Steve Campbell
Elite Veteran
Location: Baton Rouge, LA
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That's me, for sure. I have crashed twice in the past three years, and only one of those was really my fault. But then, I'm not trying the latest backwards flipping/spinning/inverted whatever, either. I applaud those who can do it, and I find it interesting to watch. Personally, the challenge of making the thing fly smoothly in a scale-like manner (slow inside turns, etc.), with an occasional loop, roll, Immeman turn, split-S, etc., thrown in is plenty satisfying to me. And taking my ship home in one piece at the end of each session is a good feeling too...
But helicopters are inherently more "crashable" than planks. One link or bolt failing can send the machine plummeting to it's death. Plankers don't understand this; until they get involved with helicopters.
But I think the the best statement ever made about the subject was uttered by Harry Reasoner 20 or so years ago. He was doing a news report about military pilots, and was talking about the mechanically nightmarish complexity of helicopters:
"Fixed wing pilots are clear-eyed, bouyant extroverts. They trust their machines implicitly. Helicopter pilots are brooding introverts. They know that if something bad has not happened, it is about to."
Another classic remark by a long-time military helo pilot:
"A helicopter doesn't want to fly; it just wants to kill you."
And I think those two remarks sum things up quite nicely...
Steve |
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