Huge safety violation at IRCHA

[dpinvidic]

Heli Pilot magazine had this picture on page 27 of the Dec/Jan 2014 issue.
And this was several pages after the Safety article that they are starting to include
in each issue because of the loss of Roman (RIP).
I am looking at this picture and I can't see how this is not a huge risk. I don't think it is a result of how the picture was taken. There is zero margin here for any kind of mech. or human error.
They should not be talking about safety, and then posting a picture like this...it will make everyone think this kind of thing is OK.
https://www.helifreak.com/attachment...1&d=1382914941

[venton]

Powerful telephoto lenses compress distance massively, so one hopes that's what we are seeing.

[Altec]

Dude, I have the same granite

Any-rate what venton said, cameras will do that, check out IRCHA's website, there quite a few like that

[desertstalker]

Originally Posted by venton

Powerful telephoto lenses compress distance massively, so one hopes that's what we are seeing.

Exactly. Even a modest telephoto lens (those found in many compact cameras these days go up to ~200mm 35mm equivalent) will produce significant visual compression.

You cannot judge relative distance from a photograph without knowing focal length, image sensor size and the lens focal distance (which most cameras wont tell you). With that data you can calculate relative distances if you know the size of the objects, otherwise you need stereoscopic vision.

[Crash_Expert]

i saw a video of Nick doing a 50+ mph funnel lees than 5 feet in front of him and a few other people standing RIGHT next to him....
to the point where some even jumped back

how is that safe?

[Crowbar]

In the picture it also looks like the heli isn't moving at all and the blades are barely moving at all!

Optical compression screws up the sense of scale. On movies and TV shows, the camera is usually much farther away from the subject than you'd expect. Makes it look more dramatic and you don't have to build as big a background to fill the frame. It does make people look chubbier though which is why actresses often look quite normal in movies but they're shockingly skinny when you see them in person.

Whenever I stand next to (or spot) for a pilot, I'm usually one or two steps further back so that when he messes up doing smack tricks in front of him, I can take cover behind him. It's very selfish of me but I just don't feel good when I can feel the main and tail rotor wash in my face. Some people like to fly a bit behind the flight line in which case I get the hell out asap.

[cjpainten]

Damn guys enough with all this safety talk already... if you want to fly a certain way and this kind of stuff bothers you so much then don't look at it. Nick is imo one of the most in control pilots out there and his flying style (what you call dangerous) is partially what got him to where he is.. if you don't agree with it don't fly that way. Nobody tells rally car drivers not to drive so fast or onlookers not to stand so close... its an assumed risk involved with the sport as is the possibility of getting hit by your Heli... everyone can make their own decisions about what to do in their life and deal with the consequences of their actions...

[dpinvidic]

Originally Posted by desertstalker

Exactly. Even a modest telephoto lens (those found in many compact cameras these days go up to ~200mm 35mm equivalent) will produce significant visual compression.
.

I was expecting the lens to affect both objects the same. I did not think it would distort the distance between two objects in the same picture...but I am not a photographer. Thanks for the explanation.

Dan

[xch3no2]

Originally Posted by cjpainten

Damn guys enough with all this safety talk already....

This attitude, and the inevitable accident will be what lead to greater outside regulation.
The worst, when an irresponsible operator injures others, and not just themselves.

I automatically assume the lens created an illusion.

[Cailid]

Originally Posted by cjpainten

Damn guys enough with all this safety talk already... if you want to fly a certain way and this kind of stuff bothers you so much then don't look at it. Nick is imo one of the most in control pilots out there and his flying style (what you call dangerous) is partially what got him to where he is.. if you don't agree with it don't fly that way. Nobody tells rally car drivers not to drive so fast or onlookers not to stand so close... its an assumed risk involved with the sport as is the possibility of getting hit by your Heli... everyone can make their own decisions about what to do in their life and deal with the consequences of their actions...

No one is in control with a mechanical failure.

[Diviner]

Originally Posted by Altec

Dude, I have the same granite

Me too , the count is now at 3 for the rose granite.

[cajkat1073]

Originally Posted by Cailid

No one is in control with a mechanical failure.

At IRCHA MANY pilots stand just behind the flight line and fly within a foot of the stripe. 1 small failure of even a servo would be devastating. I know we all feel in control of our machines but what's the harm in flying 15 feet out.

[Mercuriell]

Certainly nowhere near as close as it appears. Expect changes in the future though at major events to enhance safety.

[Crash_Expert]

Originally Posted by Cailid

No one is in control with a mechanical failure.

You said it for me....
We can never control mechanical failures no matter how good of a pilot we are


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[cajkat1073]

Originally Posted by Mercuriell

Certainly nowhere near as close as it appears. Expect changes in the future though at major events to enhance safety.

Can't speak for that pick as I didn't see that flight but I watched many within 3 feet. CHC is putting up fences and nets.

[Blade120]

Originally Posted by cjpainten

Damn guys enough with all this safety talk already... if you want to fly a certain way and this kind of stuff bothers you so much then don't look at it. Nick is imo one of the most in control pilots out there and his flying style (what you call dangerous) is partially what got him to where he is.. if you don't agree with it don't fly that way. Nobody tells rally car drivers not to drive so fast or onlookers not to stand so close... its an assumed risk involved with the sport as is the possibility of getting hit by your Heli... everyone can make their own decisions about what to do in their life and deal with the consequences of their actions...

+1

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk 2

[Bob O]

+2

And enough with the exaggeration of distance....flying within 4 feet, within 3 feet. Clearly a grossly inaccurate estimate of distance.

Sent from my phone

[cajkat1073]

Ok if you say so. You know as well as I do we have all tried to get that wow factor for people watching at some point in our life.Not proud of it but I myself have almost touched myself with the skids. Much more careful now. fly how you all want but more accidents will cause more and more regulations in this hobby. I have no doubt a good pilot has full control and have stood right off many of their shoulders while they did it. I'm just saying we should all take a look at how close we fly. Sad that it took the 1 in a million to make people think about it.

[kencol]

Well its been going on for a long-long time!

[jolyboy]

Whether or not a telephoto lens was used is missing the point. The picture give the impression of close proximity flying and hence sends the message that it is ok. It does not matter if the guy was 50ft from the heli IRL, it's the message they are sending that is concerning.