Now *that's* a pilot

[rualexander]

What would happen if the rotor blades did contact the snow though?
Clearly if they hit a rock or hard ice it would be bad news, but what about if they just touched some not too hard snow, would the chopper stay under control and just gouge a furrow in the snow or would even light contact be enough to lose control?

 

[ColinJ]

What would happen if the rotor blades did contact the snow though?
Clearly if they hit a rock or hard ice it would be bad news, but what about if they just touched some not too hard snow, would the chopper stay under control and just gouge a furrow in the snow or would even light contact be enough to lose control?

Good question. I certainly wouldn't like to be a helicopter pilot trying to find out!

We have all been assuming that the pilot realised what angle the helicopter was at relative to the snow... Perhaps (s)he was disorientated and thought (s)he had actually landed!

 

[Cycleops]

That looks almost foolhardy to me although it's hard to judge just how close he actually was to the snow.
Flying a helicopter is very very difficult and totally different to a fixed wing plane. I could never even master a model one.

 

[winjim]

Good question. I certainly wouldn't like to be a helicopter pilot trying to find out!

We have all been assuming that the pilot realised what angle the helicopter was at relative to the snow... Perhaps (s)he was disorientated and thought (s)he had actually landed!

I think it helps the effect that the slope of the mountain is roughly equal to the angle of the helicopter cabin and skids.

 

[RoadRider400]

Impressive, but this is my all time fave mission.

 

[Dayvo]

It's the same reason as the wheels on stagecoaches apparently going backwards in western films.

What happens when a wagon goes backwards? Do the wheels appear to be moving forward?

 

[ColinJ]

What happens when a wagon goes backwards? Do the wheels appear to be moving forward?

Horses don't have a reverse gear!

Well, I suppose they could walk backwards if they tried but I can't imagine a team oh horses running backwards with a stagecoach attached...

 

[KneesUp]

Impressive, but this is my all time fave mission.

I’ve just flicked through that - is it really 22 mins looking at the back of an SD1?

 

[Globalti]

Traffic was light in those days wasn't it. I used to drive for Hertz returning cars to Marble Arch depot and we used to do Newcastle to London in 4 hours 30, five cars in convoy, then all pile in one car and drive back. Usually a couple of the drivers would be Police officers moonlighting. Bet that wouldn't be possible nowadays.

 

[Dayvo]

Horses don't have a reverse gear!

Well, I suppose they could walk backwards if they tried but I can't imagine a team oh horses running backwards with a stagecoach attached...

Exactement! But how many times do you see a runaway carriage/stagecoach rolling backwards towards a precipice with the heroine in a seemingly impossible position?

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ddxf2YESIgw

 

[DCBassman]

Alpine chopper pilots are nuts. Went for a trip round the Matterhorn in 2010, flying with Air Zermatt from the base on the edge of town.
The base is a massive concrete platform, high at the south end (Matterhorn) and very high at the north end (rest of Switzerland).
The helo was parked tail out over drop.
It's a standard rescue craft, not really for sightseeing, but it makes cash, so...
Once the three of us were strapped in, the pilot simply flipped it backward off the platform and roared off down the valley before gaining altitude. This guy knew what he was doing to the centimetre, so the nose on the snow trick surprises me not one bit.

 

[twentysix by twentyfive]

Do noses on helicopters get frostbite?

 

[captain nemo1701]

Central Amsterdam.

If you've been there, you'll know how narrow things can be:

 

[Bonefish Blues]

Central Amsterdam.

If you've been there, you'll know how narrow things can be:

Now that's how to arrive at Maccy Ds.

 

[Globalti]

We watched a helicopter taking off from the helipad beside the Vignettes hut on the Haute Route. The aircraft was perched on the helipad, facing outwards over a 2000 ft drop. The pilot started it up, lifted a few feet, pitched forwards and plunged straight over the edge, all the while looking to his left to enjoy the admiring looks of the people inside the dining room. A good thirty seconds later it reappeared way down the valley having swooped straight down the glacier.

From our perspective it looked even more dramatic than this one:

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=vignettes+hut+helicopter