Stupidly lucky....or luckily stupid
Join Date: Dec 2000
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To put an end to some confusion
If you read my previous post then you will find out that this ship is definitely not RC controlled. Maybe the monkey on the controls was RC controlled; that's debatable. But that blunder is very real. I couldn't believe it myself. It is amazing that the tailboom did not detach...enough said
to the previous post about the menace to society;
I guess most folks thought that this whoopdydoo was part of the program because I see one fella smiling on that video. Then when nothing happened people (students) want to try the same because they don\'t know... They would have known if this ship disintegrated to pieces. Sheer luck that nobody was hurt.
to the previous post about the menace to society;
I guess most folks thought that this whoopdydoo was part of the program because I see one fella smiling on that video. Then when nothing happened people (students) want to try the same because they don\'t know... They would have known if this ship disintegrated to pieces. Sheer luck that nobody was hurt.
Avoid imitations
Join Date: Nov 2000
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I know of one case where a pilot did exactly this type of manoeuvre in a military Alouette. He wasn't so lucky. A Canadian ex student of mine, a passenger in the aircraft, being shown off to by an inexperienced pilot, was crippled in the crash.
I know of another case back in the 1980s where a US army Blackhawk pilot did an impromptu and unauthorised display in West Germany with pax on board. The aircraft, banked almost at 90 degrees, hit a hangar wall after carrying out a hard low level turn. Fortunately it WAS a Blackhawk and they survived.
As an ex mil heli display pilot myself, I know well the workup and consideration that OUGHT to go into any display flight, especially the use of a known safe base height for all manoeuvres. This half baked pilot needs a swift kick right where it hurts most. I hope he fronted up and got the aircraft checked out afterwards. If not, some other innocent pilot and his pax might one day pay the price that this idiot SHOULD have paid on the day.
I know of another case back in the 1980s where a US army Blackhawk pilot did an impromptu and unauthorised display in West Germany with pax on board. The aircraft, banked almost at 90 degrees, hit a hangar wall after carrying out a hard low level turn. Fortunately it WAS a Blackhawk and they survived.
As an ex mil heli display pilot myself, I know well the workup and consideration that OUGHT to go into any display flight, especially the use of a known safe base height for all manoeuvres. This half baked pilot needs a swift kick right where it hurts most. I hope he fronted up and got the aircraft checked out afterwards. If not, some other innocent pilot and his pax might one day pay the price that this idiot SHOULD have paid on the day.
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If this was my helicopter/my operation I would kick the pilots aas and fire him big time, report him to the aviation authority and personally take care that this guy never gets to see the inside of a helicopter again .
@ John Eacott you were right, there is also an "Ohlsdorf" in Hamburg. (part of the city of Hamburg)
@ John Eacott you were right, there is also an "Ohlsdorf" in Hamburg. (part of the city of Hamburg)
Join Date: Feb 2002
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One very good aspect of this pilots judgement is . . . . .
that from what I can see he kept pulling back on the ciclic as long as he could, BUT when he saw that he wasn't gonna make it he quickly leveled the helicopter to have it slide flat on the skids rather than hit tail first.
Most pilots would have kept pulling back the ciclic as pure instinct and hit the ground tail first.
If he really misjudged the manuver it took some extremely quick thinking and reactions which saved the day.
We all make mistakes, but it's always nice when we correct them.
Most pilots would have kept pulling back the ciclic as pure instinct and hit the ground tail first.
If he really misjudged the manuver it took some extremely quick thinking and reactions which saved the day.
We all make mistakes, but it's always nice when we correct them.
Had a strawpoll around the office today, and we came up with 6, yes six accidents that were the result of people doing wingovers/Tqturns or whatever. Most resulted in dented pride and a written off heli. Some (Snowdon in the '80's) killed people. It's an easy manoeuvre, but not at silly heights!
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Could have ruined the day
In my opinion the film speeds up just before he (or she) touches the ground and slows again after the bounce. The deflection of the skids and boom and lack of deflection of the rotor disk is not consistant with the speed of the aircraft portrayed by the film, bit like the car chases on 70's movies where the car travel around the bend at what looks like 150mph. but it does not lean or slide - if only!
They were cool enough when realising that they have made a major cockup, to resist pulling back on the cyclic, when an impact appeared iminent. The machine actually levels just before touching down, as you would, to prevent a tail strike when carrying out a running landing. Perhaps the pilot intended to carry out a running landing (touch & go style) or rediculously low pass but got it a bit wrong and hit the ground a little hard (may not have happened if he had not been downwind), possibly an undulation in the ground or just the recoil of the undercarrage popped him into the air and off he went gripping the seat with his backside.
At the portrayed approach speed you would assume you are never going to make it, so apart from pulling back, instinct would also make you pull all the collective you had which would result in a far greater change in engine/blade note.
The boom flex does look excessive in slow motion but then we don't see slow motion in everyday life. Perhaps this flex was within (just) limits. If you viewed a whole day of your life in slow motion you would probably be horrified at some of the things you observed. (stick a camera on the mast looking down a blade and view whilst in flight - you would never fly again!)
Also you would expect to hear a few "Oooos" from the crowd as it touched the ground, and where is the registration.
Although there was nothing safe or sensible about the whole incident, I think it looked worse than it really was. Would be interesting to see it in the correct speed.
In responce to HOSS' post: It may look like a scale model to you because of the fact that the film speed has been increased. A model would not have the inertia to compress the u/c like that.
Happy landings
They were cool enough when realising that they have made a major cockup, to resist pulling back on the cyclic, when an impact appeared iminent. The machine actually levels just before touching down, as you would, to prevent a tail strike when carrying out a running landing. Perhaps the pilot intended to carry out a running landing (touch & go style) or rediculously low pass but got it a bit wrong and hit the ground a little hard (may not have happened if he had not been downwind), possibly an undulation in the ground or just the recoil of the undercarrage popped him into the air and off he went gripping the seat with his backside.
At the portrayed approach speed you would assume you are never going to make it, so apart from pulling back, instinct would also make you pull all the collective you had which would result in a far greater change in engine/blade note.
The boom flex does look excessive in slow motion but then we don't see slow motion in everyday life. Perhaps this flex was within (just) limits. If you viewed a whole day of your life in slow motion you would probably be horrified at some of the things you observed. (stick a camera on the mast looking down a blade and view whilst in flight - you would never fly again!)
Also you would expect to hear a few "Oooos" from the crowd as it touched the ground, and where is the registration.
Although there was nothing safe or sensible about the whole incident, I think it looked worse than it really was. Would be interesting to see it in the correct speed.
In responce to HOSS' post: It may look like a scale model to you because of the fact that the film speed has been increased. A model would not have the inertia to compress the u/c like that.
Happy landings
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Tend to Agree.
Once saw an internal view of a Navajo Fuslage being dropped from a crane, and filmed for "Science".
The cameras showed the roof descending to around half, or maybe a little more of its normal height above the floor.
[Imagine that transient shape?]
The end result after everything stabilized was an internal shape nearly the same as the original.
The point I am trying to make is that as a result of any landing, heavy or not, then there will be some [significant] flexing of the airframe.
[Ever watched the wings of a 747 from inside Business Class when they hit??...quite scary really].
Come on you wizards, someone must be able to address the obvious tampering of the video, and show the complete clip at normal speed.;
Bet the entire flight was then a non event.
The cameras showed the roof descending to around half, or maybe a little more of its normal height above the floor.
[Imagine that transient shape?]
The end result after everything stabilized was an internal shape nearly the same as the original.
The point I am trying to make is that as a result of any landing, heavy or not, then there will be some [significant] flexing of the airframe.
[Ever watched the wings of a 747 from inside Business Class when they hit??...quite scary really].
Come on you wizards, someone must be able to address the obvious tampering of the video, and show the complete clip at normal speed.;
Bet the entire flight was then a non event.
