Helicopter ride and lunch with Laura

[Lana Mae]

Well it finally happened, I had lunch with someone from here on the forum! I also got my first helicopter ride! Laura invited me to lunch and a helicopter ride! I thought why not! I am however afraid of heights! It was originally scheduled for Thursday but the weather was a factor so we changed it to today! I got up this morning in anticipation of the day! I arrived at the airport a 1/2 hour early! I just hung around and waited! Around 11 A M, I saw a yellow and black helicopter landing! Once Laura started across the taxiway, I went out to meet her! (She was in drab and so was I) She needed a pit stop and then we were walking out to the helicopter! Laura patiently explained the door and seat belt and the headset! She asked if I was ready and I said yes! She lifted off and stayed in place and asked if I were OK! Since I was, we were off! It is a whole different perspective up there! We flew to the Carthage airport and the restaurant! We walked to the restaurant and were seated by a waitress dressed like a pig! (It was cute!) We both ordered the bar-b-que pork sandwich with fries and slaw! We discussed many topics as we ate our lunch! A piper cub was having trouble starting up! Laura explained why and how to start one up! Another helicopter like Laura's but all black landed next to us! Laura engaged the man in conversation about the helicopter. We took some photos and were soon back in the air! We searched for my house and it took a while to actually see it but it was under the trees and the picture would probably have been too dark! So, we went back to the Sanford airport. I took one or two more pics and we parted! I don't know about Laura but it was kind of hard to say good bye at that point! I walked to my car in the parking lot and waited for her to take off! I waved but I do not think she saw me! I drove home and asked my daughter if she heard us and she said she thought it was us! Thanks so very much Laura! Hugs Lana Mae

[Alice B]

Great story. My favorite way to fly is in helicoptors. Have had a great many flights in at least 8 different types. I am not afraid of heights and have often been in a harness, outside on the skids taking photographs. Hope you get to do it again. Do you know what type helicoptor you were on?

[Pat]

Cool! Sounds like a great time! I don't suppose you know the kind of chopper it was? (Personal interest.) Was the waitress dressed as a pig for Hallloween or is that their normal uniform? Choppers and BBQ -- sounds like a perfect experience.

[Tracii G]

So glad you enjoyed the ride I know you had been looking forward to your meet up with Laura.
Yeah what kind of helicopter?
The military Bell UH1B Hueys are all I have ever ridden in.

[Lana Mae]

Alice-I want to do it again! No problems with the fear! I believe it was an R44 Raven II!
Pat-I believe it is their regular uniform as it is called (I think!) Pik a Pig! It was a great experience! See reply to Alice for type of helicopter, I hope!
Tracii-I had fun and challenged my fears! What more can one ask in an experience! Oh, and pork BBQ! See reply to Alice for helicopter type!
Thanks for your responses!
Hugs Lana Mae

[Genni]

That sounds like quite a day, Lana Mae! It's a good thing to go outside your comfort zone. You might find yourself more comfortable with heights now than you were before.

[Bobbi46]

Lana, What an experience i know how you must have felt when I was working (Police) we needed photos of car park saturation at an air show and and army Lynx heli landed right outside my station and i had the most thrilling 1 1/2 hour ride sometimes almost on our sided to get the aerial shots needed.
But from your point of you your day was way fare better than mine. I would love to go up again.

[Laura912]

Lana Mae missed her calling as a reporter. The type, as noted above, is a Robinson R44 II. Although we were in drab, the only thing not female that I was wearing, was the warm top. It was 43 F this morning. No one saw the bra, cami, or thigh highs. Yes, women's jeans. It would have been nice to talk further about this mixed gender business. The three wait staff in pink pig outfits were the three little pigs for Halloween. Not infrequently, the internet can be a bit dehumanizing. Today, it was rewarding to connect personally with someone from here. Now to figure out how to do this dressed...it is awfully hard to sneak a helicopter out of the airport!

[Julie Denier]

Very cool! I would have been all over that 'cue ;)

[Stephanie47]

I had mixed emotions riding in helicopters. I've ridden in the Hughes OH-6 Cayuse, Bell UH-1 Iroquois and Boeing CH-47 Chinook. I'm near JBLM (Joint Base Lewis McChord) so the sounds are still heard daily. If you get a chance for a ride be sure to take it. It's a much different experience than flying in a large fixed wing aircraft.

[paulaprimo]

sooooo cool and such a great adventure!!
was valet parking available?? :D

[Tracii G]

Its always fun meeting people from here in person and to get a helicopter ride along with it is awesome !!

[Lana Mae]

Genni-Yes, but I am still staying off ladders and the roof! LOL It was a great experience!
Bobbi-I am still a little shaky on those tight turns! I told Laura that we will have to do it again! I hope she is willing!
Laura-I can not thank you enough! OK, put the wig and breast forms in a bag and put them on once you are in the helicopter! No one is really paying attention! Unless they are like our photographers at the restaurant! LOL You made a wish come true today! Thanks!
Julie-We enjoyed it!
Thanks everyone for your replies!
Hugs Lana Mae

[greeneyes]

It sounds like you had a great time Lana Mae! We have only met a couple people on the forum,it is nice to know they are real. I would LOVE to go on a helicopter ride! Joni on the other hand, would never do it!
Lana Mae, if you are ever in Cincy, we would LOVE to get together!!! You and I have a lot in common. I am a nurse too!
I have a theory that Joni doesn't really agree with. I think there are WAY WAY more CD's or CD curious individuals in the world!!!

[Lana Mae]

Green eyes-I had a great time! I never thought I would but I did! Not likely to get to Cinncinnati anytime in the future! I agree with your theory and will PM you about it!
Paula-Yes,it was great! No valet parking! Sorry! LOL
Tracii-Yes it was like a dream come true!
Thanks for your responses!
Hugs Lana Mae

[Kandi Robbins]

Now that sounds like a full day! Thanks for the tale.

[patti1569]

Wow!!! That sounds like such a great time! Glad you enjoyed it. I love helicopters

[Dana44]

What a great time you had. A chopper ride to lunch. Can't beat that.

[Lana Mae]

Kandi-It was a great day! It was too short! I really enjoyed it! You are welcome for the tale!
Patti-It was wonderful! I have a better liking for helicopters now!
Dana-Can't beat that with a stick!
Stephanie-It was great!
Thanks for your responses!
Hugs Lana Mae

[JoanneB]

Nice story. I have wanted to fly in a helicopter. I had a chance to do so, but the weather was terrible and the visibility became zero so the flight was cancelled.

[BLUE ORCHID]

Hi Lana Mae :hugs:, That was awesome, It sounds like you both a wonderful day together,

That must have been great flying over your neighborhood,

The only time I was ever in a helicopter was a sight seeing trip over
Dolly Wood in Pigeon Forge TN about 15yrs. ago.
My wife & I really enjoyed it .>Orchid...:daydreaming:...

[Tina Davis]

Lana Mae, it's great to see you taking more steps out in the world. Meeting another CD.com member and flying in a helicopter would be amazing! :hugs:

[Lana Mae]

Joanne-That is why we changed from Thursday to Tuesday-weather! I hope you get another chance to go up!
Orchid-It was great flying over the neighborhood, but frustrating because the house was hidden by the trees!
Tina-It was amazing! It was a dream come true!
Thanks for your responses!
Hugs Lana Mae

[Amy Lynn3]

I will echo what Lana said about her wonderful trip with Laura. I have done the same with Laura and enjoyed it soooooo much. Not to hi-jack (pun intended) Lana thread, but I am one up on her. I was picked up in my back yard by Laura. The neighbors were curious about a helicopter landing and taking off in my back yard. As Ricky says to Lucy.... you got some splainin to do.

Laura is a wonderful pilot and I consider her a true friend and person.:)

[FeWill]

Sounds like an awesome time! I have a severe obsession with helicopters. I have like 10 of those house hold remote control helicopters. Also got to do a flying lesson once!

[Beverley Sims]

Yessss!
Never miss a ride in any aircraft.

Too expensive to hire and fly these days, maybe I will buy an ultralight, just to get above the trees at least.

Glad you enjoyed it.

[Angie G]

I'd love a day like that lucky girl.:hugs:
Angie

[Laura912]

This gives me and idea. We will pick an airport in NC and give rides. Lana and Amy will be ticket takers and flight attendants. Tickets will be $100 but fully refundable for those who show up dressed properly...and you know what I mean. :battingeyelashes:

[fly2188]

Helicopter flights are a ton of fun. Good on you Laura for introducing others to flight. I'm a fixed wing pilot, but have had a few opportunities for lessons in helicopters. I'd love to finish my rating in them, but its so darn expensive when compared to a fixed wing. :sad:

[Lana Mae]

Amy-Laura could not land in my yard as you can not see it from the air because of the trees! Yes I agree-Laura is a wonderful person and a true friend!
FeWill-Yes it was an awesome time! Welcome to the forum! You can learn a lot here!
Beverly-I have met a few people that have built their own! Beyond my expertise! (These were fixed wing craft!)
Angie-Yes I think so too!
Laura-Sounds good when do we start and where? LOL
Fly2188-Yes Laura is wonderful and patient! To me, all flying is expensive! That is part of the reason I appreciate what Laura did for me!
Thanks everyone for your responses!
Hugs Lana Mae

[Salina]

What a fun get together Lana Mae! I'm glad you faced a fear and had fun doing it! I may be the only girl on CD.COM to have never been in a helicopter. Thanks for sharing your story!

[Alice Torn]

Sounds like fun! About a month ago, my brother and I got to ride ona 1927 Ford Trimotor airplane, the first airliner ever in America. It carried ten or 12 people. Flying is always an adventure to me!

[Jennifer in CO]

Helicopters and ambulances - I've loaded people into both at race tracks but thankfully never been in one till two years ago in an ambulance and my "stressed induced cardiac event" as they called it. Since thats as close as I get to them, I'll pass on a ride in the bird...

[Aunt Kelly]

I will never forget my first helicopter ride. I had a critical trauma patient and went with the flight nurse to assist. As a fixed-wing pilot, you get used to the sensations involved in the take-off roll, rotation, and climb. There's precious little of that in a chopper. I was preoccupied with tending the patient's airway, of course. I recall hearing the engine's wind up and knew we'd be off the ground shortly. I finally had a second to look up and we were already 20 or 30 feet in the air, so smoothly did the pilot apply the collective to lift us into the 100 foot hover that would clear the nearby obstacles. It was weird then and that feeling has never gone away in subsequent chopper flights. I've heard other pilots say the same thing, and I understand that a fixed wing pilot moving to rotor wing craft has to "unlearn" some things.

Anyway, what a fun day. Helicopter rides and lunch, with a friend from the forum. Yay!

[Lana Mae]

Salina-yes it was fun and I did it! This was my first time and very exciting!
Alice-Yes, it was an adventure!
Jennifer-That is some sound thinking! Hope you are doing OK!
Aunt Kelly-It was great getting a helicopter ride and meeting with Laura for lunch! A dream come true!
Thanks everyone for your responses!
Hugs Lana Mae

[Alice B]

The R44 is the most populat one on todays market and lots of fun.

[Lea]

Glad you had a great day.

I have flown in UH-1's courtesy of the Army and some sight seeing helicopters.

It is a great way to see things.

[Lydianne]

Hi Lana Mae,

Wow, it sounded like a great day out! It's good to read reports of meetings in person, but a helicopter ride is another level! I can't conceivably see myself ever getting a heli ride unless it's for medical emergency reasons; so I'm highly envious. Definitely worth overcoming your vertigo for :).

Very nice! :thumbsup:.

- Lydianne.

[Rosemary+]

What a lovelly heart warming thread , thank you Lana Mae and Laura for allowing us to share your day.
It was beautiful to read

[Lana Mae]

Alice-Yes a black one landed when we were at the restaurant! There were two side by side!
Lea-Yes! It is a whole different perspective when you are up there!
Lydianne-Well, I wasn't so sure before we left the ground! Once up it was fine or well mostly! A little shaky in the more tight turns! LOL
Rosemary-Thank you! I am more than happy to share anything another might be interested in!
Thanks for your responses!
Hugs Lana Mae

[Kate Simmons]

Nice my friend. Yes it is a whole different perspective from up there. I still have never been in a chopper even having had two tours in Nam during the war, that wasn't my job. I did get rides on C-130's however, going from place to place over there. Maybe one day my GF Nancy and I will take a chopper ride. I have also flown in pipers a couple of times but not in recent years. Thanks for sharing that awesome experience Lana. :battingeyelashes::)

[Lana Mae]

Kate-I recommend that you and Nancy check it out! It was great! Hugs Lana Mae