Helicopter Buzzes Wal-Mart

wrote

I got a photograph of it when it was about 50
to 70 feet in the air. It quickly flew up past me and over the top of
the building.

I realize that helicopters have a lot of flight freedom, but it is
still shocking to see one flying directly towards oneself like this.

I think your altitude estimation skills need a bit of practice. It looks to
me like the chopper is at least 200 feet up. Anyone else have an opinion?
--
Jim in NC

"I think your altitude estimation skills need a bit of practice. "

Could be. My vision is distorted, and I only had a few seconds to grab
this shot.

"It looks to me like the chopper is at least 200 feet up."

I believe the helicopter was within 100 feet of me when I took the
photo. It looks small, so you might think it is farther away.

In article .com,
wrote:

"I think your altitude estimation skills need a bit of practice. "

Could be. My vision is distorted, and I only had a few seconds to grab
this shot.

"It looks to me like the chopper is at least 200 feet up."

I believe the helicopter was within 100 feet of me when I took the
photo. It looks small, so you might think it is farther away.

The apparent width of the helicopter, which looks like a Hughes
500, seems to be at most 1/8 that of the back of the SUV, which
should be roughly the same size (allowing for measuring
imprecision). That means it's at least 8 times further
away. Presumably you could measure the distance from where
you were standing to the third parking space. At the stores
I've been at, that would be on the order of 100 feet. That
would put the helicopter at around 800 feet away. It would
be a simple matter to determine the altitude by measuring the
height of the apparent position on the light pole and
multiplying by the appropriate factor (since for government
work the pole and the SUV are the same distance from the
camera). It looks like maybe 30 feet, which would give an
altitude of 250 feet.

Of course, if it was one of those Dangerchopper things that
only hold a single pilot for a brief shining moment until
they wind up in a field, it would be probably four
times closer and lower. That might be well under a hundred
feet up (remember that I tried to estimate the *minimum*
altitude and distance).

In either case, his estimation skills seem like they might at
least plausibly be good. It would be interesting to carry
out more precise measurements, but what would be the point?
Maybe the pilot is on the group and can tell us how high
he was.

As for Walmort, the camera thing seems like a good reason
not to shop there. They're probably worried about competitors
checking their prices (they'll throw you out if you're writing
down prices too, I bet) and as a dinosaurian company they're
too slow and stupid to realize that ten percent of their
customers have cameras in their cell phones.

Mike Beede

The apparent width of the helicopter, which looks like a Hughes
500, seems to be at most 1/8 that of the back of the SUV, which
should be roughly the same size (allowing for measuring
imprecision). That means it's at least 8 times further
away. Presumably you could measure the distance from where
you were standing to the third parking space. At the stores
I've been at, that would be on the order of 100 feet. That
would put the helicopter at around 800 feet away.

I have several advantages over you in these estimates. I already
mentioned one, that I was actually there, and I have first-hand
knowledge of the store, parking lot and event. But, I also have a
larger photo on my home computer. The original photo is 2048 x 1536
pixels. I resized it to 800 x 600 for the Web.

There is no way the helicopter is 800 feet distant in the photo. It had
already crossed more than half of the parking lot by the time I took
the photo, and you should be able to see that the parking lot is not
800 feet wide. You might notice the corner of a gas station canopy in
the lower left-hand corner. That is Wal-Mart/Sam's gas station, at the
far end of the parking lot. I would say the gas station is about 300
feet away.

I believe the helicopter is a little closer to the store than is the
white pickup truck that appears directly below it in the photo.

As for Walmort, the camera thing seems like a good reason
not to shop there.

Unfortunately, most of the grocery stores in this area close early.
Wal-Mart is the only 24-hour grocery store within several miles, as far
as I know. I usually work evenings, so the only store open when I get
off work is Wal-Mart.

LOL, I bet they are confused why I visit their store at all hours of
the day and night!

Mike Beede wrote:
The apparent width of the helicopter, which looks like a Hughes
500, seems to be at most 1/8 that of the back of the SUV, which
should be roughly the same size (allowing for measuring
imprecision).

Take a closer look. It's either a Hughes 269 or 300. They are about the
only thing outside an R44 or a Brantley that use a 3 blade rotor
system. The forward section of the cabin and the skid are definately
Hughes. The 269/300 has a cabin width of only about 4 feet.
Craig C.

wrote in message

I believe the helicopter was within 100 feet of me when I took the
photo. It looks small, so you might think it is farther away.

As a former armature photographer (used to have my own darkroom and all) I
offer the following: The stock lens on that Cheap Olympus camera doesn't
distort perspective unless you are using the zoom function. The chopper is
roughly the same apparent size as the red truck seen waaaaay at the end of
the parking lot - approximately 500 to 700 feet away horizontally. My
trained eye places the chopper between 100 to 200 feet closer to you than
the red truck - 400 to 600 feet away. It's vertical height, then, is
approximately 300 to 400 feet.

If the chopper were in a rapid ascent as you claim, it was many hundreds of
feet above Wal-Mart as it flew over.

Therefore, I am sorry to say that you are simply nutso and possibly
delusional.

--
Jim Fisher

"Jim Fisher" wrote in message
.. .
wrote in message

Therefore, I am sorry to say that you are simply nutso and possibly
delusional.

Too late, Jim. I think the troll became discouraged at the extraordinary
lack of sympathy for his sensitive feelings here and has gone away.

"C J Campbell" wrote in message
...

"Jim Fisher" wrote in message
.. .
wrote in message

Therefore, I am sorry to say that you are simply nutso and possibly
delusional.

Too late, Jim. I think the troll became discouraged at the extraordinary
lack of sympathy for his sensitive feelings here and has gone away.

I wonder if he EVER has seen a helicopter close up...like on a ramp or a LZ
or something, rather than just flying overhead.
--
Matt
---------------------
Matthew W. Barrow
Site-Fill Homes, LLC.
Montrose, CO

"Morgans" wrote in message
...

wrote

I got a photograph of it when it was about 50
to 70 feet in the air. It quickly flew up past me and over the top of
the building.

I realize that helicopters have a lot of flight freedom, but it is
still shocking to see one flying directly towards oneself like this.

I think your altitude estimation skills need a bit of practice. It looks
to
me like the chopper is at least 200 feet up. Anyone else have an opinion?

The rotors are typically 30 feet in diameter, so my guess is about 500-600
feet.

"Morgans" wrote in message Anyone else have an opinion?

Yeah, I have an opinion. F**K WalMart! Don't shop there. Support your local
merchants, not China.

D. (you asked :-) )