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Re: [RC] Another helicopter crash - Elizabeth ChaseTruman, Yep, you're absolutely right.... that's one reason I commented briefly on rotor blade length as a consideration. imho, any craft should be built to the most strident specs possible. And all pilots trained to the highest standards possible. Y'know, set the situation up for success as much as is possible. And, I hope I was clear that I was giving my opinion rather than stating fact. I love flying in helicopters; just very limited on the trust factor. I'll restrain myself from story-telling as there are no horses involved, lol.... I do want to comment on the pilots in Iraq, though. As with the ground troops, over half to two-thirds are not of Active Duty origin. Not to belittle their contributions and risks, but that going to skew any statistics. Many are military-trained, yes, but not the majority, and of those, imho, many were trained in reserve or national guard units by other reservists/guardists.... and, for me, an uncomfortable number only in civilian schools. Guess I've just run into statistically more than my fair share of the 'cowboy attitude'. Like I said, I'm prejudiced. I had the fortunate circumstance of flying with pilots who had medevac service in Vietnam. (Yeah, I'm old, too.) Man, there is almost nothing like flying along at speed with the landing gear rubbing the tree tops. I understand what you're saying about ambulances as well. Sometimes I think their biggest safety factor is the way I see many people respond... or not.... to them on the road. Appreciate your taking the time to give better specs and stats.... Liz -- who doesn't like being the object of concern in an ambulance, either.... MN --- Truman Prevatt <tprevatt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: You would not land a Huey in a small clearing in the woods - maybe a football field. The Black Hawk would work but I suspect it is quite expensive for the mission. A medical evacuation helicopter doesn't need to evade gun fire, take some gunfire and all the other things a military helicopter does. All helicopters present a risk in takeoff and handing. Even the V-22 Osprey (the Marine Corp new vertical take off transport aircraft) has stability issues if it has to take off or land completely vertical. If you look at Iraq we have lost many more helicopters per number of flights than fixed wing aircraft. They have to land these things in less than perfect weather on small roads to get people out. Many civilian helicopter pilots got their training in the military. ____________________________________________________________________________________ Want to start your own business? Learn how on Yahoo! Small Business. http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/r-index =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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