Wow .............. Asome man !!!

Wow........ I WISH I COULD FLY ONE OF THESE

Flying copters is definitely a blast. Being able to fly and shoot weapon platforms, takes it to even a higher level. This was the only thing better than boating!!!:party-smiley-004:

When we flew over you guys on the Hudson, the pilot explained that it was incase some thing were to break off, as in a prop blade, that we could be instantly f'ed. Same reason we flew over instead of under bridges. Never know who's going to throw something.

You should have been in veit nam !

Brings back some memories... :)



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The pilot should never really have to fly over a boat nor should a boat ever go under one.

I can't tell you how hard I prayed when we were hovering over an incident on the race course and I saw Talk'n Trash coming right for us. I couldn't thank Vinnie enough for the timing he had getting off the throttles and getting back on. I watched as they came under the chopper and the rooster tail dropped as he pulled out of the throttles. As they exited the other side (my side) I watched as he hammered down the throttles, the rooster tail came back up towards me like 2 fire hoses had just been turned on. Fortunately he was just far enough away that I only got some mist from the rooster tail.
It would have been a different story if he got on the sticks sooner. The chopper would have been knocked out of the sky and I wouldn't be here today to respond to this post.

I would think the pressures could change, but the real risk as my pilot had explained at the Poker Run, his concern was we could not see the boat if it is under us and the rooster could take us out....

Flying too low in rough sea conditions the pressure changes. If the trough is deep enough, you suddenly will loose your pressure from the blades to the water and the chopper could just drop.

My pilot I use is always conscious of his altitude. Should the engine loose power he always leaves himself room from other objects to try to glide the chopper away and have more of a chance to avoid a collision . If you ever noticed Tim, whenever we do the photos down the bow he is usually way ahead of the boat and in a climbing position. We cross the path of the boat without remaining in front of it.... ;)

The pilot I had in Florida a few years back had me so close to the boats I had a hard time getting the whole boat in the frame with a wide angle lens.

At one point he came right up the rooster tail of a cat and managed to get the water on my equipment.

The Video guy had the priority and control over the pilot.
Once I got wet I told him to back off.

I typically shoot with telephoto lenses any way so I don't need to be real close to the boats.

Sharkey............really a great explanation.........thx man