A video from the FlyingMAir YouTube channel.

COME FLY WITH ME as I take Central Washington University geology professor and star of “Nick on the Rocks” Nick Zentner on a helicopter tour of the Columbia River Valley downriver from Wenatchee, WA. This is the third part of our second flight together and we start not far from the mouth of Potholes Coulee and Quincy Lakes and head south almost as far as Vantage. Near the end, we search for — and eventually find — a standing petrified wood log. The nosecam footage is amazing and Nick points out many geological features along the way. This is part 5 of a multi-part series.

Note: In Parts, 3, 4, 5 and beyond of this video, you’ll hear Nick and I talking about unreliable video cameras. That’s because of the camera failure I had on my first flight with Nick, which you can see for yourself in Part 2.

Places mentioned in this video:

• Babcock Bench https://washington.hometownlocator.com/maps/feature-map,ftc,1,fid,1503090,n,babcock%20bench.cfm
• Potholes Coulee
• The Gorge Amphitheater
• Cave B Inn and Winery
• Frenchman’s Coulee
• Petrified Forest

About Me and the Helicopter

• I have been flying since 1998. My nearly 4,000 hours of flight time (as of 2019) is in Robinson R44, Robinson R22, and Bell 206L (Long Ranger) helicopters.
• My helicopter is a 2005 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-specifications/ I own this helicopter. It is the third helicopter I’ve owned since 2000.
• 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.

About Nick Zentner

• Nick has an MS in Geology and has been teaching at Central Washington University since 1992.
• In 2015, Nick received the prestigious James Shea Award, a national award recognizing exceptional delivery of Earth Science to the general public.
• You can learn more about Nick on his website: http://www.nickzentner.com/
• You can watch Nick on the Rocks episodes here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL18y1vgsGPLbl3wrSZwUyvkAiUJHZTS5Y

About the Video

• The video was recorded with a pair of GoPro Hero 7 cameras (https://amzn.to/2Lxyzwl), one of which was connected to the helicopter’s intercom system with an NFlightCam audio cable (https://amzn.to/31syLTm). Both cameras record audio, but I dialed down the helicopter sound to about 25% of normal volume so it wouldn’t be annoying.
• The video was edited on a Macintosh using Screenflow software. Learn more about it here: https://www.telestream.net/screenflow/overview.htm
• The intro music is by Bob Levitus, famed “Dr. Mac.” You can find him here: http://www.boblevitus.com/

I try to drop cockpit POV videos every Sunday morning and “extras” with more info about owning and operating a helicopter midweek. (Some channel members and patrons get early access to some of these videos.) I also host occasional livestreams with Q&A chats. 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.

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Flying a helicopter is expensive and I’m not rich. Want to support the FlyingMAir channel and help me keep producing videos like this one? Here are four suggestions:

• Become a FlyingMAir Patreon Patron: http://www.patreon.com/FlyingMAir
• Become a YouTube Channel member: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLGD_GbGsS6YKK_Ekx0QMqQ/join
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• Tell your friends about the FlyingMAir channel and encourage them to subscribe.