Рет қаралды 509,157
COME FLY WITH ME and Stan as I take a Huey helicopter for a spin around Malaga, WA.
The backstory
I was doing some late season cherry drying and listening in on the frequency used by the few other pilots left on contract. Two of them were flying Hueys and we'd chatter back and forth a bit. At one point, I told them I'd bring pizza to their base, which I flew over occasionally: a pair of ponds on Stemilt Hill. Sure enough, right on schedule, I turned up with the pizza. That's when I met the two pilots: Stan and Pete. Stan offered to let me try flying the Huey he had on contract, which belongs to his son's company. I'm not a complete idiot -- I said sure! This is the video I shot during that flight. It covers seatbelts on to seatbelts off, including engine startup and shutdown.
The video has a problem: the front facing camera, which was connected to the intercom system, was not configured properly so none of the intercom audio was recorded. This isn't a big deal at the beginning, when the helicopter was quiet, but when the engine cranked up, it became impossible to hear us talk. I filled in the gaps when editing by explaining various things that were going on. The behind-the-scenes footage I recorded while setting up and turning on the cameras tells you how important it was for me to get it right and I still managed to screw up.
And yes, the pedals were not adjusted properly for me. And yes, I know we should have fixed that but once the engine was running, I did not want to cause any delays. And yes, I was doing the flying until I returned full control to Stan. And yes, Stan did not release the controls but I did not feel him on them at all. He was protecting the helicopter and its occupants. He had never flown with me and I had never flown a Huey. Why would he let go?
The helicopter is a B model Huey. Lots of folks think it's a C model, but checking its N-number with the FAA clearly identifies it as a B model. Stan alludes to this at the end of the video. This particular helicopter was built in 1962 and saw action in Vietnam and Nicaragua. It has patched bullet holes in the back floor. It is now used for agricultural and lift jobs.
Stan is a part-time pilot who works when needed and travels the rest of the year. He's a really nice guy who addressed me as "ma'am" more times than I could count. (He is not a "rich guy" with a toy.)
Later that day, I helped him get the helicopter on a trailer by repositioning the trailer with my truck, which happens to have the needed gooseneck hitch. I think I still owe him for the ride.
About the dog
Penny the Tiny Dog flew quite regularly with me for 7+ years. (She was killed by a pit bull in January 2020.) She was too small for me to get ear protection for her but I regularly tested her hearing and can assure you that it was way better than mine. The only reason she came up front in this video was because she was startled by the sound of this particular helicopter. She was not a "loose object" and she would not have gotten under the pedals. Once I put her in back, she stayed there. Please don't lecture me about her.
About the Video
- The video was recorded with a pair of GoPro Hero 7 Black cameras (amzn.to/2Zh7nWr). I had just received one of them via UPS 30 minutes before the flight and was using it with a new NFlightCam cable (amzn.to/31Vn1Zu), which is why I screwed up the audio. I should have left the cameras settings to defaults. Lesson learned.
- The video was edited on a Macintosh using Screenflow software. Learn more about it here: www.telestream...
- The intro music is by Bob Levitus, famed "Dr. Mac." You can find him here: www.boblevitus....
About me
I have been flying for more than 20 years. My nearly 4,000 hours of flight time is in Robinson R44, Robinson R22, and Bell 206L (Long Ranger) helicopters. This was my first time flying a Huey.
- I have been blogging since 2003 at An Eclectic Mind: www.aneclecticm... or www.marialanger...
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