Chopper Memories

[Bozo]

A subdued group at Catalano's with a few of the regulars dressed in "loafers".

BJ's custom airhead put in another appearance as did Jack's new acquisition a rare R80ST. Beemer Dave was not to be outdone with a 2001 K1200 RS with under 8,000 kms on it with an original front tyre. Beemer Dave reported being buzzed by his SAS colleagues in a low flying chopper and had a video on his phone to prove it.

There was a cluster of Daves at breakfast (David S, Davidii and Beemer Dave)...a strong representation of the ten Davids in the club.

Last week's Bencubbin trip was a common topic of conversation with over 20 riders participating. There was mention of gyrocopters that did not get off the ground at the show because of wind, corner marking protocols and an impressive fireworks display. A relieved Robbo reported how well the Brown Bears ride including laps around lakes.

BillB, Davidii and Bozo made a late decision to head to Jarrahdale via Canning Road, Canning Mills Road, Chevin Road, Gardiner Road, Araluen, Canning Dam and Albany Highway. A bit of spritzig and some low clouds keep us cool as we enjoyed the timbered twisty roads. Plenty of motorbikes out and only a few cyclists. Coffee and Carrot Cake at Millbrook Winery was interrupted by a cherry red helicopter making a precision landing in a strong side wind on the edge of a lake. This prompted a discussion about helicopters and other aircraft across Western Australia including a SAS hostage exercise on the high seas in strong winds.

Back home along Nettleton Road before ending the ride at Caltex Byford.

A short enjoyable ride on a sport infected Sunday with a surprisingly consistent theme of helicopters. It was a shame that Chopper R. (AKA Prof Dist) did not join us.

Bozo

[profoundly_disturbed]

A short enjoyable ride on a sport infected Sunday with a surprisingly consistent theme of helicopters. It was a shame that Chopper R. (AKA Prof Dist) did not join us.

Bozo

Duties on my veggie and fruit patches precluded my attendance.

I don't have much faith in helicopters, I did a few years at Westland Helicopters on the EH101 (Merlin) prior to the company becoming Agusta-Westland. The company couldn't even get the name right. The original name was EHI 01 but a transcription error on a hand written note saw it become EH101 and the name stuck, and no, it wasn't me - way above my pay grade. To be fair, it turned out to be a fairly useful, stable aircraft. It had pretty cool performance, endurance, armaments and avionics.

The most accurate definition of a helicopter is the often repeated "A million parts rotating rapidly around an oil leak waiting for metal fatigue to set in."

By the way, it is possible to land a helicopter following an engine failure, it's called "auto-rotation" or more accurately, a controlled crash.

[Bozo]

Prof Dist

Thank you for extending the chopper memory saga. It seems everyone has a chopper connection though not all of us were hog tied before boarding a Blackhawk like one BMW club member.

My main involvement with helicopters was in the Kimberley in the 1980's. There were a lot of Bell 47's around with dubious histories. We were always happy to get the more modern Jet Ranger. The Merlin looks much more robust.

Talking about oil leaks, there was a Catalina in Kununurra doing electromagnetic surveys that had a 44 gallon drum of oil behind the pilot connected to the engines that was emptied on every flight.

Bozo

[BillB]

The most accurate definition of a helicopter is the often repeated "A million parts rotating rapidly around an oil leak waiting for metal fatigue to set in."

By the way, it is possible to land a helicopter following an engine failure, it's called "auto-rotation" or more accurately, a controlled crash.[/quote]

This reminds me of a trip from Kalgoorlie to Melbourne I did in a mates Bell Jet-Ranger helicopter in the early 90s. I agreed to keep him company so didn't dose off or anything as it was along slow trip with 60kt headwinds and a top speed of 120 kts. He had already flown it down from Pt Headland the day before I caught up with him.
Flying over the Gawler Ranges in SA he was told by Air Traffic control to climb to 6000m due to military activity below ( a F 111 flying at Mac 1.2 on a low level exercise below us somewhere.) He says hold your arm out horizontally, which I did and my arm uncontrollably starts moving up and down. He then explains how he hit a tree branch when he was flying it up North and it bent the rotors a bit and this makes the chopper oscillate. The trip to Melbourne was for a service and he was going to get it straightened out at the service. I think he could tell I was at the time also thinking that this thing really wasn't meant to be flying at this very long drop to terra firma and he was enjoying seeing my reaction. Anyway it took 3 days to get to Melbourne and it didn't drop out of the sky and he also said something about a helicopter is made up of a million nuts and bolts trying to fly apart.
It was a memorable adventure.

[boomer61]

Talking of low flying military planes, this one takes the cake,
We were spreading fertiliser using a Ag Wagon when a Hercules flew underneath it.
That does not leave much room for error.
There was more than fertiliser being spread after that one.

[Bozo]

Anthony

A 11.6 metre tail on a Hercules does not leave much room for a Cessna flying just above the ground.

Hopefully it was a wing that passed under you not the fuselage.

Bozo

[boomer61]

It was the whole lot, not sure the Allison T56 turboprop run well on fertiliser, fuel air mix.

[bwanainoz]

Now that I have ascertained that this thread is about choppers with rotors and not choppers with extended forks, a good book to read about choppers with rotors is Chickenhawk by Robert Mason.

[SPANDAU BALLET]

No Chopper memories here ,Ive read Chickenhawk.............not a bad read. Suspect it drifts across into the "not quite how it really was"
Robert Masons "oppo's" have some issues with accuracy but its a sound tale.
Gotta say I thought this thread was about "Easy Rider" type Choppers............a topic best avoided.

[jls]

then again I thought this was about that profoundly disturbed person chopper reid

[Bozo]

Jamie
Thanks for getting the discussion back on the flight path.
Bozo

[profoundly_disturbed]

I don't have much faith in helicopters, .

Okay, I know nostalgia is a thing of the past but this thread, my earlier comment and other contributors stirred something else in the archives.

Now the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk is a fine utility aircraft, and I concede it can be tooled up, but this is what entered the frontal lobe on its mention:



Now for plain out and out meanness and extreme threat level you can't go past the Boeing Apache AH64A Attack Helicopter. If one of these with fully loaded ordnance were pointed at me, I could change my mind about helicopters, and just about anything else!

If W.A. police invested in the Longbow variant it could wipe out hooning and most street crime in Perth overnight.

[BillB]

I don't have much faith in helicopters, .[/quote

Now for plain out and out meanness and extreme threat level you can't go past the Boeing Apache AH64A Attack Helicopter. If one of these with fully loaded ordnance were pointed at me, I could change my mind about helicopters, and just about anything else!

If W.A. police invested in the Longbow variant it could wipe out hooning and most street crime in Perth overnight.

Could be good for solving the white pointers terrorising Perth beachs also

[Bozo]

Prof Dist

Very daunting.

Saw Lindsay Fox arrive for work this morning in his personalised registration Augusta Westland chopper VH FOX. Lindsay's AW 169 was the first off the production line at a cost of $8 million. That would buy a lot of air heads.

Bozo