Well boys....paint me Blue and hang a sign around my neck! I for one fail to see just what the feller did wrong. You climb onto a Ferris Wheel or Roller Coaster you expect it to be a thrill ride....exactly the same in this deal. For one....I "LOVE" whizzing about (or in some cases...merely clattering about) the treetops or below. I use my wits (what few that haven't been beaten out of me yet by Bell products) and never fly the route until I have done a recon (recce for you of the Tea Drinkers) and always prepare myself for flight by considering "what if's". I am also prepared to give it up at any time for any reason if things are not just right. All a paying passenger has to say...is "Whoa...Uncle!" and thrill ride ends.
The reason we do what we do is for the sheer enjoyment of it.....as the pay and benefits sure fail to measure up. I see this guy having a good time and doing it very professionally. The one thing I fault him for....is doing it in an A-Splat and not something really fast and agile like a MadDog. (Now that is a fun machine for such shenannigans!)
Anytime you fly a single engine machine...you take a risk of having a forced landing due to an engine failure...public transport flying and thrill ride giving are two different endeavours. I have done both ....and use completely different techniques for each.
As Ned has described....they do it in a professional manner....that is good enough for me.
The Puma video is good...and must have been good fun making. When the Statue of Limitations runs out...I might provide some done while flying a Huey a few years ago. Part of the sequence was on the Discovery Channel.
Last edited by SASless; 31st Jan 2006 at 19:02.