Over the volcano

[SurfCity]

Okay, guys, nothing worse than viewing someone else's vacation pix, but mine involve a helicopter, so hey, you might be interested. I spent last week on the Big Island of Hawaii -- or Hawai‘i, as they spell it -- not flying my Gaui but riding in an ASTAR 350 B2-7 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurocopter_Ecureuil) heli over the volcanoes. How cool that was! Leigh, our 35-year-old pilot, has put 20 years flying under her belt; her pilot dad got her started at age 15, and she came to Hawaii after flying helis in Alaska. She took us up in her glass elevator to show us lava hitting the sea. She was great. The ride was turbine smooth. It was a thrilling hour, the highlight of an altogether great trip, which for Hawaii is saying something. A few pix:

A. Leigh's heli just off the tarmac.
B. 1,000 feet above Hilo just after takeoff. Her hand was on the cyclic the whole trip, and I never saw it move, even in 45-degree banking.
C. South of Hilo at about 2,500 feet.
E. Lava hitting the sea. The lava is currently flowing in a tube maybe 10 feet underground. Because of the heat I expected turbulence, but there was none. You can see the orange-hot glow of lava in the center of the photo.
F. 45° banking over the volcano. The lava creates a moonscape. This is the youngest land on earth, literally. The Big Island itself is about four million years old, one one-thousandth the age of the Earth.

[Jetleaf]

She didn't let you take the stick?? I'm sure if you told her you had mastered the Gaui 200 she would have tossed you the keys.:rollingNice pix, looks like it was blast.:D

[rotorhead58d]

surf, did you slip her my phone number like i asked you to?:thumbdown:

[Gr4yb3ard]

Sad, so sad, once a heli-freak, always a heli-freak.
But hey dude, you got good taste in both heavy metal as well as pilots!

Gr4yb3ard
"...*&)@$ Tahiti lads, set sail for the Hawaiians!!!..."

[SurfCity]

Sad, so sad, once a heli-freak, always a heli-freak.

My wife's the REAL heli freak; she's wanted to buy one -- I mean the kind you ride in -- ever since that flight we took across the Grand Canyon. I've been trying to explain to her about the, um, small impediment of the million or so dollars it would take.

All in fun, of course.

And hey, who knows.

Surf

[Gr4yb3ard]

Well, Surf...

For the price of a <nicely constructed, elegantly landscaped> swimming pool, there are a couple to consider. Look up the Rotorway Exec., Robinson R-22, and also the "Scorpion", can't remember the kitmaker, but they're still around on ebay (been a while, pardon if these names have changed). Right up your alley as far as building and very nice performance.

((Seriously, good birds, but lots and lots of other trash and gimmicks in this venue as well, so all kidding aside, were one to get serious, a goodly bit of money, and be careful.

Small and/or homebuild helicopters are a handful on maintenance, and training should be extensive. Bearing/blade replacements at 300hr are not uncommon. Engine tbo's can be similar depending on type. But there are are some that are attainable, and can be weekend flyers at about the same per hour as a 4 seat single, minus the tbo thing.

Don't even think about landing in the backyard though, we have a friendly, local govt. agency that took care of that years ago...))

For Lord's sake lad, don't be a hypocrite! She let's you fly what you like!, so undulge her a bit!

Gr4yb3ard
"...just a modest suggestion...;-)..."

[choppersuey]

Darn I missed Yah , Glad you had a good time.

Speaking of Heli's and Volcanoes , Here is my Friends Gaui , checking out the Volcano.

[terrybeb]

My wife's the REAL heli freak; she's wanted to buy one -- I mean the kind you ride in -- ever since that flight we took across the Grand Canyon. I've been trying to explain to her about the, um, small impediment of the million or so dollars it would take.

All in fun, of course.

And hey, who knows.

Surf

try this on for size then if she wants one.


http://www.innovator.mosquito.net.nz/mbbs2/index.asp

[SurfCity]

Speaking of Heli's and Volcanoes , Here is my Friends Gaui , checking out the Volcano.

Kilauea! We were right there!

[R0t0R]

Scorpion was the predecessor to the Rotorway Exec kit helicopter, designed by BJ Schramn. (sp?) The new Rotorway A600 Talon is a seriously nice kit heli. BJ also designed a single place turbine heli, the Helicycle. www.Helicycle.com (http://www.Helicycle.com)

One day will build a full sized plane, but for now these helis are a blast!

[SurfCity]

BJ also designed a single place turbine heli, the Helicycle. www.Helicycle.com (http://www.Helicycle.com)

I'd need more than one seat, but wow! How cool is that!

[R0t0R]

Of the 2 seat homebuilt helis, the new Rotorway Talon is probably the best one out. Gr4yb3ard is 100% correct about maintenance costs and high quality training being of the highest importance. (Rotorway has it's own training program at the factory in Chandler, AZ)

Lots of random bits of info in my rattle can of a head. Enjoying learning about model helis from you guys that really know about them! There is some great info and help here on HF and really appreciate the help you guys give a newbie like me. :noteworthy

[choppersuey]

Yes that is Kilauea (Hale Mau' Mai' carter) in background, image from the look out tower . Was to windy that day to put the Gaui outside, would be kind of hard to retrieve if it blew into the crater ;)

[SurfCity]

Was to windy that day to put the Gaui outside, would be kind of hard to retrieve if it blew into the crater ;)

He said, not overstating it.

Good one! :rolling