I had a few days visiting family in Cornwall. A brother dropped in to join us and I copped a ride in his MD500.
https://youtu.be/T6LtUxgkpHw
He got an evening's bunny bashing out the sunroof by way of thanks.
Wellichopper ride
- some bloke
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Re: Wellichopper ride
The Little Bird is an MD500 with thermal and a guy hanging out the side with a gun. Think you can talk your brother into upgrading to 'milspec'?
- some bloke
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Re: Wellichopper ride
They are indeed great little tings.
He made a lot of dosh out of aerial filming, initially with only RC helicopters - which funded his PPL and full size helicopter. Then upgraded from a three bladed Enstrom Turbo Shark some time ago, due (I think) to the restrictions of where he was allowed to hover and film using a petrol engine.
Drone's have made things so easy and cheap for umpteen competitors to do similar filming jobs he did the hard way: Which sees it becoming less viable for the 30K+ overheads of keeping a manned rotary wing aircraft available for the more demanding work so is gradually winding down to retirement and it will eventually get sold.
He made a lot of dosh out of aerial filming, initially with only RC helicopters - which funded his PPL and full size helicopter. Then upgraded from a three bladed Enstrom Turbo Shark some time ago, due (I think) to the restrictions of where he was allowed to hover and film using a petrol engine.
Drone's have made things so easy and cheap for umpteen competitors to do similar filming jobs he did the hard way: Which sees it becoming less viable for the 30K+ overheads of keeping a manned rotary wing aircraft available for the more demanding work so is gradually winding down to retirement and it will eventually get sold.
Re: Wellichopper ride
Dangerous things.
The last firm I worked for ran 3 choppers for crop spraying, I used to love going out with them every chance I got.
Flying along a few feet off the ground and turning at the ends with spud tops dangling off the spray boom seemed like good fun at the time.
Of the 3 pilots we had, all kiwi's, the last one was killed a couple of years ago, all 3 died in helicopters doing what they had always done.
Kevin Graham, James McKenzie and Peter Robb. Bloody good blokes all of them.
On the one occasion since those days when I went up in a chopper, it hovered over a glacier and I felt as sick as a dog, strange considering what we used to do.
Mixed emotions.
The last firm I worked for ran 3 choppers for crop spraying, I used to love going out with them every chance I got.
Flying along a few feet off the ground and turning at the ends with spud tops dangling off the spray boom seemed like good fun at the time.
Of the 3 pilots we had, all kiwi's, the last one was killed a couple of years ago, all 3 died in helicopters doing what they had always done.
Kevin Graham, James McKenzie and Peter Robb. Bloody good blokes all of them.
On the one occasion since those days when I went up in a chopper, it hovered over a glacier and I felt as sick as a dog, strange considering what we used to do.
Mixed emotions.
Effluent in many languages.
- some bloke
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Re: Wellichopper ride
Sorry to hear about that Chris - they can indeed be dangerous, especially at low level flying where the pilot doesnt get time to set up an autorotation descent I think.
I sat with him while doing several practice auto's from the cloud base over Lands End airport a few years ago.
I sat with him while doing several practice auto's from the cloud base over Lands End airport a few years ago.
Re: Wellichopper ride
Travelled in them last twenty years back n forth offshore ...hate them with a passion ... flying bricks
Paul
Paul