematic drone filming of the Flying Scotsman by Emmy-winning FPV pilot and drone cinematographer Lewis Whyld. The project combined close-proximity aerial tracking with wider cinematic views to capture the movement, engineering and character of one of Britain’s most recognisable steam locomotives. Filming a moving heritage railway subject required careful route planning, precise speed matching and coordination around the railway environment, while using FPV to bring the camera closer to the locomotive than conventional aerial coverage could achieve.

FPV and cinematic drone cinematography of the Flying Scotsman, filmed by Lewis Whyld using close-proximity tracking and wider aerial perspectives to capture the locomotive in motion and reveal its scale, engineering and heritage setting.

Project Details

Client / Broadcaster: CNN
Subject: Flying Scotsman
Location: United Kingdom
Role: FPV Pilot & Drone Cinematographer — Lewis Whyld
Filming: FPV & cinematic drone cinematography
Coverage: High-speed tracking of the Flying Scotsman in motion, wider aerial views of the train and surrounding railway landscape
Shoot Duration: Several days
Conditions: Filmed across changing weather and light
Flight Style: Close-proximity tracking, pursuit flying and wider cinematic aerial coverage
Environment: Active heritage railway network
Challenges: Matching the speed of a moving steam locomotive, maintaining composition over long tracking runs, route planning and operating around railway infrastructure
Story Focus: The engineering, movement and heritage significance of the Flying Scotsman
Specialism: Heritage / Rail / High-Speed Tracking / FPV / Aerial Cinematography / Broadcast

Tracking the Flying Scotsman at Speed

Filming the Flying Scotsman was less about static beauty shots and more about matching the movement and rhythm of a working steam locomotive across the railway landscape.
Lewis used FPV and conventional drone systems to track alongside and around the train over extended runs, adjusting speed, distance and camera position as the locomotive accelerated, slowed and moved through changing terrain.
The challenge was to keep the train visually dominant while still revealing the scale of the route and surrounding countryside. Long pursuit shots demanded accurate speed matching and anticipation, particularly when the aircraft had limited opportunities to reposition once a tracking run had begun.
Filmed over several days in changing weather, the project combined close-proximity movement with wider aerial perspectives to show both the engineering detail of the locomotive and the spectacle of the Flying Scotsman travelling through the British landscape.

FPV for Heritage Rail & Moving Subjects

The Flying Scotsman project shows how FPV and drone cinematography can be used around fast-moving heritage subjects where timing, anticipation and positioning matter as much as the shot itself.
Lewis combined pursuit flying with wider aerial coverage to move between close tracking of the locomotive and broader views of the railway landscape, creating a sense of speed without losing the scale and context of the route.
That approach is well suited to rail, automotive and other moving subjects where the camera needs to stay connected to the action rather than simply observe it from a fixed position.
For heritage and transport productions, FPV can add a more immediate sense of movement while conventional drone systems provide the wider establishing views needed to tell the full story.

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Planning FPV & Drone Filming for Heritage Transport?

Through Whyldthings, I provide specialist FPV and drone cinematography for heritage transport, rail, automotive and other moving subjects where speed matching, route planning and precise camera positioning are critical.
The Flying Scotsman project combined close-proximity tracking with wider cinematic aerial coverage over several days, using different drone systems to capture both the movement of the locomotive and the scale of the railway landscape around it.
For productions involving trains, vehicles or other fast-moving subjects, the approach is built around anticipation, safe positioning and choosing the right aircraft for each shot rather than forcing one system to do everything.
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