Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with helicopter

Music to Fly Helicopters to

Miss Otis' Egrets — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 16:56:31 -0800

Can you suggest suitable soundtrack music to accompany a Google Earth flyover created from helicopter GPS data? The terrain is dramatically mountainous for the most part. (Or conversely, what would be amusingly inappropriate?)

If only my RC cars had that sort of range

ydant — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 12:09:20 -0800

For the past few years I've been trying to remember the name of a movie I saw as a kid. The only scene I remember involved a group of kids trapped and hanging inside a net and one of the kids using his remote control helicopter to chop down the net. Nobody I've asked has remembered it, and I'm getting tired of the memory surfacing at odd times (like right now, while staring at code) and bugging me.

I'm pretty sure it's a movie most of us my age (late 20s) saw growing up on TV. If I remember correctly, the helicopter had to travel a decent distance to get to the net and I was pretty incredulous that it could manage that without the "pilot" seeing what he was doing. I think the kids were inside a cave or tunnel.

At this point I'm afraid I've made up too many details of the movie in trying to remember what it is. I'm almost positive about the net and the remote control helicopter.

Please help me put this to rest!

Get to the choppa!

andromache — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 08:16:44 -0800

I'd like to take my girlfriend on a helicopter tour of New York City for her birthday. Any advice on booking and making the most of the experience? The other day we were on the Brooklyn Promenade and we saw a helicopter land in the financial district and we were both like, "hell yeah!"

So I think it would be fun to do one of those quick chopper rides around the city. Do you have any advice about best time of day/day of the week? How about companies? The one I've found is New York City Helicopter Charter, Inc..

I don't have a ton of money, so I think it'd have to be the shortest (15 minute) tour, which costs a bit over $100 per person. We're into buildings, so it probably would be most fun to do the longer tour that flies over the city rather than south of it, to the Ellis Island, but neither of us have ever taken a helicopter ride before and I think basically any ride would be really fun.

Any advice on booking and making the most of this brief experience? Ideas of what to do before or after the ride?

Thanks.

What's the name of the helicopter blade sunlight stobing thing?

debord — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 17:16:45 -0800

What's the name of the bizarre effect that caused a few helicopter crashes where the light of the sun is strobed by the blades causing the pilot to have some kind of seizure? I've been Googling like mad and I can't find anything, but I'm sure it has a name!

Is this shark attack real?

lhputtgrass — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 13:59:29 -0800

Is this picture of a shark attacking a frog man for real? I've been looking at this picture, and can't figure out what in the world is going on here. It doesn't have any obvious tipoffs as a photoshop job, but it seems too fantastical to be real. Is it from a movie? Does anyone have any notions or information on this?

Why are helicopters hovering over San Francisco?

monkeypants — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 20:44:49 -0800

Why are helicopters hovering over San Francisco? Does anyone have any idea what they were doing? There were at least six, for at least half an hour, spaced wide apart, seemingly just hovering. A friend said they were at it last night, too. They're pretty loud, and the one near me was flying relatively low. I couldn't make out details. Something Mint-related? I can't find anything on the news or Google.

Now you lose your head!

doorsfan — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 09:52:52 -0800

Do you really need to duck when getting in/out of a helicopter? You see it all the time in movies and while I haven't been in a helicopter since childhood (air shows) I thought a helicopter was high enough off the ground not to chop your head off.

Is decapitation a real concern or do people do this just because we see it on TV?

Around the world but still stay in one spot?

pianomover — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 14:59:12 -0800

If the right helicopter were to exist, could I rise X number of feet (not to far mind you) above the earth point myself in the right direction hover there and then watch the world go by underneath me? How fast would I have to go and should I bring a change of clothes?

good but cheap airbrush kit?

DoctorFedora — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 06:09:39 -0800

Hive mind: recommend me a readily available (mail-order's okay) sub-$150 airbrush kit for a beginner that will neither overwhelm nor be outgrown! (recipient: 21-year-old interested in painting R/C helicopter canopies) Bonus points if it includes paints.

Help me find a childrens book

Glow Bucket — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 13:56:53 -0800

Please help me find the title of a hazy remembered childrens book with animals and a helicopter. I remember finding this in our local public library in the early eighties and I am pretty sure it was originally an English book. It was about (anthropomorphized) animals. This might have been a series of two books.

The paintings were very detailed and sometimes spread across two pages beneath the text.

The thing I remember most vividly about this book was one picture with a cut-up view of a helicopter (something like a Sikorsky S-55 or a Sikorsky S-58t)

The format of the book was landscape, i.e. the pages were wider than high.

Helicopter Pilot

nintendo — Sat, 19 May 2007 01:58:57 -0800

Getting trained and working as a Helicopter Pilot-filter. - I'm getting out of the Navy after four years, with a worthless AA degree. Flying helicopters is something I’ve always wanted to do but not for the military. Any helicopter pilots out there that can tell me where to get started??? (I'd love to hear some personal experiences:) Some people say I need a private pilot licenses first, although two schools have told me it isn't necessary.

To get even more specific, I would like to use the GI bill for this, or even better, are there companies willing to put someone through school if a contract is signed. ...? Thanks everyone.

rc helicopter advice

the ghost of Ken Lay — Wed, 16 May 2007 13:55:20 -0800

I'm thinking of buying an RC helicopter. I need some advice. I've been very intrigued with these low cost RC helicopters for a while now and have a few questions maybe someone here can help me with.

I want to spend about 200 or less and get a decent little helicopter I can fly in public parks. I'd like it to be newbie friendly and have decent flying time. Ideally, I'd like to be able to attach a camera to it. I just want something to fly around and have fun with.

I've found this helicopter (or the cheaper Night Ranger II) and think it would make a good buy, but I really dont know what to look for. Is this a good brand? What other brands can I get in this price range? Should I buy a second battery immediatly? Should I get a non-acrobatic one first?

I'm also concerned about learning how to fly. At 200 bucks this thing aint cheap and I'm not sure if I should just try to fly it the day I buy it or try to get some training. Where or how can I get training for an RC helicopter? I am located in the metro Chicago area if it helps.

Lastly, I'm also open to flying an RC plane in this price range if its safer, easier, and more fun. Any RC plane suggestions would be appreciated too. Thanks!

Cheap Helicopter that won't crash...

slim — Mon, 20 Nov 2006 11:31:20 -0800

Help me choose a budget friendly helicopter tour in Hawaii... My other half is going to Hawaii the first week in December to see Pearl Jam/U2 at Aloha Stadium. I'm assuming he will be staying close to the stadium. His birthday is next Friday and I would like to get him one of those helicopter volcano tours for his trip, but as inexpensive as possible (I would like to stay under $150). That being said, I want to make sure it's a reputable company. I'm mainly worried about his safety as well as being scammed since I'm doing this all via internet. Google comes up with a lot, but since I don't know much about Hawaii, I thought I would ask mefi for help.

So are there any Hawaii natives out there that can advise me on a good company to call?

Help me debunk...

ObscureReferenceMan — Tue, 24 Jan 2006 12:33:29 -0800

I would like to track down a local rumor with an Urban Legend feel... I work next to fairly large local company. Practically every day, the CEO arrives & leaves via helicopter. The rumor is that every time he lands or takes off, he pays a fine to the FAA. The rumored amount of the fine ranges from $1,000 to $20,000. How do I find out the truth? Checking the FAA site has not helped. This article (scroll down to "Long Island Towns Place Restrictions on Noisy Helicopters") seems to indicate that FFA regulations on helicopters are less restrictive than fixed-wing aircraft, but... So what? Can anyone provide more info? Or point me in a direction? Thanks!

Helicopters as windmills?

lazy-ville — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 11:03:13 -0800

Would a helicopter make a good makeshift windmill? This came up in discussion about a post-apocalyptic scenario where stranded military personnel have to live off the land. I had this idea of a helicopter-using military unit converting their helicopters to windmills. (Imagine a row of military helicopters standing on their tails on the side of an airbase runway.) The basic idea is to just lift the helicopter on it's tail and either extract the energy at the tail rotor or just replace the engine with a generator. Obviously this would not be the most efficient wind-generator available, but just how unefficient would it be? Would the rotor blades be any good as windmill blades?

Marine One and Two

BradNelson — Thu, 07 Jul 2005 11:49:54 -0800

In follow-up to this question, the president usually flies in a VH-3D helicopter (at least that's what most pictures show). But the Marine unit that flies him around also has a VH-60N, which this seems to suggest is always accompanying the VH-3D. Anyone know why? What is the VH-60N used for? Are they interchangeable? Is one just for staffers/aides? Why not use two VH-3Ds?

Marine One

cillit bang — Wed, 06 Jul 2005 16:29:05 -0800

President Bush showed up at the G8 in a fancypants "United States of America" helicopter. How did it get to Scotland? (I mean in the sense of "What are the logistics of getting all the USA merchandise in place for the president when he travels internationally?")

$49 Helicopter Tour place south of Vegas near the dam.

gummo — Mon, 28 Feb 2005 12:51:57 -0800

Anybody know the name of the $49 helicopter place south of the hoover dam on the 93? When you leave Las Vegas going south, there is a hotel and casino off to the left after you pass through the hoover dam. There is a big sign that says $49 helicopter flights. Either that hotel has helicopter tours, or their neighbor is a helicopter place. Anybody know what it's called? (The hotel or the tour place)