I’m 38 years old, which is seven years more than the average life expectancy for wealthy English males in the late 13th century. And like those young dead men I have never been in a helicopter.
Juliet and I had lunch at the Milawa Cheese Factory again today, and on arrival we saw the ABC helicopter parked on the lawn.
It took off just before we left, which was quite a treat for James and Margaret.
I’ve never been close to a helicopter before, so it was an interesting experience. The noise was terrible and the wind from the propellers stronger than I expected.
I imagine that in a military situation the whole effect would be rather intimidating.
There were a couple of helicopters at a local fair a few years back. One was a military helicopter, though I don’t remember what kind.
As I was trying to track down the rest of the family, to leave, the military chopper started gearing up. I looked around frantically for my boys — knowing they’d want to see it — and finally decided they were probably already close to the helicopter.
They weren’t. But I stayed to watch it lift off and it buzzed over us a couple of times. As I turned to go back to the van my wife and kids were coming toward me. When the wife saw me she said, “As soon as I heard this thing start up I knew right where to find you.”
It was really really cool. At least, as you pointed out, in a non-military situation.
helicopters are HUGE fun to fly in. Once, a friend of mine was hovering about 10m above the ground while I was winched on board. Because I had to look up at the aircraft, I didn’t notice that he was having fun with me by slowly climbing as he winched. When I got on board and saw how high we were I nearly passed out!