Some photos from the Richmond helicopter experience

by philg

Here are some photos by David Rafner, who grew up in my old neighborhood in Bethesda, Maryland and now lives in Richmond.  He rode in the back seat with a camera while Kevin Peterson and I flew Sky 12.


We start off with Sky 12, a 15,000-hour Bell 206 Jet Ranger sitting on its dolly, my nemesis at the end of every flight.


Philip Greenspun and Richmond's Sky 12 Jet Ranger helicopter.  Photo: David Rafner.


Part of the preflight process involves climbing on to the top of the helicopter to check the nuts and bolts holding the rotor system and flight controls together.


Philip Greenspun checking the rotor system of Sky 12, Richmond's traffic helicopter.  Photo: David Rafner.


Beautiful downtown Richmond (actually Richmond is all office buildings and highways; anyone with money has fled to the western suburbs though the Fan district near the art museum shows some signs of revitalization if you don’t mind living right next to some truly bad neighborhoods)…


Richmond, Virginia from Sky 12.  Pilot: Philip Greenspun; photo: David Rafner.

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I watched more TV news in the last week than in all of 2004.  The camera monitor includes a little inset window showing the actual broadcast, complete with commercials.


The monitor in the right front of Sky 12, Richmond, VA, which shows the pilot (1) what the Wescam in the front of the helicopter is beaming back to the TV station, and (2) what the TV station is currently broadcasting to the public.  Photo: David Rafner.

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6 thoughts on “Some photos from the Richmond helicopter experience”

  1. Are helicopter-shots for films done in a fairly similar way (though obviously with different subject matter), with similar equipment, pilots, etc.?

  2. Michael: Film is usually done in a fairly similar manner, starting with a gyro-stabilized camera mount that keeps the camera pointed in a constant direction even as the helicopter yaws and pitches. The main difference is that often a camera and operator hang out the side of the helicopter for more flexibility in positioning the lens. http://www.tylermount.com is the standard supplier of these systems. The HeloAir folks in Richmond have done quite a bit of movie work with the Tyler mounts.

  4. Great shots Philip. Maybe someday I can follow in your footsteps and take a few flights onboard 8BA with Kevin. How many hours were you able to log?

  5. Jason: During five days (they only flight M-F) we lost one flight due to weather and one due to a golf match bleeding into the news. So it ended up being 8 flights totalling just about 8 hours.

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