Helipad...
I've always been fascinated by helicopter flight and especially watching a Bell Jet Ranger with it's sleek fuselage. It's amazing to see one streaking across the sky. For me, I lived due East of the Opa Locka airport where the United States Coast Guard maintains an air station.I read that helicopters occupy only 4% of their total operations at that site. That percent seems low as I can hear helicopters flying over my house several times an hour!
Whenever there is some military activity in the area, you can hear chop chop chop chop of larger helicopters coming from miles away. Yeah, I would often run outside to see them only a few hundred feet up usually heading toward the ocean, most likely on a reconnaissance mission. A lot of military aircraft fly out of that airport. Over the years several presidents have used that airport as it's easier to secure than using the Miami International Airport.
My new place in Palm Beach County doesn't get much activity in the sky... I'm lucky to hear 3 or 4 helicopters in the course of the day. Tonight, as I approached the gate to my community, I could hear a helicopter at close range. There's a hospital just a few blocks away and it was apparent the pilot was making a slow descent to land on the rooftop helipad.
Comments (13)
I got a rotorcraft license on top of my fixed wing one in the late 70s. Problem is that, though there were no restrictions on my commercial license, I couldn't take up passengers (even not for hire) because of the rental companies' insurance companies. There were so many pilots back from 'Nam, they put a restriction of 2000 hours rotorcraft flying time. Haven't flown a chopper since. Flying alone isn't that much fun and I would choose a fixed wing for going places.
Too many of these devices crash killing the occupants.
Perhaps a more drone-like design, where the vehicles to be controlled
when one or 2 of the rotors malfunction would be better.
Why not have the large single rotor as the primary
and the others as secondary, sufficient in emergency situations and
an aid to stability. In life or death situations, there should be redundant options.
And yes, the blades for all the rotors should be at a height above one's head.
That's certainly desirable.
I've seen a situation wherein a main rotor blade was improperly secured.
When the rotor was engaged, the blade began flapping. Had anyone been standing under the rotor, it would've cut him in half
Amazing.