2008 Central Alabama Helicopter Fly-In

[PG 378]

Pics

[PG 378]

Almost done for tonight.

[PG 378]

One more round.

[PG 378]

I hope everyone is enjoying these.

[Laddy]

Thanks PG378 for all the photos. Looks fun.

[Skiddz]

Has anyone actually LANDED a helicopter yet??? That's a lot of carnage!

[ClayK]

That is how you land on the east coast. If you ain't crashing , you ain't flying.

[fsusmithc2]

Live blogging from B-Ham baby! Pulled in about 5:30pm today and I'm just now about to go to bed. Will probably fly tomorrow assuming I wake up in time. ;)

Rain started rolling in around 3am Saturday and I belive it has tapered off. Hopefully it'll stay away tomorrow (today...whatever).

Just some notes from the event so far... Finless is way more entertaining in person. I'll just leave it at that. Also, Debian Dog makes some pretty dang good ribs (try the Jack Daniels sauce, trust me). Had some fun playing Guitar Hero III. Saw H C, Clintstone, Bert K., Mike Fortin, Will James, Wayne Brown, Clay K., B & B, just to name a few.

Well I think it's time for me to get a few hours sleep so I can bring some serious smack tomorrow (smack talk mostly, not so much smack flying)! If you're not here, well then you're missing out. :thumbup:

[RPM 1.5]

GREAT PIC'S
Seems everybody there having Great time,dowm in FLA this weekend nice here
Ray

[trail-blazer]

So is there flying going on or what? :-)

[PG 378]

Neither Rain nor Wind nor Storm nor any Bad thing will keep some of these guys from their flightline time!!

[Jim T]

So uhhhh..................................are there any venders there selling parts?? :wow2::OK

Jim

[stg099]

Thanks for the Pics PG378!!!! It's nice to get some photos up for those of us who couldn't make it!! Definetely a lot of carnage, but hey, it'll keep those local hobby shops in business for a while, so everybody wins.

[Jim T]

I'm curious does anyone there have a feel for:

1). The ratio of nitro vs electric helis being flown?

2). The ratio of 2.4 gig vs 72 mhz radios being used?

Jim

[keith shaw]

I can't give you a true ratio, but I'd say near 50/50 fuel vs. electric. All sized electrics, but the Trex 500 definitely made a strong appearance. Per David Harkey, 2.4 was a CD;s blessing as the 72 Mhz pin board was virtually unused for the first two days. At the time of the drawing for doorprizes there were 174 registered pilots.

[ClayK]

I'm curious does anyone there have a feel for:

1). The ratio of nitro vs electric helis being flown?

2). The ratio of 2.4 gig vs 72 mhz radios being used?

Jim
More like 60/40 nitro to electric.

Only a couple people on 72mhz. That one is like 95/5.

[DavidH]

Nitro and electric. From looking in the pit areas. Nitro still dominated.
2.4 ghz vs other bands. About 10 2.4 to 1 72 mhz

We had 175 registered pilots. Weather man did great job letting us know what the weather was doing. Worked out fine. Little rain in the AM before everyone really got motivated . Then the sun was out and temps in the high 70's starting around noon each day. Sunday will be clear and temps in the low 70's .
Yes the storms rolled thru the field on early Saturday morning. There was some hail, but from all reports I got, the worse part of the storm rolled thru in less than 30 mins.

Sunday most of the pilots will have departed for home. But I think we will have about 30-40 stick around till late and fly most of the day.
It has been great meeting some of the forum members I had never met before. Also it was great seeing pilots from the far corners of North America and other parts of the world.

David

[PG 378]

Many more crashes. At one time there were 3 bad crashes in 2 minutes. This event was and is one of the best.

[PG 378]

Here we go with a few more.

[PG 378]

What a storm.

[heliMark]

crazy weekend so far, so many good pilots, tons of fun, I'll try to get some video up by monday. that ditch is something else, truely unique to this event.

[fsusmithc2]

Ah, that little storm was nuthin. It was all over by about noon and the sun was out in full force from then on. I have the sunburn to prove it!

Plenty more smackdown today and some serious carnage too. The ditch has been fed a number of times. Not by me of course... I haven't flown yet! I'm charging my batteries as I type this so I'll be ready to go tomorrow.

We had a local news chopper touch down and hang out for a few minutes today too so that was pretty cool (500E I belive).

[WayneBrown]

that was the 3AM storm, some of us highly inebriated tried to secure the canopies, but too few us and too many tents.. ;)
By 0300 many of the lightweights had called it a day and retired.

[keithstric]

DavidH, Thanks for a great time yesterday. It was my first trip to the 'HAM and I throughly enjoyed it and plan to attend next year.

[trail-blazer]

Just a few shots from the event. Great event.