fnaqzna

Shot this while waiting to go flying. The helo just dropped in to refuel.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dotdoubledot/2384726634/" title="Sikorsky UH-60 Blackhawk by .: sandman, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3283/2384726634_6473c9db47_b.jpg" width="1024" height="692" alt="Sikorsky UH-60 Blackhawk" /></a>

Manic_Skafe

All I can say is wow.

Awesome shot.

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Cynthetiq

nice...

i didn't realize that there was a rear wing, or that it even tilted.

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Tully Mars

You fly?

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smoore

They probably call it an elevator, like they do in fixed wing. It's not too common on helicopters and I have no idea how the freaks control it. Probably fly-by-wire where the pilot has no direct control (since helicopter pilots already have their hands full, literally.)

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smoore

Martian

It's actually called a stabilator in this application (as in stabilizer/elevator). It's primary function is to keep the cabin at a manageable attitude during maneuvers, and according to my reading it's controlled entirely by external sensors on the UH-60. It moves up and down according to airspeed in order to keep the aircraft as stable as possible.

[/nerd]

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smoore

Wicked cool. Always wondered what a stabliator was. Makes sense it's not pilot controlled.

In this shot it would appear it's the same as when you're taxiing a fixed wing craft, "Keep the aircraft stuck to the ground." Some squat switches would let the control surface know where it needs to be for this situation.

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smoore

Martian

Stabilators aren't exclusive to helos. Any aircraft on which the entire horizontal stabilizer actuates (as opposed to having elevator tabs) is technically said to have a stabilator.

Most if not all helicopters have a horizontal stabilizer of some form; it's more or less an aerodynamic requirement, especially for helos which (between you and me) have no business being in the air to begin with. However, the bulk of them are fixed. I don't recall ever having seen a helo that uses a fixed stabilizer with tabs (as in common in most fixed-wing craft) but I'm hardly an expert on the subject, so it's very possible that there's one out there somewhere.

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I wake up in the morning more tired than before I slept
I get through cryin' and I'm sadder than before I wept
I get through thinkin' now, and the thoughts have left my head
I get through speakin' and I can't remember, not a word that I said

- Ben Harper, Show Me A Little Shame

smoore

Hrm, I guess that's where I've heard the term before but they are usually called a "full flying elevator" in the crowds I'm familiar with. Good to know the terminoligy. They could just be mixing terms with "full flying rudder" for all I know, I'm just a student and wannabe plane builder.

So the little nubs on every helicopter are a stabilizer? Intriguing. Friggin' contraptions.

Yeah, helicopters don't fly, they are just so ugly the earth repels them.

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smoore

fnaqzna

Actually... I just started flight training. I've got my second flight tomorrow.

smoore

Oh snap! Welcome to the club of "someday I'll be a pilot!" I'm embarrassed to say how many hours I have, I'm sure if you have the $$ you'll soon pass me. When I have the time I don't have the money, when I have the money I don't have the time.

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Plan9

I got a few rides in those over Iraq in 2003. Nice expensive piece of equipment.

Great shot. I'd post mine but the resolution isn't that good.

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Tully Mars

I got several hundred hours. Mostly in a Piper Arrow, but some in a Cessna 172. Was working on a Multi and IFR ticket when "Life" got in the way.

I'm jealous, you'll have a blast.

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fnaqzna

Thanks.

I've been putting this off for decades and letting life get in the way. Not any more. After putting braces on two kids, this will be cheap.

smoore

As I'm sure your CFI told you: If you're consistent with getting out to the field and actually putting in the hours it goes much quicker. Guys like me have to spend half an hour just remembering where the mixture is.

After you get your PPL it takes more than a BFR to stay current. Legal can be done with two BFR a year but legal does not make a safe pilot.

Have fun, it's such a blast!

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Tully Mars

Unfortunately for me the life that got in my "way" involved a rather large beam and a sudden drop to my leg and foot. No med cert=no tickets. No VFR, no IFR and No multi... nada. In a moment my flying dreams and leg were crushed at the same time. I can only fly with another pilot in command of the aircraft.
And no landings or take offs.

I go to the gym 4-5 times a week and I'm hoping to get my cert back someday.

Enjoy every second, you never know when it might end.

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smoore

Wow, that sucks. Not to circumvent the all powerful FAA but if I understand correctly:

If you manage to get a special cert from an AMA and let it expire you are fully within your rights to exercise Sport Pilot privileges from then on, assuming you don't self ground due to medical reasons. Not the self grounding like for a cold, mind you.

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smoore

Tully Mars

I'll look into that, currently living in Mexico so it might be a while. But thanks for the info.

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smoore

Have you looked into getting a pilot cert. down there? I have no idea what it entails. Might be a huge PITA, especially for a gringo.

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Tully Mars

Yeah, before figuring out the whole food shelter thing. Got a have a med cert and ticket from the US or you have to take courses here... in Spanish. I'm a long way from being able to take any course in Spanish. Well, other then Spanish itself.

And get this- If getting your private in the US costs you $5500-$6000 down here you're looking at almost double. Everyone talks about how cheap things are in Mexico, and they are for the most part. But anything to do with tech. is going to cost you 3/4 to double. Computers, electronics and cameras are insane down here.

My main hope is fly up to Florida and or Texas and take a flight phys. I'm sure I could pass it. Basically if I didn't tell you I had a medical issue, you wouldn't know. My problem with the flight phys. has always been the part where you list the medication(s) you're taking. My issue with my foot and leg is neurological at this point and I take a medication that they also give epileptics. In the past Dr. see that on the list and it's all over. The more I hit the gym the less of that I have to take. It's just a matter of time at this point.

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Esoteric

Awesome, never been in a helicopter before. I'm sure it's a great ride.

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fnaqzna

One more:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dotdoubledot/2397593522/" title="UH-60 Blackhawk (alternate crop) by .: sandman, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2117/2397593522_ae3d565926_b.jpg" width="1024" height="609" alt="UH-60 Blackhawk (alternate crop)" /></a>

Bear Cub

Very cool! Back in CT, my home is no more than 5 minutes from the Sikorsky main plant. They LOVE to fly those suckers low in testing. You'd swear they're going to clip the roof of your house when they go by.

echo5delta

fnaqzna, I want your camera. Seriously. The quality of that image - particularly if you just sort of hip-shot it - is INCREDIBLE. It could be a pile of rotting trash, and that would still look damn awesome. Please do divulge details on your camera!

And point me anywhere you might have some more pictures laying around - I'd like to check them out!

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fnaqzna

Thanks...

These were shot with a Nikon D50. It was Nikon's entry level DSLR until they came out with the D40. It's a fairly straight forward camera. Not a lot of hoots and whistles compared to Nikon's more expensive cameras. Oh... and it's just six megapixels so keep that in mind if you get caught up in the megapixel trap.

The lens used in these images is a Nikon 18-200mm VR. I just got this bad boy in February. It's a sweet lens. It has replaced both the 18-55mm kit lens and the 55-200mm lens that I purchased when I got the camera. Right now, these other two lenses sit in a bag unused. I need to put them up for sale on eBay.

In addition to the Nikon 18-200mm VR, I also use a Tokina 12-24mm wide zoom. These are pretty much the only two lenses I carry around.

All of which works well, but without PhotoShop CS3 nothing would pop.

echo5delta

Well, thank you sir, for sharing. I don't really give a damn about pixels, etc., but I just know a good photo when I see it.

I just want to ask (not that I don't trust you, just that I didn't see it addressed directly) if you did indeed pop-and-shoot these photos. Because if that's the case, I'm gonna go grab some gear in the next month or two matching what you have.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to win any awards, but these two photos you shot are just really showing the quality of your gear. And it might not be the best on the planet, but it's by far the best I'll ever need for photography.

And, well... also, I'm very, very much a hip-shootin' kind of guy.

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fnaqzna

The key to quality is the glass. If you want quality that's where you put your money, on lenses. In my experience, the more expensive cameras don't necessarily make for better images. They simply speed up the process of shooting photographs.

With these images I did give some thought to them but it was a spur of the moment type thing. The helo was taxiing in and I wanted to make certain that I captured some movement in the rotors, but I didn't want them to be completely blurred so I selected shutter priority and a exposed at 1/200. Aperture selected by the camera was f/10. I almost always shoot with autofocus. I miss the old focus prisms and I can't really trust my vision with anything else so I let the camera do it. So, not exactly point and shoot, but close enough.

With that in mind... you can find a D50 for $300 or so and the Nikon 18-200 VR for $650. Personally, I don't care for the D40 or D60 but that's mainly because they don't autofocus with anything other than AF-S lenses. This rules out the Tokina I mentioned earlier and another lens I didn't mention, my 50mm f/1.8. If that's not an issue, you might like the D40 or D60 with the 18-55mm VR lens. Kit should be less than $700 or so.

Oh... please keep in mind that for me post processing makes ALL the difference. When I get the chance, I'll put up versions of these two images before I started messing with them.

echo5delta

Yeah, please do. I've had PhotoShop for years, and recently upgraded to CS2. From what I understand, cool kids are able to do really neat stuff with it.

Apparently it does more than resize and crop photos...?

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telekinetic

I'd love to see what you did in post. Makes me want to go bird hunting...the Apache plant is like 10 miles from my house, and I just got a 75-300mm lens

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fnaqzna

BEFORE:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dotdoubledot/2399237813/" title="20080402_FlightDay_0887sm by .: sandman, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2080/2399237813_d77e309e13.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="20080402_FlightDay_0887sm" /></a>

AFTER:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dotdoubledot/2384726634/" title="Sikorsky UH-60 Blackhawk by .: sandman, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3283/2384726634_6473c9db47.jpg" width="500" height="338" alt="Sikorsky UH-60 Blackhawk" /></a>

Nothing but PhotoShop on this one. Adjusted curves for more contrast. I reduced the shadows on the aircaft. Bumped the saturation a bit. Sharpened.

BEFORE:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dotdoubledot/2399237871/" title="20080402_FlightDay_0886sm by .: sandman, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3260/2399237871_781412f485.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="20080402_FlightDay_0886sm" /></a>

AFTER:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dotdoubledot/2397593522/" title="UH-60 Blackhawk (alternate crop) by .: sandman, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2117/2397593522_ae3d565926.jpg" width="500" height="297" alt="UH-60 Blackhawk (alternate crop)" /></a>

This one was tonemapped in PhotoMatix before I edited with PhotoShop.

Cynthetiq

thanks I like to be able to see the difference...

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genuinegirly

Ooo! What great images! I feel like I'm there. Way to capture a great moment. The first one you showed with photoshop work - what a difference!

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