helicopterjim R.I.P.

Get the knack! Leave out the 'and Space Administration' and add another bit! Then translate back to italian!!

It will work both ways and either way lifts the rear wheel. You need to wedge the provided strut under the front of the engine to lift the front wheel. Unless your attaching yours somewhere else ......

They now belong to Columbia Helicopters.

Yes but goes he play the bagpipes?

I think that the Ducati comes closer in capturing the looks of the old classics but Moto Guzzi comes much closer in capturing the feel of the old bikes. I don't get the warm fuzzy feeling sitting on any of the new Ducati's even though they are all nice bikes! Cheers Jim

Actually your answer, although not correct, is pointing in the right direction.

Here is a video of a Bell 214B (same as what I fly) doing my favourite flying - helilogging with a water drop. It is some of the most fun especially if i can splash the guys in the crew boat!! This photo was taken yesterday of the second flight of C-GTWI after an overhaul and new paintjob!!

Fun aircraft all. I am looking at buying a minor share in a Chipmunk. Only the 214 became the Huey on steroids and only 76 were built. The 205 and 212 are still quite similar to the UH-1B in power. How very true. I know that feeling well!! There isn't often a helicopter local to take someone for a ride but if there is I'll take anyone here for a ride!!

That one deserves a point for sure!!

A breed apart .... Thanks Belfast! jim

Actually this totally makes sense even for married guys but then all common sense is gone by then! Nice set of bikes. Enjoy them well!! Cheers Jim

What? You gonna send Frankie and his greenpeace buddies to rough me up? Frankie Scura

I'm hoping to get down to ThunderHills track this spring. I have a chance to do some flight training for a company nearby and the owner of the company is friends with the owner of ThunderHills and they do private trackdays (he rides a CBR 100RR). I can't turn down a chance at a trackday and a tax writeoff at the same time - even a little bit of income tnat should cover the cost of the trip!! After that I'll be thinking about 2008.

I fly a Bell 214B wich is derived from the old UH-1B. Think of the UH=1B as a Nova with a 6 cylinder engine and skinny tires. The 214 is a Nova with a 454 and big fat tires. The 214 has a 2930 hp Lycoming T55 as opposed to the UH-1B's 1100 hp T53 and the blades are only 20 inches wide compared to the 33 inch blades on the 214. Payload is about 3500 lbs for the Huey and 7500 lbs for the 214. I regularly fly aircraft with 20-25,000 hours Total Time (TT) and one that is close to 30,000. Our aircraft fly 1500 to 1800 hours each year. There are some S-1 (Sikorsky S-61 in civilian form) that have over 40,000 hours. It is quite normal to overhaul the airframe evry 3-5000 hours. I'll post pictures later today of one that I will be test flying this morning that has been fresshly overhauled! Grappling is lots of fun and we always use a 200 foot line between us and the logs. Grappling is not always the best method but if the wood is the right size and a short fly it works great! Nosing over and heading down the hill is like tucking in and taking your bike up to max speed. It is such a rush - and no cops either!! Yes but it is never fun and 8 hours of that kind of flying and you are worn out. It would be comparable to riding a sport bike on fresh gravel for a whole day. Now that I am very sad to hear. I don't know wich is worse. The guy who can not get a licence because he can't pass the medical or the guy who has flown passionately for years and then looses his medical and can't fly. It is tough both ways. Like you I know I have motorcycles if I ever come to that point. Cheers and thanks for your interest. I'll have some fresh pictures later today!! Jim

Oh no! Not another crikey!! We'll never make it through these cold northeren winters with more of them telling us about the weather!! Just kidding. There are some very knowledgeable fellows on this forum that live in Australia so there will be lots of help for any new Guzzi owners. Welcome and I sure hope to hear that you find the answers to your questions and more importantly that you find your new Guzzi!! Cheers. Jim

The timing is off obviously. This quiz should have been back in December. The bike is the Scura prototype after its first massive clutch failure - but that has nothing to do with what is wrong with it.

Did I tell everyone here that Ben is my best friend?? Ever?? No really!! I'll even let him rev up the MGS someday. Honest! I will!!

RULE NUMBER TWO - MAKE SURE THEY PAY YOU LOTS!!!

Sounds like a cross between a Muppet, Pete Roper and Big J!!

Helicopters are not immune to wires either. There are many helicopters equipped with wire strike protection but every year I hear of more than one accident invloving wire strikes.

RULE NUMBER ONE!! - DON"T CRASH!! (applies to racing as well)

I found some videos on Youtube of helilogging that, although not of the company I work for, shows much of what I and the ground crew do for a living. Ignore the commentary as there is a bit of propaganda involved. The ground crew are very well behaved for these videos. You have to see them perform after work to best appreciate them!! Enjoy!! Jim

That is the kind of crash that you pray to see movement after the smoke clears! Very shocking!

Here in BC you state the value of your bike and that is what it is insured for but the premium is also based on that as well. I know Alberta has changed a lot (it used to be great for insurance) but I didn't know it was that bad. Do they think everyone has their own oil well? Cheers Jim

Thanks Bob. I just got back from flying so missed a bit. I think it would be great to get some Washington riders up here and i hope we can come down and do a ride with you guys as well. I am going to get together with a couple of Guzziti this weekend so perhaps I'll have some tentative dates to throw around next week!! The BBQ afterwards is still pretty definite as well so I'll try and get some accomodation rates for anyone who wants to overbight here as well!! More to come!! Cheers! Jim