Heliport
12th Jun 2004, 22:03
Associated Press Helicopters Swarm Gas Station in Norway
OSLO- Erling Boland didn't know what to think when a swarm of six helicopters noisily swooped down on his gas station.
"It was surrealistic. I thought this must be the latest sequence for a James Bond film," Boland told The Associated Press by telephone on Friday. "Or maybe it was al-Qaida up to something."
It turned out one of the two-man helicopters, all being flown by German tourists, was running low on fuel so they all decided to land and tank up.
Boland, 58, was inside the gas station-convenience store he has owned for the past 25 years when he heard the first helicopter overhead on Thursday.
"I went out to look because I thought maybe it was an ambulance helicopter and that there had been an accident," he said of the incident in remote Hatlestrand, some 175 miles west of Oslo.
"I saw a helicopter, but knew it was too small to be an ambulance helicopter. I also thought it was making an awful lot of noise for one small helicopter," he said.
Then he saw the other five coming for a landing. When they had landed, he talked to the pilots and learned they were German helicopter enthusiasts touring Norway by air, two to a chopper.
The Germans efficiently folded up the rotors on their helicopters, put small wheels on the skids and rolled them up to the gas pumps to the amusement of a quickly growing crowd.
They bought about 65 gallons of 95 octane fuel and a bottle of lead fuel additive, which wasn't exactly a huge sale for Boland.
"But I will be telling this story at dinner parties for the rest of my life," said Boland.
OSLO- Erling Boland didn't know what to think when a swarm of six helicopters noisily swooped down on his gas station.
"It was surrealistic. I thought this must be the latest sequence for a James Bond film," Boland told The Associated Press by telephone on Friday. "Or maybe it was al-Qaida up to something."
It turned out one of the two-man helicopters, all being flown by German tourists, was running low on fuel so they all decided to land and tank up.
Boland, 58, was inside the gas station-convenience store he has owned for the past 25 years when he heard the first helicopter overhead on Thursday.
"I went out to look because I thought maybe it was an ambulance helicopter and that there had been an accident," he said of the incident in remote Hatlestrand, some 175 miles west of Oslo.
"I saw a helicopter, but knew it was too small to be an ambulance helicopter. I also thought it was making an awful lot of noise for one small helicopter," he said.
Then he saw the other five coming for a landing. When they had landed, he talked to the pilots and learned they were German helicopter enthusiasts touring Norway by air, two to a chopper.
The Germans efficiently folded up the rotors on their helicopters, put small wheels on the skids and rolled them up to the gas pumps to the amusement of a quickly growing crowd.
They bought about 65 gallons of 95 octane fuel and a bottle of lead fuel additive, which wasn't exactly a huge sale for Boland.
"But I will be telling this story at dinner parties for the rest of my life," said Boland.