Chuck Aaron performed this amazing stunt at least 4 times at the Bethpage Air Show over Jones Beach, New York on Sunday. I did not think it was possible to fly a helicopter inverted (upside down).
Not with ME in it, for sure. You can find video clips on youtube of helis doing this, but it would scare the crap out of me. Love the second shot in the series.
Pretty cool stuff Morris...I had heard of heli pilots doing this...you need a lot of power from what I've heard...but like Peter (above) I'm not a big fan even right side up so upside down would not be how I fly!
Eric
Peter Figen wrote:
Not with ME in it, for sure. You can find video clips on youtube of helis doing this, but it would scare the crap out of me. Love the second shot in the series.
Me either Peter. I found one where Chuck Aaron said “I call my wife every night to let her know I’m still alive.”
eyelaser wrote:
Pretty cool stuff Morris...I had heard of heli pilots doing this...you need a lot of power from what I've heard...but like Peter (above) I'm not a big fan even right side up so upside down would not be how I fly!
Eric
Thank you Eric,
I love to fly in copters and small aircraft in general. I'm not a fan of barfing.
To answer the question, no, a helicopter cannot fly inverted. It can perform inverted maneuvers but it cannot sustain flight while inverted. Having seen video of one of the world's best aerobatic chopper pilots crash, I don't think I'd ride if I had the opportunity. OTOH, I've been full aerobatic in a Super Decathalon and enjoyed every minute of it!!!
Nice photos Morris, looks like Sunday turned out ok. I almost went but it was still ugly weather here and I didn't see a point to driving 4 hours for a possible wind-out.
For sure INVERTED is not normal flight - I believe the BA jets have their fuel line system * modified * to allow them to invert and for sure there is a time limit before flame out ..
Jun 15, 2013 at 09:50 PM
Charlie Shugart Offline • • • • • • • Upload & Sell: Off
An excellent set of images, Morris.
With nifty story-telling benefits.
I'm not a fan of flying, but I was about to write that doing a loop in which the chopper is momentarily upside-down is not really "flying upside-down," then Baywing gave a better version of the thought.
In a similar way, the peregrine falcons are often called the fastest flyers in the natural world- at +/- 150 mph. Technically, they can dive at that speed with their wings tucked in and gravity doing most of the speed work.
Peregrines ARE very fast at level, unaffected-by-wind flying, but they are not the fastest flyers. That honor probably goes to one of the small duck species.
Charlie
Jun 16, 2013 at 04:06 PM
Roger Whitehead Offline • • • • • Upload & Sell: Off
RC helicopters are very capable of inverted flight. I can not imagine the loading issues and the center of gravity issues that would arise in trying to sustain inverted flight in a full size helicopter. There is a saying in the aviation community:
There are "Old" pilots, there are "Bold" pilots, but there are NO "old BOLD" pilots.
Spend several months in a Huey, or UH-1 as some call it, among other names which I will not repeat here, and you will run in all directions if someone suggests you fly inverted to your next lz.
I recently took a Huey ride and figured it was a nice ride out and back, we got past the highway into some wooded area, and they quickly jinked left, then right, tilting the chopper sharply, then up and down. I was NOT prepared for that, and I hate roller coasters... I would definitely not be in for a Red Bull ride either
- Paul
