And, how not to fly a chopper.

This forum has been developed to discuss aviation related topics.

Moderators: lilfssister, North Shore, sky's the limit, sepia, Sulako, I WAS Birddog

Post Reply
flyincanuck
Rank 8
Rank 8
Posts: 975
Joined: Tue Jan 04, 2005 5:27 am

And, how not to fly a chopper.

Post by flyincanuck »

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=4cc_1386 ... vmHy2XK.01

Beat em to a senseless pulp is one thing that comes to mind if anyone tried this on me.
---------- ADS -----------
 
User avatar
Colonel Sanders
Top Poster
Top Poster
Posts: 7512
Joined: Sun Jun 14, 2009 5:17 pm
Location: Over Macho Grande

Re: And, how not to fly a chopper.

Post by Colonel Sanders »

Yeah, you don't mess with a hockey game.
---------- ADS -----------
 
User avatar
Boratt
Rank 1
Rank 1
Posts: 32
Joined: Sun Oct 14, 2012 11:42 am
Contact:

Re: And, how not to fly a chopper.

Post by Boratt »

Now that's fun! :smt040
---------- ADS -----------
 
Boratt

http://the-flying-islander.blogspot.ca
User avatar
cdnpilot77
Rank 10
Rank 10
Posts: 2467
Joined: Thu Jun 11, 2009 6:24 pm

Re: And, how not to fly a chopper.

Post by cdnpilot77 »

I remember back in the day playing pond hockey, the only thing you had to worry about was the odd hole, thin ice, or snow bank but this adds a whole new dimension to the game. If you can dodge a helicopter....well, you stay alive! :o
---------- ADS -----------
 
Maynard
Rank 6
Rank 6
Posts: 483
Joined: Wed Sep 24, 2008 8:33 am

Re: And, how not to fly a chopper.

Post by Maynard »

From his behind the scenes...

"I'm sure this is unusual for a pilot to essentially call enforcement on himself, but I put a video online yesterday that I feel might need some explanation. I truly believe it was done in a safe, and responsible manner, without danger to the aircraft or crew-members on the "ground". Since the video is already generating a lot of World Wide views, I figured it would be best to show you and explain how the video was done.

So, Saturday morning, I took off at 6:30am, and flew up to inspect lakes for the perfect hockey game. I found the exact lake I was looking for, landed on a small raised beach and chopped through the ice with a hatchet and measured. Like I suspected, the ice was more than 10" thick. By the farmers almanac ice safety chart, that's thick enough to safely support the weight of a 3.5 ton medium sized truck. More than enough to support the weight of skaters and a light helicopter.

http://www.almanac.com/.../new.../fil...

I flew back to YPK, and met 4 buddies who are former WHL hockey players. I flew them 2 at a time back to the lake, and filmed them skating and playing hockey.

During the day, I tested several landings on the ice with the helicopter maintaining a forward speed of 15kts, and sliding with 100-150lbs of the helicopter's weight on the ice. Just enough to get the skids of the helicopter flat on the surface, but light enough to rise easily and smoothly back into the air. I found it extremely easy to gauge the ice height, and determined it was safe for me to slide across the ice with the helicopter pointed forward, in the direction of travel. I had a plan for a shot I wanted to capture the following day with more coordiantion.

When we returned to YPK, we showed pictures and video to other Helicopter pilots who all wanted to be involved in a second day of filming, so, I organized 8 former WHL players and 4 helicopters.

Sunday morning, we all met at YPK for an initial safety briefing, and flew +3 back to the lake with and aStar, H300 and 2 R-44's. It was -12 overnight, and added more thickness to the sheet. I walked the entire surface with a chainsaw and tape measure, and inspected the whole ice sheet. It was thick all the way across and had no ridges or holes. There was a small section of open water caused by a waterfall at the far end of the lake. We determined a safety line that no skaters were permitted to cross based on our test holes.

The 2 pilots from BC Helicopters brought their hockey equipment and hand held aviation radios to act as coordinators on the ice between the skaters and helicopter.

After a long safety briefing and walk through of the shots we had planned, we began filming. One of our first shots of the day was the video I would like to share with you. It involved the 8 skaters, 6 former WHL players and 2 BC Helicopter pilots standing in a row across the ice with a small hole between them. The 2 BC Helicopter pilots were located on the left side, and the 6 WHL players on the right. I started from a hover, 200 meters down the ice, and slowly descended onto the ice surface at a speed of 15 kts. and slid across the ice towards the group, aiming my nose at the hole they left form me between the BC Helicopter pilots and the WHL players.

As I approached, the pilots from BC Helicopters called an audible signal for all the parties to move, opening a much larger hole which I continued to slide the helicopter through. We purposely placed the 2 helicopter pilots on my left side, to keep any of the WHL players as far from the tail-rotor as possible. Once I was completely past the group, I waited 2 seconds before initiating a left peddle turn while lifting into the air, to capture the entire group skating towards me.

Here is the link to the video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlCg5...

Again. I believe this was done in a completely safe and responsible manor. All risks and possible safety hazards were discussed with the crew. Every person acknowledged the possible risks and decided to be involved with their own free will. We took precautions to place people in the appropriate positions for maximum tail-rotor safety. We had 3 helicopters on standby should any incident occur and first aid trained individuals as part of the extended group.


Yep, he deserves to be beaten to a pulp alright.... :roll:
---------- ADS -----------
 
I guess I should write something here.
User avatar
Driving Rain
Rank 10
Rank 10
Posts: 2696
Joined: Tue Feb 17, 2004 5:10 pm
Location: At a Tanker Base near you.
Contact:

Re: And, how not to fly a chopper.

Post by Driving Rain »

Just put the behind the scenes video up on my Facebook under "looks like fun"!
Are the cameras all go pro?
---------- ADS -----------
 
User avatar
Beefitarian
Top Poster
Top Poster
Posts: 6610
Joined: Wed Dec 01, 2010 10:53 am
Location: A couple of meters away from others.

Post by Beefitarian »

"Helicopter!"

"Game on!"
---------- ADS -----------
 
User avatar
Driving Rain
Rank 10
Rank 10
Posts: 2696
Joined: Tue Feb 17, 2004 5:10 pm
Location: At a Tanker Base near you.
Contact:

Re: And, how not to fly a chopper.

Post by Driving Rain »

You made the CTV news this am. News reader says ......Transport Canada is launching an investigation

You're only hope is that somewhere in the official rules of pond hockey there is something about helicopters. If not, you could find yourself and your helicopter standing on the ponds edge for 2 minutes for interference. :lol:
---------- ADS -----------
 
GyvAir
Rank (9)
Rank (9)
Posts: 1815
Joined: Mon Mar 12, 2012 7:09 pm

Re:

Post by GyvAir »

Beefitarian wrote:"Helicopter!"

"Game on!"
:smt040
---------- ADS -----------
 
Schooner69A
Rank 7
Rank 7
Posts: 639
Joined: Thu Nov 06, 2008 5:17 pm
Location: The Okanagan

Re: And, how not to fly a chopper.

Post by Schooner69A »

"Transport Canada is launching an investigation"

As a helicopter pilot and former TC Inspector, good luck with that. There was nothing untoward in the video. Completely safe. However, if Enforcement wants to get you, there's always "Conduct unbecoming..." (;>0)

You can rattle an AStar on at thirty knots - snow or ice. I'd tell my passengers "you've just had the most expensive sleigh ride in history.

I miss rotary wing flight - I think I'm going to have to go down to McMinnville and do another hour on a Robinson...

John
---------- ADS -----------
 
Heliian
Rank (9)
Rank (9)
Posts: 1976
Joined: Wed Apr 29, 2009 2:14 pm

Re: And, how not to fly a chopper.

Post by Heliian »

Schooner69A wrote:As a helicopter pilot and former TC Inspector, good luck with that. There was nothing untoward in the video.
C'mon man, I thought you were smarter than that. There was several contraventions to the CAR's in just the one little clip and all done without permits. But, as long as all involved knew that they could easily die while doing it then there is no issue. The guy involved has been pulling unsanctioned stunts like this for a while and it won't be long before his luck runs out.
---------- ADS -----------
 
kiteboy
Rank 0
Rank 0
Posts: 8
Joined: Fri Feb 15, 2008 9:05 am
Location: 30L due WX

Re: And, how not to fly a chopper.

Post by kiteboy »

Well done, thanks for sharing! The negative folks should go back to the couch and watch another unsafe rerun of friends! :lol:
---------- ADS -----------
 
leftoftrack
Rank 8
Rank 8
Posts: 826
Joined: Fri Jun 21, 2013 3:10 pm

Re: And, how not to fly a chopper.

Post by leftoftrack »

Anyone remember William Bleach. Anyone seen Parker Butterfield in aviation after he left the court house.
---------- ADS -----------
 
godsrcrazy
Rank 8
Rank 8
Posts: 847
Joined: Mon Jan 31, 2005 4:12 pm

Re: And, how not to fly a chopper.

Post by godsrcrazy »

kiteboy wrote:Well done, thanks for sharing! The negative folks should go back to the couch and watch another unsafe rerun of friends! :lol:
Seriously maybe you need to read this post. viewtopic.php?f=54&t=68920&p=650733&hilit There was nothing wrong with what this guy was doing until he misjudged his altitude. Keep in mind they were both willing participants in this photo OP. Its all fun until someone gets hurt. The fact is there is a number of things that could have gone wrong.
---------- ADS -----------
 
User avatar
Driving Rain
Rank 10
Rank 10
Posts: 2696
Joined: Tue Feb 17, 2004 5:10 pm
Location: At a Tanker Base near you.
Contact:

Re: And, how not to fly a chopper.

Post by Driving Rain »

All the hockey players had helmets on. :lol:
---------- ADS -----------
 
Post Reply

Return to “General Comments”