Superior Pilots: Trimming Trees From A Helicopter! (Video)

 The first time I viewed a video of a huge 10-blade vertical saw suspended from a helicopter and cutting tree limbs near large power lines was shortly after I launched AirPigz back in 2008. It was crazy and amazing to me back then, an there's no surprise that it remains that way to me still today. It's just much more relevant to me today since I've recently trimmed and cut down some large trees in my neighborhood using a chainsaw. I did not, however, use a helicopter!

 I did use a 60' boom lift tho, which I found to be incredibly enjoyable work (which oddly might lead to a career change here very soon), but it's slow and tedious work even with the lift. I felled an 85' Maple tree that had lots of branches hanging over two houses... hours were spent cutting off limbs from the lift before I could take the saw to the trunk. I can easily understand the massive amount of man-hours and equipment traditionally required to trim trees along a powerline path. The helicopter and the horror-movie-like vertical saw definitely makes quick work of the difficult task of tree trimming! I'm confident however that the pilot would say it's still very tedious from his point of view!

 That's the reason I'm sharing this video, to call attention to the skill and focus these pilots have. Honestly, I'd lean toward calling them crazy if it wasn't for the fact that I've seen lots of videos of this kind of work being done and it always seems to work out just fine. With the right pilot and the proper equipment, it appears to be a completely safe method of tree trimming.

 One of these days I hope to be able to chat with a pilot who has done this and get a better idea of just how challenging it is... and then after that I need to find one of the guys that flies the line-checking helicopters like the one in the video below. Those guys are ARE crazy, even if it seems to work out just fine on a regular basis as well.

 Let's also have a little hat tip to the Hughes 500 since it seems to be the dangerzone helicopter of choice!

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(Recycled) Video: This My Friends, Is How You Land An Airliner! (Must See!)

(yep, full screen is a very good idea)

This is a recycled post originally from January 24, 2011...
it's just way too good not to share again!

 Sometimes you get the feeling that airline pilots are just bus drivers with little passion for the wonder of flight and the intricate relationship between man and machine when the bonds of gravity are broken. But then you see a video like this one that screams as loud as possible: I Love To Fly! Wow.

 First, thanx to youtuber 1970sPlaneSpotter for being at the right place at the right time, and for capturing it beautifully. But mostly, I tip my hat to whoever had their hand on the stick and throttles for this landing. I have several observations to share - see if you agree. First is the fact that they nearly perfectly arrested the rate of descent without having to hunt for where the runway is. In reality, it's not all that hard to reduce the rate of sink to a trickle, but to do it pretty much exactly when and where you want (as in close the the approach end of the runway) is actually rather difficult. But if you look closely, the point of touchdown is not very far down the runway at all. In fact, by my estimation, the point of touchdown was perfectly placed... not too close the the approach end, risking winding up short, and not too far down the runway so as to have wasted valuable rollout room.

Video screenshot from an excellent video of a perfect landing... Bravo!

 Ok, the point of touchdown is excellent. Then, watch how long the tires take to spool up to speed. That's your first clue it's an ultra soft touchdown, but it's followed immediately by your second clue - the front axle on the bogie doesn't come slamming down like usual, in fact, the airplane rides along on just the rear axles for a crazy long time! This is when you notice two things, the airplane is still flying, but it's also on the ground, and the rate of sink is slowed to a crawl. Wow. Again.

 Then as the camera pans the rollout, we get a close-up view of the nose gear. Here's the next interesting point: the nose is being held very high off the ground. Is this a "look at me, I'm cooler than you" 'show-off' move? I don't think so. Well, ok, technically all of this landing is yelling out that this pilot is cooler than me or you... but in reality, the nose appears to be held high as a very effective form of aerodynamic braking. Take all that big wing at a nice high angle of attack and then drag it down the runway at 130 mph and see how much drag it produces. Big, fat buckets of drag! Then, as the rest of the airplane comes back into view, you can see the elevator deflection, which by the time the nose wheels makes contact with the runway, appears to be at full deflection, or very near it. All the aerodynamic braking available was tapped into.

 So what we have here is the passengers arriving at their destination without knowing it because the touchdown was so soft... and then, due to the aerodynamic braking and the loads of runway ahead of us to use for gentle deceleration, nobody was doubled over in their seat from heavy braking and reverse thrust, which is often accompanied by some bobbing and a tad of weaving. Nope, instead, this big hunk of airplane gently strolled rather quietly, smoothly, and very straight down the runway. Now that's how you thank the passengers for flying with you today! Bravo for being easy on the airplane, and easy on the people. That's the way it should be done.

 One last point. Truth is, you can't always apply this collection of techniques when landing 350,000 pounds of airplane. Crosswinds, gusty or turbulent air, or a variety of other factors can demand that you use other tools from the pilots bag of tricks, but when the conditions are right, wow, this is how you land an airliner : )

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Video: 'Whisper' - The Dog That Made A Wingsuit BASE Jump!

 The video above is the short version from Dean Potter's youtube channel showing him making a wingsuit BASE jump in Switzerland with his small dog Whisper tucked securely into pocket between him and his parachute container. The video below is a longer version from the National Geographic youtube channel that offers a little more insight into this rather unusual adventure. 

 I was already planning to post this video on AirPigz when I began reading the youtube comments on both videos. Wow, youtube comments never fail to expose the irrational thinking of a large part of the population here on Earth. After reading the comments claiming that this was animal cruelty I KNEW I had to post this video.

 First, let me add that my wife and I have five miniature Schnauzers in the house (Schnauzers don't shed!) and have been living with these little creatures for the last 10 years... we started with one and then fairly quickly wound up with six in all. A couple years ago one became ill and passed away leaving us with five.

 When you really know a dog it's easy to tell when its uneasy in a given situation... and I would think all of us can tell when a dog is truly scared. A dog owner with any level of intelligence will also know whether a specific dog is of the mindset (or nerve tolerance) to be able to handle adventure, even extreme adventure. I have two Schnauzers that I know would love to BASE jump and I have three that I know would freak out. 

 It's obvious that Whisper, a 22 pound mini Australian cattle dog, was completely up to the task of riding along on this wingsuit jump, AND that she enjoyed it. It really confuses me that rational people could watch the video (especially the long version) and somehow come to the conclusion that Whisper was scared. And then when you add the obvious effort to make this adventure safe and secure for Whisper, I can't see this as being ANY different than someone taking their dog for its first car ride. A tremendous amount of effort went into making the special parachute rig with the space for Whisper, and test jumps were made to verify the safety of the rig with the size and weight of this awesome little dog.

 All you need to do is watch as Whisper looks left and right on the ride down, that's a dog that is taking it all in and doing great! Further research indicates she has made about a dozen jumps but has been taking a break here lately. Dean is working on a re-designed jump rig to advance the art of taking Whisper along on wingsuit flights.

Video screenshot: Whipser the wingsuit BASE jumping dog looking happy in flight!

 You'll be able to learn more about Whisper and her BASE jumps in Potter's 22 minute film When Dogs Fly but I'm not sure when and where you'll be able to see it. I'll update later when I find out... til then, I think Whisper is a true AirPigz at heart and deserves some bacon!

(and please don't go off on me about how bacon is bad for dogs... as an occasional treat in small quantities, bacon is perfectly fine for a dog!)

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Video: Long-EZ Cloud Skimming (Music Video)

 This fresh and beautiful video of a homebuilt Long-EZ skimming along the edge the clouds sure looks like fun! (note that the airplane is flying IFR to keep things legal and safe)

 I've been familair with Long-EZ history since I was 14 when it's predecessor the VariEze first showed up at Oshkosh in 1975 powered by a Volkswagen engine. But even with years of knowledge and exposure to the design, I've never even had the chance to sit in a Long-EZ... so I especially enjoyed this video because it gives me a great idea of how awesome the view from the front seat is. I just added the Long-EZ to my 'fantasy hangar', but honestly that hangar is really gettin' packed tight!

 So many airplanes. So little money : /

What a view from the front seat of a Long-EZ while cloud skimming!

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The Boomerang (Burt's Favorite Creation) And The Oregon Aero Custom Interior (12 Pix)

(click pic for hi-res)  The Boomerang: nearly ready to fly at Mojave in 1996
 

OregonAero.com

Burt’s favorite creation:

 When world-famous aircraft designer Burt Rutan completed the Boomerang in 1996, the design looked wildly unusual, even for one from a designer who was well known for shattering conventional thought. But while aircraft from Burt like the VariViggen (his first design) and the Long-EZ (his most popular) and SpaceShipOne (his most widely known) were all very different than what we used to seeing, they all were at least symmetrical designs... meaning, if you cut them in half down the middle, the left and right sides had the same shape. But with the Boomerang, even deciding where the middle was might leave you confused!  And once you decided where you were going make that cut, you sure weren’t going to get a left and a right that looked anything alike.

 Interestingly, it was a desire to create a design that ‘flew’ symmetrically that gave the Boomerang such an unusual look. Burt wanted to create an efficient twin engine aircraft that flew nearly as well with an engine out as it did with both running, and would do so regardless of which engine was no longer running. Traditional twin-engine aircraft with an engine on each wing can be very difficult to fly safely on just one engine. Push/pull centerline thrust designs had addressed this in the past, but mounting an engine on either end of the passenger cabin doesn’t create the most comfortable environment to spend 3 to 6 hours. So, using his out-of-the-box creativity and strong engineering skills, Burt designed one of the most unusual airplanes we’ve ever seen. In the process he created his own personal favorite aircraft, and one that accomplished his very safe flying qualities on one engine goal.

One of the world's most unusual airplanes: Burt Rutan's Boomerang

 The Boomerang is built largely of carbon fiber and is pressurized to 4.6 psi. The engines are Lycoming TIO-360’s with the one on the main fuselage making 210hp and the one on the boom making 200hp. It carries about 170 gallons of fuel which gives the potential for economy cruise at 24,000 feet of 240 mph for up to 10 hours making a range of about 2,400 miles! There are five seats total, with the three seats in the back providing excellent stretch-out leg room.

 Restoration:

 Burt flew the Boomerang for several years as his personal aircraft, but some heart surgeries in 2002 changed his ability to fly and the Boomerang was parked. When Burt retired from Scaled Composites in 2010 he was looking for something good to do with the Boomerang, a way for its existence to have an impact on the future. Putting it in a museum would have some affect on the future, but if the airplane was restored to flying condition (from having sat parked for several years) its impact could be far greater. That’s where Tres Clements comes into the picture. Tres is an engineer at Scaled Composites who just happened to be in the right place at the right time to answer ’yes’ to Burt when he asked if Tres wanted the Boomerang. By becoming the leader of a group of people to restore the Boomerang and then fly it as well, Tres could give Burt’s favorite baby the care it needed while helping the world stay in contact with one of the most interesting aircraft ever built.

The Boomerang during restoration by Tres Clements and crew at Mojave
 

 Interior by Oregon Aero:

 You might already know that the Boomerang was a big hit at Oshkosh 2011 when Tres brought it out from California for its first public exposure in over 10 years. Thousands of people looked the airplane over closely with the opportunity to walk right up to it and even see inside with the unique cockpit windshield plug door being open along with the right side fold-down step/door open much of the time as well. If you happened to be there, then like me, you probably noticed that while the outside of the Boomerang was nicely painted and looked great for a 15 year old prototype, the inside looked like an experimental spaceship that didn’t care if you were comfortable or not. This is where Oregon Aero from Scappoose, Oregon comes into the picture. In late 2011, Tres flew the Boomerang up to Scappoose to have Oregon Aero install a complete custom-built interior system in the Boomerang… for the first time since its completion in 1996, the Boomerang was going to be a complete aircraft. (see Boomerang pix before the interior installation at the bottom of this post)

The Boomerang at OSH11 attracting attention before the week had even started
 

 Oregon Aero was started in 1989 by Mike Dennis and his wife Jude to help people fly pain-free by engineering and manufacturing comfortable, safer and quieter products that meet a wide range of customer needs. What started with just one product designed to make headsets more comfortable has grown into a company that offers various headset and helmet comfort products, as well as being a premier supplier of enhanced-comfort and improved-safety seat cushions and seating systems. And, as is shown by the stunning custom work accomplished on the Boomerang, Oregon Aero is an expert at producing interiors for production aircraft, or even one-of-a-kind homebuilts. They’ve reached a level of expertise that they are a significant supplier of enhanced-comfort/low-fatigue ejection seat cushions for U.S. military aircraft like the F-22 Raptor. They are also a supplier of helmet liners, ear seals, and microphone covers for military aircraft, including the F-22.

 Customers wanting an Oregon Aero interior can bring their aircraft to their facilities on the Scappoose Industrial Airpark (KSPB) just north of Portland, or for many interior projects you can ship your interior to them for upgrade. They have customers from all across the country who get seat upgrades or entire interior upgrades without ever having their airplane leave home. And their facilities and staff are up to the challenge of handling whatever aircraft interior need you have. They do work on small aircraft like Cubs and RV-12’s, all the way thru to cabin-class twins.

(click pic for hi-res)  Gorgeous interior by Oregon Aero in the one-of-a-kind Boomerang

Click to read more ...

Video: 20 Foot Span RC B-25 With 2 Moki 400's! (First Flight)

 Really big RC models are intriguing because they can look so real in their getting-close-to-life-size dimensions. You also know that they have taken an enormous amount of work and dedication to reach completion. But for me, the biggest payoff comes with how real they look in the air. Small models are just too twitchy to look real.

 This 20 foot wingspan B-25, built in Germany over 5-1/2 years and powered by two Moki 400 5-cylinder radials looks incredibly real in the air. And while the Moki engines don't convince you that they're Wright R-2600's, they have unique radial sound all their own that is truly awesome. The music that two of them make, well, it's just perfect.

 Congratulations to the team in Germany on their amazing piece of work!

Video screenshot of this amazing 30% scale B-25 RC model

Check out the build page for the B-25 build team:
www.legendaryfighters.de/B_25/b25.htm

 
 Engine run of the real Apache Princess from Kermit Weeks' collection of flying aircraft. Check out the Fantasy of Flight page with info on this B-25.

Hat tip to my friend Christian for the link on the B-25 model.

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Video: Sean Tucker And The Extreme Machine!

 I listened to Sean Tucker talk at an event in the Theater in the Woods at Oshkosh last year and I went from being a guy impressed with Sean's flying to being a guy impressed with Sean as a person.

 This short but extremely well done video on vimeo shows why you should be impressed with his flying... and if you haven't already, hopefully you'll get to hear him talk or even have a chat with him yourself someday to see what an interesting man he really is.

 And he gets extra points from me since his extreme machine has two wings. Enjoy!

Sean Tucker pushing it hard and lovin' every minute of it

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Part 3: Blue Angels Mega Post (Video+CoolPix+Desktop)

(click pic for hi-res)  Pensacola Beach airshow pic from 2012 #awesome

 The Blue Angels mega-post comes to an end today, but I hope it has served to drive you to their airshow schedule to see when and where you can experience them live and in person. I see several dates that will potentially work for me this summer and look forward to it!

 You might remember that when the Navy released the image above from the 2012 Pensacola Beach airshow, it was flipped over with the world upside-down, which is the way it was captured... and while that was very impressive to view, I had a feeling that it might be more powerful when flipped over with the world right-side-up. So I flipped it over in photoshop and it came alive for me. Then I decided to see if I was just a weirdo or if more of you agreed with me. The poll I put up showed over 70% agreed that it was a more powerful image when flipped over as seen above, so that's how I made it available as a desktop pic. Here it is again in four popular desktop sizes in case you didn't snag it before:

Pensacola Beach 2012 Blue Angels inverted pass:

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 Here's a very nice compilation video from a few years back that shows the Blue Angels in some truly beautiful views. It can be watched in HD and it has a non-offensive soundtrack... go full screen and enjoy!

 This excellent video from the KPIX (San Francisco) Evening Magazine is from back in 1985 and gives some background into the Blue Angels A4 Skyhawk training camp. It's fascinating to hear Blue Angels pilot Mike Gershon say that after his year with the team as narrator he assumed he understood the level of effort required to be one of the guys inside the cockpit... yet he realized when he made that transition to the cockpit that he had no idea of the physical and mental effort required to put a show on. Imagine how unaware you and I are.

 It's important to note that shortly after this program was recorded, Mike Gershon was killed when he and the other solo A4 flown by Andy Caputi collided at the crossover on the top of a loop. Andy Caputi ejected safely but Mike lost his life in the accident. You can learn more in a very respectful follow up video here.

 The risks are real for the Blue Angels, but then life is full of risk at every turn for each and every one of us. The challenge for us all is to seek wisdom and knowledge, making the best decisions we can in every situation. The Blue Angels serve as one of the greatest examples of this way of life.

 If you think about it, the extreme skill displayed by the Blue Angels is meant to represent a willingness and capability in defending the United States of America... and ultimately, the USA is only defended when men and women join the military (any branch) and prepare to fight if needed. So when you see the Blue Angels (or the USAF Thunderbirds) please remember that Americans (you and me) owe a lot to all the people willing to fight for this nation.

 This last video is from the Blue Angels era before the A4 Skyhawk. It's an old Super 8mm film shot in 1970 of the Blues in F-4 Phantom's at Suffolk County AFB in Long Island New York. There's an honest nostalgia in it that makes a guy like me, who lived as a kid thru that time frame, ache with a desire for the good ole days. But even if you weren't alive back then, I'm guessing you'll have no trouble agreeing with me that the F-4's look fantastic in that great paint.

 An alternate way to experience the video above is to first mute the audio (simply click the speaker icon next to the start button)... then click this link which will open a new tab and start an audio-only video... then come back to this tab and hit the play button as soon as you can. It's a beautiful experience.

Thank you Blue Angels... past, present, and future.

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Part 2: Blue Angels Mega Post (Video+CoolPix+Desktop)

 Here's more fabulous Blue Angels content to help you and me both feel a little more like we're at Vero Beach Florida today and tomorrow enjoying a performance from the world's greatest aerobatic team. You're seeing Baltimore back in 2012 behind the blue and gold here in the CoolPix above... the Navy does a great job of making awesome images like this available, but if you don't know where to look it's easy to miss out. I take it all a little farther down the road then too by sizing up some desktop images for you and passing them around for free.

Blue Angels over Baltimore on 6-15-12:

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 This short video gives you a great view of the Blues in a tight diamond formation as they slide in right behind Sean Tucker in his Oracle Challenger over Seattle back in 2010. What a sight to see these very different aircraft looking quite comfortable in formation... too bad there wasn't a GoPro on the tailwheel of the Challenger, that would have made for such a wonderful view of the Blues.

 This 33 minute video will make you feel like you're right there enjoying a full Blue Angels performance, which is exactly what it is. It's a broadcast-quality recording of the 2012 Miramar Air Show... from taxi-out thru til taxi-in, with the full show in between. It's also viewable in 1080p HD, which means this would be a great video to stream into a big flat TV, or at least full screen on your computer. There's no music, no talking, just pure Blue Angels all in high quality!

(click pic for hi-res)  Up close in formation showing how close they are!

 The CoolPix above is from 2011 over Pensacola Florida... imagine yourself inside about 30,000 pounds of jet going 300mph THIS close to another pretty blue 30,000 pound hunk of metal! And then imagine that the tolerance for how far you can be from the exact correct position is about 18 inches... and hold that tolerance for much of a 30 minute performance. The observe-decide-act frequency going on in their heads must be staggering. It's. Just. Awesome.

 Here's hoping you have a very Blue weekend! Watch for part 3 tomorrow.

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Blue Angels 3-Part Mega Post! Fri-Sat-Sun (Video+CoolPix+Desktop) Part 1

(click pic for hi-res) Awesome Blue Angels pic from 2010 (Navy photo by Ron Trevino)

 The AWESOME Blue Angels are in Vero Beach Florida this weekend to wow airshow fans with what hard work, discipline, and pure dedication can produce... the world's greatest aerobatic team! But if you're like me, it doesn't look like Vero Beach out your window. So, I thought I'd do what I can to bring the Blue Angels experience to you in a 3-part Fri-Sat-Sun mega post. The pic above is a CoolPix so you can open it up big, or you can download one of the free desktop sizes I put together for you below.

Blue Angels Jax show 2010:

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 This first video is a short one uploaded to youtube just a few weeks ago and shows a backseat view during a Blue Angels practice. It's simply unimaginable that these guys can fly this close together, at these speeds, AND doing maneuvers! The Navy consistently finds (and trains) these super humans capable of doing what honestly seems impossible. It would be one thing to be able to perform at this level for a few minutes, but to put on a full show week after week requires a focus and disciple that boggles the mind. Bravo Blues!

 The second video is an older one that runs almost 10 minutes and is full of incredible backseat views of the team performing. Even if you see it before it's ALWAYS worth seeing again.

(click pic for hi-res)  The Blue Angels diamond formation at Reno back in 2009

 The CoolPix above is one that I captured at Reno back in 2009. It's another graphic example of just how close together these F/A-18's fly during a Blue's performance. Even better, they flew several days in a row that year... I never ever get tired of seeing and hearing the Blue Angels own the sky!

 This last video for the Blue Angels mega-post part 1 is one of the most impressive Blue Angels videos I've ever seen, and it doesn't even have a single F/A-18 in it. It's all about Fat Albert with a cockpit view of a 2009 performance of the C-130 at an airshow at Barksdale AFB. The cockpit crew communication and cooperation is outstanding! It's a great way to see the kind of discipline that makes the entire Blue Angels experience the best in the world.

 Enjoy, my avgeek friends, and watch for part 2 coming tomorrow!

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