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Talk of the Bay
Little whirlybirds show a view of the future
By JAMES THORNER
Published July 31, 2006
How do condominium developers sell a balcony view when they haven't built the balcony? Some are hiring SkyPIX Helicam, a St. Petersburg company that launches a remote controlled mini helicopter to snap panoramic photos from heights of up to 600 feet. SkyPIX founder Dan Shaw, a mechanical engineer, markets his hovering camera to condo developers under the slogan "It's the view that sells." The high-resolution shots can give prospective buyers a glimpse of the future before the building's gotten off the ground. Shaw has taken his copter to jobs as far afield as Portland, Maine, but has labored mostly in Florida for such projects as Aqualea Resort in Clearwater. SkyPIX insists it can capture perspectives inaccessible to traditional cameras at low heights that are potentially dangerous for a full-sized helicopter. The company started in 2004, but already developers have learned to appreciate the company's 360-degree and 180-degree birds-eye views. Make that whirlybirds-eye views.
[Last modified July 31, 2006, 06:02:19]
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Fifty years ago, they were screwed-up kids sent to the Florida School for Boys to be straightened out. But now they are screwed-up men, scarred by the whippings they endured. Read the story and see a video and portrait gallery.
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