Category Archives: Multimedia

I get out to the movies and watch TV once in a while.

Helicopter Flight: Up the Wenatchee River

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A cockpit POV video from the FlyingMAir YouTube Channel.

COME FLY WITH ME as I celebrate the launch of channel membership with a flight up the Wenatchee River to Leavenworth and beyond. You’ll see the Columbia and Wenatchee Rivers, Malaga, Wenatchee, East Wenatchee, Monitor, Cashmere, Dryden, Peshastin, Leavenworth, and Icicle Creek with a glimpse of a waterfall in the Icicle Gorge. I make a sharp turn you can’t do in an airplane before starting back.

About Me and the Helicopter

  • I have been flying for about 20 years. My nearly 4,000 hours of flight time is in Robinson R44, Robinson R22, and Bell 206L (Long Ranger) helicopters.
  • The 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 the Video

  • The video was recorded with a pair of GoPro Hero 7 cameras (https://amzn.to/2Lxyzwl), one of which is 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. For this video, I also had a GoPro Hero 3 mounted on my Jeep to record my departure from the ground. The audio from that was dialed down to 25%, too.
  • 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 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.

Any Amazon links on my channel are affiliate links (https://amzn.to/32PLHTD). If you click one of them and buy something, Amazon sends me a few pennies. Enough pennies make a dollar. Enough dollars buy new equipment. It doesn’t cost you anything so I hope you’ll shop with one of those links. Thanks.

If you’re not a subscriber, please subscribe and click to turn the notification bell on. Then share the videos you really like with your friends and family so they can enjoy them, too.

Still reading? Thanks! Maybe you’ll consider buying something from my Etsy store to help support this channel? Start here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/FlyingMAir

Or better yet, to support this channel on an ongoing basis, consider becoming a member. This link will get you started: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLGD_GbGsS6YKK_Ekx0QMqQ/join

Helicopter Flight: Central Washington Geology Tour, Part 2

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A cockpit POV 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 area between Mission Ridge in Wenatchee and Malaga, which is just down the river, with a focus on geology. Nick talks about the geology of the area and explains how the land under our local airport and my home were formed. I show him some landslides he’s never seen and give him a unique view of Saddle Rock. This is part 2 of a two-part series, cut short when one of the cameras died in flight.

Some videos referenced in this video:

Points of Interest Discussed:

About Me and the Helicopter

  • I have been flying for about 20 years. My nearly 4,000 hours of flight time is in Robinson R44, Robinson R22, and Bell 206L (Long Ranger) helicopters.
  • The 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 is 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 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.

Any Amazon links on my channel are affiliate links (https://amzn.to/32PLHTD). If you click one of them and buy something, Amazon sends me a few pennies. Enough pennies make a dollar. Enough dollars buy new equipment. It doesn’t cost you anything so I hope you’ll shop with one of those links. Thanks.

Still reading? Thanks! Maybe you’ll consider buying something from my Etsy store to help support this channel? Start here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/FlyingMAir

Or better yet, to support this channel on an ongoing basis, consider becoming a member. This link will get you started: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLGD_GbGsS6YKK_Ekx0QMqQ/join

Helicopter Flight: Central Washington Geology Tour, Part 1

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A cockpit POV 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 area between his home in Ellensburg, WA and the Mission Ridge area of Wenatchee with a focus on geology. We’re just getting to know each other in this video but there’s plenty of scenery and geology to talk about. Nick talks about the geology of Naneum Canyon, which we fly along the edge of, and some basalt formations he’s never seen. He also points out the Malaga Slide, which I knew absolutely nothing about. This is part 1 of a multi-part series; I’m trying to keep them short and sweet.

By the way, my reference early in the video to Nick being a “big boy” is due to the fact that he’s 6’6″ tall (!) and weighs over 250 pounds. He barely fits in the passenger seat; his head is up in the overhead window there! I really felt the heavier weight on his side of the helicopter when I picked it up into a hover and that made me laugh.

Some videos referenced in this video:

Points of Interest Discussed:

About Me and the Helicopter

  • I have been flying for about 20 years. My nearly 4,000 hours of flight time is in Robinson R44, Robinson R22, and Bell 206L (Long Ranger) helicopters.
  • The 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

About the Video

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 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.

Any Amazon links on my channel are affiliate links (https://amzn.to/32PLHTD). If you click one of them and buy something, Amazon sends me a few pennies. Enough pennies make a dollar. Enough dollars buy new equipment. It doesn’t cost you anything so I hope you’ll shop with one of those links. Thanks.

Still reading? Thanks! Maybe you’ll consider buying a t-shirt, hat, sticker, or other item from my Etsy store to help support this channel? Start here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/FlyingMAir

Or better yet, to support this channel on an ongoing basis, consider becoming a member. This link will get you started: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLGD_GbGsS6YKK_Ekx0QMqQ/join

Drones and Helicopters

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A short, engaging video from the UK CAA for drone pilots.

This morning, one of my Twitter pilot friends in the UK shared a one-minute video from the UK CAA that quickly and effectively told drone pilots to be look and listen for helicopters that might be flying at their altitude. Remember drone pilots are supposed to stay under 400 feet altitude (in both the UK and the US) and helicopters have no minimum altitude (at least not in the US). That means we share that space. Of course, if drones illegally (or with a waiver) fly higher, that’s even more space that we share.

I watched the video. It was excellent. A link in the tweet pointed to the “full version” and I clicked it. It’s only 3 minutes long and has the same basic message but includes some interesting B-roll footage of an EMS helicopter and operations. Something to keep watchers engaged while the message is shared. Here it is:

Again, I know this is a UK CAA production, but it applies in the US, too. And likely many other countries that have drone/UAV regulations.

When I retweeted this with a mention the FAA’s Twitter account, the FAA — to my surprise — immediately responded to a link to their YouTube playlist:

I took a look. What I found didn’t surprise me at all. It was the same dull FAA content I’ve been looking at for the past 20 years. Short slideshows that look like they were produced with PowerPoint 95, narrated with a boring authoritative voice. Screen captures of 30+ minute long webinars featuring a tiny talking head and the same dull slide shows. This is the FAA’s idea of continuing education: producing content that no one wants to watch.

See for yourself. Watch the video I embedded above. Then try to watch a few that the FAA linked to. Do you see the difference? I do.

When I critiqued the FAA on Twitter, they responded with this:

I looked at a few of these videos. Some of them are indeed better. One or two are actually pretty good.

Of course, leave it to the FAA to try to enlist me as a volunteer to help them. They have a lot of nerve. Their often absurd rules cost me money that lines the pockets of other businesses without increasing safety. The requirement for VFR-only aircraft to spend $10K to $20K to install a completely useless radar altimeter is one example. The requirement to have a mechanic remove and reinstall my doors when I need them off is another. But now I’m getting way off topic. And angry.

My point is, the UK CAA put together a short, interesting, and informative video (embedded above). We need more of that and we need the FAA — with or without industry partners — to step up to the plate and provide it.

Helicopter Flight: A Friend’s House in Wenatchee WA to Base

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A cockpit POV video from the FlyingMAir YouTube channel.

COME FLY WITH ME from my landing zone on a friend’s driveway back to my summer base near my home. The flight includes a pinnacle departure, the overflight of a cherry drying base with two Hueys — including the one I flew two weeks later and shared here — and my usual flyby of my home before the sharp descending turn to my base. This video is short and, at the end, it explains a little why I don’t think it’s so weird to run errands in a helicopter.

This is the third of three videos I shot and shared that day; I’ll hope you’ll check out the other ones:
Helicopter Flight: Malaga to Ellensburg WA https://youtu.be/HaPHzKBa8bc
Helicopter Flight: Ellensburg WA to a Friend’s House https://youtu.be/ktoUs_mIrRo

About Me and the Helicopter

  • I have been flying for about 20 years. My nearly 4,000 hours of flight time is in Robinson R44, Robinson R22, and Bell 206L (Long Ranger) helicopters.
  • The 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 the Video

  • The video was recorded with a pair of GoPro cameras, one of which is connected to the helicopter’s intercom system. (You can learn more about the video setup in this video here: https://youtu.be/0sLhvk2nIFI) Both cameras record audio, but I dialed down the helicopter sound to about 25% of normal volume so it wouldn’t be annoying. Unfortunately, because the air conditioning was on during this flight and it blows towards the camera, the sound of the air conditioning is quite noticeable in this video. (Sorry about that.)
  • 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 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.

Any Amazon links on my channel are affiliate links. If you click one of them and buy something, Amazon sends me a few pennies. Enough pennies make a dollar. Enough dollars buy new equipment. It doesn’t cost you anything so I hope you’ll shop with one of those links. Thanks.

Still reading? Thanks! Maybe you’ll consider buying something from my Etsy store to help support this channel? Start here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/FlyingMAir

Or better yet, to support this channel on an ongoing basis, consider becoming a member. This link will get you started: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLGD_GbGsS6YKK_Ekx0QMqQ/join