BBC NEWS | Middle East | Fifteen die as US helicopter downed

Grok Headline matches for BBC NEWS | Middle East | Fifteen die as US helicopter downed

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Mid-East press
appalled by siege

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Mid-East press
appalled by siege 09/05/2004 05:08 PM
an interesting round-up .. permeate .. page

news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3628836.stm
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US helicopter downed over Najaf

US helicopter downed over Najaf 08/05/2004 06:52 AM
A US helicopter is shot down in the Iraqi holy city of Najaf during fighting between US troops and militia.

Thirteen die as US helicopter downed

Thirteen die as US helicopter downed 11/02/2003 08:43 AM
US helicopter shot down in Iraq

news.bbc.co.uk/go/click/rss/0.91/public/-/1/hi/world/middle_eas t/3234543.stm
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U.S. Helicopter Downed in Iraq; Bomb
Kills at Least 5

U.S. Helicopter Downed in Iraq; Bomb
Kills at Least 5 08/05/2004 08:53 AM
The copter was downed as fierce clashes erupted early today with insurgents loyal to the radical Muslim cleric Moktada al-Sadr.

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Iraq war
illegal, says Annan

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Iraq war
illegal, says Annan 09/17/2004 08:30 AM
BBC NEWS Middle East Iraq war illegal, says Annan

news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3661134.stm
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BBC NEWS | World | Middle East | War on
Iraq begins

BBC NEWS | World | Middle East | War on
Iraq begins 03/21/2003 10:19 AM
’World waits as Iraq deadline expires’ .. THE SECOND GULF WAR HAS BEGUN .. BBC NEWS World Middle East .. War on Iraq begins

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BBC NEWS | Middle East | Video 'shows US
man beheaded'

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Video 'shows US
man beheaded' 05/12/2004 01:30 AM
ruthlessly beheaded .. Early reports .. Oh

news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3705409.stm
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BBC NEWS | Middle East | US general
suspended over abuse

BBC NEWS | Middle East | US general
suspended over abuse 04/30/2004 04:57 AM
US general suspended over abuse .. The more things change .. BBC News .. more

news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3669331.stm
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BBC NEWS | Middle East | US hands over
sovereignty in Iraq

BBC NEWS | Middle East | US hands over
sovereignty in Iraq 06/28/2004 08:30 AM
BBC News: Iraqi handover 'brought forward' .. return .. bbc

news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3845517.stm
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BBC NEWS | Middle East | 'Al-Qaeda'
threat to US airlines

BBC NEWS | Middle East | 'Al-Qaeda'
threat to US airlines 06/09/2004 10:54 AM

U.S. Denies Report Helicopter Downed in
Iraq (Reuters)

U.S. Denies Report Helicopter Downed in
Iraq (Reuters) 07/21/2004 01:18 PM
Reuters - The U.S. military said on Wednesday a report from Iraqi police that an American helicopter was shot down near the city of Ramadi was false.

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Iranian
earthquake 'kills 20,000'

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Iranian
earthquake 'kills 20,000' 12/27/2003 09:04 AM

BBC NEWS | World | Middle East | US
missiles target Saddam

BBC NEWS | World | Middle East | US
missiles target Saddam 03/20/2003 05:24 PM
precision bombs and more than 40 cruise missiles .. US missiles target Saddam .. war with Iraq has begun .. it's started .. now at war .. launched .. BBC

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BBC NEWS | Middle East | Hamas chief
killed in air strike

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Hamas chief
killed in air strike 04/18/2004 05:49 AM
killed by the Israeli Defence Forces .. Head of Hamas killed .. killed

news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3635755.stm
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BBC NEWS | Middle East | Iran rejects UN
nuclear demands

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Iran rejects UN
nuclear demands 09/20/2004 10:10 AM
"He said European countries were wrong in thinking Iran was only one step away from full enrichment; Iran was already at that point and could complete the nuclear fuel cycle "today" if it wanted." .. Slightly resequenced, from BBC: .. what we get

news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3670018.stm
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BBC NEWS | Middle East | Saudi commandos
rescue hostages

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Saudi commandos
rescue hostages 05/31/2004 01:02 AM
"The nine had their throats cut by the kidnappers when they tried to escape at night by the stairs," .. Saudi commandos stormed the luxury compound .. the real world .. From the Beeb

news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3761263.stm
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BBC NEWS | Middle East | Iraq woman
prisoner 'to be freed'

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Iraq woman
prisoner 'to be freed' 09/22/2004 10:11 AM
Iraq woman 'to be freed' as US hostages reportedly killed .. Iraqi female scientist Dr. Germ set free .. Iraqi government blinks

news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3678794.stm
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BBC NEWS | Middle East | Iran earthquake
kills thousands

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Iran earthquake
kills thousands 12/26/2003 05:31 PM
a magnitude 6.6 earthquake struck the Iranian city of Bam, killing at least 15,000 .. Iran earthquake kills thousands .. the earthquake in Iran today .. DEADLY QUAKE ROCKS IRAN .. BBC

news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3348613.stm
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BBC NEWS | Middle East | Iran earthquake
'kills thousands'

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Iran earthquake
'kills thousands' 12/26/2003 02:57 PM

Your pictures Send BBC News Online your
images of the Middle East

Your pictures Send BBC News Online your
images of the Middle East 07/10/2004 06:50 AM
News.bbc.co.uk - Sat Jul 10, 02:25 am GMT

BBC NEWS | Middle East | 'Chemical
weapons' found in Iraq

BBC NEWS | Middle East | 'Chemical
weapons' found in Iraq 01/10/2004 09:02 PM
ͺ„Š§ͺ Š…Š§ŠŠ §‚ Š§ .. 'Chemical weapons' found in Iraq .. look what we found .. BBC says .. bbc

news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3386357.stm
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BBC NEWS | Middle East | Iran reformists
barred from polls

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Iran reformists
barred from polls 01/11/2004 01:33 PM
"If this decision is upheld, there will not be elections but designations," .. reformists from the general election .. INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS SCANDAL? .. reporting .. deepens

news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3386771.stm
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BBC NEWS | Middle East | Suspect shells
examined in Iraq

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Suspect shells
examined in Iraq 01/11/2004 03:46 PM

BBC NEWS | Middle East | US hands back
power in Iraq

BBC NEWS | Middle East | US hands back
power in Iraq 06/29/2004 12:54 AM
The US has handed over sovereignty in Iraq two days ahead of schedule .. ˆ ˆ ˆͺ §†¬§… §† .. last

news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3845517.stm
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BBC NEWS | Middle East | US remains Iraq
resistance target

BBC NEWS | Middle East | US remains Iraq
resistance target 12/17/2003 07:15 AM
"The dramatic capture of Saddam Hussein announced on Sunday has not quelled anti-US resistance in Iraq." .. a demoralised man who swore profusely but showed absolutely no remorse .. BBC

news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3323287.stm
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BBC NEWS | Middle East | Vatican slams
handling of Saddam

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Vatican slams
handling of Saddam 12/17/2003 06:06 AM
A Top Roman Catholic Official Has Attacked The Way Saddam Hussein Was Treated By His Us Captors, Saying He Had Been Dealt With Like An Animal .. Eurotrash Cardinal mouths off .. BBC

news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3324631.stm
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BBC NEWS | Middle East | Sri Lanka
rejects Israel rescuers

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Sri Lanka
rejects Israel rescuers 12/30/2004 08:41 AM
Sri Lanka rejects Israel rescuers .. Israel is sending relief supplies .. rejection .. so be it .. BBC

news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4130599.stm
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BBC NEWS | Middle East | 'Three UK
vessels seized in Iran'

BBC NEWS | Middle East | 'Three UK
vessels seized in Iran' 06/21/2004 09:53 PM
Iran has seized .. more .. BBC

news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3826179.stm
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BBC NEWS | Middle East | US denies
bombing wedding party

BBC NEWS | Middle East | US denies
bombing wedding party 05/21/2004 02:16 AM
US denies bombing wedding party .. were attacking foreign fighters .. exactly what .. reports

news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3730423.stm
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BBC NEWS | Middle East | South Korean
hostage 'beheaded'

BBC NEWS | Middle East | South Korean
hostage 'beheaded' 06/23/2004 06:18 AM
Radical Islam: the Enemy of the Human Race .. Korean hostage 'beheaded' .. Kim Sun-il .. beheaded

news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3830843.stm
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BBC NEWS | Middle East | Saddam top
aide's capture denied

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Saddam top
aide's capture denied 09/06/2004 11:00 AM
has not been made .. a BBC report

news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3629282.stm
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BBC NEWS | Middle East | Suicide bombing
'pig fat threat'

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Suicide bombing
'pig fat threat' 02/13/2004 03:50 PM
follow this link to understand the context of this statement .. BBC NEWS Middle East Suicide bombing 'pig fat threat' .. place bags of pig fat in public places and buses .. That's not kosher

news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3484277.stm
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BBC NEWS | Middle East | US 'not bound
by torture laws'

BBC NEWS | Middle East | US 'not bound
by torture laws' 06/08/2004 05:47 AM
Talk About a Smoking Gun: A Pentagon report last year argued that President George W Bush was not bound by laws banning the use of torture, according to the Wall Street Journal .. Oh, this is good

news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3783869.stm
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BBC NEWS | Middle East | Viagra ruled
kosher for Passover

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Viagra ruled
kosher for Passover 04/18/2005 01:58 PM
BBC NEWS Middle East Viagra ruled kosher for Passover .. Full story

news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4444839.stm
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BBC NEWS | Middle East | Vandals
desecrate Rabin's grave

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Vandals
desecrate Rabin's grave 04/07/2005 03:22 AM
Vandals desecrate Rabin's grave 4/5

news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4407589.stm
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BBC NEWS | Middle East | 'Wedding video'
clouds US denials

BBC NEWS | Middle East | 'Wedding video'
clouds US denials 05/25/2004 04:04 AM
General Kimmit: "Bad people have parties, too." .. 'Wedding video' clouds US denials .. A videotape has been broadcast .. Link to Story .. lie

news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3741223.stm
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BBC NEWS | World | Middle East |
Rumsfeld cautious on Iraq attacks

BBC NEWS | World | Middle East |
Rumsfeld cautious on Iraq attacks 12/07/2003 03:04 PM

"BBC NEWS | World | Middle East |
'Chemical weapons' found in Iraq "

"BBC NEWS | World | Middle East |
'Chemical weapons' found in Iraq " 01/11/2004 11:36 PM

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Rabbis back
Israeli 'guard pigs'

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Rabbis back
Israeli 'guard pigs' 10/29/2003 09:10 AM
An organisation in Israel has gained rabbinical approval to train pigs to guard Jewish settlements in the West Bank .. BBC

news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3221079.stm
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Grok Description matches for BBC NEWS | Middle East | Fifteen die as US helicopter downed
GrokA matches for BBC NEWS | Middle East | Fifteen die as US helicopter downed

"U.S. helicopter shot down in Iraq"

"U.S. helicopter shot down in Iraq" 11/03/2003 10:03 AM

U.S. Helicopter Shot Down in Iraq, One
Killed

U.S. Helicopter Shot Down in Iraq, One
Killed 01/02/2004 04:59 PM
Reuters via Wired News Jan 2 2004 3:56PM ET

CNN.com - U.S. helicopter shot down in
Iraq - Nov. 2, 2003

CNN.com - U.S. helicopter shot down in
Iraq - Nov. 2, 2003 11/03/2003 04:21 AM

Nine U.S. Soldiers on Helicopter Die in
Iraq (Reuters)

Nine U.S. Soldiers on Helicopter Die in
Iraq (Reuters) 01/08/2004 08:32 PM
Reuters - A Black Hawk helicopter went down killing all nine American soldiers aboard and a transport plane came under fire, in two more blows to U.S.-led efforts to restore a normal life and peace to Iraq.

U.S. Helicopter Crashes in Iraq, Killing
at Least 9

U.S. Helicopter Crashes in Iraq, Killing
at Least 9 01/08/2004 08:17 PM
The U.S. military said the cause of the crash was still unclear, but witnesses said that the helicopter had been shot down.

Helicopter Crashes in Iraq; 2 Pilots
Dead (AP)

Helicopter Crashes in Iraq; 2 Pilots
Dead (AP) 01/23/2004 04:16 PM
AP - A U.S. Army OH-58 Kiowa Warrior helicopter crashed Friday in northern Iraq, killing the two pilots, the U.S. military said.

U.S. Helicopter Crashes in Iraq; Two
Crew Missing

U.S. Helicopter Crashes in Iraq; Two
Crew Missing 01/25/2004 05:16 PM
Reuters via Wired News Jan 25 2004 8:42PM GMT

Two U.S. Soldiers Hurt in Helicopter
Crash in Iraq

Two U.S. Soldiers Hurt in Helicopter
Crash in Iraq 06/12/2004 09:34 AM
Reuters via Wired News Jun 12 2004 1:37PM GMT

Two die when U.S. copter downed in Iraq

Two die when U.S. copter downed in Iraq 04/11/2004 01:09 PM

U.S. Apache Helicopter Crashes in Iraq -
Witnesses (Reuters)

U.S. Apache Helicopter Crashes in Iraq -
Witnesses (Reuters) 04/13/2004 05:58 AM
Reuters - A U.S. Apache helicopter crashed west of Baghdad on Tuesday, witnesses said, adding it had been hit by ground fire during heavy fighting in the area.

Two U.S. Soldiers Hurt in Helicopter
Crash in Iraq (Reuters)

Two U.S. Soldiers Hurt in Helicopter
Crash in Iraq (Reuters) 06/12/2004 07:49 AM
Reuters - A U.S. helicopter made a forced landing north of Baghdad on Saturday and two American soldiers were hurt, the U.S. military said.

Helicopter Crash in Iraq Kills Nine U.S.
Soldiers (washingtonpost.com)

Helicopter Crash in Iraq Kills Nine U.S.
Soldiers (washingtonpost.com) 01/09/2004 09:53 PM
washingtonpost.com - ZOBAA, Iraq, Jan. 8 -- A U.S. Army helicopter crashed Thursday near this village in west-central Iraq, killing all nine soldiers on board, and a military transport plane carrying 63 people made an emergency landing in Baghdad after being hit by groundfire, according to U.S. military officials.

FOXNews.com - Top Stories - Thirteen
Killed After Helicopter Attacked in Iraq

FOXNews.com - Top Stories - Thirteen
Killed After Helicopter Attacked in Iraq 11/03/2003 06:39 AM
sure to hit close to home .. 13 U.S. servicemen dead

foxnews.com/story/0,2933,101948,00.html
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AValon RF to Present Helicopter
Newsgathering links, digital video links
for Video Signage, COFDM True diversity
Receivers and Transmitters and Diversity
Analog receivers for stationary and
mobile Newsgathering applications at
IBC2004

AValon RF to Present Helicopter
Newsgathering links, digital video links
for Video Signage, COFDM True diversity
Receivers and Transmitters and Diversity
Analog receivers for stationary and
mobile Newsgathering applications at
IBC2004 09/09/2004 03:17 AM
AValon RF, Inc., a leading provider of high-performance wireless links will present its robust wireless video solutions at IBC2004, September 10-14 2004, Amsterdam, NL.Highlights will be a new static antenna tracking receivers for Helicopter news gathering , new 200 Kbit/1 megabit digital transceivers for data, audio video transmissions for Video Signage and digital (COFDM) and analog Video Receivers [PRWEB Sep 9, 2004]

downing of a military helicopter outside
Fallujah

downing of a military helicopter outside
Fallujah 11/05/2003 03:01 AM
long, hard war, .. Unshak'n .. NYT says

nytimes.com/2003/11/03/international/middleeast/03IRAQ.html
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"At Least 15 Killed When U.S. Helicopter
Shot Down "

"At Least 15 Killed When U.S. Helicopter
Shot Down " 11/03/2003 10:03 AM

5 in Iraq Force Are Shot Dead in Rebel
Video

5 in Iraq Force Are Shot Dead in Rebel
Video 01/01/2005 04:46 PM
Insurgents belonging to a group led by the Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi posted a videotape on the Internet on Saturday showing five men being killed for serving in the Iraqi security forces.

A.I. Helicopter?

A.I. Helicopter? 12/18/2003 11:52 AM
CowboyRobot writes "Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization just launched the Mantis, a 'low-cost, intelligent small ...

Two die as US helicopter crashes

Two die as US helicopter crashes 01/23/2004 11:01 PM
Two US pilots are killed when their helicopter comes down in north Iraq, the US military says.

Helicopter Fuck

Helicopter Fuck 08/16/2004 02:15 PM
Please don't try this at home. You may have spotted Japanese web oddity Micky Yanai's -- um -- work on Rotten.com. Now, Fleshbot has more on "the most creative porn actor who invented 'Helicopter Fuck!'," as one fan-site enthusiastically proclaims. Male pattern baldness mullet. Bad '80s novelty sunglasses. Spandex. Sequined American flag codpiece. If that doesn't add up to buzzkill, I don't know what does. Lin k to Fleshbot item, which includes pointers to "Helicopter Fertish" (sic) galleries. NSFW, duh.

How not to land a helicopter

How not to land a helicopter 03/23/2005 01:19 PM
David Pescovitz: This video may be old news, but I'd never seen it before. A military helicopter tries to land on a ship and, well, fails. Link to 2.6mb WMV file (Thanks, Michael-Anne Rauback!)

Along those same JG Ballardian lines, the House of Rapp has a gallery of links to other aircraft crash videos. Lin k

Helicopter Anthropology

Helicopter Anthropology 02/10/2004 02:44 AM

Today was my 20th and last hour of helicopter instruction in Panama (tomorrow morning I'll get on an American Airlines flight to Toronto, staying at www.metropolitan.com).  After a couple of autorotations in which one learns how to land the helicopter after the engine quits we proceeded up the Rio Chagres.  This is a national park, established to protect the rainforest in the Canal's watershed.  In the past few decades Embera Indians have moved up from the remote malarial province of Darien, on the border with Columbia, to this region where the jungle environment is the same but access to health care and tourism jobs is much easier.

Our approach to the little village of grass huts involved flying up the center of the twisting river, about 10' above the water, at 50 mph.  Steep hillsides with big trees constitute the banks of the fast-flowing Chagres and constitute a bit of a distraction for a beginning student.  Thanks to the lack of development in Panama one is safe from powerlines, those perennial killer of helicopter pilots, but we rounded a couple of corners to find people motoring along in dugout canoes.

The little Embera village that we visited contained 84 people from 17 families, each of whom lived in an elevated grass hut.  A traditional anthropologist might spend God knows how long paddling around looking for this village and then 12 months living here in one of those huts.  The  helicopter anthropologist sleeps in an air-conditioned bed in a modern hotel overlooking the Canal, takes a 30-minute flight into the village, and waits for Johnson, the one resident who speaks English, to come down towards the riverbank as the rotors spin down.  Here's what we learned...

The Embera sustain themselves by catching fish in the river, killing wild pigs in the surrounding rainforest, growing some crops, and harvesting various wild plants.  They manufacture their own clothing, which is nada for the young kids, a loin cloth for the adults, and a beaded bikini top for women.  They make some cash by guiding cruise ship passengers on package tours and selling them handicrafts.

Technological comforts are limited to three hours of electricity per night and one channel of broadcast television that can be received through a gap in the ridge.  Cable and Wireless, the telecom monopoly that has been restricting Panama's economic growth (it cost $7 to make a one-minute phone call from my hotel to Canada), installed a pay phone around which the Embera built a thatch phone booth.  It has been broken for six months.

There are no shops.  You can't buy bottled water, Diet Coke, or any other packaged food.

At the center of the village is a single concrete building:  the schoolhouse.  The Panamanian government sends a teacher out for the wet season so that the children learn Spanish.  Imagine the dedication of this woman, a Latino from Panama City, to live in such a small isolated community in which many residents speak only the native Embera language.

[http://www.photo.net/philg/digiphotos/200401-panama-embera/ has some snapshots from the trip]

Mi-24 helicopter in Afghanistan

Mi-24 helicopter in Afghanistan 07/07/2004 04:43 AM
Custom paint job on Afghan Hind attack chopper .. Mean Looking Mil 24 Hind .. Quote: .. images

usaattacked.com/mi-24_helicopter_in_afghanistan.htm
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The helicopter checkride

The helicopter checkride 12/17/2004 06:36 PM

Last Friday I took a checkride to add a Private helicopter rating to my Commercial pilot's certificate.  The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will, in theory, examine applicants for this rating but in practice prefers that you pay a Designated Examiner.  The fun started at 9:00 am in Nashua, NH at CR Helicopters with Joe Brigham, a retired legend in the cranberry bogs of New England.  The oral portion of the exam lasted until nearly 11:00 am at which point the winds had picked up from calm to a typically unpleasant New England 10 knots gusting 15.  When the objective is to hold the helicopter steady within a foot or two of a reference point on the ground these kinds of winds make life tricky, especially in the Robinson R22, one of the world's lightest helicopters.

Running the startup checklist on the R22 takes about 4 minutes during which one tests the engine's dual independent ignition systems, the carb heat, the sprag clutch that enables the rotors to freewheel if the engine quits, and the low RPM warning horn that sounds if the blades begin to slow down.  The test complete, I called Nashua Tower to ask for clearance to a grassy area east of the paved 5500'-long runway.  Once we got across the runway Joe asked to see a sideways hover taxi then a backwards hover taxi.  These are done with the skids of the helicopter 3-5 feet off the ground.  I set the helicopter back on the grass and Joe asked me to pick it back up.  When we were 2' from the ground he twisted the throttle on his side of the ship to idle, simulating an engine failure.  The helicopter immediately started a yaw to the left.  I pushed the right antitorque pedal to bring the nose back to where it had been pointed.  As the R22 settled towards the ground I pulled the collective pitch control to use some of the rotational energy of the blades to cushion the impact.  Every time you pull more collective the helicopter wants to yaw to the right so I had to step on the left pedal.  We thumped down on the ground about 1 second after Joe had closed the throttle, reasonably smoothly and within about 5 degrees of where we'd started on the heading.  The standard for a Private rating is 10 percent and Joe declared that I had demonstrated a hovering autorotation.

The next maneuver was the Quickstop, simulating an attempt to take off and then an abort due to failure to clear trees or the appearance of an obstacle.  We had to get over to the side of a small hill about 1000' away.  I accelerated the helicopter to about 40 knots and 40' above the ground and then pulled sharply back on the cyclic to flare off the speed while simultaneously lowering collective to prevent the helicopter from ballooning up in altitude and using the antitorque pedals to prevent yaw.  At the end of the Quickstop Joe asked for a running landing to simulate bringing the helicopter down at a high altitude in which the machine lacks sufficient power to hover.  We slid into the grass.

We were near the hill at this point so it was time to demonstrate slope operations.  One approaches the slope at a 45-degree angle with the helicopter yawed so that the skids are parallel to the slope at all times.  You hover so that the upslope skid is about 2-3' above the ground and then gradually lower the ship until the upslope skid touches.  At that point you push the cyclic into the slope to lock the skid against the slope while simultaneously adjusting collective pitch to hold a level attitude.  After pausing in that position for a moment I lowered the collective to bring the downslope skid into contact with the ground while simultaneously adding addition cyclic towards the upslope to keep that skid locked.

Slope operations complete we started with a normal takeoff and normal approach.  Unless you are all by yourself in a Blackhawk you don't take off straight up in a helicopter.  You bring the ship up into a hover and then push the cyclic forward until the helicopter is flying fast enough that the blades are biting into fresh undisturbed air.  This is called "Effective Translational Lift" (ETL) and the helicopter rapidly picks up speed and then altitude beyond this point.  The normal approach and landing is a reasonably shallow angle coming down toward some traffic cones abeam the Nashua windsock.  Once back on the ground Joe asked for a maximum performance takeoff in which one does try to depart as nearly vertical as is possible.  This involves spending some time under the R22's "deadman's curve", a combination of having a low airspeed and a low altitude such that it would be impossible to make a smooth landing in the event of an engine failure.  Joe asked for a steep approach to the cones.  This is not straight down as you might think but rather just steep enough that you could clear the trees around a mid-size field before landing on someone's helipad.

Next up was an autorotation.  This involves closing the throttle about 700' above the ground and gliding down at about 65 knots and 1500'-per-minute descent rate.  Starting roughly 40' above the ground I began to pull back on the cyclic to slow our forward speed and reduce the descent rate.  When the forward speed was just about gone I leveled the ship with the cyclic so that the tail did not strike the ground and began to let the R22 sink towards the ground with just a bit of forward speed.  At the last minute I pulled the collective to cushion the final impact with energy from the rotating blades.

The final part of the checkride was escaping from a vortex ring state.  Joe took the controls and slowed the helicopter down so that we had lost almost all forward speed.  Then he lowered the collective to start a 500 foot-per-minute descent from our 700' altitude.  The helicopter began "settling with power" into its own disturbed air, falling suddenly much faster than the initial descent rate established by Joe.  The controls became mushy just as he said "You have the controls".  The way to escape from a vortex ring state is by pushing the cyclic forward to try to fly the helicopter forward out of the disturbed air while simultaneously lowering the collective so that the helicopter isn't beating the air so hard.  Once I had recovered some flying speed I pulled on the collective to resume a climb.

That was it.  What can one do with a Private helicopter rating?  Take friends for rides, basically, and that's about it.  I'll be starting work on my Commercial rating next week.

RC Helicopter Simulator 1.0.12

RC Helicopter Simulator 1.0.12 04/21/2004 06:35 PM
A fully configurable radio-controlled helicopters simulator.

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Fifteen die as US helicopter downed

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