Watch a Drone King Kong Ascend the Empire State Building

When King Kong (1933) entered theaters during the Great Depression, it grossed nearly $90,000 in New York City alone—which is equal to roughly $2.2 million adjusted for inflation. Since then, the giant primate has appeared in Volkswagen commercials, gone head-to-head with Godzilla, and inspired several other characters in popular culture. To pay homage to the movie that started it all, a drone show recently recreated King Kong’s iconic climax on top of the real Empire State Building in New York City. You can watch the spectacle in the video above.

According to Nerdist, the drone company Studio Hock recently brought the oversized gorilla to life using a fleet of flying robots. It’s unclear how many drones were used in the stunt, but the company’s typical flocks range from 40 to over 1000. Pulling off the feat in the middle of Manhattan on April Fool’s Day (with the building’s approval, of course) posed many challenges. The reflective glass and steel structures of the urban environment cause GPS distortions and magnetic interferences. Studio Hock executed the drone show with its special RTK (Real-Time Kinematic) network, which they designed specifically for the city’s vertical landscape.

Manhattan also gets pretty windy. The area saw average wind speeds of 25 to 30 miles per hour in March this year, per the New York Post. The drones’ Helios technology was created to combat this problem; the machines were designed to withstand strong winds and adapt to changes in speed. It also allows the machines to change positions smoothly in real time. Such innovations made the synched performance possible; Studio Hock shared that every drone stayed sub-five centimeters in position even as King Kong ascended the building.

The light show company has been in business for over 20 years, during which it’s recreated a flying dragon, Godzilla, and a sunset using drones. You can view their work in the reel below.

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