Helicopter Ride! (1979)

[Music] [Music] [Music] oh you must be here to see john wright why don't you have a seat over there and i'll call him for you okay john wright please come to the front desk john wright please come to the front desk hi i see you found your way here all right if you're ready to go i think we ought to get started why don't you follow me into the hangar i'm glad you could get permission to come it's always fun to show the helicopter to someone for the first time this is the hangar through here [Music] here in the hangar is where they do the work on the airplanes and the helicopters jerry are we ready to go yeah she's all said john i remember the first time i looked at a helicopter i just couldn't see how it could fly i mean it it has no wings just that big propeller but later as i learned more i discovered that that big propeller really is a wing it's called a rotary wing it works because the air around us has weight and pressure for example when you're riding your bicycle and you stick your hand out like this you can actually feel that pressure and if you turn your hand up you can feel the air lifting up on your arm and that's what makes the wing and the rotary wing work when the engine turns the blades the motor also drives the propeller in the back called the tail rotor come on back without this the helicopter would spin around and around when the blades are turning so this tail rotor helps to hold the helicopter steady and pointed in the right direction let's get in i'll show you the controls okay watch your step here now this is the busiest control in the helicopter it's called the collective pit stick and it's what makes the helicopter go up and down pitch is the angle at which the blades cut into the air the greater the pitch the faster we go up the pit stick also controls the motor because the more pitch you use the more power you need to keep the blades turning at the same speed but i guess what you'd really like to do is see how it feels to fly there's really only one way to do that so why don't you buckle up and we'll get started [Music] [Music] [Music] let's put these on that'll make it easier for you to hear me [Applause] [Music] [Applause] departure helicopter 887 once departure approved wind calm altimeter cleared for takeoff [Music] i think you'll find that this is a horrible way of looking at things [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] ah [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] so [Music] [Applause] [Music] i thought we'd come down for a moment to show you something the helicopter is really the only way we could have reached here except for a hard day's climb and that's what makes the helicopter so unique and important to a lot of people they do a lot of very special jobs they do construction work rescue work deliver mail to hard to reach places serve as emergency ambulances and recover space capsules at sea and that's just a few of the things they can do let's head on into the city i think you'll think about it differently after you've seen it from the air [Music] i think we'll follow the highway in [Music] finding your way around in a helicopter can be pretty tricky we do talk to control towers like airplanes but a lot of the time we use a compass and maps and sometimes we just fly low enough to read road signs and the highway markers helicopters fly lower than airplanes but they do have to watch out for them carefully and obstacles like power lines are something the pilot must always be aware of [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] uh lincoln on the west side of the foul coming into mat's clock at zero one [Music] [Music] 65 10 left hotel contact ground control [Applause] what we just landed on is called a rooftop helipad let's get out and take a look around here let me help watch your step it's a tall one [Applause] many of the buildings in cities like this have heliports it's usually the fastest way to get around if you're wondering how to become a helicopter pilot the best way i think is to start with an airplane and then try the helicopter it's easier that way why don't we go back along the coast it should be nice [Music] so [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] they're making bigger and faster helicopters that will carry more people and do more work but for me the best thing is that it gives you a way to see things very different from anything else [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] good [Applause] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] you