1944 BSA Airborne Paratrooper Bicycle R50823 – Filming in Los Angeles

I had an enquiry from a production company in Los Angeles, who were filming a new series for Discovery TV Channel. Would I be prepared to fly out with my BSA Airborne for two days filming?

You bet I would!

So, with only a few weeks notice, we boxed up the BSA and jumped on a plane, to be met at LAX by Dawn, the Coordinating Producer. Three days later I was driven into the desert some 70 miles east of LA, where they proposed dropping the bike out of a plane by parachute…

Los Angeles at the end of August 2011 was in the middle of a heatwave. The desert is hot anyway. Filming all day in 108 degrees was an interesting experience. I certainly did not need to wear my white shirt and tweed jacket.

Actually, they did not intend to throw my Airborne out of a plane. They had bought a Montague Paratrooper Pro, and Owen (centre of picture above, one of the stars of the show) was going to do a parachute jump, accompanied by a qualified skydiver who would bring the Paratrooper Pro down by parachute.

Above: BSA meets the Paratrooper Pro, before doing its stuff. Below, after the Pro has landed.

The other day of filming was near the beach, in a vintage shop, so was (thankfully) a bit cooler.