Not having been military Ive never gotten to ride a helicopter. Wish I had an extra 3K this looks like a blast.https://tnvc.us15.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9864e66dd100af138a6484d51&id=1bda467aeb&e=08a986476c
Look what Victor's selling
- Thread starter Maggot
- Start date
Given the cost per hour of flying a helicopter, I'd imagine that part would be VERY short. It's not just the fuel (which would probably be around 40 gph depending on how much hovering was involved) and pilot's pay. Those things are horribly maintenance intensive.
According to MD’s literature, they plan for 27gph to calculate hourly operating costs, so you’re not too far off. But I’d wager you’d still get at least half an hour out of that, given that the costs are probably being split 2-3 ways. A cool experience for sure. If you just want the experience of flying a heli, most flight schools do demo flights for about $200 for half an hour, or full hours around $350. Not in an MD500, but you’ll still experience more than you’ll be able to fully absorb!
You really want to have some fun,do a hog hunt.
Florida has many offerings and prices are reasonable.
Florida has many offerings and prices are reasonable.
Hi,
If all gun ranges were built like this one in Immokalee we would already be beyond the pearly gates....
.
Sincerely,
Theis
If all gun ranges were built like this one in Immokalee we would already be beyond the pearly gates....
.Sincerely,
Theis
I’m not one of those “it can’t happen to me” guys, because I know better. But if I plow into an apartment complex, it would be the result of a either a mechanical failure or a medical emergency the likes of which would remove my ability to positively control the aircraft.
With that out of the way, when I actively entered the world of aviation, I did so knowing the risks involved, and I accepted them willingly. It’s an unforgiving mistress, aviation. But you know, some of us were just born to fly, and very little can stop us once we set down that path. And as well, some of us were just born with bigger balls than the rest of you...
Seriously though, I get it. Everybody has their fears, many of them irrational. I have my own. I just couldn’t pass up a chance to have a little fun.
The fewer of you that want to fly, the more job openings there are for the rest of us! And if I someday die doing what I love, well, what better way is there to go aside from old age, having lived a full and fulfilling (from not letting fears hold you back!) life!To the OP or anyone else, if you wanna try this out and have the funds, go for it! Chase your dreams, or you’ll always look back and wonder “what if!”
I absolutely LOVE flying in helicopters. Have done a fair bit of it, in the mountains of B.C. (Northern) Flying down the valleys to the bottom lakes and whatnot, so close that when landing, the pilot asks me "help me take the branches and needles off the rotors, before anyone sees" is a hell of a statement.
Not sure that is called "nap of the earth" so much as "trimming tree-tops"....
Now, to do so whilst hunting hogs, or something similar, would be even incredible'er! I'd be in there, first and fore-front. Except for the cost factor. Seeing as I'm halfway to being filthy-rich, I'll have to wait till my next life before I can dream of actually doing something like this.
Anyone know any tricks to rappelling with a cane? The belay ain't so bad, but it's the landing/walking away with the cane that gets kinda awkward, too. Same reason I don't/can't bowhunt anymore.
Not sure that is called "nap of the earth" so much as "trimming tree-tops"....
Now, to do so whilst hunting hogs, or something similar, would be even incredible'er! I'd be in there, first and fore-front. Except for the cost factor. Seeing as I'm halfway to being filthy-rich, I'll have to wait till my next life before I can dream of actually doing something like this.
Anyone know any tricks to rappelling with a cane? The belay ain't so bad, but it's the landing/walking away with the cane that gets kinda awkward, too. Same reason I don't/can't bowhunt anymore.
Guilty as charged!
As to your second comment, I can only agree wholeheartedly!
Simulated engine failures (anticipated or unannounced) were nothing short of a stressful affair during my primary training, haha. How did I get past that? Same way you get over any fear, asked to get them a helluva a lot more frequently! But yeah, silence is deafening in a heli!
Pick one bike from the list in your signature and sell the rest. You'd be about halfway to split ownership in a used R44!
Yeah, you don't get enough time to think when you have a powerplant failure in the little helis I'm flying right now, haha. You basically hear the engine go quiet and the rotor RPM decay, and feel a good yaw from the pedal you've fed in that's no longer needed, and you go into an automatic response (if you've been trained right). An ACTUAL failure would probably be a little more dramatic, I'm sure, but thankfully I've never had one of those (yet)!
Just chatted with my old co-worker last week. 90% burns (some 4th degree). Pretty much everything but his head. Got his neck and a little face.
Yes, 4th degree, which is down to bone.
Fuel tank rupture on impact, then a ball of fire. Guy was out without injury then ran back into a ball of burning jet A to pull out his friend.
Fuckin stud almighty for that and again for surviving.
It will be 4 years this July 3.
Lost my friend Pat the pilot. He forgot to do a hover check on take-off and lost it at I think about 80 feet. Dropped hard and on fire very quickly.
Dammit. Now Im gonna have a little whiskey.
And with time and the $, I would still go do this. I flew a lot in AK and just loved it.
Yes, 4th degree, which is down to bone.
Fuel tank rupture on impact, then a ball of fire. Guy was out without injury then ran back into a ball of burning jet A to pull out his friend.
Fuckin stud almighty for that and again for surviving.
It will be 4 years this July 3.
Lost my friend Pat the pilot. He forgot to do a hover check on take-off and lost it at I think about 80 feet. Dropped hard and on fire very quickly.
Dammit. Now Im gonna have a little whiskey.
And with time and the $, I would still go do this. I flew a lot in AK and just loved it.
My other buddy hurt his back a little.
Pat had a lot of major blunt injuries.
Now our choppers have crash resistant fuel tanks. And Karen is fighting hard that its a mandate. Stupid loopholes have ruined a lot of lives that wouldnt be with those CRFT. Even uncle sam requires them for all their aircraft.
The Robinson doesnt run Jet A does it?
My helicopter experience is the Bell as well.
Pat had a lot of major blunt injuries.
Now our choppers have crash resistant fuel tanks. And Karen is fighting hard that its a mandate. Stupid loopholes have ruined a lot of lives that wouldnt be with those CRFT. Even uncle sam requires them for all their aircraft.
The Robinson doesnt run Jet A does it?
My helicopter experience is the Bell as well.
one emergency landing in a Chinook with a slung vulcan,,, fuck it Ill still go up in anything that looks like ot will fly.
I absolutely LOVE helicopters, and think they are truly great. At the same time, I always remember with a smile how they were described to many, by someone I used to know:
"Helicopters don't fly. They are just so gawd-awful ugly that the earth repels them"
Some of ya'll may commiserate!
"Helicopters don't fly. They are just so gawd-awful ugly that the earth repels them"
Some of ya'll may commiserate!
Post-crash fires take a LOT of people, unfortunately. It's probably the scariest part of flying, knowing that you're really just a big, flying fuel tank. And yes, that stupid type certificate loop hole is being worked on, thankfully. Pretty much everybody who actually flies the dang things is rooting for them. There are even cases of people who survived the crash, but because they were soaked by fuel and were too close to the wreckage when it caught fire, they went up with it. Damn shame, and absolute nightmare fuel for me. All I can say is, if I ever DO crash, I hope the impact kills me if there's gonna be a fire.
All that aside, even that doesn't keep me from flying. There's just something about it!
And the R66 burns Jet-A, yes. The R22 and R44 burn 100LL, being recips rather than turbines. Early in the R44's history, they had a lot of post-crash fires as well that were otherwise entirely survivable. When one of these crashes was caught on camera, they noticed a flash coming from the M/R gearbox area, and realized that, upon impact, the gearbox was ripping loose and taking some of the wiring with it, causing a spark (highly paraphrasing here from what they taught us at the Robinson Safety Course). That little spark is what was igniting the fuel. They promptly made changes and post-crash fires have been greatly reduced, something that bladder tanks also helps with significantly.
All that aside, even that doesn't keep me from flying. There's just something about it!
And the R66 burns Jet-A, yes. The R22 and R44 burn 100LL, being recips rather than turbines. Early in the R44's history, they had a lot of post-crash fires as well that were otherwise entirely survivable. When one of these crashes was caught on camera, they noticed a flash coming from the M/R gearbox area, and realized that, upon impact, the gearbox was ripping loose and taking some of the wiring with it, causing a spark (highly paraphrasing here from what they taught us at the Robinson Safety Course). That little spark is what was igniting the fuel. They promptly made changes and post-crash fires have been greatly reduced, something that bladder tanks also helps with significantly.
Not as cool as a night shoot, but if you are mobile enough sign up for a “ride a long” with your local air ambulance.
Hi,
I would definitely have to see the A&P books because this is at the training facility that was raided by BATFE and Other Agencies several months ago to forcefully remove the staff (Including what was then the Owners) due to Investor taking over ownership/operation via Court Ordered ownership of facility and assets.
Facility has sorta went through 2 different name/ownership since then.
Sincerely,
Theis
I would definitely have to see the A&P books because this is at the training facility that was raided by BATFE and Other Agencies several months ago to forcefully remove the staff (Including what was then the Owners) due to Investor taking over ownership/operation via Court Ordered ownership of facility and assets.
Facility has sorta went through 2 different name/ownership since then.
Sincerely,
Theis
I lost a lot of friends and team mates. Can't stand to fly in anything...cheated death in these things one too many times.
Q
QuickNDirty
Guest
I bet I can put some shit together that looks like it'll fly
You gonna be a test pilot?
I bet I can put some shit together that looks like it'll fly
You gonna be a test pilot?
I’ll volunteer. But if I find anything in the pre-flight that’s unsound and scrubs the flight, you buy me a nice Bell 212 or 412EP to my specs and fully fund operations and my salary for a decade.
Q
QuickNDirty
Guest
I’ll volunteer. But if I find anything in the pre-flight that’s unsound and scrubs the flight, you buy me a nice Bell 212 or 412EP to my specs and fully fund operations and my salary for a decade.
You're asking too much if you expect a pre-flight checklist any deeper than this:
Full tank of gas?
Duct tape secure?
Shit turns on?
Sounds good?
Hueys are no stranger to me and I have been through one shoot down and 2 auto-rotations, 1 smooth and one not so smooth in RVN and was once picked up by a crippled Shithook as we ran for our lives with Chuck chasing us, God Bless you Longhorn 109 wherever you are. We were always close to the ground on that ride and upon landing when the pilot rolled the power off the gearboxes locked up and made a hella noise.
None the less, I have always wanted a helicopter of my own but know I could never afford one so I took it upon myself to write beautiful Love Letters to Oprah promising my Undying Love and fulfilling her every carnal delight if she would park the Buick and send me a helicopter.
Bitch hasn't answered one letter yet and I have sent thousands over the years. Fuck her, I am too old now to use it. I should have saved the money for postage stamps and I could have bought a remote controlled helo instead.
The only flying I do now is with my Son who is a fixed wing pilot for Colorado Flight for Life.
He rents a plane and away we go. He lets me hold the handles and fly once we are on the runway and only takes over when I fuck up then gives it back.
I Love my Son and am very proud of him. He is the only person I trust in the air. FM
None the less, I have always wanted a helicopter of my own but know I could never afford one so I took it upon myself to write beautiful Love Letters to Oprah promising my Undying Love and fulfilling her every carnal delight if she would park the Buick and send me a helicopter.
Bitch hasn't answered one letter yet and I have sent thousands over the years. Fuck her, I am too old now to use it. I should have saved the money for postage stamps and I could have bought a remote controlled helo instead.
The only flying I do now is with my Son who is a fixed wing pilot for Colorado Flight for Life.
He rents a plane and away we go. He lets me hold the handles and fly once we are on the runway and only takes over when I fuck up then gives it back.
I Love my Son and am very proud of him. He is the only person I trust in the air. FM
Putting items 2 and 4 in the same sentence and expecting them to play nice together is a sure guarantee that my next decade of existence will be spent logging more stick time in a 212/412 than anyone else on earth.
Top guys with FFL. Had a few drinks with the rotor wing pilots over the years.....
Pat mentioned above was a Vietnam helo pilot. Did the “high school to flight school” program of sorts because no one wanted to fly a chopper over there. Not sure what years he was there.
He was due to retire August of 2015. Left this earth 5 weeks prior to that happening.
Mike, you had told me your son worked for FFL before.
You should be proud! Not only doing what he wants, he is helping some mighty unfortunate souls along the way.
If I had the bucks and time, I would probably do it. Sounds like a hoot. Like Disney for Men!!
Pat mentioned above was a Vietnam helo pilot. Did the “high school to flight school” program of sorts because no one wanted to fly a chopper over there. Not sure what years he was there.
He was due to retire August of 2015. Left this earth 5 weeks prior to that happening.
Mike, you had told me your son worked for FFL before.
You should be proud! Not only doing what he wants, he is helping some mighty unfortunate souls along the way.
If I had the bucks and time, I would probably do it. Sounds like a hoot. Like Disney for Men!!
Hi,
@TheGerman
You need a helo for your business...no MANcation is complete without a helo shoot.
Sincerely,
Theis
@TheGerman
You need a helo for your business...no MANcation is complete without a helo shoot.
Sincerely,
Theis
I have a plan.
But it doesnt mean im getting in it; i have enough convoy/vehicle interdiction time in a helo to know that i never need to get in another one, like ever. Let alone pay to do it.....with people i dont know....in the dark.
But it doesnt mean im getting in it; i have enough convoy/vehicle interdiction time in a helo to know that i never need to get in another one, like ever. Let alone pay to do it.....with people i dont know....in the dark.
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