| Author | Message | ||
     Pwnzor |
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| Mr_grumpy |
I'd imagine there's multiple violations there, & the authorities will have no trouble finding him with his reg clearly visible. Looked like a nice bit of flying though. | ||
| Pwnzor |
Been rifling through FAA regulations on another moto board with some guys for the last few hours... Closest we can come up with is this: A) Somebody would have to file a complaint. B) A judge would have to determine that the pilot was unfit to perform these maneuvers. C) A judge would have to determine the pilot intended to do bodily harm or property damage. The pilot's website clearly shows him performing similar flying for hire. www.copterpilot.com | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
Not driving today then Matt? | ||
| Pwnzor |
I've been out of the truck for quite some time now, Innes. I'm brokering loads for Landstar, but it's sort of slow going (customers are cheapskates). I may end up going back into airfreight... right now just focusing on the new house, we close escrow on the 25th if all goes to plan. I can't change jobs right now because it could mess with the financing. | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
Gotcha, We've sold here too but not found anywhere to buy yet, got a job waiting for me when the move takes place though. Back up the road on international work for a Swiss firm. | ||
| Court |
>>>I'd imagine there's multiple violations there I didn't see any unless something I missed placed someone in danger, he was in a TCA or other controlled airspace. The good news is that we have a couple rotary wing gurus here (one who heads the local NYC aviation group) that will likely shed some light. I got in trouble a couple times when we lived in a new development on the West side of Topeka, KS and there was a very large open field next to our house at the end of a dead end street. When I was coming back from Western, KS I would sometimes drop the gear, flaps and flash the landing lights and watch all the neighbor kids clear the street. I never busted minimums but it was enough to get me in trouble at home and thrill the kids. | ||
| Cityxslicker |
AAAAAIIR squid | ||
| Sifo |
I've seen a lot of flying like that when staying on Maui. I'm not sure any rules are really being broken in an unpopulated area. | ||
| Barker |
I'm not pilot or enforcer of the air, but I have seen more extreme rotorcraft flying from the ground and from my seat as a camera operator hanging off the side civilian and military. In the video the folks on the ground were lucky, that little robinson does not produce that much rotor wash. From my last trip to Alaska. Right in front of a crowded Resort.  Yeah, your eyes are not tricking you. The bird is not very far off of the ground with the nose down.  I wish I could have shown you the video but the heli blew the cam and the operator into the trees. This was the only image the still photog could take before he was blown over. | ||
| Nik |
14 CFR Part 91.119 is the applicable reg. http://www.flightsimaviation.com/data/FARS/part_91 -119.html No violation there. I also have the LA sectional up on my wall and he wouldn't have been in the Bravo either. I have heard of helo pilots getting in trouble when they land, since state and local laws then take effect. In one story the guy got ticketed for operating an "off-road" vehicle on the beach. | ||
| Odie |
We just had a OH58D Test Pilot and his Flight Mechanic get fired for less than that..... | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
Is that chopper as old as I think it is? Sounded like a piston engine. | ||
| Nik |
Robinson R44. Standard GA equivalent to the C172. Google tells me that N4177R was manufactured in October of 2008. So just two years old. (Message edited by nik on October 04, 2010) | ||
| Rain_bolt |
Have none of you ever seen a crop duster? | ||
| Court |
My love affair . . . and helicopter fascination . . ended with a Robinson R22 trying to get from Salina, KS to Topeka, KS into a strong head wind. Pal in a Valiant with a slant 6 beat me home by an hour. I learned that absent the good fortune to fund a Bell Jet Ranger . . I was conscribed to the world of fixed wing.  | ||
| 86129squids |
Barker- that must've been noisy and windy. Fun to think about those forces, and the creative applications. And HP! | ||
| Oldog |
When I was coming back from Western, KS I would sometimes drop the gear, flaps and flash the landing lights and watch all the neighbor kids clear the street. Had a visual on that. I was practicing emergency landings over a field near burgaw, and did not see the mexicans working untill the second pass, scattered like pheasants! as I picked the nose up at ~ 20ft hey over a farm field a mile away from roads and structures just missed the truck parked by a line of trees..... } | ||
| Maximum |
As a helicopter pilot since 1985...my first thought of the guy in the Robinson was "this guy is not going to live long". With a fully loaded, under powered helicopter (apparently pushed to it's limits)...there is no room for error. When things go wrong...it is often a case of altitude and luck running out at the same time! As an Army Blackhawk pilot since 1989...the pilots of that Alaska helicopter are not exceeding the aircrafts capabilities...but they are without question exceeding the limits imposed on us by the Dept. of the Army. It may look cool...be it definitely shows the pilots lack of sound judgment. | ||
| Court |
>>>With a fully loaded, That's one of the first things that struck me during the low pass was that it appeared the helicopter was fully loaded. I'm a fixed wing sort of a guy but I do know how differently a Cessna 172RG and a Piper Saratoga handle when fully loaded. I also know how poor the control response becomes when you "push" those limits (see Olathe, KS Executive, Runway 35, 1:00am, trying to leave for a hunting trip with too many shotguns, ammo and dogs) I was always a "chicken" pilot and damn proud of it . . . I once had a guy tell me minutes after we departed from Shilling AFB in Salina, KS that he cold snap roll my plane . . I explained that I was the PIC and he was going to do no such thing. Like a 3rd grader . . he went on "c'mon, it's easy". I explained to him that the good Lord had planted me on this fine earth with my ••••••• pointed toward the ground and that's the way I intended to keep it oriented. Max, thanks for the insight. I knew there were a couple of you guys who were seasoned rotary folks who could shed some light. What's the saying about "Old, Bold Pilots"? | ||
| Aesquire |
While the pilot got lower than I'd care to in the same canyon, I saw no violations. He didn't fly over large groups of people too low, there's no mall or stadium there, and the moves were pretty normal, except for the low passes. Over nowhere. | ||
| Odie |
While he may not have done anything wrong it still all depends on who is interpreting the FAR's at the moment in a particular case. Was it prudent? Not in my opinion. Especially when there are cameras everywhere. I've done my fair share of living on the edge while flying but you always have to think about everyone on that aircraft. YOU, the PIC, are responsible and have to sleep at night. Like Maximum said, the Hawk is nowhere near it's limits. However, the aircraft will outfly alot of kids that fly it these days. Personal limits get exceeded well before aircraft limits do- at least in a Blackhawk. Had a friend kill his wife and the wife of his co-pilot in the Bahamas while they were out doing a Test Flight. How do you sleep at night knowing your small children know you killed their mom doing something you shouldn't have been doing? Time and a place for everything and I think buzzing the road in a very popular riding area in a single engine, piston driven helicopter wasn't smart.....in my opinion, of course! | ||
| U4euh |
@ 1:54- can you imagine coming around that corner in full lean and this fricken helicopter goes buzzing over your head??? | ||
| Gunut75 |
U4euh, that's what I was thinking. | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
It's a public highway with traffic on it. His feet wouldn't touch the ground in Europe. (pun intended) | ||
| Eweaver |
Looks to me like someone was aerial filming the snake for a documentary or something of the like. I ride up there often and don't see a problem with it. Maybe it was scarier in person. | ||
| Ferris_von_bueller |
Power is transmitted from the engine to the rotor system through drive belts. Originally, the R22 used four separate v-belts. This system proved problematic, as belt length variations due to manufacturing tolerances caused some belts to overstress and break. The problem was solved by replacing the four individual belts with two dual-v belts, running on matching multi-groove sheaves. Screw that !!! | ||
| Aesquire |
there are reasons for that drive setup. the rotor has a natural vibration that is kicked by the change in airflow as it passes over the airframe ( fore & aft ) and the clear area to the sides. The engine has a natural vibe too, as does the really fragile & strong airframe... So, you want to de-couple the vibes from one thing to another, or you may get a resonance that rips stuff apart. Sometimes you find that out the hard way, as with the grounding of Lockheed Electra airliners back in the 50's. Or failures of a bunch of engines you never heard of, since few were built & none are left. Also, belts are lighter than gear trains to transmit power. How much would a gear driven swingarm setup weigh? | ||
| Captcaz |
Beware of low flying aircraft ...  | ||
| Spectrum |
Speaking of hot air balloons and helos. They don't mix well by the way! I have my student balloon license and used to spend quite a bit of time crewing at balloon festivals. We were out preparing to fly one morning about 6 balloons staging and inflating in a city park. Some jacka$$ in a helo decides to buzz the group 3 or 4 times. We waved him down and he landed near by. To his surprise, there was an FAA Official in our group who was there to do a check out flight with one of the students. Needless to say, the helo pilot was arrested and his aircraft was confiscated (loaded on a flat bed and hauled away). Not sure what came of the court case, but the FAA Official was hell bent on make sure the guy never would fly again. |
