Merry Christmas

by philg

Merry Christmas!

Helicopter nerds may appreciate this video of Mrs. Claus flying an AStar.

[Scrooge might note that the helicopter is registered in Argentina (“R-“), closer to the South Pole than to the North. A Trump-inspired sexist would also note that the purported female pilot was sitting right seat in an aircraft typically flown from the left seat (unlike most U.S.-designed helicopters, which are flown from the right seat).]

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10 thoughts on “Merry Christmas”

  1. Whether you sit left of right depends on the specific set-up in the Astar. We fly the B2 from the right and the B3e from the left at Papillon. I think even the EC130 is dependent on what you want to do with it… we like to have the collective away from the passengers so that is why the left is preferred but it requires that you use the left hand on the cyclic a lot.

  2. The Mrs. C in that clip is clearly a decade or two younger than Mr. C. Is Santa working well into his golden years to support a previous Ms. Claus?

  3. The real XMas for us Trump inspired sexist confirmed bachelors is tomorrow, when all the chocolate goes on sale.

  5. From our host’s commentary on harvesting Christmas Trees with helicopters:

    The video shows an amazing level of skill from my point of view. The typical long-line operation proceeds extremely slowly. It is tricky because the helicopter hangs like a pendulum from the rotor system and then the load hangs as a second pendulum from the helicopter. So this pilot is perfectly judging how the second pendulum will swing.

    It is somewhat easier with a heavy load like a tree, I think, than with the typical civilian practice loads. But this is not something that a regular air tour, oil rig, or police helicopter pilot could do. (And I couldn’t do it!)

  7. @Jack D: it was a Welsh commercial, not British. Confusing the two in a Welsh pub might get you a fist to the mouth; confusing Welsh with English might get you a bottle smashed across your head.

  8. You said Argentina, but do you mean Australia? Argentina aircraft registrations normally begin with “LV-“.

  9. Chris: Good point. I did a quick Google search and somehow came up with R- corresponding to Argentina. Right now I can’t find any country with R-! Australia is supposedly VH-. Do we think the video is manipulated?

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