krypton_john
14th Feb 2009, 17:26
Top Gear trio suffer chopper trouble (http://www.stuff.co.nz/4848472a1860.html)
Top Gear trio suffer chopper trouble
Sunday Star Times | Sunday, 15 February 2009
It was Friday the 13th for a seagull and a supercar that crossed paths with the Top Gear Live crew.
Hit UK TV show stars Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond, and their Kiwi sidekick, V8s racing legend Greg Murphy, had a helicopter flight turned back by birdstrike around lunchtime on Friday.
And that evening, at Auckland's ASB showgrounds, Murphy damaged the motor on a supercar during a speed demo.
The trio, who have been staying at the Skycity Grand Hotel, took off from Auckland's Mechanics Bay in a Heliflight chopper, only to turn around and head back to base after a few hundred metres.
"They all piled into the chopper and took off over the harbour heading towards North Head," a source told Sunday News.
"They hadn't even got halfway across the water before they stopped, hovered, turned around and came back. They were only in the air for about a minute.
"When they got back the pilot and a couple of engineers came out and were having a look at one of the rotors. They spent about 10 minutes sorting it out, and took off again, headed north."
Heliflight CEO Andy McKay, who was flying the chopper, said it "clipped a seagull, but that's not uncommon down there".
McKay said the trio "were pretty knackered from doing their shows in Sydney and Auckland" but were "a joke a minute" and "laughing the whole time".
McKay said he took the stars to Russell, where they had lunch. "They were absolutely stunned and amazed with the scenery of Auckland and what they saw."
Top Gear trio suffer chopper trouble
Sunday Star Times | Sunday, 15 February 2009
It was Friday the 13th for a seagull and a supercar that crossed paths with the Top Gear Live crew.
Hit UK TV show stars Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond, and their Kiwi sidekick, V8s racing legend Greg Murphy, had a helicopter flight turned back by birdstrike around lunchtime on Friday.
And that evening, at Auckland's ASB showgrounds, Murphy damaged the motor on a supercar during a speed demo.
The trio, who have been staying at the Skycity Grand Hotel, took off from Auckland's Mechanics Bay in a Heliflight chopper, only to turn around and head back to base after a few hundred metres.
"They all piled into the chopper and took off over the harbour heading towards North Head," a source told Sunday News.
"They hadn't even got halfway across the water before they stopped, hovered, turned around and came back. They were only in the air for about a minute.
"When they got back the pilot and a couple of engineers came out and were having a look at one of the rotors. They spent about 10 minutes sorting it out, and took off again, headed north."
Heliflight CEO Andy McKay, who was flying the chopper, said it "clipped a seagull, but that's not uncommon down there".
McKay said the trio "were pretty knackered from doing their shows in Sydney and Auckland" but were "a joke a minute" and "laughing the whole time".
McKay said he took the stars to Russell, where they had lunch. "They were absolutely stunned and amazed with the scenery of Auckland and what they saw."