Helicopter Rescue

[wildcard451 0]

http://www.viddler.com/v/28693d19

Freakin awesome.

[ryoder 1,384]

Quote

http://www.viddler.com/v/28693d19

Freakin awesome.

What are the odds you would:
- Do it when a chopper was in position to see it?
- Put it it the top of the tree where they could reach it?

"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

[Squeak 17]

Not a bad Chopper lesson

You are not now, nor will you ever be, good enough to not die in this sport (Sparky)
My Life ROCKS!
How's yours doing?

[theonlyski 3]

Quote

http://www.viddler.com/v/28693d19

Freakin awesome.

That's fucking awesome.

Glad there are people like this out there, probably a story nobody there will ever forget.

"I may be a dirty pirate hooker...but I'm not about to go stand on the corner." iluvtofly
DPH -7, TDS 578, Muff 5153, SCR 14890
I'm an asshole, and I approve this message

[Dean358 0]

Yikes. I don't think that was cool at all. Talk about showing off your mad skillz / the rules don't apply to me / but it's OK 'cause we have a GoPro running. While I've only logged apox. 140 hours flying helicopters I can tell you that was very, very wrong:

1. The Robinson R22 is a notoriously twitchy little ship. In fact there have been so many accidents/fatalities in them that the FAA now requires a special type endorsement in addition to your helicopter license to fly them as pilot in command. Wouldn't be my first choice in Helicopters for non-approved maneuvers.

2. By hovering that high off the ground they are completely busting the height / velocity curve. That’s a critical safety helicopter parameter that says (for ships like the R22) if you’re above 5 feet then you have to be going a minimum forward speed on order to be able to auto-rotate if the engine fails. Summary: if they have a power failure doing what’s shown in this video they are in Sangi level deep shit.

3. Then there’s the little issue of hovering into the trees themselves. One minor slip / a gust of wind / an engine glitch and there is a good chance the main rotors contact the trees. This too would be a deadly scenario.

4. The FAA lists five dangerous attitudes no pilot should have. Number 3 Invulnerability: “It won’t happen to me. Many people falsely believe that accidents happen to others, but never to them." Number 4. Macho: "Pilots with this type of attitude will try to prove themselves by taking risks in order to impress others." Sound familiar?

5. He’s doing this with a student??? Seriously?? WTF kind of example does that set.

6. They’re transferring control of the ship between them without full positive acknowledgment. As in, instructor: “you have the controls” student: “I have the controls”

7. He’s smoking a cigarette in flight? (Not permitted as per Robinson)

8. And all of this is being captured by a GoPro – which may explain why he’s “showing off” just a little extra bit. (I believe there's been a thread or two here about the effects of flying with a camera.)

Now, it’s obvious the instructor is an accomplished, comfortable pilot with -- I’m guessing -- an awful lot of flight hours. But he should still have his ass grounded and his license pulled if only for being so stupid as to post this on YouTube.


Edited to add: I posted a similar comment about this on metafilter.com. Here's my favorite response:

I just want to provide a counterpoint to Dean358's comments. While safety was obviously not treated as the highest priority in this scenario, keep the following points in mind: That shit was fucking sick. They had a fucking camera rolling brother. Them guys were fucking tripping. Did you know that? They were fucking tripping, son.

www.wci.nyc

[FreeFallFiend 0]

While your post is very well thought out, it doesn't make it correct. How about this for an analogy:

I just watched a video of guys base jumping off a 270ft ft antenna! As a skydiver with 500 skydives I can tell you this is absolutely dangerous! A parachute takes a certain amount of time to open and these guys are leaving no room for error. One guy even waited a full 2 seconds before releasing his PC! Any type of a hesitation and he would be dead!

My point? To each their own.

Fiend

I am about to take my last voyage, a great leap in the dark. - Thomas Hobbes.

[Dean358 0]

Tnx, but allow me to suggest an alternate analogy:

A highly experienced tandem master takes a student on a jump. He decides it would be really cool to land in a friend’s back yard – way off the DZ – and just to make sure everyone sees how great this is on camera he turns off the AAD and deploys at 1,000 feet. Given his level of experience he pulls it off – this time.

Does that transcend “to each his own?”

www.wci.nyc

[FreeFallFiend 0]

Haha sure dude. I guess I missed there this was a paying customer getting instruction. The video certainly doesnt suggest that.

Fiend

I am about to take my last voyage, a great leap in the dark. - Thomas Hobbes.

[yoink 321]

Quote

http://www.viddler.com/v/28693d19

Freakin awesome.

Naysayers be damned. That's fantastic!

[OHCHUTE 0]

The biggest risk there was the leanout to get the model plane. The weight shift could have caused a problem. Ask me how know this....

Other than that every man has to know his limitations. Good eyes spotting that from the air.

[cocheese 0]

Ok that beats my heli story when 2 real helicopters gave me head when I was flying my r/c heli. I have no video so it didn't happen.

Anyway, that plane in the video was the PTS Mustang by Hangar 9.

That kid will be flying helicopters some day soon.