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Old 6th March 2007 | 02:11
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22clipper
 
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 292
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From: Sydney
Wildlife ways

Sometimes it pays to know your animal when up close & personal in a helo. As a 300 hour newbie I'd discovered I could muster emus with an R22. Self taught I was! It wasn't till I met an experienced bush pilot that I learned that emus are inclined to leap into the air (& by inference your MRB disc) when they get excited.

Similarly I learnt that it ain't real smart to do low passes over dams & billabongs neither. Waterfowl instinctively get airborne when disturbed & a pelican or magpie goose through the rotors at diddley squat altitude over water can be bad news too.

Likewise using the grass parallel to the main runway at rural airfields so as not to upset the planks doing circuits can be embarasing if you disturb a feeding roo you didn't notice when passing over it at 10' AGL.

Also watch out for snakes sunning themselves behind fuel drums, farm dogs (especially the ones used to riding in helos, they'll jump into the cockpit given half a chance) and the scariest creature of all.....other people!
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