"joe" wrote in message
...
Maybe this was the video of the guy who didn't wait for his instructor and
tried it on his own? Did it end in a pile of parts?

Joe


I don't know if that's the video he's refering to but I can confirm that in
the vid you're refering to, the helicopter did indeed wind up in a pile of
parts. You look at the wreckage at the end of the clip and you wonder how
in the world that guy walked away from. The video is about 1:20 (min:sec)
long. The "flight" (ie the part where the helicopter is actually off the
ground) only lasts about 30 seconds. It's amazing how many gyrations that
bird went though before he touched the tail rotor to the ground. Shortly
after that, the camera man was ducking behind another aircraft that was tied
on the ramp so you don't get to see much until after all the parts are
finished being scattered about. It's definitely impressive and was
absolutely stupid on the part of the student pilot.

It's one of the best examples of an old saying that goes something along the
lines of, "Aviation, in and of itself, is not inherently dangerous.
However, like the sea, it is extremely unforgiving of the ignorant or
careless."

Fly Safe,
Steve R.

PS: I also remember reading somewhere that the student pilot in this case
was the owner of the aircraft involved? Can anyone confirm whether or not
this is true? If it is, that's one good bit of news. I'd hate to think he
did that to someone elses helicopter!