All you air traffikers would love to work in China. There, air traffic is draconian. Should they point you at a mountain there is a protracted discussion before they will let you steer away from impending disaster. Indefinite holds when short of fuel are common. Violations can be filed against pilots for all sorts of reasons. Early/late ETAs. 0.25 degree glidepath error, Heavy? Landing. The list goes on. However, there are some benefits inasmuch that an ATC clearance is paramount.
I had to do photographic flight over Shenzhen. Some ancient buildings were just about to be demolished to make way for the latest downtown high-rise. We had rigged our helicopter, an S76, so that the photographer had a clear shot through a removed starboard window and I had an ancient map that showed the building's location.
As I approached the area it was obvious that they were in the middle of an existing forest of high-rises and the shots taken above them were going t be pretty poor. I discussed it with our Chinese chief pilot who had come along for the ride. He got on the radio and then there was a long conversation with the controller.
“You’re cleared down to thirty metres.” My chief pilot said.
Thirty metres is just over one hundred feet. There I was, approaching a city resembling Manhattan and I was cleared low level. The devils horns came out and there then followed a helicopter version of Danny’s dive bombing manoeuvre.
Forty five minutes of glorious, legalised, hooliganism. All my lights were so one could see oneself approaching a glass sided office tower at about the tenth floor level. Forty knots was more than enough to turn at mall intersections, I didn’t try the narrower streets because of cables. We managed to get some good photographs of the buildings as well.
Nobody would have complained. Civilian helicopters are not widely known there so it would be assumed by any spectators that it was military or police; and one does not complain about them.
Our heliport was within the terminal zone of an international airport. To ease our passage within this area it was ‘believed’ that the company used to take Air Traffic Control to a massive slap-up banquet once a year. That is probably why our chief pilot managed to fix it
Last edited by Fareastdriver; 11th Sep 2013 at 09:02.