Friend hits a helicopter tread at mid day. No reported event for all she knows.

[cgmaxed]

Somebody has jumper to A LOT of conclusions without any proof or facts.

A lot of questions for sure. Was she in a "restricted / NFZ" when she flew? Maybe, don't know. If she had checked to make sure she was clear to fly and got "zero" indications of manned aircraft flying in her area and at only 150 feet - then the chopper "may" have been flying too low.

We have power company chopper flying at treetop level here in the mountains "trimming" trees along power lines with hanging chainsaws. I have flown from my yard - which is in no "restricted / NFZ" when they were around. Barely hear the chopper, but can hear the saws when cutting. Since they were a good 100 yards away from my home - I popped up to treetop level and got some photo's / video's of them in action. When they started to move - I brought the drone down below treetop (about 75 ft) and stayed clear.

A bit different in a place like FL - where it's pretty flat, but does have 75+ ft pine / other trees.

Maybe they can provide the flight logs and someone can check them to "verify" the story and lack of real info. I'm inclined to think it got hit with prop wash and sent to the ground.

Until then - ALL SHEER SPECULATION!

That's my guess. The heli pilots certainly would have heard a clunk or impact of some sort. Speculation as well

 

[Barbara]

That's my guess. The heli pilots certainly would have heard a clunk or impact of some sort. Speculation as well

You don't say if she actually saw it hit the copter, but I imagine the downwash from it could be enough to destabilize it and force it into the trees.

 

[Starz]

It gives you very little warning,

I’m not sure of flight speeds for helicopters, but in the case of some fixed wing with a cruise speed of let’s say 200 mph, that equates to roughly 300 feet per second. Not an abundance of reaction time available to dodge a bullet.

 

[Droniac]

I'm not buying this one bit. If your friend told you this story she's making it all up. Sorry I'm hitting the BS button in a BIG way on this one.

That’s why you’re BigAl! No fence sitting! We were waiting’. Lol. - Godbless you and Godspeed

 

[cgmaxed]

That’s why you’re BigAl! No fence sitting! We were waiting’. Lol. - Godbless you and Godspeed

I'm inclined to agree as well. Strange story. Too coincidental. She's an internet friend. Who knows.

 

[Ty Pilot]

Question for you or anyone else. Have you ever been standing on the edge of a wooded area/ forest, with an open space in front of you, when a seriously low flying helicopter flew over you from the direction of the forest?

Helicopter? No, but a fixed-wing? Yes, but that is not the point, the point is about what responsibility lies with a UAV pilot.

Every time a thread like this pops up, inevitably we see posts where a scenario is described that tries to fall somewhere inside a murky 'gray area' of the law. In the case of flying a UAV in an area or airspace where you cannot guarantee that you can meet the requirements for safe operation - you shouldn't operate.

 

[cgmaxed]

Helicopter? No, but a fixed-wing? Yes, but that is not the point, the point is about what responsibility lies with a UAV pilot.

Every time a thread like this pops up, inevitably we see posts where a scenario is described that tries to fall somewhere inside a murky 'gray area' of the law. In the case of flying a UAV in an area or airspace where you cannot guarantee that you can meet the requirements for safe operation - you shouldn't operate.

Good point

 

[GFields]

could have been a lot worse.... glad it wasn't

 

[DoomMeister]

Hard to beat visual awareness. I have lots of heli traffic in my area, and, yes, sometimes those little buggers fly at 150 feet. So, I’m always scanning the skies before liftoff. I also use Flightradar24 to see what’s up.

The problem with FlightRadar24 is that it lags actual flight position, and uses ADS-B so suffers the same shortcomings as FlightSense.

 

[ATW]

I’m not sure of flight speeds for helicopters, but in the case of some fixed wing with a cruise speed of let’s say 200 mph, that equates to roughly 300 feet per second. Not an abundance of reaction time available to dodge a bullet.

Normal flying around would be 80-140 MPH. A normal civilian use helicopter would be in an uncontrolled dive, and risking structural failure at 200, except for a special few that can do it. I've spent most of my life reading about helicopters, studying them, begging for rides in them, and have over 200 flights as a passenger, many times being allowed to fly them, on top of going to school and earning my Commercial rotary license. When the industry demand goes back up, I'll be out begging humbly for a job, until then I will remain an equipment operator.

 

[Starz]

The figure that was used in my previous post was the listed cruise speed for the Bonanza V tail that seemed to enjoy violating FAA altitude guidelines.

 

[WDKZoom]

Doubtful. Isn’t it possible that she didn’t have time to react?
If the 150 foot altitude is correct, would that not be a bit of violation on the part of the heli pilot????

Unfortunately whatever the reasons, didn't here it, didn't see it, the heli was flying to low and on and on, the manned aircraft ALWAYS has the right of way even if it is their fault, the bottom line is the safety of lives. The UAV has to stay out of the way as best they can.

WDK

 

[Starz]

as best they can.

Key words. The attorneys will make that determination.

 

[Droniac]

Actually...an oncoming helicopter is easily heard especially at that altitude and speed. The helicopter is in it's noisiest attitude when coming toward you and can't be "not heard". I've been around them and flown them for decades. The drone pilot's actions may have put the lives of the helicopter crew at risk. The helicopter pilot may have also been at fault if the facts, as described, are true.

On/off topic: When back in the day... Sufffolk PD would get that medivac chopper in the air, after patient transport, as though he was making a rush for the bathroom. Never truly understood why. Certain there is a reason. Anybody in the know ? I also recall wearing a blue headset to dampen the sound as we approached to receive a patient. I don’t know if one bird is louder than the next but these were Bell Jet Rangers and LOUD. On the bird we wore helmets w/options to speak with the pilot,and emergency department triage, and telemetry control. Did I mention LOUD? That’s my experience in totality. The other thing is that although they appeared to me to be solid strong airborne supremacy (ala APocalypse now”) I recall first seeing one up close and feeling the body was like tin. I thought to myself it’s a flying gas can. Not what I expected. I can see where the obvious concern is. I think we all do. The end of these equations all end poorly. Maybe hypervigilance is needed on our part. I’ve never heard a good thing about what we do. (Other than SWARM, affiliates, Fire/EMS, etc). Btw goes with out saying it’s the story that’s controversial but not focused toward our forum member for sharing. He’s credible as I read his posts. Imo. Now I’ll cork it for the days remainder. Lol. Yw. Godspeed. Beautiful no wind day here. I’m going out to play. ?

 

[Droniac]

Normal flying around would be 80-140 MPH. A normal civilian use helicopter would be in an uncontrolled dive, and risking structural failure at 200, except for a special few that can do it. I've spent most of my life reading about helicopters, studying them, begging for rides in them, and have over 200 flights as a passenger, many times being allowed to fly them, on top of going to school and earning my Commercial rotary license. When the industry demand goes back up, I'll be out begging humbly for a job, until then I will remain an equipment operator.

Dang Big!mAl, You’re a real bird man. Hence fielding all helicopter issues which intrigue me as well... probably all of us to some extent. Grats on your long time studies, and tenacity. 200 flights, Dang! I can see you flying a Drone directly from a helicopter **** pit. ? Godspeed.

 

[Droniac]

did you check her pants for smoke?

?

 

[Droniac]

She doesn't live hear. I just have private chats with her on occassion. It's cool to know a girl that like flying drones.

Totally ??

 

[Cami]

Nice to see you know meta data.....

the law has not changed, piloted aircraft have always the right of way over sUAV's

Yes, I mean the law now (since 31st of Dec 2020) focuses even more on safety so it's solely the UAV pilot's duty to organize the flight and to fly safely. The thing is there are still a lot of people they think the drones are just toys. Yes, some of them are toys but not ALL of them. So, same as for a car, you need a licence to fly it.
Yes... This thread is... Useless... Nothing to learn from it. Wasted time.

 

[WDKZoom]

Key words. The attorneys will make that determination.

.....while that may be true........the FAA has already told us, its the UAV's fault because life and safety are the most important thing and you can bet if there is an incident, their attorneys will be there too.

WDK

 

[Droniac]

lol

.....while that may be true........the FAA has already told us, its the UAV's fault because life and safety are the most important thing and you can bet if there is an incident, their attorneys will be there too.

WDK

Sad we have turned into a reflexively litigious world. Sigh. Did I mention my EX-Wife was a liar... I mean lawyer. Sorry. ?