Random Photo

The San Diego Gas & Electric S-64 Aircrane.  Enormous, you could almost fit a full-on weber grill into the exhaust.  

The circular apparatus to the right of the exhaust is the rotor brake. 

Click photo to embiggen.

BAJA 500 Evening Dress Shoot

I just landed at the Ensenada hospital, and as usual the helicopter was immediately accosted with curious families and kids from the neighborhood. As impoverished as most of them are they all have phones with cameras, and they queue up to take family portraits.

I had never seen a couple like this, though, a rare glimpse into Mexico's discreet middle class showing up with everyone else for a photo.

If I had been the least bit fluent in Spanish I would have told her she had fabulous heels.

Hijacked

This is a picture of a hijacked helicopter, the pilot being held at gunpoint to participate in a Russian jailbreak.  (Just happened this week, full story here. ).  It actually worked, or at least the helicopter part did.  


As someone who lives in San Diego and often flies into Mexico, I have thought about being hijacked often, and what I would do.  Pre-9/11 I would have done what this pilot did, which is to go along with the scheme and expect a generally happy ending (this pilot was eventually bound and gagged after dropping off the accomplices and fugitive several miles away, but otherwise unharmed).


But post 9/11, and given the distinctly darker tone of the drug war still playing out in Mexico, I doubt that any helicopter pilot could reasonably expect to survive a hijacking.  Either the helicopter would be flown into a building or open assembly of people if the hijacker were religiously inclined, or the pilot would be summarily executed upon landing for having been a witness, a standard protocol with drug cartels these days.  


As chilling as it sounds to me, possibly the only viable option would be to intentionally crash the helicopter and hope you emerge relatively unscathed and able to get away before the hijackers come to their senses.  Not a great prospect, but if it worked what a great story you'd have to tell the NTSB.  

Gigantic Paper Airplane

A helicopter launching a gigantic paper airplane, never would have thought of doing that.  Full story here.   

Recovery

The Coast Guard is recovering their helicopter that crashed several days ago off of Alabama's Mobile Bay.  No survivors, and no bodies were found in the fuselage.  No clue as to the cause, but it's the latest in a string of fatal accidents the Guard has suffered in the past year.  

Good Times

I bet the mechanic will be none to happy to discover the pilot dragging the helicopter around in the water like this.  

Random Photo

Helicopter traffic jam.  

Superstition

Thanks to the  superstitions of  the Chinese and Vietnamese who are convinced rhino horns are imbued with magical powers,  rhinos are being hunted to extinction.  This one, though, is getting a ride via helicopter to a safer location in South Africa.  The full story, with more pictures, is here.

Might want to turn down the treadmill.

Seen at my FAA Doctor's office.  'Crash' is a medical euphemism for 'the patient just collapsed and appears to be quite dead at the moment'.

Random Photo

Interesting concept, but as a soldier I'd feel a little naked zipping around in this over enemy territory.  

Tragic New Year

One of several paper cups dropped from a helicopter to unsuspecting campers, after a park ranger was shot and killed nearby and the gunman escaped into the woods.  The full story is here.

The pilot and crew had no other venue with with to communicate with the campers, other than coffee cups from Cruisin Coffee.