One of the top Jobs? Honda Powerboat series

[STANDTO]

Excellent days racing yesterday in Douglas Bay, Isle of Man, with the Honda 4 stroke series Powerboats. However, of far more interest was the EC135 being scooted around at 50 feet carrying the camera crew. Made a spectacular spectacle even more spectacular.

Has to be one of the top jobs going in the rotary world, surely?



no helo pics, but more info at http://www.honda-racing.co.uk/marine/hf4s/

[TeeS]

Here are a couple of photos from last year.

http://www.manxscenes.com/2005/June/21.jpg

http://www.manxscenes.com/2005/June/22.jpg



TeeS



Links fixed.
Heliport

[TeeS]

Thanks Heliport, think I just found it - jpg not htm?

TeeS

[Heliport]

Almost.

To post a picture already on a website:

Right-click on the picture itself
A dropdown menu will appear
Left-click on 'Properties'
You'll see 'Address [url]' which is the web address of the picture - usually ends in jpg
Highlight and Copy the entire url
(The above applies to MS Windows. I don't know the AppleMac procedure.)

You're then ready to add the pic to your post.

Either Click on the http://www.pprune.org/forums/images/editor/insertimage.gif symbol and insert the url
or
paste the url into your post and put [/img] immediately after the url and [img] immediately in front of it - no spaces.


Heliport

[Agaricus bisporus]

Personally always found it exhilarating and a bit scary. 120Kts, door off unable to hear a thing, nothing at all except 24 Lamborghihi cylinders shrieking deafeningly thru the headset and the cameraman's finger always jabbing down down down. Trying to get a full-frame throttle-shot/prop-shot with a boat leaping 15 ft in the air at 110kts and looking forward for a moment to see a bloody frenchman's tailrotor ten meters in front of you and getting closer (the french way of getting you off a shot he wants...), the cameraman happy because he is soaked to the neck in the roostertail. Doing a wingover turn at the end of the course cos the boat can turn 180deg in 100m at 100kts and you cant - and wondering where the other 15 helos are...seeing a 20m boat momentarily stand up vertical with its stern 5-8 m above the surface and wondering what would have happened if there had been a helo in close when it flipped. Relaxing up to 50' for a panoramic shot and a helo and boat cross diagonally below you!

Wondering what was the point of hiring a liferaft.

Wondering if the Ops inspectors were watching...

Of course, all that was a long time ago, sadly.

[22clipper]

Cute castle on the sandbar but watch out for that flagpole! They have a bridge-to-bridge power boat race here on the Hawesbury each year. Heaps of helicopters, wires strung across the river, pilots abusing each other on the radio, never been game to fly a chopper to the event. Must be a skill the pros develop I guess. I was orbiting the other day so my pax could photograph a school. Trying to keep the school in the centre of the orbit, look out for other aircraft, do a panel scan, keep an eye on the pax (the orbiting made her throw up but I spotted th tell tale signs & got the sick bag out first) was pretty full on.

[John Eacott]

We have a powerboat series that tours the various States (mostly in the sunshine!), with attendant helicopters for filming/diver rescue. Cameraman grabbed this shot last year while we were pedalling hard to keep up :p

http://www.helicopterservice.com.au/photos/pprune/Powerboat.jpg

[bwm85]

Same series as Johns Photo above, although this time on the Gold Coast.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v140/Rotorheads/5ebb70bc.jpg


Queenslanders should keeps their eyes out as the series goes to Mooloolaba this weekend and then the Gold Coast soon after.

[bayou06]

Did you have to pull off because he forced you to overtake him? or did you have a test of wills?

I'm sure tempers could get raised during the shoot of the race. Is it normally a gentlemenly affair or is a free for all?

[Nigel Osborn]

Nice floats!:ok:

[Plank Cap]

Here in Dubai the Bell 412 and 206 seem to be the pursuit copters of choice for the powerboats. Hugely spectacular for all concerned, especially the 412 that hit the water just a few yards off the beach last year. Nobody killed fortunately, though several injuries.

[Ned-Air2Air]

Here are a few pics I shot in Puerto Rico a few weeks ago.
http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g100/KiwiNed/PR008.jpg
http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g100/KiwiNed/Puerto%20Rico%20-%20Day%20Two/PR131.jpg
http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g100/KiwiNed/Puerto%20Rico%20-%20Day%20Two/PR129.jpg
http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g100/KiwiNed/PR011.jpg

[Agaricus bisporus]

Bayou, when you see a tailrotor one and a half aircraft lengths ahead and coming closer you get that feeling when you see the lumberman shoving a plank right into a buzz-saw with his bare hands, coz you are that plank! No battle of wills, no contest. Some of our european colleagues don't seem to have either the same etiquette on the job (one boat, one helo, or wait your turn) or the same survival instinct.

You won't get far with a 206 on Class 1 boats though, can't keep up!

Great pictures, but come on fellas, where are the close-up shots?

[Ned-Air2Air]

AB - Yes most times I would agree that a 206 cant keep up with a Class 1 boat or even an OSS Extreme boat, BUT, on a day when there is a good swell it prob could. In puerto Rico we had some rough water as you can see by how far out of the water the boats are :D
On a flat sea you cant even keep up with a Class 1 boat in a 109 Power or similar. I used an AS350 here in NZ to chase the Skaters around Lake Taupo and on the straight aways the boys were pulling away from us there.
Here is a nice close up shot for you, doesnt look that close but when you realise I am shooting this with a 28-70 lens on the 28 lens it then becomes quite close. :D
http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g100/KiwiNed/Latest%20Puerto%20Rico/Puerto23.jpg
I try to use an AS350 or Bell 407 for all my races as they seem to work the best. Saying that I shot a 39ft MTI near Miami recently from an A109C and even at VNE (we had the door off) when Gino and Larry put their foot down it was asta la vista and they just took off. He had it running at just over 140mph and that wasnt even at full throttle. Will see if I can upload a pic of the boat.
Cheers
Ned

[Ned-Air2Air]

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g100/KiwiNed/Ginos%20Boat/Gino13.jpg
http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g100/KiwiNed/Ginos%20Boat/Gino16.jpg
http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g100/KiwiNed/Ginos%20Boat/Gino03.jpg
http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g100/KiwiNed/Ginos%20Boat/Gino20.jpg

[CyclicRick]

Good old G-BZRS, I wonder how many boats past him doing just 60Kts? You'd need rear view mirrors!;)

[Robbo Jock]

Ned, out of interest, in your first pic of "Super Cat", it looks like the driver's left arm is coming out of the cockpit, over the top of the screen and back in through the front. The others show this is clearly impossible. What do you think might have caused the illusion?

[Ned-Air2Air]

Robbo Jock, Took me a while to figure it out but worked it out.

Notice the blue stripe that comes up the deck on the left hand side of the boat. Where it goes over the top of the screen there is a blue segment of paint. When I shot the pic it just happens that Gino's arm lines up with that segment of paint exactly.

Ned

[Pudnucker]

Hard on time... proper toys... :D

[Shawn Coyle]

I've always been curious about the number of single engine machines seen doing this work that don't have any pop-out floats.
Who said this was OK? What about the 'gliding distance to shore' part of the rules?

[Nigel Osborn]

Shawn

In Oz filming & rescue work are classed as "aerial work" & thus are not required to have floats.
Apparently the engine doesn't realise it's over water or a black night.

[Savoia]

.
A small sampling of fast boats with their rotary-wing companions - usually deployed in the filming/photography role.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5187/5576472168_d0eb2977e3_z.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5292/5576472174_e1236ce520_z.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5266/5576472182_73fe4899cb_z.jpg

Have many more images of a similar nature which I might be able to drop into the thread over time.

Those of you who can reacll the 80's TV series 'Miami Vice' will doubtless remember one of the lead characters, Don Johnson. Johnson is a keen powerboater :ok: (great fun by the way and if you haven't yet given it a go then I thoroughly recommend it) and used to employ an Agusta 109A Mk II to trail him during his competitions. The craft carried two rescue divers fully suited-up ready to be dropped in the water in the event that their fearless leader required assistance.

Sav