Community Chat

[Mz iMac]

I love helicopters from afar, watching on tv & a huge movie screen.   Beautiful flying machines.

In person I am scared to death of them.  Scared I am going to get my head chopped off from the blades.  I won't go near them for that reason.

An actor's head was cut off by helicopter blades, Vick Morrow.  He was filming a scene from Twilight Zone.

@On It   The helicopter pilots are looking at & reading a graphic screen like a video game when diving into tight spots w/a lot of obstructions & vegetation.  They can spot things that you cannot see when looking out the window.

I live near 2 military bases.  Those HUGE military helicopters fly over every day.  Just about every year, soldiers are killed during "training." Never any survivors.

All 3 of my local news stations have helicopters.  They fly so low you can read the tv news station logo.  Just about every year, one them crashes killing all on board.

My county has 2 helicopters that I only see during the summer months when they fly over the apartment pond & nearby lake to spray the mosquito larvae & eggs.  I always wave at the pilots from the edge of the woods by the thickest tree trunks.  Yeah, scared the blades are going to cut my head off.

[rockygems123]

@On It 

Unbelievable skill.  Can't believe the tightness in that canyon.  Fearless people. 

The National Guard trains across the street at Chatfield State Park, exercises incude targeted aerial water delivery. Pick up a bucket of water from the lake, dump it on the targeted spot.  It's fascinating to watch.

And @Kachina624  I believe they are much smaller aircraft than used for combat, at least that's the perspective we have from the ground and water.

[Puggywuggy]

Such skill and courage...Bless them! We are in the flight path of a Military Base and an airport so we see all kinds of helicopters. They are not nearly as safe as a plane but they can maneuver in much tighter spaces. Some of the larger Military choppers remind me of Dragonflies.

[monicakm]

They're crazy, that's how 🤭  Dad has been an airplane/airline pilot since the Vietnam War. He  said those helicopter Pilots were crazy! The only experience I've had with a helicopter pilot is at the Grand Canyon and I would have to agree with Dad. Although fun and exhilarating and terrifying all at the same time I loved it. I thought dad was going to faint when I told him what we did. Our pilot did some "fun" maneuvers along the canyon walls over the Colorado River.  I just Googled it. There was a tragic helicopter crash over the Grand Canyon in 2018 killing five British tourists. The crash was blamed on a violent gust of wind.