A video from the FlyingMAir YouTube channel.
Join me and Penny the Tiny Dog for a flight from our cherry season base in Malaga, WA to an orchard at Crescent Bar in Quincy, WA. I’ll fly you down the river and tell you a little about what we’re flying over and past while also telling you a little about helicopter operations.
Before you ask, the blue rag over my iPad keeps the sun off it so it doesn’t overheat. (I usually use a yellow rag, which works better because it’s a lighter color.) If you ask in the comments, I’ll tell you to read this description and then you’ll feel silly. Just saying.
Answering more questions:
– This is NOT a video game. If you think it is, it’s time to shut off your gaming platform and go outside. You might need sunglasses; it could be bright out during the day. Real life is cooler than video games if you work a little to make it that way.
– The helicopter is a Robinson R44 Raven II — the same one that appears in the photo at the beginning of the video. You can learn more about them here: https://robinsonheli.com/r44-specific… I own this helicopter. It is the third one I’ve owned since 2000.
– I have been flying for about 20 years. My nearly 4,000 hours of flight time is in R44, R22, Bell 206L (Long Ranger), and Bell 47 helicopters.
– The video was recorded with a pair of GoPro cameras, one of which is connected to the helicopter’s intercom system. Both cameras record audio, but I dialed down the helicopter sound to about 25% of normal volume so it wouldn’t be annoying. I wouldn’t mind leaving it out altogether, but lots of folks seem to want it, so there it is.
– The intro music is by Bob Levitus, famed Macintosh book author. By this point, he may have written more books than me. I should ask him.
– Penny the Tiny Dog weighs 7 pounds and flies with me quite often.
My helicopter has ADS-B Out and is picked up by radar facilities. You can see my track for recent flights on Flightradar24:
https://www.flightradar24.com/data/aircraft/n7534d
This is a great site for tracking any almost any flight, including the airlines.
I’m trying to drop flying videos like this one every Sunday morning and usually drop “extras” with more info about owning and operating a helicopter midweek. Subscribe so you don’t miss anything new! And tell your friends. The more subscribers I have, the more motivated I am to keep producing videos like this one.
Nice video Maria. Do you need to get advanced permission to land there? It was good to see the river from that height. I’m doing an animation of a river and that gave me a good view of how I should be modelling the surface of the water.
It’s always a good idea to get advance permission to land somewhere other than an airport whenever possible. In this case, the owner knew I was going down to look at the mower and I knew there was already a helicopter down there. I can’t recall whether I told him I planned to fly in, but I’m sure he’d have no problem with it.
The reflections on the river were amazing that day. I just rewatched the video with a friend and can’t believe how good it looked. I’m going to watch it on my ancient 1080p TV later.
Yes the reflections look great and are challenging to get right in models. Here is what I have done so far. I’m working on detail for closer shots of the water. https://www.learnwithmac.com/2019/06/10/modelling-in-blender/
Hey Maria, long time no see! It looks like you got a new helicopter. Do you still have the red one? Great video! You look great and so does Penny! Take care, Janie
Sadly, the red one is gone. But this one has air conditioning! Hope you’re doing well! We all still call the hill in front of your old house “Janie’s Hill.”