Poor Larry...

[Disguise Delimit]

"Cartoonist in court on 'drink-fly' charge
March 06, 2007
POPULAR cartoonist Larry Pickering has appeared in a Gold Coast court charged with flying a helicopter after drinking alcohol.
Mr Pickering, 64, has been charged with four offences under the Civil Aviation Regulations 1988.

It is alleged that on April 8 last year he piloted a helicopter within eight hours of drinking alcohol.

Mr Pickering, who appeared briefly in Southport Magistrates Court today, is also charged with low flying and operating a helicopter over water.

He also faces a charge relating to the alleged failure to provide a pilot logbook in May 2006.

The case was adjourned for mention on April 10.

Melbourne-born MR Pickering was a regular cartoonist for The Australian and Sydney Morning Herald newspapers for well over a decade after getting a start with the Canberra Times in 1971."

Not the first time he has stood on his d1ck -

While still a student, he had to drive from the Central Coast to a flying school outside Sydney to have his lessons in his own Enstrom. After some training, he appealed to CASA for permission to fly the chopper home from the lessons. He had already done sufficient nav training and practiced the route, so they allowed him to go straight from home to the airfield, have a lesson, and go home, do not pass go, go direct.

Well, one sunny afternoon, the races from Gosford were on the TV, and as the nags sprinted around the back straight, Larry's machine was seen parked in the infield. Whoops....:{ :E

[VH-XXX]

Is it a crime to operate a helicopter over water?

[topendtorque]

Don't tell us, he was doing a review of the seasprite for his column. oh dear, that did just fall out.

[John Eacott]

Poor fellow was set up :rolleyes:


TV show sting no cartoon caper

Kevin Meade
June 13, 2007LARRY Pickering, the cartoonist famous for his drawings of naked politicians, was a genial and generous host when he took two guests for a joyflight in his helicopter in April last year.

The couple, describing themselves as a businessman and his assistant, told Pickering they were interested in buying his Bell Jetranger, so he flew them from Southport on the Gold Coast to a resort on nearby South Stradbroke Island, shouted them Corona beers at an outdoor bar, and flew them back again. But Pickering, 64, became the subject of a double sting. The "potential buyers" of his chopper were actually private investigators hired by the Seven Network's Today Tonight program to expose the cartoonist's "lavish lifestyle" for a story about claims that he was failing to pay child support to his ex-wife.

And worse was to come for Pickering. He was later charged with drink-flying the helicopter and flying too low over water.

Pickering, a former tomato farmer and racehorse owner who worked as a political cartoonist for this newspaper from 1976 to 1980, faced trial yesterday in Southport Magistrates Court on the Gold Coast on a charge of breaching Civil Aviation Safety Authority regulations by drinking alcohol less than eight hours before piloting an aircraft.

He has pleaded not guilty to the charge, and also to charges of low-flying and failing to supply a pilot's log book to CASA.

An associate, Troy Mulligan, 31, has also pleaded not guilty to drink-flying and failing to provide a log book.

One of the private investigators, Natalie Evans, testified that she covertly filmed Pickering with a camera hidden in her handbag.

The court was shown footage shot with the concealed camera showing Pickering drinking three Coronas. The cartoonist is heard telling his guests, after quaffing his third beer: "It's all right. I fly better when I get pissed. I don't get scared."

Defence counsel John Ribbands said the footage had been unfairly obtained and unfairly used against Pickering.

Today Tonight "masqueraded" as current affairs but was actually "a bizarre form of reality TV", Mr Ribbands said. The charges against Pickering were "the biggest beat-up since my kids made pancakes".

Ms Evans and fellow investigator Colin Chapman said they were "investigative reporters", but under cross-examination, both admitted they were private investigators, not journalists.

The trial continues.




Link to The Australian, here. (http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21896551-7582,00.html)

[widgeon]

pilots like this give drunks a bad name. and what's he doing drinking Corona ? , he should have extra punishment being unaustralian.

[lartsa]

we used to get the corona fizzy pop man round every week ,thats a blast from the past any one else remember

[MSP Aviation]

Hmmm. By decieving Larry into giving them a "demo flight" the two undercover reporters we're committing theft of services. Methinks any information gained from this would be fruit of the poisoned tree, thus inadmissable. Well, assuming you Ozzies have a similar legal system...:}