Mikado heli used in hurricane Katrina relief (Video)

[MicroMan]

I was pretty psyched when they mentioned it was a Mikado heli. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifKyI2-_U_8

[onesubdrvr]

Thanks a bunch for that, really enjoyed it, and being close to USF, maybe I can get a job on the R&D team?!! :wink:

Wayne

[dm-digital]

Hey Loopzilla, were you the pilot in the video? I noticed the like90 sticker on the hard hat.

[OICU812]

Yea that is pretty neat. :wink:

[loopzilla]

Hey, I got several phone calls yesterday about that video. I don't even know where it was aired, but somewhere in Canada on Discovery I believe. Our little Snitch (T-Rex 450) was even in there, from a completely different deployment in Pearlington and Waveland, MS. Media was everywhere they could get in, so you never knew who was filming, or why.

That whole time was actually not very fun at all. I really never want to do it again. You see too much, you never sleep (except behind a steering wheel), no hot food, etc. Not to mention you loose the rest of your life while there. I'm just glad they didn't show too much of 1550 Beach, it was one of the worst. Our first mission there, a guy came up asking us when we could get his wife's body out of there. That was in December, and landfall was 2 months prior...

[MicroMan]

Wow doesent sound like a good time at all loopzilla.

[dm-digital]

That segment was from Daily Planet on Discovery Channel Canada. The entire episode was dedicated to helicopters.

[Adam Turner]

Woah, cool video.
But Why use a logo, those things are balistic 3D flyers, never thought they would convert 1 to a camera ship. lol
wonder how hard it is to pilot using the eye screen thing.
Oh and i really liked that space age back pack.

[loopzilla]

Hi Adam,

The Logo 14 is perfect for AP, because the design opens up a lot of room for payload. If you look closely, the motor is high and close to the main shaft, leaving the front open. The main gear stack doesn't need bottom support, leaving more room open. The rotor head is simple, durable, and can be set up for extremely stable flight. Then, combine the low weight of all the major components, together with high power available today, and you get a high lift machine. This version will lift 7 pounds of payload for 8-10 minutes. Lower your payload to 2-3 pounds, and increase your duration to over 30 minutes.

Flying through the lens is tough, and takes a lot of practice. You need a really good co-pilot on the gimbal to help direct the heli. That said, we don't do it often at all. The major use of the pilot camera is not to provide the ability to fly, but rather to gain another perspective of how stable the platform is performing. Consider it an 'artificial horizon'. Now, add critical data overlay (pack voltages, altitude, RPM, climb rate, etc. and you have a great tool without much distraction.

The backpack is hard shell, and lets us mount items permanently inside. We went to backpacks instead of ground stations, due to the need to move around the building quickly and because of all the debris. You don't want to set your laptop down in a few inches of mud...