Originally Posted by
Flying Lawyer
There's no reason why there can't be a helipad on top of a mesa - you just have to think of a reason for it to be there.
I want to make sure this plot point of the helipad being atop a mountain is NOT overly contrived or in any way artificial.
I really wish I had saved a copy of what I had originally posted
(hint to any kind-hearted mod who might be able to access the archive and then send me a PM with the full and original text intact 
) so I could drive home some of the other details. This movie is a fantasy, but NOT a far-fetched one in the same vein as "Lemony Snickets" (although I do have Jim Carrey in mind for the main protagonist). This film is to be more in line with the fantasy story "Miracle on 34th Street" where there's a dark pallor of harsh reality underscoring the fantasy aspect. Another good comparison --in fact a BETTER comparison--would be "Bruce Almighty" (once again, Jim Carrey) since this story is a romantic comedy with a vitally important fantasy element. In spite of the fact that it was a fantasy, there were many elements of realism in that film concerning life in up-state New York, and what it is to be a local television journalist. And I, likewise, want to capture the realism of my setting (a small fictitious desert town in the American Southwest) and my main protag's career (he's a promotional specialist).
Another specific detail that has been lost to the mods
(PLEASE, mods, is it pssible to PM me a copy of what I originally posted?? I'm new here so I had no clue that you'd edit me down like that, and that text was actually kinda valuable--I know it's a huge favor, but please??) was that my small Southwestern desert town is located in the vicinity of a recently-decomissioned military base. One of the lines I recall writing in that initial post was "Think Roswell, New Mexico, and you'll get the gist of what this town might look like." Here in the US, little towns like that always sprung up in the vicinity of military bases. Therefore, there would be (at least I think?) quite possibly many helipads in the vicinity of the base and the town, all (or most) to serve the military's purposes. But I don't want to GUESS at these things. I want to be CERTAIN. The sad alternative would be that --God willing--I sell the script and it gets made into a movie (starring Jim carrey
) and then thousands of helicoptor pilots from all over the world see it, and they laugh at the absurd notion of a helipad atop a cliff. From what I'm reading here from you fine ladies and gentlemen (maybe just gentlemen--maybe there are no ladies in this thread other than myself), it's not such an absurd notion for there to be a cliff-top helipad. But I'm trying to nail down how likely or unlikely that it might be, and then I can put "apologetic explanations" into the script later on as needed.
Perfect case of such an "apologetic explanation": the recent film "Click" starring Adam Sandler and Kate Beckinsale. He gained over 300 pounds during one stage of his life, but as he gained the weight, he was also--unknown to anyone else--growing a huge brain tumor. While he was in this state of obesity, he went to his ex-wife's house and got into a fight with her new husband (played by Sean Astin, another actor I would dearly like to see in my film) The fight resulted in Adam Sandler falling backward (all 450 pounds of him), smashing his head against a brick wall, getting a skull x-ray, and only then the tumor was discovered. Kate Beckinsale later commented to Adam Sandler--BECAUSE A MEDICAL ADVISOR TO THE FILM SCHOOLED THEM ON THE REALITY OF GETTING A TUMOR--"You're the only person in the world who ever GAINED weight while festering a tumor in his body." THAT is an "apologetic explanation" of an unlikely scenario (most people drastically LOSE weight when cancer is ravaging their bodies). It was vitaly important to the timeline of that film's plot that Adam Sandler's character gain weight, and THEN have the cancer. They could NOT shuffle that time line without doing a major overhaul of the entire plot. So, after they consulted with a medical expert on the tumor thing, they tossed in that comment to save their butts.
Originally Posted by
Flying Lawyer
How high does the mesa have to be?
A couple of ideas to start -
- The LA Fire Department has (I assume it's still there) a helipad on top of a steep canyon in the Hollywood hills with a helicopter crew positioned there overlooking LA in the afternoons.
(Great for practising pinnacle landings in the mornings. )
- At least one of the LA radio stations has a helipad next to its antenna high up in the hills.
It needs to be high enough so that when he falls off the top of the mountain, there is absoutely NO WAY he could survive when hitting the bottom. (Again, this detail has been edited out of the original post.)
Originally Posted by
Flying Lawyer
Helicopters are frequently used for inspections in remote areas.
I'm tentatively looking to set up the excuse for the existence of this helipad as one formerly used by the now-defunct military base. And, since I am helicopter illiterate, I don't even know what kinds of differences might exist between a civilian chopper pad and a military one.
Originally Posted by
Flying Lawyer
If you look at the photographs in the 'Rotorheads Around the World' collection you'll see some shots of helicopters on pads high in the mountains.
Link here
http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?t=76347
Some superb shots of helicopters on mountain pads in Canada were posted yesterday.
There are lots, but post #2762 is a good place to start.
You'll find plenty of scope there for your imagination and someone falling to their death.
This is GREAT stuff, Lawyer! Thanks!
Meanwhile: any guys here with a military background who can help me with a few military questions?