"JD" wrote in message
news:Fjv_b.109833$jk2.486102@attbi_s53...
Musings of a helo driver...

Flying a helicopter at any altitude over 500 feet is considered
reckless and should be avoided. Flying a helicopter at any altitude or
condition that precludes a landing in less than 20 seconds is considered
outright foolhardy.

My brother reached the opposite conclusion. He was putzing along one day in
a Schweizer 300C at low altitude over the tree covered landscape of central
New York when he had an epiphany-- "I am flying along at low altitude in a
recip engine helo, and if I have an engine failure I lack enough altitude to
give me any options as to where I can set it down; I am too old to have to
try and dump one into the trees and try to walk away from it." Up he went.
Former Vietnam Dustoff pilot, served as the maintenance test pilot for his
unit overseas, also qualified in fixed wing with multi-engine and instructor
ratings, even had his glider license. Did a fair amount of test pilot duty
for his employer on new aircraft. He had already experienced his share of
bad-things-that-can-happen-in-the-air, including being shot down once and
having another pilot he was checking out on a 300C blow an autorotation and
lay it on its side.

Brooks

snip other interesting stuff