The Twinstar

I'm not certain, but I believe this is me flying the Vildosola Racing Team several years back.  The Twinstar was definitely one of the quirkiest helicopters I have flown, and impressed upon me the need to never let your guard down.  Electrically unreliable and notoriously underpowered, it was the embodiment of  a technical requirement  being technically met:  twin engine safety and reliability, without the safety and reliability part.

Many people are under the impression that two engines will enable the aircraft to remain airborne should  one of them fail.  That was certainly not the case with this  aircraft, and is certainly not a given for the Bell 222 which I currently fly.    

As a side note, this aircraft was sold to another company some time ago, and not long after that  the new company's pilot forgot to latch one of the engine's cowlings and took off.  Ah, well.    

 The black and red aircraft in the photo are the Twinstar's single-engine sister, the AStar.  

Semper Fi

For a great video of the twin rotor CH-46 from Corporate Helicopters, click here.

Big, Bigger, Biggest

Gargantuan helicopters, these from the Soviet Union.  See more here.

Sweet

A nice piece here on helicopter futuristics from that bastion of communism UC Berkley.

Knowing Me Knowing You

As if anyone needed another excuse to love ABBA.  


Again thanks to Helicopterhysterie.  

hubris

If you're going to perform aerobatic maneuvers in an amazingly expensive, nearly brand-new helicopter, perhaps you want to get just a little bit more altitude the first few times you try it.  And maybe you want to avoid recreational lakes during the busy season. 


Thanks to Helikopterhysterie for the link.  The full story at:  NH90 Crash.