Over the years, I spent quite a bit of time in helicopters, mostly darting and collaring various critters. I can say I usually enjoyed the chopper work, but not always.


Collaring Brown Bears on Chichagof Island.


Again, Chichagof Island Brown Bear work.


The view out the chopper door getting ready for a dart gun shot.


Another project in SE Alaska doing glacier work.


Dall sheep predation study in the Alaska Range. This lamb was killed by a golden eagle.

Neat pic, thanks for posting

Very cool

Love these threads of yours

Those precious goldens kill more wildlife than many would imagine. Ive seen them in action and they are very proficient.

Osky

Well Jack, now ya went and done it ...one of my biggest sentimentalities .

Wonderful shots and experiences you had once again. Like the one of taking aim on the bear from the door. A delicate dance of timing and balance between driver and gunner.

I adore the Huey , and my ears pick them up as soon as the sound waves reach me, long before I see them. They are unmistakable .

Once in a while one passes overhead, and if I can get outside soon enough, try to see them and guess what their job is. One time, one passed just over tree line, directly overhead . I waved at them as they flew over , and boy howdy, they made a turn , came back and tipped to me gracefully in salute , washing me with the downdraft , trees waving. I could swear I saw the guys smiling as they hovered. Made my day.

With youthful exuberance, I just need to share with some shots , too.



Just love seeing them lined up like this.

Gulo, it looks like you had a bit of devil's club to wade through in that second photo. That's some genuine SE AK fun there.

Jack, is that Swisher ?? Looks awful young !!

James bay coast mudflats circa 1980

When they finished filming Chicago Rose they flew the two choppers up here and directly into firefighting duties. It opened a new way to get Jumpers on site
Of the hundreds of flying in them, never got a picture of any trips

[/quote] Jack, is that Swisher ?? Looks awful young !![/quote]

white17 . Nope, not Swish. Swish drives a Hughes 500D or a Robinson 44. This guy was a Temsco taxi driver just getting me to the alpine. Seemed to be a good guy and a decent driver. Same guy picked me up 2 weeks later. That's Mt. Golub on the Chilkat Peninsula in the background.

Gerry and I took our fish poles for a walk today, beaver country sure looks different this time of year.

We lost a Chinook here in Lemhi County last week. Both pilots dead. Firefighting, wrecked into the Salmon River. Very sad happening...

One reason that I quit the consulting business work when a plane goes down and you loose someone you know.

I hired a guy that was doing remote drilling that quit because of a hard landing. He said that the pilot had large beads of sweat running down his face when they bounced in. They survived and he quit when he got to town!

Every single time that I hear of any hard landing, of any aircraft, it hurts my heart. Even in war , on any side, seeing any aircraft down hurts me.

My father was shot down over the Pacific three times , and he shared with me, that all he wished for, was that he was alive and his legs would be in tact in the morning , when his mates found him then. There was never a more aggressive pilot in that war than himself. Who survived to tell astounding stories , to those he valued to hear them.

Chinooks are among the most lovely, powerful and transfixing choppers .

May the drivers and crew be acknowledged with total respect.

Thanks for sharing Jack…Nevah a dull moment with you !

It is strange of the timing of your post.
8/8/2020, we lost a wildlife biologist, a Texas wildlife department veterinarian and a wildlife technician in a helicopter crash while doing work on the big horn sheep project in the Big Bend area.

May they rest in peace. Dewey Stockbridge, Dr. Bob Dittmar and Brandon White.

Great photos!
Interesting comments.

Very sad losses. Flying anything anytime is a calculated risk.
When my wife’s health deteriorated to the level where she became reliant on me in order to remain living at home (not in a nursing home) I decided to quit flying airplanes. The decision was easy. Many years later she is still living at home.

I sold my last airplane in 2007. I constantly think about the flying and I miss it every single day. For many years, my SuperCub was my pickup truck.

Jack