Saturday, June 17, 2006
An Anniversary, Helicopter and The Royal Gorge
After a little more than thirty years of marriage my Bride and I decide to do something different, like a helicopter ride over and through the Royal Gorge (Southern Colorado).
Prior to this I had mentioned the idea to some very good friends whom had wisely recommended that maybe we might forego the helicopter and instead enjoy the Dinner Train through the Royal Gorge. While this suggestion was both wise and prudent we took the helicopter.
Think about it ... you take a perfectly good helicopter and 3 healthy people and go into a gorge that is over a thousand feet deep with the Arkansas river flowing through down below ... why not? ... only high winds and really big rocks to worry about with a raging spring river waiting down below. What's to worry about? The contraption doesn't even have wings to hit the rock walls!
Ruby began to get nervous and wanted to sit in the back ... I wouldn't hear of it and insisted that she sit up front with the pilot as I have flown in choppers before during my "active duty days" (USAF, UPT). I was sitting in the back.
Here is the helicopter and our pilot:
At about 130 mph we crossed U.S. Highway 50 and headed to the Gorge.
About this time I am feeling a bit woosey ... here I am in the back of the chopper messing around with the camera while we are pulling light g's and banking around the terrain ... I'm pointing the camera one way while the chopper goes another! A bit of nausea is beginning to surface! (Dang! I know better!)
Our pilot crossed over the east side of the Royal Gorge Bridge and dropped down into the gorge and started heading west towards the bridge ... we could see the red gondola midway across the gorge walls ... it looked very small. Below I could see the railroad alongside the Arkansas river.
In the photo below you can make out the railroad tracks through the right window with the pilot sitting directly in front of me.
About this time, the smell of JP4 (jet fuel, aka diesel) is beginning to get thick in the cabin. At the beginning of the flight I had closed my side window as I was putting on my headset ... I wanted to hear better. But the smell of diesel and rising nausea ... I opened the window and wonderful fresh Colorado air from the Arkansas river blew in! Yes! It was helping!
I begin to fumble with the camera and put it into movie mode ... we are banking hard and rising above the river fast ... I'm focused on the LCD screen of the camera trying to catch it all for posterity (quickly stealing glances out the front and side windows).
The Pilot guides the chopper high above the east side of the bridge and banks hard to the north side and begins to drop down again picking up speed ... again banking in a hard turn we sink firmly into our seats as we now are now heading fast towards the south gorge wall. More power from the jet engine is applied and the pitch to the rotors is increased dramatically as we head straight towards the south wall!
About this moment claxons are going off in my head while I hear my Bride exclaim "Oh My God! Oh My God!". My stomach screams an emergency message ... "This is the Stomach! Tell the ?!#?!% Brain to put the ?!#?!% camera down our I'm coming up there and kicking the ?!#?!% out of you! NOW!!!". The camera is immediately shutoff and held to my side.
Out of the front of the chopper nothing but rock wall fills the windscreen ... the pilot pulls the stick back hard and increases power again!!! ... we begin climbing the wall with nothing but rock showing out the front and sides ... we are not moving anywhere except we are laid back hard against our seats as we continue to climb with the nose of the chopper pointed skyward! I look towards the bottom of the chopper and there's nothing but rock!
YES!!! What a kick in the arse this is!! We bank slightly right and come over the south rim of the gorge!!!
Banking hard again, we head back over the north rim and back to the helipad. What an adventure!
Excitedly Ruby egresses the helicopter very happy and talking about our adventure!!! She's ready for more!
I, though, am at about 20% of my tolerable nausea scale ... it will take the next hour and a half before it disappears ... thankfully.
With a last look back ... engine still running and rotors spinning down ...
Prior to this I had mentioned the idea to some very good friends whom had wisely recommended that maybe we might forego the helicopter and instead enjoy the Dinner Train through the Royal Gorge. While this suggestion was both wise and prudent we took the helicopter.
Think about it ... you take a perfectly good helicopter and 3 healthy people and go into a gorge that is over a thousand feet deep with the Arkansas river flowing through down below ... why not? ... only high winds and really big rocks to worry about with a raging spring river waiting down below. What's to worry about? The contraption doesn't even have wings to hit the rock walls!
Ruby began to get nervous and wanted to sit in the back ... I wouldn't hear of it and insisted that she sit up front with the pilot as I have flown in choppers before during my "active duty days" (USAF, UPT). I was sitting in the back.
Here is the helicopter and our pilot:
At about 130 mph we crossed U.S. Highway 50 and headed to the Gorge.
About this time I am feeling a bit woosey ... here I am in the back of the chopper messing around with the camera while we are pulling light g's and banking around the terrain ... I'm pointing the camera one way while the chopper goes another! A bit of nausea is beginning to surface! (Dang! I know better!)
Our pilot crossed over the east side of the Royal Gorge Bridge and dropped down into the gorge and started heading west towards the bridge ... we could see the red gondola midway across the gorge walls ... it looked very small. Below I could see the railroad alongside the Arkansas river.
In the photo below you can make out the railroad tracks through the right window with the pilot sitting directly in front of me.
About this time, the smell of JP4 (jet fuel, aka diesel) is beginning to get thick in the cabin. At the beginning of the flight I had closed my side window as I was putting on my headset ... I wanted to hear better. But the smell of diesel and rising nausea ... I opened the window and wonderful fresh Colorado air from the Arkansas river blew in! Yes! It was helping!
I begin to fumble with the camera and put it into movie mode ... we are banking hard and rising above the river fast ... I'm focused on the LCD screen of the camera trying to catch it all for posterity (quickly stealing glances out the front and side windows).
The Pilot guides the chopper high above the east side of the bridge and banks hard to the north side and begins to drop down again picking up speed ... again banking in a hard turn we sink firmly into our seats as we now are now heading fast towards the south gorge wall. More power from the jet engine is applied and the pitch to the rotors is increased dramatically as we head straight towards the south wall!
About this moment claxons are going off in my head while I hear my Bride exclaim "Oh My God! Oh My God!". My stomach screams an emergency message ... "This is the Stomach! Tell the ?!#?!% Brain to put the ?!#?!% camera down our I'm coming up there and kicking the ?!#?!% out of you! NOW!!!". The camera is immediately shutoff and held to my side.
Out of the front of the chopper nothing but rock wall fills the windscreen ... the pilot pulls the stick back hard and increases power again!!! ... we begin climbing the wall with nothing but rock showing out the front and sides ... we are not moving anywhere except we are laid back hard against our seats as we continue to climb with the nose of the chopper pointed skyward! I look towards the bottom of the chopper and there's nothing but rock!
YES!!! What a kick in the arse this is!! We bank slightly right and come over the south rim of the gorge!!!
Banking hard again, we head back over the north rim and back to the helipad. What an adventure!
Excitedly Ruby egresses the helicopter very happy and talking about our adventure!!! She's ready for more!
I, though, am at about 20% of my tolerable nausea scale ... it will take the next hour and a half before it disappears ... thankfully.
With a last look back ... engine still running and rotors spinning down ...
Life IS Good!
One quick update:
If you are interested in a similar adventure at the Royal Gorge you can go here for more information. (Yes, this is an unsolicited endorsement)
If you are interested in a similar adventure at the Royal Gorge you can go here for more information. (Yes, this is an unsolicited endorsement)
David of One, 6/17/2006 11:12:00 AM
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